Talking Shop: Wealth means nothing

“If money is your hope for

independence, you will never

have it. The only real security

you will have in this world

is a reserve of knowledge,

experience and ability.”

―Henry Ford

Don’t get me wrong. I like my creature comforts and soothing surroundings as much as the next hungry guy. It is just that I am not obsessed with these, choosing to focus instead on the things that truly make life a memorable and peaceful experience—such as real friendships and relationships, learning and the accompanying enlightenment, harmony and concord bordering on brouhaha, good music and movies that tickle my ribs and distort my stomach muscles when I guffaw, travelling and meeting with people and spending time to understand them (much as they understand me), and so on. On the darker side, it is those with a single-minded fixation, blanched with the sole target of amassing wealth and material resources, devoid of any scruples and principles, who get my goat.

I remember when I retired a few years back at age 49 from a very cushy and high-fangled job; most were astonished, some downright aghast. When they vented their spleen, the common thread running through it all was that they all reprimanded me, asking me ‘paagal ho gaye ho?’ (have you gone nuts?). Explain as I could that I had done enough of writing and Corporate travelling to last me a lifetime and had also planned sufficiently to fulfil all my responsibilities, I was given blank and disbelieving stares. Thus, I share a few tangential stories today, ones I have witnessed first-hand, all underscoring what big bucks can do—they provide us with basic creature comforts, but no real or lasting peace.

Lucky bugger I am

The reasons I can even recount these stories is because I have been lucky enough to work with some of the most influential and successful names in both literary and Corporate India. I can’t and shan’t name anyone, for that would be grossly unfair, but through my tryst with these gentlemen, I have learnt that it is neither ‘high’ nor a ‘life’. Sure, our big guns arrive at their big offices in big cars and enter through big gates that swing open at their grand and big entrance. They get big salutes from big, burly guards and security personnel, are sifted seamlessly through to their big top-floor offices with a grand, big view in big and swanky elevators. Everything is big, right? Nope.

The only thing big about the real happenings inside tall offices with heavy window-shades is big tales of weird shenanigans and opulence, most of which are untrue. For instance, come lunch time and out pops a big guard with a big bag, who vrooms away in a big car to acquire a big stash of vada pao if the big man happens to be in Mumbai, chhhole kulche if the protagonist is in North India, thupka and momos if he is in Eastern India, or idli, upma and sambhar if the venue is down South. There are no fancy paranthas or butter chicken or daal makhani or paneer 65 being devoured inside Corporate boardrooms, and that is just as well, given that there is exquisite mirth in true girth. Thus, grandiose claims of high and life are just that; a fallacy—no matter how hard you try or how desperately you want to, you just cannot eat currency notes or digest non-transferable investment certificates.

Down to brass-tacks

What about personal lives? Well, there is next to none; unless, of course, you consider the inevitable and fleeting skirmishes with members of the opposite sex. Most persons with 100,000 times the resources that you and I have are, at this late hour, languishing in their lavish homes with more than a little help from Bacchus, while my pretty wife is preparing tomato soup and garlic bread for my indulgence. Families don’t talk to one another, almost at all, and when they do, it is mostly about money and the financial outlook for the next generation. What about the person who made it all happen for them through the grind of their lives? Well, in most cases, (s)he is now an instrument, left alone to fend for himself (or herself), having served the purpose of bringing up glorious kids.

I do not speak in gravitas—I have seen these honchos with billions in the kitty crying themselves silly because their very own will not take or return phone calls, leave alone meet them. The Next Gen, especially the grown-ups, are out in discos or a yacht, dancing the night away or sailing the seas and partying through the night, while the old man or woman wonder what went so wrong. Clearly, the chase for wealth and growth did. I have witnessed this—how an octogenarian can feel so lonely that he calls up his personal pilot and asks him to prepare the jet for a quick trip to France, while tears flow freely from the eyes. I have seen them looking at me with embarrassment and awkwardness, wondering what will happen when I open my mouth about the incident. I never have. I never will.

Indeed, what is money?

For one, money is something that pays for the tomatoes, onions and mustard oil to begin with and then moves on to conquests like cars, a house, holidays and other freaky indulgences. For another, it is a gateway to things that matter and make a difference to the remainder of our lives. It provides us with security and respect (personal and otherwise); a clean and happy home (we have to create and maintain the bonhomie); good health (which we have to work for); a source of mental fortitude and prosperity (so we can keep our heads high); and preparedness for old age and the accompanying infirmity (so we are not dependent on anyone, especially in discos or a yacht). Once you have accomplished these basic goals and have secured safety of your investments, money is not really the key to anything—understanding where we are and where we want to go is all that really matters.

Remember, you can only become truly accomplished at something that you love and respect. My advice would be that we should not make money alone our life target or goal. It is better and more serene to pursue things that we love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t help but focus their attention on us. It was Vex King who summed it up best, when he stood by faithfulness and truth: “Happiness doesn’t start or end with your accomplishments, looks, skills, followers, relationships, grades, intelligence, popularity, possessions, job or money. It simply begins and ends with you; the same things that make one person happy can make another sad—vice versa.”

The writer is a veteran journalist and communications specialist. He can be reached on narayanrajeev2006@gmail.com. Views expressed are personal