The statement that reality or truth is stranger than fiction indicates how mysterious life is. Can a person be the maker of his/her own life? Or, it is predestined! When the life beginning in a mother's womb ends up as a stillborn foetus, the journey could not even begin in this world. But then another baby whom doctors have pronounced no chance of survival miraculously survives and achieves enviable success, the unpredictability of life is once again underscored. Elvis Presley can be a great example of this. His identical twin brother Jesse Garon Presley was stillborn 35 minutes before Elvis's birth. He was also the only surviving child of his parents. Then comes the extraordinary and unique case of Stephen Hawking, the greatest ever scientist of modern time after Einstein. Suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), his body became paralysed following the diagnosis of the disease at the age of 21 but defied the physician's ultimate verdict to live up to 76 years albeit spending his time in a specially made wheelchair. During this long wheelchair-bound, his scientific contribution has been phenomenal.
So when someone boasts "I'm a self-made man", does this assertion hit or miss the exact point? In ordinary life, children from similar modest background or even more unequal social family settings embark on life's journey. Most of them cannot break free from the narrow social confine but suddenly one or two get over the barrier to surprise the world. Not all reach the pinnacle of success like APJ Abdul Kalam, lovingly referred to as the "Missile Man of India" which, however, hardly does justice to his contribution to India's space programme. Yet the ordinary mortals in their own way achieve goals in life others only envy and love to emulate.
The history of sports is replete with great instances of such successes. Men like Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi come from humble origin to achieve the ultimate sports glory. In terms of practical or material contribution to human society, their achievements may not be as substantial as those of scientists, economists or social workers, but the entertainment value and the transcendence of physical limit keep people mesmerised and inspire millions to follow them. This is invaluable because their charm keeps people engrossed in healthy entertainment as against the prurient and destructive ones.
Most people's predilections have no guarantee of reaching fulfilment. But the lucky ones get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to do so. For example, Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) or dwarfism at the age of 10. When Barcelona officials saw him play at that age, they made a contract on a napkin for want of any paper there. That contract changed the life of Messi with Barcelona taking the responsibility of treatment of the boy's hormonal disorder. Messi became Messi because of this costly financial support his family was unable to afford.
The fact is that a chance meeting can change one's life beyond imagination. Latent talent of many in literature, sports, songs and music, art and culture and other creative pursuits would have remained undiscovered had they not been spotted by discerning mentors or a combination of factors collaborated to embark on an uncertain expedition. Manik Bandopadhya who surely deserved a Nobel Prize started his writing career rather fortuitously. It was when he was a first-year Honours student all set to pursue Mathematics, a friend threw a challenge if he had the material in him to write a story and get it published in a literary journal. A reader of human psychology, Manik accepted the challenge and had his first story, Atasi Mami published in the literary magazine Bichitra within three months. Thus began the journey of a most insightful novelist.
There are plenty other such stories of success in different branches of creativity. But then the rise of people in business and entrepreneurship from scratch in this land is no less inspiring. Ranada Prasad Saha had one such fairy-tale journey from zero to hero transformation. He earned wealth but made the best use of those in setting up educational institutions, nursing and medical colleges. His generosity and nobility have made him immortalised. There are others in today's business world in this country, who have built their business empires from virtually nothing but sadly they failed to emulate RP Saha's social and humanitarian programmes.
In this temporal world, people have come to accomplish different missions. But not all people know what they ought to do. Most of them are busy acquiring some means for survival and save something for their posterity. But those who have far more than they need only get intoxicated with wealth accumulation. Bill Gates, once the richest man on this planet but no more so, has planned to donate 99 per cent of his wealth. His nobility could not be better expressed. If only the other superrich also followed his examples! The world could indeed be a far better place to live in with the poor getting an opportunity to get out of their poverty trap.
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