All for the best

All for the best

 

Asmita Desai was browsing through the new set of books that had arrived at her library ‘Reading Corner’. The room itself was modest and used to be young Asmita’s study place and often doubled up as the sleeping room for an extra-guest. She clearly remembered it had taken the cleaners two complete days to make it presentable as a good library.

 

“Bahadur, we have received 20 copies of the new self-help book ‘Sleep in times of chaos’ and 100 copies of the fantasy bestseller ‘ThrillPill. The former emphasizes the importance of breathing techniques before sleep while the latter is a sci-fi on how a driverless car sets a thrilling journey through the fictitious Wonderland forest.”

 

“Please neatly cover them with transparent plastic sheets and arrange them as per our new layout plans. I am leaving for the day”, Asmita instructed Bahadur, her man-Friday, assistant, part-time philosopher, mentor and guide– all rolled into one.

 

“Ok Madam. A single book can open up a million minds. You are earning blessings every day. De-stress yourself by watching the latest movie of your clearly-aging but arguably-popular superstar Manyavar Singh. Films can influence our lives so powerfully”, was Bahadur’s assurance packaged with free advice.

 

Asmita left the library. She had put her heart and soul into ‘Reading Corner’ since the past three years. After she lost her husband in a fatal accident, she, thought this to be the best bet to ensure a stable income and also heal her grief-stricken state.

 

At the time when Reading Corner was taking shape, Asmita spent hours together reading self-help, motivational books to gather courage for providing support to young Ankush who was only two when he lost his father.

 

Reading Corner was a small but popular library. There were many specialties there. For example, it had interesting ‘Did you know’ snippets about well-known authors and characters. It would have interesting facts on movies made based on books, birth and death anniversaries of playwrights etc. There would be regular contests on such days, with gifts from the author remembered.

 

Over a period of time, Asmita observed various kinds of readers. The compulsive reader who read as a consumer, voting for unpredictable mysteries that gave a kick, the senior-citizen reader who read to relive the beauty of simplicity, the children who flocked to the shelves where superhero comics would be showcased, the homemakers who preferred books on beauty and health etc.

 

Asmita was back to the library the next day, having rejuvenated herself the previous day with an outing with her friends. She enjoyed the movie ‘Lines save lives’ where Manyavar Singh, portraying the character of a poet convinces a top terrorist to throw guns and embrace peace.

Anirban Ghose, a seventy-year old senior citizen who lived alone, had sold his spacious mansion in South Mumbai and decided to settle in the suburbs. While on his evening walk, one day, he noticed the library and was overjoyed. He lost his family in a bizarre fire incident that took place because of the builder’s callousness. He wanted to get hold of reprints of his favourite author’s bestsellers he first savoured, when he was in his thirties.

 

“Can you arrange for the complete set of the ‘All for the best’ series penned by Shishir Roy? I can pay in advance for it”, he asked Asmita, hopeful of a positive response. “In fact, if you can arrange for all his works, I would be happy to join as a lifetime member here”, he sweetened the deal.

 

Asmita was familiar with the name but she didn’t have the books the gentleman required. She explained, “Sorry Sir. I have tried looking for these in the past. The publisher is not very co-operative. However, as a special request, I will try again”, she assured.

 

Shishir Roy was now a ‘had been’ writer. His writing worked well at a time when middle-class people were still struggling with earning their daily bread and migrants trying to send money back home by saving every penny. Philosophy had a place in so many lives back then. However, the past decade had seen a new set of achievers, looking for a confident go-getter as a posterboy than a happy-go-lucky philosopher.

 

‘All for the best’ was a peculiar series that focused on dealing with failures and setbacks. Through protagonists from diverse fields such as teaching, mining, carpentry, engineering, medicine etc, the author showed how every setback was a turning point and not a returning point.

 

Asmita tried getting in touch with the publisher but the experience was unpleasant. She somehow managed to get the contact number of Shishir Roy. “There is an admirer of your works, Sir. Can I get a set of your entire collection?”, she asked eagerly.

 

“Times have changed Madam. Why do you want to stock something that belonged to yesterday?”, the anguished author asked.

 

“Your philosophy may still strike a chord with so many people battling in life. It would be great to spread the message around”, she tried winning his confidence.

 

Shishir Roy chuckled a bit. He thought it best to be honest with the enthusiastic librarian. “It is true that I have tasted success in life but what I earned even as a well-known writer has been just sufficient to lead a basic life. Now my most valuable asset is this collection. I am eager to sell it off to someone who can offer me a good price and can also be trusted to not misuse it in any way. I am not interested in royalties in the sunset phase of my life.”

 

Asmita had plans to dabble into television. She had to her credit, a two-year stint at a channel that focused on distance education. She thought this could be a good opportunity for her.

 

“What would be a fair price for you Sir? I would like to get perpetual rights for Rs. 10 lakhs”, Asmita said showing her interest in the proposal.

 

“I would think that would be enough for me. Tell me, what are your plans with it?” the celebrated writer enquired.

 

“Sir, I am planning a television series around it. With the number of suicides across age-groups going up, I see a gap and I think your collection can nicely achieve some social goals”, Asmita showed she was keen to take the proposal further.

 

“I am happy with what you have in mind. Let’s go ahead”, the writer said with a smile that could not be missed.

 

Asmita shared the positive developments with the avid reader, Anirban and asked him to wait for some more excitement.

 

‘All for the best’ was shaping up well. Both Asmita, and Shishir had useful inputs to provide to the production team. ‘Being Ourselves’ channel was happy with the concept note and willing to telecast it.

 

The marketing campaign was unique. It showed people at orphanages, night-schools, schools for the differently-abled to drive home the message that no matter what, life is beautiful.

 

The team had high hopes from ‘All for the best’. The trial shows did result in positive feedback.

 

The show was completed before time and everyone waited eagerly to see how the public would take to the series. As the series was telecast in Hindi, a mass-language for many states, the confidence was high.

 

The first week’s ratings were satisfactory and the ratings went up in the second week.

 

“This is no mean feat. These days, reality shows rule the roost and to manage such ratings is definitely like a shot in the arm. We are with you”, Madhuban Gupta, the VP of ‘Being Ourselves’ channel assured Asmita and her team.

 

The youth reacted differently to the show and saw it as passive, negative content. We want to be go-getters, not losers- was the feedback, overall from the teens.

 

Making matters worse, the ratings fell from the third week and only went down further.

Asmita was disheartened with the way things panned out.

 

Anirban felt that the show was made very well and having been through several ups and downs in life, could easily see the essence of the whole show. The show was wrapped up before the planned life-cycle, leaving everyone unhappy.

 

“I am sorry. I have personally enjoyed the message of the show and feel it had depth and delivered pearls of wisdom. It is sad it had to end this way. I, however, wish your team ‘All the best’”, Gupta was genuinely sad while sharing his response to the misfortune.

 

Asmita lost some money and even Shishir was sad that his work failed to connect with the youth.

 

Anirban however reconciled with the situation. “Friends, let us do justice to the spirit of ‘All for the best’. We have learned some lessons. Content on philosophy works better with middle-aged and senior citizens. Of course, those who have seen difficult times in childhood can also connect with these lovely stories of hope and compassion. Let us have a smaller launch, maybe at orphanages. Let us distribute the books to hospitals, day-care centres etc. I am sure we will have a good response.”

 

Asmita and Shishir were back as the optimistic life observers. “All for the best”, they screamed in chorus.

 SingingSoul

13 June 2016

Monday

03.59 (20) p.m.