Inaugural Speech at the Symbiosis Pune 23rd June, 2008 : By Chetan Bhagat.

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Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to

you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the

comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in

your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life

when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When

you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What

would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my

new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this

excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today.

Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it

another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.



Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old

twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them

jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story

from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party

– several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own

birthday cake.
I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see

older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the

spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected,

aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs

the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to

save the spark?



Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing -

to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against

storms. To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive,

improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what

is possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to

company pay package, a particular car or house.



Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks

is success and rightly so.When you have grown up where money constraints

force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it

isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show

up for work.Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve

Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for

billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to

work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because

it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels

feels good.
If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an

effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you

practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot

become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that

next level is important. Nature designed with a random set of genes and

circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and

make the most of nature's design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.



I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you

a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful.

Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in

good order. There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your

breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is

not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.



You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon

or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those

races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon

kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first.

Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your

striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may

achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and

alive, will start to die.
One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One

of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student

asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga

practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote

has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my

relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my

writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If

I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live?

Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are

like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may

last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really

need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few

interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.



I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it

too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms

in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must

be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and

loneliness of purpose.
Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the

expected return.If things don't go as planned or if you face

failure.Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come

out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will

need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I

wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians

kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how

much failure can hurt you. But it's life. If challenges could always be

overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are

failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And

that's where you want to be.



Disappointment's cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever

been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially

relevant in India . From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve,

sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose the right

goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought

they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five

years to get close to a release.



Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into

something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it?

A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to

make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment

in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how

to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write

and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life -

friends, food, travel can help you overcome it.
Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you 

took it too seriously.

Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how

our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces,

pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but

everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few

opportunities in India , so many stars need to be aligned for you to make

it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in

the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately

things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than

you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this

speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards.

Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what

we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot

even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok



I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are

more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.
Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you

grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids

want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are

a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are

unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be

different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict

as your goals may not match with others. And you may drop some of them.

Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the

time they have their second child. They give up something that meant

so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the

spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then

others.



There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms -

disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot

avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular

intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark

die. I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If

someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose

college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will

shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive,

not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope

not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we

really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something

cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.



Thank You!