Neeraj Chhibba's Blog
March 1, 2012
January 1, 2010
A storyteller is hidden inside all of us
A friend once told me that there is one good story hidden inside everyone. I am not surprised with this observation. All of us lead a life which has one or the other thing which is unique to us as an individual, as a community or as a nation. Someone is a brilliant achiever, someone else is the perpetual king of pain who courts tragedy all the time. There are many who have lived forever stricken with poverty. I know people whose life took a complete U-turn after they unexpectedly lost their young and healthy near and dear ones.
Life is so unpredictable because nobody knows God’s next move. This is what makes it all the more interesting for the people living it. Some of God’s moves are for our immediate good and some drive us to despair. Add to the backdrop the different characters who play out his drama, some strong-others weak, some altruists-others masochists, some patient-others loud, some stoic-others extremely passionate, and the way they choose to react to the same situation differently, the means at their disposal to face it, their demographical location and we will find ourselves surrounded by hundreds of stories, each as unique or interesting as our own. I chose demography because a Buzkashi (a game played with a headless goat with players on horses) is not as much of a story in Afghanistan as it is in India or in the West. A girl in jeans will not invite as much curiosity in India as it will make heads turn in Afghanistan meaning what is routine and monotonous for one may be fodder for a great story for someone else.
And, since all stories are unique for someone they should be told. Doesn’t matter if the teller is a city aristocrat or a desert girl who travels miles to fetch water for her family. Because all stories have a message, a message, which if read in the right spirit, will hopefully make us a better human being.
Life is so unpredictable because nobody knows God’s next move. This is what makes it all the more interesting for the people living it. Some of God’s moves are for our immediate good and some drive us to despair. Add to the backdrop the different characters who play out his drama, some strong-others weak, some altruists-others masochists, some patient-others loud, some stoic-others extremely passionate, and the way they choose to react to the same situation differently, the means at their disposal to face it, their demographical location and we will find ourselves surrounded by hundreds of stories, each as unique or interesting as our own. I chose demography because a Buzkashi (a game played with a headless goat with players on horses) is not as much of a story in Afghanistan as it is in India or in the West. A girl in jeans will not invite as much curiosity in India as it will make heads turn in Afghanistan meaning what is routine and monotonous for one may be fodder for a great story for someone else.
And, since all stories are unique for someone they should be told. Doesn’t matter if the teller is a city aristocrat or a desert girl who travels miles to fetch water for her family. Because all stories have a message, a message, which if read in the right spirit, will hopefully make us a better human being.
