A lamp lights another lamp - part 1

Recently, I came across a linkedin post of a Diwali ad from HP (Hewlett-Packard). Like so many of us, I too liked it. Coming across it (the ad) again after a gap of some years, I found myself loving it even more. What surprised me were the things that I perceived in the ad this time around…which gave me a glimpse of how I have grown these past few years. Here are some of the things I noticed this time around. Let me know what you think and feel free to share any other thoughts or insights you see.

Here's the ad: https://youtu.be/wxXhvjFvn_A?si=eduVhBgwNdZui5TP

Synopsis: The Diwali festival - one of the biggest for Hindus all over the world - is just around the corner and traders & shopkeepers are gearing up to welcome customers…cleaning up shops, putting up electric lights & diyas (traditional oil lamps), checking inventory etc. One vendor mentions to his client (a restaurant owner, whom I’ll call ‘Hero no. 1’) that things are good all-around except for one person - the owner of a small juice shop named Patel. His shop needs to be moved somewhere waaaaay inside, in a small gully (alley) for several months due to construction works affecting the road front. Hero no. 1 meets Mr. Patel to cheer him up. However, Mr. Patel (Patel uncle, for us Indians :) ) laments that business was already bad… and moving to a forgotten gully is sure to kill the business completely and so, the well wishes of a fellow businessman have no meaning for him.

Hero no. 1 – (yes, Hero. He doesn't look anything like the puffed-up guys in costumes, make up and CGI on screen but has a MUCH larger impact in real life) - is bothered by it and can't get Patel uncle out of his head. He seems to give up thinking about it for the night when suddenly, a super short incident – shorter than a YouTube short or Insta reel and forgotten even faster - becomes the inspiration for an idea to save Patel uncle's business. The incident was simple: an employee burns his fingers slightly while lighting a diya with a matchstick. His colleague admonishes him gently and suggests using an already lit-up lamp to light other lamps instead of using a matchstick. The exact words are "are bhai...diye se diya jalao!" (oh, brother…use a lamp to light another lamp!).

Use a lamp...and light up another lamp!

The sentence ignites an idea in Hero 1’s mind. It’s also the core jingle in the ad. I'll leave you to check out the rest of the story in the ad itself but here are some of the things I perceived in it.

?1)??????? ?EMPATHY: The entire ad would be NOWHERE without it. The first reason why Hero no. 1 is a hero is because he cares. He cares enough to not want to leave the problem of Patel uncle behind by just saying a few sympathizing or encouraging words but rather, he thinks of doing something about it. And that’s the first step in changing the world: To give a damn.

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2)??????? UBUNTU: You may already know this word and the story behind it. (If you don’t, just Google “story of Ubuntu”). Long story short, an anthropologist studying an African tribe was very surprised when a group of children chose to share a box of candy with one another instead of one kid hogging it all, even when he/she could. When asked why, the children responded: “Ubuntu. How could any-one of us be happy if all the others were sad?” Ubuntu is a philosophy of some African tribes that can be summed up as “I am what I am because of who we all are.”

The same thing is a core tenet of Sanatan Dharma, namely, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” i.e. the whole world is but one family.

?And that, in my opinion, is the true spirit of Diwali.

?One of the major reasons behind the recent success of Bharat under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is Sanatan economics. One of the impacts of Diwali festival is a boost to trade & industry, thus bringing in prosperity for everyone (or at least, as many as people possible) in the short run. There are outliers in any data but the point is: WE have it in our power to contribute to THEIR well-being, thus making it OUR well-being.

?3)??????? DIGNITY, NOT CHARITY: There is something not explicit in the ad: why did the other business owners help Patel uncle in secret? Why not share their plan and get his buy-in which, to me, seemed the most obvious thing to do? My guess: a senior person like Patel uncle probably cares a lot more about honour and dignity than failing (unless it’s a life-or-death situation). Perhaps the idea of taking help from people less experienced than him feels like a mockery of his age and experience – and a reminder that he does not seem to have succeeded in life. Like it or not, sometimes, honour and dignity might be more important than the troubles facing us.

?4)??????? Win-win: Notice that when a customer asks hero no. 1 about how much time they must wait, he says “5 minutes. In the meantime, please have some free juice”.

It’s Diwali season. It’s a bigger loss to have customers leave due to waiting time than to invest a little bit in a glass of fresh juice. Hero no.1 and his associates may have spent money from their pockets for the juice but by offering it for free, they gained customers who might otherwise have left due to the waiting time! Plus, they get the emotional satisfaction of contributing to the well-being of a fellow businessman. The glass of juice is actually a (very) low risk - high reward investment!

5)??????? Long term: Diwali shopping lasts just a few days. Patel uncle was forced to move for several months. By making sure that other people - especially youngsters find the shop - they paved the way for Patel uncle to have customers well after Diwali and especially other than those visiting the shops involved in helping him.

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Lastly, this article will be incomplete without a short critique of Patel uncle. Granted, we don’t know his story, his struggle so it’s unfair to judge without knowing the facts. However, we can try and glean a few possible gems:?

6)??????? Closed mindedness does not help: At the end of the ad Patel uncle says “I never thought I will get partners like this!”. Patel uncle owned his business for over 3 decades, in a good location and yet, he was nowhere close to financial independence and peace of mind. Like life, business too has its ups & downs and like life, it is rarely the lack of opportunities but rather lack of efforts, creativity, out-of-the-box thinking etc. which keeps us from achieving the success we crave. Whatever the reasons, Patel uncle seems to have failed at this.

?7)??????? Sabse bada rog…”Kya kahenge log!”: If the assumption on honour and dignity is correct, Patel uncle probably would have rejected any outright offers for help. But would he be doing the right by his business? If his objective is to support his family, achieve his goals & dreams then hell no.

Hero no. 1 felt bad for Patel uncle and used this to do something positive. Patel uncle probably would have felt embarrassed about taking help from someone whom HE should be guiding and choose to reject support. In doing so, he would have fallen prey to the fear of “what will people think?”. It’s a fear that plagues far too many of us (self included). The lesson here is make use of emotions…don’t make emotions use you. It’s a very tough challenge…but NOT un-doable!

These are a few things that came to my mind. I’m sure there is a lot more to glean. Feel free to comment and let me know! FYI…this is my first time ever posting an article but no need to be gentle.