Emerging Successful with Everyday Excellence

It dawned on me at the college gathering preparations. We were hunting for a singer who could begin the singing competition with a pious note- with a song devoted to God. Then these girls who sang a devotional song on republic day caught my attention. I tossed them the offer- can you prepare a Ganesha song for the competition?

The next day they were at my desk – with a classical song ‘Gananayaka’ by Shankar Mahadevan which I had listened to on a few occasions- with awe. Their teacher had suggested they should sing that. They wanted me to guide them.

I didn’t know the song nor could I pronounce Sanskrit properly but I decided to put up a brave face. ‘Go, download the song and the lyrics, simply practice and practice. Let us see tomorrow.’

When I turned to leave, I heard a voice from behind. “Ma’am, you too please listen to the song tonight.” Then all joined in the chorus “Please “Ma’am!”.

After dinner that night, I listened to the song and the words as many times as I could and by next morning, I was, well, half across the well. As soon as I reached the college, the girls, 7 of them, were already there waiting for the go word from me.

I was surprised when I heard them. They had learnt the song overnight and were quite close. All I had to do was train them on pronunciations and correct few notes here and there and infuse some expressions at the right places. With no accompaniments, relying just on the tanpura App on my mobile, they were fabulous- and I should mention that none of them had any training.

Looking at their proficiency at the song, it was decided that they should sing it at the inauguration function, which was scheduled the next morning.

Again their teacher, Prof.Namrata Pradnyakar, gave them more challenge. They should be at the traditional 9 yards Maharashtrian attire- complete with the accessories such as string of flowers on their hair turned in to buns, nose rings etc. And they have to reach the college at 8 AM. It meant they should start at 7 AM from their residences!

They did. No need to say that they were a hit at the function.

This small incident, though ordinary, somehow triggered my thought process.

First I thought of the teacher who have them a high target; next the spirit of the students to take up the challenge; then the time constraint-only one day was left to practice; And there was no incentive in performing the song as it was not a part of the competition; The only reward would be the opportunity to perform at the function but there was every chance of drawing flak if they floundered.

They could have said, “We don’t have internet facility”, “The other members are not cooperating” “It is too early for us to come’, “We can’t source the attire and jewellery overnight”, “There is no one who could help us to wear the attire”  and so on.

But they said none of that. They overcame all hurdles themselves. They were innovative in the sense that since they couldn’t learn the song by heart, they stuck the lyrics on some wedding invitations and when they held them in hands the image of Ganesha smiled at the audience.

When I looked at them after their song, their face reflected joy and a sense of achievement.

-To me, they presented a perfect picture of success.

Success and achievements are often talked about in lofty manner-always citing examples of famous people with extraordinary feats. We keep them at a pedestal and look at them with awe. We are so distant from them that we forget that they are human beings too, like us.

We see at the results, not the rigors.  If we analyze their lives closely, I think we may find the same factors working for them which were behind the girls- such as opportunities coming their way that are closely related to the things they love to do, tough and seemingly impossible tasks set for them by someone who has the power to influence them like a teacher, mentor or may even be a boss, something or someone who may be there to guide and reassure, their passion towards their work, the readiness to face any hurdles and on top of all ,saying ‘no’ to excuses.

Finally the taste of success when their efforts bear fruit fuels their journey further.

Success need not be the privilege of only celebrities. We ordinary people, in our ordinary lives, can put all our heart into our ordinary tasks and perform them extraordinarily. In short, instead of waiting for some big bang to propel us to the sky, I think if we aim for excellence in everyday tasks, we can easily navigate the success map and go places.