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By:

Asha Tripathi

14 April 2025 at 1:35:28 pm

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along...

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along with growth has come another silent challenge — the tendency to constantly observe, compare, and sometimes even compete with the journeys of others. But a crucial question arises: Is it necessary to track the growth of others in order to grow ourselves? From my personal experience of more than two decades as an entrepreneur, I have realised something very powerful — true growth begins the moment we stop looking sideways and start looking within. A Small Beginning I had a flourishing career of teaching abroad, but when I restarted my career after moving back to India, my beginning was extremely small. My very first assignment was a simple home tuition for a single student, and the amount I earned was meagre. There was nothing glamorous about it. No recognition, no large batches, no big earnings. Just one student and one opportunity. But instead of worrying about how others were doing, how many students they had, or how much they were earning, I made a conscious decision—my only focus would be on improving myself. I focused on teaching better, preparing better, and becoming more disciplined and consistent. And slowly, without even realising it, things began to grow. One student became two, two became a small group, and gradually, over the years, the work expanded beyond what I had initially imagined. Looking back today, I can confidently say that the growth did not happen because I competed with others. It happened because I competed with myself yesterday. Comparison Creates Noise When we keep watching others' journeys too closely, we unknowingly divert our own energy. Comparison creates unnecessary noise in our minds. It brings doubts, insecurities, and sometimes even negativity. Instead of walking our own path with clarity, we start questioning our speed, our direction, and our worth. True success grows through focus, not comparison. Every woman has her own story, her own pace, and her own struggles that others may never see. The path of one person can never be identical to another's. So comparing journeys is like comparing two different rivers flowing towards the same ocean — each with its own route, its own curves, and its own rhythm. As women, we already carry many responsibilities. We balance emotions, relationships, work, and society's expectations. In such a life, the last thing we need is the burden of comparison with one another. Instead, what we truly need is support for each other. When women encourage women, something extraordinary happens. Confidence grows. Opportunities multiply. Strength becomes collective rather than individual. There is enough space in the world for every woman to create her own identity. Each of us can build our own niche without stepping on someone else's path. Choose Encouragement Envy weakens us, but encouragement empowers us. Rather than questioning how someone else is progressing, we can ask a more meaningful question: "How can I grow a little better than I was yesterday?" Lift As You Rise Today, after twenty years of experience, the most valuable lesson I have learned is simple yet profound — focus on your own work with honesty and dedication, and success will quietly follow you. We, women, are capable, resilient, and creative. We do not need to pull each other down or compete in unhealthy ways. Instead, we can lift each other up while building our own dreams. Because when one woman rises, she does not rise alone. She inspires many others to believe that they can rise, too. And perhaps that is the most beautiful form of success. (The writer is a tutor based in Thane. Views personal.)

Doctor-couple celebrates an ‘all-religious wedding’

all-religious wedding

Mumbai: Aiming to erase social-religious barriers, a young doctor-couple solemnized their auspicious wedding with a bonanza of blessings from multi-religious preachers, a sprinkling of IAS officers, judges, activists and orphans, setting a unique trend.


Billed as the first-of-its-kind in Maharashtra, the wedding of Dr. Maitreya Vaishali Patil, 29, (Anesthesiologist of Pen) with Dr. Aditya Nitin Mapara, 30, (Orthopedic from Mahad), has become the talk of not only Raigad but the entire state social-political spectrum.


The brainchild of the veteran Gandhian social activist Dr. Vaishali Patil and executed by her younger daughter Gargi Patil, the January 12 wedding marked the attendance of many dignitaries and bigwigs from all over the state.


They included: retired Bombay High Court judge Justice B. G. Kolse-Patil, IAS officers like Maharashtra Public Services Commission Acting Chairman Dr. Dilip Pandharpatte, Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission Secretary Nitin Patil, SHRC Registrar Judge Dr. Swarupa Dholam, President & Chancellor of Pravara Medical Trust (Deemed University) Dr. Rajendra Vikhe-Patil, besides others.


Ahead of the nuptials, the excited young couple had a brief civil marriage function and then went on for a small in-family celebration of the traditional wedding like ‘haldi’ ceremony, the ‘saat pheras’ before a ‘pandit’, et al, she added.


“The highlight was the public reception at Seesam in Pen town where the villagers and VIPs rubbed shoulders, the couple was blessed by the commoners and celebs, general merry-making and enjoyment for all,” Dr. Patil told TPV.


Discarding the practice of hiring pricey professionals/filmstars, the Maitreya-Aditya bash saw a group of orphans and tribal kids of the Ankur Trust Ashram and Child Haven Ashram presenting vibrant, colourful and rocking dance performances, winning the hearts of the invitees.


Then the kids showered flowers-petals to accord a royal welcome to the bride and groom as the gathering comprising many medicos, activists, politicians, tribals, farmers and others stood up to cheer, clap and pour their blessings to the new couple, under a chilly and starry sky.


The newly-weds also added a dash of sparkle by shaking a leg at the popular Bollywood number, “Kesariya Tera..”, evoking a thunderous standing round of applause while the kids set off noise-free fireworks.


This was followed by the spotlight event – representatives of different religions solemnly praying for the good fortune to the couple in their traditional religious styles and languages.


They comprised: Hindu Pandit Brahmesh Dharmadhikar (Vedic), Buddhist monks Bhante Aryaprajna Shakya and Bhante Ashwamedh of Navi Mumbai Vipassana Centre (in Pali language); Muslim cleric Maulana Ansar Sultani (in Urdu), Head of Raigad Deanery Fr. Rudolph Andrades SFX (in English), as the mesmerized gathering watched in pindrop silence.


In their brief remarks, the holy representatives expressed their pleasure at participating in such a rare wedding, while the Maulana stressed the need for such innovative marriages across society.


Later, Kolse-Patil, Pandharpatte, Dholam, Patil, Vikhe-Patil and others administered a courtly ‘Oath of gender equality, religious harmony and mutual partnership’ to the couple with the guests as witnesses.


The couple also broke ground by donating all the wedding gifts received in cash or kind to the Ashrams for their welfare activities.


Dr. Patil explained that she hailed from a family teeming with mixed-marriages - both inter-caste or inter-religious alliances - including her own with a Tamilian Christian Raj Anthony.


“The marriage of Maitreya-Aditya seeks to stress on the need for social, caste, or communal harmony, and unity of the minds in the current times where the democratic space is shrinking rapidly,” averred Dr. Patil.

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