Ever wonder a teacher not delivering his teachings to his pupils, a farmer not selling his crops in market, a craftsman not exhibiting his masterful craftsmanship, a chef not unveiling his culinary skills? What would compel one to hide his light under a bushel? To not let others have a bit of mind, probably one reason.
From a logical perspective, none will benefit from this mathematical model of selfishness. A student will never learn to explore the world, the world will never get a glimpse into masterful craftsmanship, no tongue will ever develop a palate to taste greater nuance in the food.
Imagine what kind of world it would be where everybody will be hiding his skill so that nobody else on earth learns what they have learnt. Precisely, their talent will stay with them and leave them till they smell the scent of soil under their feet..Honestly, had it been the case then Einstein’s theory of relativity would never have impressed scientists and philosophers, Newton would have never revealed laws of gravitation, Rumi never shared his wisdom.
Sharing broadens our horizons, while hoarding diminishes us. Be it happiness, smile, charity, the more you share the more you receive. Hiding simply impoverishes, while sharing enriches.
All of us are talented in our own ways. Everyone of us is gifted with some kind of talent that needs to be recognised and utilized for the welfare of the society. Our talent can flourish only when it is identified. One who keeps his talent hidden serves no good to anyone. It can be compared to a tree laden with fruit which you can see, but not eat. Similarly, if talent is not recognised it will go waste like the fruit of the tree.
Corporates spend millions on enhancing and building strong teams. They believe in identifying employees’ potential and then help them develop those hidden strengths. They identify hidden talents and turn potential strengths into real skills for the future. One of the principles of strong leaders is that they find people with potential and nurture their strengths. They don’t see them as their competitors or threat. They love to watch them grow and evolve.
History is witness that nations that have worked in tandem have achieved success and recognition. Unity, integrity, appreciation, recognition are the essentials for achieving overall success and development. It’s the duty of people who have achieved miles in their career to recognise and promote talent. If you have it, you should try to groom those who are less fortunate, who have talent but lack opportunities. This will help not only the one who has got the talent, but it will encourage others to come forward and showcase their talent. The more you invest the more you make.
Take for example Kashmir’s entertainment industry, which is almost negligible in its existence. Though it enjoyed the peak of its popularity, with the advent of Doordarshan, it could not last with falling popularity of Doordarshan. Even as Kashmir has all along struggled to have its own cinema, during the course the Kashmiri artists marked the pinnacle of their acting career while leaning at the back of Doordarshan and All India Radio.
Who can forget the paragon of virtue – Zoondeb, the legendary Ahad Raza, the gorgeous Habba Khatoon, exceptionally enchanting serial Harud etc. These acting stalwarts of Kashmir could have done a lot in shaping and polishing the young talent of Kashmir.
They could have taken a cue from Bolywood which nurtured its young talent by investing and reinvesting in the industry, rather reaping benefits and showing door to the new talent. It’s not that Kashmir has a dearth of talent, but where our stalwarts failed is they did not give due recognition the talent neither tried to groom it. That’s why Bollywood is still a dream merchant for every individual who sees it as an opportunity of showcasing their talent. A good portion of Kashmiri youth can be seen already making their mark in Bollywood.
How many acting schools, training institutes, or studios we witness in Kashmir? I guess not a single one !!!
Day is young, if we are facing a shortage of quality talent so what’s coming through needs to be groomed properly by our former greats. They can still do a lot with new talent. They can follow the footsteps of Bollywood and create an infrastructure in the valley itself taking advantage of film policy being framed recently by the J & K government.
To avoid the domino-like effect the gaps along the succession line must be filled so that when new replaces old we have new talent already onboard. Or else the world will remain an obsolete instrument where progress and prosperity can never replace impoverishment.
Remember the famous quote of Spiderman. The quote is so popular most likely because of the simple wisdom behind it. ‘’With great power comes great responsibility”. The beauty of this quote is its simplicity which means, if you have the ability to do something, make sure that you do it for the good of others. So do it when you have the power. Everything tastes ‘best before expiry date’ or else into the garbage it goes.
Zia Darakshan is a Srinagar based journalist.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.