Do good people finish last?

A few incidents that happened in my life last week forced me to think about this do good people finish last?

1) My best friend Amrita got laid off from the India's so called biggest newspaper house after putting in more than three years of blood, tears etc. After being bed ridden with pneumonia for more than two months Amrita joined work and within two weeks she was asked to leave just like that. Sacking an employee because they were ill well you need to be cold-hearted to do that and the big bosses at this media house proved it. If you think that I am pissed just because she's my friend then you are right but apart from being my friend, Amrita is an excellent writer and an intelligent journalist with a good heart. A rare combination to find these days. You will find scores of writers today who know all the correct words and who break the biggest stories but you will rarely find a writer who never cheats. Who never makes up quotes and who hates taking bylines if they know  in their heart that they don't believe in their story. Here are a few of Amrita's articles that I found. You be the judge. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Make-our-e-borders-safe/articleshow/4360255.cms

http://www.kannadabalaga.co.uk/docs/2008-04-13-kp-bhanumathi.pdf

I remember around two years ago while I was working in mumbai, Amrita told me that one of her seniors had told her that she needed to be more "pro-active" or rather need to make polite conversations with the big bosses. Which I know Amrita would never indulge in.....and I'm so proud of you for just being yourself and for never compromising with your ideas, beliefs, thoughts just for a job. 

2) I have no qualms in admitting that I am a huge fan of reality TV and I love watching Indian reality shows because I connect to these shows. There have been criticisms that reality TV isn't all that real, I don't care about those comments - to each his own. One saturday night I just couldn't sleep and was browsing through the net i happened to catch the video of a newly launched Indian show called "Sarkaar Ki Duniya" an Indian version of survivor meets monopoly. The show caught my eye and since then I have become addicted to it. Every noon at 12 I start browsing for online episodes of the show and make it a point to watch it. The show has 18 contestants from different walks of life - among popular names there is fame gurukul winner Qazi Tauqeer and Bengali actress Koneenica Banerjee. 

The show is similar to real life - every week a captain is selected and he along with the other contestants has to complete a task. He's given a bag of guineas (coins) which he has to distribute among the other contestants. The catch is you can't involve all the contestants into the task. At the end of the week three people with the least amount of guineas find themselves in the bottom and the remaining contestants vote out one of them. 

Everything went fine for the first two weeks but following that groups were made and politics and bullying creeped in. People were ready to stoop to any levels to survive in this show and morals, values and principles didn't matter only Rs. 1 Crore and winning the game mattered. But one contestant a DJ, model and actor from Kolkata Shamaun Ahmed chose to differ. The guy decided to get into the danger zone to save his friend. What I admired about this 26-year-old is the fact that he never compromised with his values and principles. Other contestants called him a fool for sacrificing being on a show and gainining some good publicity. But I'd say well done Shamaun, our generation has constantly been called as "selfish, without principles, manipulative, vindictive etc...." But you proved that not all of us our the same. Not all of us use the F...word 100 times a day and not all of us compromise with what we believe in. You may not have won the show but you have won a lot of respect. And I just hope and wish that everyone in this world gets a friend like you. You stood up to the bullies, and you listened to your heart. Buddy there are very few of us who listen to our hearts these days....we are a breed that is on the verge of being extinct and am glad that you are a part of it. 

Last Sunday I haappened to get into a debate with a friend who was telling me that it wasn't wrong in presenting yourself in front of the world in the best possible way, by lying a little. My answer you can do anything as long as you can live with it. If you can lie about your skills and still look in the mirror and not flinch good for you. I remember as a 12-year-old I once stole Rs. 16 from my grandma's purse, I confessed to her the same evening because i felt extremely guilty about it and couldn't face it. Result I got a good pasting and was under strict house arrest for a month but believe me it was worth it. 

I will conclude by saying that it isn't easy sticking to what you believe in, the road will often be uphill but you will surely reach your destination and once you reach there believe me it will be worth it. I want to tell Amrita this - this maybe a tough time but you know that you have talent and nothing can make-up for good talent. Good PR skills will only take you so far but a good-heart, hard-work and talent is what counts in the end. Your talent and hard-work is something that nobody can steal from you. So just be the way you are and you will definitely achieve success.  There maybe times when you may doubt yourself, but at least you are at peace with yourself and are not fooling yourself. God has a plan for each one of us, sometimes the picture is hazy in the begining and you may have difficulty seeing it clearly but when the whole portrait is revealed you realize its beauty.

So the answer to the question, Do good people finish last according to me would be : Depends on how you look at it. For me a person who refuses to put compromise with his values comes will always be first. Their education, job profile or awards don't matter if you can't be true to yourself.