Keep the Spark Alive Inaugural Speech for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program, Pune

By Chetan Bhagat Goo !orning everyone an thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you" #his ay is about you" $ou, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your home %or in some case iscomfort&, to become something in your life" I am sure you are e'cite " #here are few ays in human life when one is true elate " #he first ay in college is one of them" (hen you were getting rea y to ay, you felt a tingling in your stomach" (hat woul the au itorium be like, what woul the teachers be like, who are my new classmates) there is so much to be curious about" I call this e'citement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive to ay" #o ay I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining" *r to put the another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time" (here o these sparks start+ I think we are born with them" !y ,) year ol twin boys have a million sparks" A little spi erman toy can make them -ump on there be " #hey get thrills from creaky swings in the park" A story from a y gets them e'cite " #hey o a aily count own for birth ay party) several months in a vance) -ust for the ay they will cut their own birth ay cake" I see stu ents like you, an I still see some sparks" But when I see ol er people, the spark is ifficult to fin " #hat means as we age, the spark fa es" People whose spark has fa e too much are ull, e-ecte , aimless an bitter" .emember Kareena in the first half of /ab (e !et vs the secon half+ #hat is what happens when the spark is lost" So how to save the spark+ Imagine the spark to be a lamp0s flame" #he first aspect is nurturing) to give your spark the fuel, continuously" #he secon is to guar against storms" #o nurture, always have goals" It is human nature to strive, improve an achieve full potential" In fact, that is success" #hat is what is possible for you" It isn0t any e'ternal measure) a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house"

!ost of us are from mi le class families" #o us, having material lan marks is success an rightly so" (hen you have grown up where money constraints force every ay choices, financial free om is a big achievement" But it isn0t the purpose of life" If that was the case, !r" Ambani woul not show up for work" Shah .ukh Khan woul stay at home an not ance anymore" Steve /obs won0t be working har to make a better iPhone, as he sol Pi'ar for billions of ollars alrea y" (hy o they o it+ (hat makes them come every ay+ #hey o it because it makes them happy" #hey o it because it makes them fell alive" /ust getting better from current levels feels goo " If you stu y har , you can improve your rank" If you make an effort to interact with people, you will o better in interviews" If you practice, your cricket will be better" $ou may also know that you cannot become #en ulkar, yet" But you can get the ne't level" Striving for the ne't level is important" 1ature esigne with a ran om set of genes an circumstances in which were born" #o be happy, we have to accept it an make the most of nature0s esign" Are you+ Goals will help you o that" I must a , on0t -ust have career or aca emic goals" Set goals to give you a balance , successful life" I use the wor balance before successful" Balance means ensuring your health, relationships, metal peace are all in goo or er" #here is no point of getting a promotion on the ay of your breakup" #here is no fun in riving a car if your back hurts" Shopping is not en-oyable if your min is full of tensions" $ou must have rea some 2uotes) 3ife is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever" 1o, 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 your spoon kept in your mouth" If the marble falls, there is no point coming first" Same with life,where health an relationships are the marble" $our striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life" 4lse you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being e'cite an alive, will start to ie"

*ne last thing about nurturing the spark 5 on0t take life seriously" *ne of my yoga teachers use to make stu ents laugh uring classes" *ne stu ent aske him if these -okes take away something from the yoga practice" #he teacher sai 5 on0t be serious, be sincere" #his 2uote has efine my work ever since" (hether it0s my writing, my -ob, my relationships or any of my goals" I get thousan s of opinions on my writing every ay" #here is haps of praise, there is intense criticism" If I take it all seriously, how will I write+ *r rather, how will I live+ 3ife is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here" (e are like a pre) pai car with limite vali ity" If we are lucky, we may last another 67 years" An 67 years is -ust 8,677 weeken s" 9o we really nee to get so worke up+ It0s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love" (e are people, not programme evices" I0ve tol you the things 5 reasonable goals, balance an not taking it seriously that will nature the spark" :owever, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the fame" #hese must be guar e against" #hese are isappointment, frustration, unfairness an loneliness of purpose" 9isappointment will come when your effort oes not give you the e'pecte return" If things on0t go as planne or if you face failure" ;ailure is e'tremely ifficult to han le, but those that o come out stronger" (hat i these failure teach me+ is the 2uestion you nee to ask" $ou will fell miserable" $ou will want to 2uit, like I wante to o when nine publishers re-ecte my first book" Some II#ians kill themselves over low gra es) how silly is that+ But that is how much failure can hurt you" But it0s life" If challenges coul always be overcome, they woul cease to be challenge" An remember if you are failing at something, that means you are at your potential" An that0s where you want to be" 9isappointments cousin is frustration, the secon storm" :ave you ever been frustrate + It happens when things are frustrate + It happens when things are stuck" #his is especially relevant in In ia" ;rom traffic -ams to getting that -ob you eserve, sometime things take so long that you on0t know if you chose the right goal" After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywoo , as I thought they nee e writers" I am calle e'tremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release" ;rustration saps e'citement, an turns your internal energy into something negative, making you a bitter person" :ow i I eal with it+ A realistic assessment of the time involve ) movies take a long time to make even though they are watche 2uickly, seek a

certain en-oyment in the process rather than the en result) at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a si e plan) I ha my thir book to write an even as simple as pleasure istractions in your life 5 frien s, foo , travel can help you overcome it" .emember nothing is to be taken seriously" ;rustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously" <nfairness 5 this is har est to eal with, but unfortunately that is how are country works" People with connections, rich a s, beautiful faces, pe igree fin it is easier to make it) not -ust in Bollywoo , but everywhere" An sometimes it is plain luck" #here are so few opportunities in In ia, so many stars nee to be aligne for you to make it happen" !erit an har work is not always linke to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, an ultimately things o work out" But reali=e, there will be some people luckier than you" In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college an this speech in 4nglish means you are pretty amm lucky by In ian stan ar s" 3et0s be grateful for what we have an get the strength to what we on0t I have so much love for my rea ers that other writers cannot even imagine it" :owever, I on0t get literary praise" It0s ok" I on0t look like Aishwarya .ai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her" It0s ok" 9on0t let unfairness kill your spark" ;inally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation" As you grow ol er you will reali=e you are uni2ue" (hen you are little, all ki s want Ice cream an Spi erman" As you go ol er to college, you still are a lot like frien s" But ten years later an you reali=e you are uni2ue" (hat you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be ifferent from even the people closest to you" #his can create conflict as your goals may not match with others" An you may rop some of them" Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their secon chil " #hey give up something that meant so much to them" #hey o it for their family" But in oing that, the spark ies" 1ever, ever make that compromise" 3ove yourself first, an then others" #here you go" I0ve tol you the four thun erstorms) isappointments, frustration, unfairness an isolation" $ou cannot avoi them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals" $ou -ust nee to keep the raincoat han y to not let the spark ie"

I welcome you again to the most won erful 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 o to ay" #hat you will keep the spark alive, not only through college, but through the ne't 8,677 weeken s" An I hope not -ust you, but my whole country will keep the spark alive, as we really nee it more than any moment in history" An there is something cool about saying 5 I come from the lan of billion sparks" #hank you,