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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.)

Mother Revered

India’s national song ‘VandeMataram’ marks its 150th anniversary. Composed in 1875 by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, it was immortalised in his 1882 novel ‘Anandamath’ and later adopted in part by the Constituent Assembly as the national song in 1950. Its Sanskrit verses, suffused with the imagery of a motherland rising from subjugation, became an anthem of resistance during India’s struggle for independence against British colonial domination. The 1952 film adaptation of ‘Anandamath’ further amplified the song’s significance. The film featured a stirring rendition of ‘VandeMataram’ composed by Hemanta Mukherjee and sung by both Lata Mangeshkar and Mukherjee in the film. This cinematic portrayal reignited the song’s patriotic fervour, introducing it to new generations and cementing its place in India’s cultural consciousness. Yet, as the Union Cabinet plans nationwide celebrations, the song faces fresh controversies, revealing that the politics of memory remains as fraught as ever.


Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the government intends to commemorate the song’s sesquicentennial across the country.


Critics, however, have predictably stirred unease. Certain minority outfits and some so-called historians argue that the song carries ‘anti-Muslim undertones’ or could divide communities along religious lines. Those objecting include figures from the Aligarh Muslim University who interpret the song’s references to the goddess Durga in Anandamath as ‘exclusionary.’


Such critiques completely overlook the historical and symbolic significance of VandeMataram. The song was a rallying cry against colonial subjugation, not a vehicle for communal discord. Its verses evoke a nation struggling for self-determination.


But opposition to ‘VandeMataram’ is not new. Marxist and left-liberal academics have long treated VandeMataram as a symbol of Hindu-majoritarian nationalism. They have disparaged the song as an emblem of a ‘communal’ past, framing opposition as a matter of secular propriety. Typically, these academics rarely scrutinise religious expressions associated with Islam or other minority communities.


In defending VandeMataram today, the Central government is defending the narrative of a unified India. Opposition on the grounds of imagined religious exclusivity is a disservice to the very pluralism it claims to protect. As celebrations unfold nationwide, the public has an opportunity to reclaim a piece of national heritage, understand the historical context and participate in a tradition that transcends sectarian divisions.


In a country where young people are increasingly detached from the narratives of the freedom struggle, such celebrations offer an opportunity to ground civic identity in historical awareness rather than ideological contention. Patriotic sentiment, once the motor of India’s freedom struggle, can remain a force for unity if only it is allowed to be.


Far more than a ceremonial occasion, the Modi government’s 150th-anniversary initiative is an assertion that history, culture and patriotism can coexist in harmony and that the song of the motherland still matters.

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