The value of little incidents

When writer R Gopalakrishnan, also an inspirational speaker, says that his book Six Lenses is about success, fulfilment and relationships, you are tempted to slot it in the self-help genre. But he clarifies almost instantly, "It's not. It is rather one that causes a reader to reflect for himself; it isn't prescriptive."

His book gives many examples to distinguish between fulfilment and success. He says one achieves fulfilment by setting his/her own standards but success comes from accomplishing what others expect out of an individual.

“We keep wondering about reality of life but it's all perception. I've something called the ‘Gopal-Banana test’. I eat half a banana normally. I, then eat the rest with my half nose closed. The taste doesn't change, but we believe so. That's life for you,” the author cites an example.

He has interesting things to talk about ‘earned’ and ‘unearned’ luck. “Saina at the London Olympics had a win in her kitty when her Chinese competitor left, retired hurt, in the middle of a match. But she'd worked hard to reach that position. So, the win had to do with a bit of her earned luck,” adding that he's given many examples among sportspersons to explain the idea in the book.

Six Lenses indicates the 6 aspects that impact the way you look at life — purpose, courage, trust, fulfilment and success. The book also celebrates the importance of the little incidents that define your life. Lives of Nishal Kaviratne and Jamshed Irani, his colleagues, besides his wife justify it. Why these three people? “People would have ideally preferred to read a glossed version of prominent personalities. I rather wanted to give a grounded portrait of life with them. Nihal, in 1964 had to choose between an opportunity to study at Harvard and live with his lady love. He chose the latter and never regretted his move ever later. My wife, who'd lost a lot of her family members to cancer, had a socialist streak. She was however unsure of where the money for all social causes were heading. She then took the plunge herself and believe me, she's collected Rs. 150 crore to date,” Gopalakrishnan reasons firmly.

With its theme subtly revolving around management and philosophy with multiple references from religious texts, he knew he had to bring it alive for the young generation to lap it up. “Having written four books, I can say strong storytelling is the trick. Binding it with several interesting anecdotes adds value,” he replies.

Why didn’t he attempt to communicate all this with fiction? “Firstly, I have never written fiction, so it doesn't come naturally. Non-fiction writing helps add more depth to the writing. Fiction, at the end of the day, is to make you feel nice and doesn't require drawing lessons, with a rare exception like Ayn Rand who weaves a deep philosophical cover to a novel,” says Gopalakrishnan.