Beyond the Obvious

I had never heard the phrase before. It was Mr. K. Annamalai, founder of We the Leaders, who used it during a visit to ASU. I was sitting in the audience when he said something simple that stayed with me: Some people climb the ladder and then pull it up behind them. I kept thinking about that phrase. And once you hear it, you start noticing it everywhere. People who struggled to get somewhere, fought through rejection, uncertainty, loneliness, and doubt — people who know exactly how difficult the climb was — can sometimes become strangely uncomfortable when someone else tries to climb the same ladder. Take a few successful Indians who have settled abroad. They worked hard to build a life there, navigated unfamiliar systems, built careers, found communities, and earned their place. Yet sometimes, the same people seem reluctant to see more Indians follow them. Perhaps it is competition. Perhaps it is fear of losing an advantage. Or perhaps, somewhere along the way, being the exception be...

Something has been keeping my mind busy these days. I don’t know whether it is a good thing to think about or just a random thought, but I want to start with a question: Can you truly take a stand when not all of your arguments support that stand? As I grow older, I find it harder to see things in black and white. Even when I try, I end up noticing flaws on both sides. Every ideology leaves something out, and every person I admire disappoints me in some way. Consider a simple situation. You and your friend are deciding where to go for dinner. He wants pizza, and you want dosa. In the end, you both go to the pizza place. There is a compromise, a choice made not because it is perfect, but because it is good enough to move forward. It is not just about dinner. Sometimes we disagree with friends about who the greatest film star is. We disagree with our families about where to go on a holiday. Sometimes, we even disagree with ourselves from yesterday. So, if I cannot remain completely cons...