Success, Failure & Rahul Gandhi

So, Mr. Rahul Gandhi has lost another election. While the bhakt brigade on social media will have a field day, I hope he doesn’t lose heart & quit politics. Actually, he should have done this a long time back but we are not discussing it on this post. Results of the Karnataka elections made me think of success & failure & Rahul Gandhi’s political journey so far. Okay, that journey has only been a failure, but who knows when the tide would turn...

Charles Darwin admitted “I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.” A sentiment that Rahul would readily agree with. Except that he still has to attain the heights of success that Darwin did. He still has time on his hands & hopefully he will.

C. S. Lewis said, “Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.” It appears to be one long road for our warrior. He has already come a long way & should plod on. Would IK Gujral & Manmohan Singh have, in the wildest of their dreams, ever imagined themselves as Prime Ministers. At least Rahul has the surname that grants him the 1^st right of refusal whenever the Congress gets a chance.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. This was Winston Churchill, the guy who pulled his country through the despairing years of WW-II. While not comparing our Rahul baba to Churchill, he has given enough evidence of the courage to stick around in the electoral arena despite repeated losses. (Sadly, the bravery awards are not given to the civilians else Rahul would have been a prime candidate.) Maybe, in the not so distant future, Rahul would be able to turn around the fortunes of the Congress that he has almost single-handedly destroyed.

“They told me I couldn’t sing” is what he told his father after returning from the audition. That was Elvis Presley. Rahul has also been in this situation more often than not & should get inspired by the phenomenon that Presley later turned out to be. Or, Fred Astaire who was rejected during a Hollywood screen test because he “Can’t act. Slightly Bald. Dances a little.” If they can, why can’t Rahul?

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. Did Henry Ford have a premonition of someone like Rahul Gandhi coming into existence much after he had passed away? It seems so, for Rahul has lived the 1^st part & proven the 2^nd part!!

We all know what Thomas Edison said – “I have not failed. I have just found 10000 ways that won’t work.” So has Rahul. Though he is still a long way away from reaching the 10000 failure milestone. Hopefully, it would arrive while one is still alive. He should start eating Mentos. It is supposed to light up dimaag ki batti.

“Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.” Not just Churchill, but by Charlie Chaplin’s standards too, Rahul Gandhi is personification of courage. Bravo man, keep plodding! Like Chaplin, you also have the knack of making people laugh at you without even trying hard.

Anyway, whatever be the final outcome of the Karnataka elections (Congress & JDS can, theoretically, still form the government), Rahul should now start planning for the 2019 general elections. And the state assembly elections that would be held in the meantime. If nothing else, he will continue to entertain us.

Pic source: http://www.naveenchoudhary.com/misc/rahul-gandhi-funny-speech/