Who won?

The last week was a confusing week. After the results of the general elections were announced, it was unclear who won and who lost.  It was like the sculpture at Hampi. If you covered one side of the sculpture with your palm, it looked like an elephant. And if you covered the other side, it now resembled a bull! The sculpture was a mix of both animals, and the final answer was left open to interpretation.

The results were just like this sculpture at Hampi. It made us ponder what "victory" and "defeat" meant. Victory and defeat were not clear-cut, black and white images; rather, they were colored in varied shades of grey. Depending on the viewpoint, the same event was interpreted as a success from one angle, and an abject failure, from the other.

Victory itself has several shades. People talk about a "resounding, landslide" victory, and sometimes about a “moral" victory. A peculiar form of victory is called a "pyrrhic" victory. The Mahabharata war is a prime example. After the war, the Kauravas were wiped out. But the Pandavas suffered heavily. Almost all their sons, except Pareekshit, perished in the battle. Yudhishthira was pained after the victory, and wondered, "Did we wage a war to gain such a victory? Was the victory even worthwhile, given the huge price paid?" Some victories are such- sugar coated victories, but ultimately, a bitter pill to swallow.

Victory is evidently subjective. After the exam results are announced, both students party at the same venue, but for different reasons. The class topper of course, has reason to celebrate. Surprisingly, the last ranker also parties. He normally fails the exams, but this time round, managed to scrape through, with passing marks. In the process, he surprised himself and parties wildly!

Defeat is also subjective. In the times of yore, in a war, a soldier could never show his back. It was a mark of ultimate shame. Surprisingly, Krishna ran away from a particular battle, and still earned a special title called “rann-chhod”! Krishna’s fleeing from the battle, was not a defeat per-se, but classified as a “tactical retreat”. It enabled him to regroup and defeat the enemy later. We read this interesting episode of “success in defeat”, when Krishna takes on the mighty king of Magadha, Jarasandha.

In some cases, it is difficult to select a victor. A nail-biting cricket match is one such example. It is a neck and neck contest, with several ebbs and flows in the game, when the match could have gone either way. Finally, one side had to win. But the difference between the two sides is wafer thin, so much so, we exclaim, "Neither side lost the match. Today, Cricket was the winner!"

We often hear the phrase- "Jo jeeta wohi sikandar!" – “the one who wins is Alexander”, meaning, there is no place for a loser. This takes winning to an extreme. During toss-time, just before the big game, we often hear a statement, said in jest, "Heads I win; tails you lose!"

Loss is always deflating. We gave it our best shot and still ended up on the losing side. Such a loss is hard to stomach. It is as though, the wind is taken off our sails and we sink in despair. Sometimes, it is a case of being so close, and yet so far; as they say, “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!” which hurts even more.

That's when this apt quote comes handy- "It is fine to lose many a battle- but the important thing is to win the war!" It is like our national motto- "satyam eva jayate". In the short run, it appears as though, we are losing. But these are small battles. In the ultimate analysis, the war will be won. Truth and justice will surely prevail as the winner. Quotes such as these inspire us to keep our chin up and shake off the negativity of the loss.

We learnt a famous poem in school called "If" by Kipling. A line in the poem goes as follows- "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster; And treat those two imposters just the same!" Here, Kipling calls Triumph and Disaster as "imposters". It is as though, both victory and defeat are equally fake. In every success, there is an element of loss; maybe of time, of effort, of health, to achieve the success. And in every loss, there is a sliver of success. There is some learning in the loss- we go back to the drawing board, and start from the basics.

Finally, there was someone who claimed he never lost. “How did you manage that?” we ask, our eyes filled with wonder. He replies, “Very simple! I shoot the arrow first. Wherever it lands, I draw the target around it! That way, I always hit the bullseye!”

With so many definitions for victory and defeat, did your favorite party win or lose in the general elections? You can only purse your lips, and give a non-committal answer, “Well...It depends!"

Vajpayee ji's immortal lines on the topic-

"kya haar mein...kya jeet mein...kinchit nahi bhaybheet main...kartavya path par jo bhi mila...yah bhi sahi...woh bhi sahi...vardaan nahi maangoonga...ho kuch par...haar nahi maanoonga!" - whatever happens, defeat...I shall never accept!

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P.S: Translating the above lines loosely in English...rearranging the lines to maintain the flow:

kya haar mein...kya jeet mein...kinchit nahi bhaybeet main...vardaan nahi maangoonga..."not in defeat... not in victory...am I even a bit (kinchit) in fear! Never shall I ask for a boon (vardaan) (i.e. a boon to change the situation in any way)

why?

Because I am committed to the path of duty..."kartavya-path"....so much so, whatever I experience on this path..."par jo bhi mila"....I shall accept both- (success and defeat) with grace..."yah bhi sahi...woh bhi sahi"....

But one thing is for certain...(despite my acceptance of both success and defeat) what is that?

ho kuch par..."whatever happens"...."haar nahi maanoonga"...I will not be cowed down by defeat...(meaning, I will work to overcome the defeat..and convert it to a future success!)