A few weeks ago, I found myself talking to a bunch of college kids about the importance of visualising one’s goals. There was skepticism as usual. Some were convinced their choices don’t matter. Some wanted, more than anything else, to matter. One boy asked me if I thought he could do what he wants to do.

I told him it didn’t matter what I thought. If he thinks he can do something then all other opinions in the world don’t amount to zilch. All he needs is faith in himself and the universe. He looked better after that and offered to drop me home on his bike after the class.

Partly because of the fluid nature of Hindu mythology, and partly because of my all too human memory, I cannot point out the precise source of this theory. It is a story about the creation of the universe. It says that the creator of the universe was not old man Brahma. It was Kama, god of desire.

First came the idea for a universe, and then, everything else. How perfectly sensible!

There is this thing we all know. It might just be the only thing we are all certain about. We think, we hope and we plan to the best of our capacity. And yet, nearly all of it is rooted in chance. The only thing that will happen for sure is that we will all die.

Is that why we don’t talk about it? Because we are sure it will come? The way I see it, it appears more a case of denial. We refuse to talk about it, we fear signs of ageing, we even presume we are safe and secure in our environments! We refuse to consider the possibility that we might just drop off the edge of a cliff one day — tomorrow maybe — and never return.

Between all the praise flying around for Chak De India, combined with the occasional whine by people prepared to hate SRK no matter how well he acts, I saw the movie twice last weekend. Tricolour marketing and ‘India’ in the title aside, I couldn’t help thinking the story stood for much more than the mere patriotism flick it was being served as.

I can imagine the producers rubbing their hands in glee at the multiple marketing pitches the story presented. Patriotism, feminism, sports (a friend decisively labeled the movie ‘SRK’s Lagaan’). I got to thinking about what Chak De India really meant.

If I had to count the number of times I have succeeded in my life, I would… well… fail. It continues to happen, several times a day, all week, all year. Nobody hears of these successes because conventional wisdom has a limited understanding of what success really is.

Commercialised and glitz-driven as our world is, it does not overrate success. Instead, it seriously underrates it. The thousand little smiles you earn by doing something you love or by making a tiny little difference in a friend’s or stranger’s life don’t count as successes, but a paycheck does.

Ever been called to lunch and refused it or postponed it because you had a late breakfast and were not hungry? Ever seen people cajoled into a marriage, even if they were not ready, because it was time for them? In short, have you ever, when told it was time, felt otherwise?

Some people choose the evening snack over the lunch. Many choose to remain unmarried if they realise they can’t do justice to the bond. What do you think separates these people, however moderately, from the great majority who live by the book?