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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.)

Enduring Lights

As we welcome another Diwali, the festive season invites not only celebration but also calls for measured reflection. For centuries, the lighting of diyas has symbolised not just the triumph of good over evil, but also the human capacity to renew hope, to repair, and to rise above adversity.


This Diwali, India shines brightly but also uneasily. The world’s most populous democracy has endured a year of turbulence: economic uncertainties, social strains and political polarisation. Yet even in this flux, the nation’s spirit - its industriousness, optimism, and capacity for reinvention, remains its most luminous resource. Every diya lit in a window or courtyard reaffirms that faith. It is a collective act of resilience in a time when cynicism often clouds the public square.


In Maharashtra, from Mumbai’s bustling lanes to heritage and tradition-bound Pune to the hill towns of Satara and the coastal homes of Konkan, the State glows in ritual light. The festival, so central to Maharashtra’s cultural calendar, symbolises the enduring will to rebuild and to rise above adversity.


It is visible in its farmers who have borne the brunt of an extended and devastating monsoon and in its citizens who still find reason to celebrate in times of unease.


Nowhere is this symbolism more beautifully expressed than in a uniquely Maharashtrian custom of the making of miniature forts (or ‘killas’) during Diwali. Across towns and villages, children and families gather mud, stones and twigs to recreate the mighty strongholds once commanded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The ‘killa’ tradition turns courtyards into classrooms, where children learn not from textbooks but how to build, how to imagine, and how to take ownership of history.


The festival’s myths - of Rama’s return, of Krishna’s triumph, of Lakshmi’s grace - are also allegories for governance and public life. They remind those who wield power that legitimacy arises from virtue, not vanity, and that the light of justice must be kept burning even in turbulent times.


For too long, Diwali has been accompanied by excess in form of the reckless bursting of crackers, the choking of skies and the drowning out of silence. Maharashtra, home to some of India’s most polluted cities, now faces the urgent need to balance celebration with sustainability. People must realise that a quieter, cleaner Diwali does not diminish the festival’s spirit but elevates it.


Diwali is not merely about illumination but also about cleansing. In Hindu tradition, homes are scrubbed and sanctified before the festivities begin. Metaphorically read, this impulse to purify should be a call to cleanse the public discourse of vitriol, the economy of corruption, and the environment of the soot and smoke that accompany unrestrained celebration. The festival of lights must not become one of noise and pollution.


As India steps into another Diwali, the prayer is may her light never dim. May the nation find harmony amid discord, wisdom amid noise and humility amid triumph.

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