Under the weight of a halo

Went on a foggy morning drive from Delhi to Rohtak this Saturday, for receiving an award from the Indian Institute of Management. "Exemplary contribution in social service", says my plaque. Exemplary means, 'that which sets an example', which has reached such a level that it is now worth emulating. When examined in that context, I am nowhere near exemplary, because there are giants in the social field doing a thousand times more. I have met several of these giants, and I can see at least a two decade journey of learning ahead of me! But I do realise that I serve as an example for some in the IIM pool.

When I came back and posted this award in my IIM Calcutta WhatsApp group, I got a lot of accolades from my batchmates. But the trick is to not take all these awards, labels and compliments seriously. Otherwise there is a real fear of becoming a pompous buffoon, so filled with gravitas that one cannot recognise the original human any more, under the weight of the halo. I know some people like that, who seem to have internalised the accolades. They are quite insufferable. I hope I will not go that way. May I continue to be quite irreverent and quite obviously flawed.

Someone also talked about what motivates me to do social sector work. I thought about this and realised it's because I am not religious. I can't figure out the purpose of human existence, or believe in some notion of heaven or rebirth. Not enough faith in philosophical stuff, so I figure I should just be useful to others right now, right here. Hai na simple si baat? Without this type of contribution, I fear my life will be a completely meaningless recycling of organic matter. In Tamil there is a phrase "bhumi ki bhaaram" (useless weight on the planet). I don't want to live and die like that, pointlessly, wastefully. So here's to another couple of decades of doing something useful.

#socialsectorgyan