Old and New

New Year, and a new beginning! As everyone talks about "new" things which try to capture our attention wherever we go, I thought it is worth reflecting about this newness that we attribute to things, persons and experiences. If we have to wake up the dead Greek philosopher Heracletes and ask him if there is anything new in the world, he would leap for joy and shout that every moment of human existence is new. Was it not the same old philosopher who said we do not step into the same river twice? Newness all around, and mind you, the very concept is very subjective; that is to say, there is no objective criteria to label a thing or an experience new or old.

True, what is new for me might be very old for someone else; and the reverse too can be true. I dare not stand against Heracletes and shout that there is nothing new in the world; whether we like it or not, we are get into the same old rut (to be in line with the river image of the Greek philosopher). In fact, the newness is not so much in an object, but in our eyes! Here we land up with John Keats, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder! So newness is in our eyes, in our hearts, in our minds. It does not exist out there. But is there anyone who would buy my proposition?

To stand up for a while in company with Heracletes is a great pleasure; everyday morning as I open up my eyes, do not a fresh new morn welcome me with a song of the bird, scent of the flowers, and a adorable 'namoshkar' of the insects, and a soal-soothing radiance of the golden sun? Can the song of the birds ever become old? Will the golden rays of the sun ever become old or stale? Can a human smile ever become monotony? If ever they do, then probably I may need to show myself to an ophthalmologist and get my eyes checked; and then to a psychiatrist and get my sanity checked!

Even before the year 2009 bade goodbye, there was too much of noise, fireworks, firecrackers to welcome the year 2010! Park Street alias Mother Teresa Sarani was a sea of mirth and jubilation, and what happened after the clock stroke 12 at midnight? Except the cheers and bursting of the crackers (and opening of the much awaited Champagne bottle in select hideouts and restaurants), nothing seemed to have changed. For the manual laborers of the municipality, the day has not changed, because when the new day broke, they were back on the street to clean it as they had been doing for years! Has anything changed for them? Or has anything changed in fact?

We see newness all around and yet things seem to be the same, much against our expectation and longing. I have a bright idea to offer to the people who do not find newness around them : get a dozen different color celophane papers and cut them to the size of your spectacle glasses size, and stick one color papers to your spectacles each day, and look things with that glasses. The next day, change the color papers, and you will see everythng with a different color, and that would have changed how they looked to you the previous day. Am I just kidding? But until we change our mindsets and eyes, perhaps this great idea may supply some newness to our otherwise mundane, monotonous lives!

Chagrin of change

Change in any field is wrought with its own share of problems and challenges, because to let a stream run its course is easy, non-demanding, but attempting to turn its course to an altogether different direction is going to cost both the stream and the one who attempts it (if there is a human agent involved in it)! However it is change which gives life and vitality to the otherwise monotonous human existence. If there is no change around us, then too soon, we all would be mad, and turn the world topsy-turvy. Everyone desires change, but it is hard for those who are to execute change in the otherwise smooth-flowing stream of activities.

A friend today wrote to me in the email saying that she for the first time lost her temper, and shouted at the teachers for their irresponsible behavior. When the principal had reminded the teachers to keep the students ready for a function, so that time is not wasted, the teachers were all too cool in the faculty room, lost in their own world. That was the time the principal stormed into the staff room, and gave the teachers a piece of her mind. The teachers jumped to their heels and things were as desired within minutes. But if the principal had not given that shock treatment, it would have taken quite some time to get the children organized, and the program would have begun late.

We are all good people, and we hate displeasing others, especially the familiar and friendly people; the people who are cordial and loving towards us. We would think twice or thrice before we tell them anything unpleasant. To pull them up is the last thing that we can think of. On the other side of the spectrum, we realize that the people we are friendly with are the ones who would take the maximum advantage of our dizzy situation. It is easy to let these people continue the way they are used to, and we would not like to dirty our hands, and create havoc to the relationship. But such an approach is sure to cause dearly to the work assigned to them.

Why should I dirty my hands unnecessarily? That is the question that many people tend to ask; after all, it is not only my responsibility! I am only the principal who is appointed for just a few years; it is the duty of the people who decide our fate, to take serious steps against people who falter and err in their duties and responsibilities. We cannot get something good unless someone is prepared to dirty his/her hands, but the moot question is: who is prepared to dirty the hands, and live with the dirty for years to come? As soon as one tries to put an order in the midst of chaos and disorder, the people who created it and love living in the midst of it, are not going to let anything be changed; it is a fierce battle that the one who is at the helm of affairs has to be prepared to face.

Fearlessness is one of the great virtues of servant leadership model, and those who are afraid of dirtying their hands and bear all sorts of criticism and calumny cannot be true leaders. To put it in reverse, one who has not received severe criticism from his/her companions, cannot be a leader worth his/her salt. But to dirty one’s hands can be a powerful exercise to bring in the much needed change and it has to well up from the inner freedom and openness the leader experiences towards the people at his/her service. Such fearlessness, free from any personal agenda, is also a saintly virtue, the hallmark of sincere saintly persons.