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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.)

Maximum city braces for maximum governance

Asia’s richest civic body remains a critical pillar for the administration of Mumbai and its financial powerhouse

A man arranges scarves of political parties ahead of BMC elections, at a shop in Lalbaug, Mumbai, on Monday. | Pic: Bhushan Koyande
A man arranges scarves of political parties ahead of BMC elections, at a shop in Lalbaug, Mumbai, on Monday. | Pic: Bhushan Koyande

Mumbai: After a historic 45-month long tenure under an Administrator, Asia’s richest and India’s biggest civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is slated to return to democratic governance from January 2026.

 

This was only the second time in its 160-year-old history that BMC was governed by an Administrator – the first being for 13 months, from April 1984-May 1985. The last elected body was in power from 2017-2022.

 

As the countdown and the cacophony of the elections start, national attention is again riveted on the country’s commercial capital that makes billions and billionaires – though its streets may not be paved with ‘gold’, to borrow a phrase from the classic tale of ‘Dick Whittington and his Cat’.

 

Yet, the BMC remains a critical pillar for the administration of Mumbai and its financial powerhouse, enjoying a massive clout both domestically and internationally. It is virtually regarded as a ‘trophy’ for the party ruling it – since 1948 by the Congress with its allies and after 1985 by the (undivided) Shiv Sena, and later with its ex-ally, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

 

The same groups, with different political permutations-combinations are now vying to grab the ‘key to the treasury’ – after eyeing it hungrily for nearly four years when the Administrator flaunted it. The BMC elects 227 Municipal Corporators, making it one of the largest civic corporations in the country.

 

Staggering Budget

After all, the BMC boasts of a staggering annual budget – almost Rs. 75,000-cr in 2025-2026, a 14 per cent hike over the previous fiscal – bigger than several states and higher than the combined budgets of many smaller states.

 

It is widely perceived that the group or party which controls the BMC’s coffers ultimately has a Big Voice at the state-level or even in Assembly elections.

 

These massive finances are collected from the city and its denizens through taxes and non-tax revenues, and more than half – around Rs 43,000-cr this year - is ploughed back to create world-class, often precedent-setting, infrastructure, public amenities and wide-ranging services.

 

Besides, it also saves in the form of accumulated reserves of over Rs 75,000-cr., which makes politicians drool, as the BMC serves nearly 1.50 cr. souls inhabiting it. Nearly 50 pc of the population is concentrated in some 2,400 congested slum pockets like Dharavi, to plush exclusive skyscrapers or a few in exclusive but iconic buildings like Antilia, and a few private bungalows dotting the city.

 

The public-oriented services provided by the BMC ranging from transportation (BEST), water supply, sanitation, public health, education, a roads network, gardens-playgrounds, et al, and through an Administrator, the state has been pulling the strings of the civic body as the elected representatives remained outside for long…

 

All eye and vie for the BMC pie

With so many plum pies up for grabs, the control of the richie-rich BMC is ranked as a ‘must item’ in the bucket-wish list of all political parties, either separately or jointly, albeit with the tokenism of a ‘Marathi Mayor’ thrown in to soothe the Maharashtrian majority population.

 

Even now, the main contenders for the BMC’s ‘gold key’ are Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena though the third ally Nationalist Congress Party is in a limbo; Congress, besides the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena-Nationalist Congress Party (SP).

 

The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections (spectacularly) and the Assembly polls (miserably), may fight the polls in a different formation that could again prove trumps for the saffron-led alliance.

 

Mumbai ‘fast-tracks’ the future

Nailing the importance of the coastal metropolis, Maharashtra Minister for FDI Jaykumar Rawal said at the CII Mumbai International Summit-2025 today that Mumbai is a rare global city where capital, talent and ambition converge daily but still find room to grow.

 

“Mumbai does not wait for the future; it fast-tracks it and confidently invites the world to keep pace,” he said, underscoring the city’s role as a gateway for global trade, innovation and sustainable growth, as CII bigwigs like Rishi Kumar Bagla, Vaibhav Vohra, Vir S Advani, plus foreign diplomats smiled and concurred.

 


“There is no problem in announcing the alliance (between Shiv Sena-UBT and MNS) in the coming week. Both the brothers, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, will be seen on stage for the announcement. I don't see Congress coming together at this point in time. They should have been with us. I spoke to the party high command, but they have left this matter to be decided at the local level. Our appeal to the local unit of the Congress is not to do anything that will help the BJP.”

Sanjay Raut, MP, Shiv Sena (UBT)


“We will contest seats in Nanded, Mumbai and Solapur, among other civic bodies apart from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Nagar. We may not contest all seats, but we will definitely be contesting in most of the corporations. We are still open for an alliance, but it should be a state-wide alliance. We are also open for an alliance with the MVA.”

Imtiaz Jaleel, Leader, AIMIM



“Congress will fight the elections for Mumbai's development and the future of its citizens. The BMC's treasury was misused. The BJP is attempting to polarise voters on religious lines.”

Varsha Gaikwad, President, Mumbai Congress



"We will sit again in the next couple of days to take these discussions forward. We will not form any alliance with Nawab Malik, and I have conveyed this clearly to NCP leaders.”

Ashish Shelar, Leader, BJP

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