Not-so-ideal Idols !!!

Image courtesy : youaregodsbeloved3.com

One of the biggest tragedies of growing up has been the loss of idols. And I am not talking about those stone/metal or even terracotta ones. They abound in plenty and crop up at every nook and corner, even in places where you have least expected it. Such that it becomes too tedious to pay obeisance to them every time you pass one. But fear not for I am talking about those flesh and blood ones. The folks that we looked up to in our younger days.

Sadly, they have been falling off the pedestal faster than I can manage to install their successor. Nothing as spectacular like the 'Fall of the Titans' but a fall from grace nonetheless. Maybe I expected too much or maybe they were much too affected. It feels strangely empty though not very uncomfortable. I guess as Anand Neelakantan puts it, each one of them is "too human to be considered a God".

None of their follies can be considered anywhere near criminal. One of of them might have just been plagued by something as minor as complacency to the point that it appeared a violation of ethics while another could not resist the lure some moolah ( which I felt he should have denied on principle). Yet others have turned out to be manipulators, sycophants and even worse. Maybe it is just my fault that I had considered they guys to be above petty things such as money and status.

On seconds thoughts, all of these folks who had achieved some greatness must have worked hard to get there. It is very much possible that they made mistakes. But the momentum of success is such that it snowballs one's achievements and blinds others to any signs of failure. But once the momentum is lost, the failures look stark and even glaring. Of course, these folks try every trick in the book to hold onto their position/power and in the process, appear even more deplorable.

While I did feel a little lost initially when all my idols did their vanishing act, I realized that there is an idol in each one of us. Our everyday struggles, the trials and tribulations for survival, the small but significant success stories, all of it add a little bit of sheen that can only be discerned by our near and dear ones. We may not shine as much as a few amongst us, but that does not make us anything lesser. For now, I am going to enjoy my freedom from the shackles of aspiring greatness that I got in exchange of my idol worship . Maybe I will just pray to the inanimate ones for a change. Atleast till the next one comes along.