Prakash Paradise

Prakash Paradise was anything but a paradise; it lacked the happiness, peace, and prosperity that a paradise usually possessed. On the contrary, it became a growing burden on the owner, Prakash ji’s shoulders. The building had been raised with so much hope and hard work; it was a fine one with a vast parking space on the ground floor and three large office units on the first floor. Prakash Ji had personally supervised all the construction yet Prakash paradise attracted disapproval from everyone whoever rented space in there.

From the beginning, no tenant continued for any beyond two months. The people cried that the place lacked luck; one potential business person even faced huge losses upon investing in a new venture. After about a year and half, Prakash ji gave up. He stopped coming by near the place. Prakash had roamed all around the city, meeting people who promised to bring back the charm to Prakash Paradise. No one succeeded. Hence, having left the space unoccupied for over six months, he rented it at a throw away price to three people. They paid a meager five hundred rupees per month and took care of their utilities. Neither did Prakash Ji bother about getting the place ready for the tenants nor did he pay any heed if they needed help. In short, it was as if the three people owned the place themselves.

Anita, a graduate, and an aspiring teacher opened a babysitting center; Ravi, an MBA from an elite University came to start his own business and Sharma, an astrologer and a numerologist ran his sessions in a relatively smaller room of the building.

  

Anita, Ravi, and Sharma bonded like a family over the three years since they came to Prakash Paradise - they cared for the paradise as if it were their own home. 

One day, an elderly gentleman, Mr. Pundit ji, who had been a longtime friend to Prakash Ji, paid a visit to the Paradise. After Prakash Ji evaded any communication from the community people it had eventually resulted in everybody forgetting about Paradise. Initially, talks about Prakash Paradise were the hot topic of discussion during the afternoons; with time, people grew tired of discussing. Nonetheless, Pundit Ji vastly differed in his attitude and concern for Paradise. He genuinely cared about Prakash Ji and his beloved space.

On the day Pundit Ji came by, he came at a time when Anita was busy with the babies and Ravi was away. Only Sharma Ji seemed free, seated comfortably inside his center. He welcomed  Pundit Ji by humbly raising from his seat and bowing with a Namaste. Sharma Ji offered Pundit Ji a seat and some water, juice too.

Pundit Ji expressed a pleasant surprise and astonishment at how the space generated such positive vibrations upon putting the first step. He openly admitted that this was hardly the case in the past.Sharma Ji nodded in absolute agreement.   

“Please do not mind me asking, Sharma Ji. Prakash Ji is my dear friend and I am extremely glad to see this transformation. Ideally, I should have come much earlier; but I thought I should not interfere in Prakash Ji’s matters since he pleaded to be left alone to take decisions. I understood his frustration, I too did not know what could relieve him from the impending stress the place seemed to put on him. Sadly, for no fault of his. Hence, I gave him and the place sometime. Every day, just about the time I wake up, I see the paradise and pray that all things fall in place. I noticed that you three tenants have been here for more than three years and hence, wanted to talk about the optimism you three responsibly put into Prakash Ji’s paradise."

“Oh Pundit Ji, thank you for coming over. In fact, it is a wonderful blessing to have an elderly, well learned person like you to be here.”

Pundit Ji smiled at the kind response.

“You know, Pundit Ji. When we came here, the three of us hardly knew each other. Since there was no owner we could go to for support, quite reluctantly yet inevitably, we came closer. We became each other’s punching bag, source of encouragement and wisdom and source of free entertainment too. "

“Ravi, who is still twenty-nine, was naturally restless when I first saw him. He cribbed constantly how all his sales calls failed miserably- he often noted that the building indeed was a victim of evil eyes. He explained that he had tried all the tricks of the trade, every formula under the sun, only to be met with utter failure. He threw his hands upwards and yelled at me. I then told him that, he must be patient. The patience that he has gained from the failure in the sales calls is ten times better experience than his competitors who succeeded in every attempt.

As a startup founder, the last thing he must do is “give –up” as he would set a wrong example in front of his team mates. I offered him a solution- “make case studies out of your failures. Read them once a week!” Ravi actually followed it obediently. He claims that my astrology knowledge helped me attack the hard luck of the place; however, I still argue and manage to convince and win, that it is neither the building nor my experience. It simply is his grit and patience; his ability to translate every fall into renewed wings to fly higher. He is so obsessed with his work or his case studies, he hardly thinks of ill-luck now."

Pundit Ji listened without even blinking. He was in awe of what he heard.

“Same with Anita. She was petrified that the house might get her into trouble because she was with the babies. What if something happened to the babies and she landed in jail? Many a time, Anita would come to me to suggest her ways to move out. The only solution I gave her was, to use the fear to her benefit. Anita came up with such a fantastic customer feedback system that the parents are super happy with the manner in which Anita runs her babysitting center.

Every day, she is up before dawn and ensures she gets ready and comes to the center. She cleans the place, keeps a regular check on every tiny bit of the operation; she exercises, so she is fit enough to run around and cares for the babies and supervises the helps herself. The dedicated approach not only earned her “zero-complaint and perfect” caretaker reviews from all the parents and families but also brought about a metamorphosis in her personal life too. Anita almost collapsed after a series of personal debacles; her babysitting center and the so-called “ill-luck” associated with Prakash Paradise gave her a purpose and spirits to propel forward. She is such a popular person now!”

“You are magic, Sharma Ji.” Pundit Ji remarked in appreciation.

“Oh Nothing, Pundit Ji. I shall be honest with you. As a teenager, I wished to be a trainer. Somehow, I never had an awareness of how to proceed to get a relevant degree. Additionally, I never was confident about speaking in English. I gently rested the idea of becoming a trainer and followed the family’s traditional occupation- astrology and numerology. Up until I came to Prakash Paradise, I never valued my education. I thought it was useless. In the last three years, I have understood that astrology and numerology are not merely about giving up on your life and waiting in the darkness for a miracle to happen. Worse, it surely isn’t false-promising others and duping them! It is to be used positively and only for the betterment of one’s life. 

Today, I value them with all my heart and utilize all the skills and tools that I have received from my ancestors, to guide people and support them. In the three years, Anita and Ravi thought my words of wisdom aided them; they recommended my services to so many people. Unknowingly, I am living my dream now. I train people of all age groups. Students, professionals, and school-kids too. Personally, I have worked extremely hard to build competent content in order to give the best delivery. Can you believe it, Pundit Ji? My lack of English language skills and my low-confidence in training has vanished – I am so obsessed with my work that I have bid goodbye to those fears. Prakash Paradise has given me new hope in my life, Pundit Ji.”

“I say, you are the best.” Pundit Ji declared, totally impressed by the developments described by Sharma Ji.

Few weeks later, Sharma Ji, Pundit Ji, Ravi, Anita came together to celebrate the five year anniversary of Prakash Paradise. The whole community was present at the massive function. Prakash Ji was invited as the chief guest; little did he know what was in store for him. The trio and Pundit Ji thanked Prakash Ji profusely for the paradise he built; after all, it had become an integral part in each of their lives. In minute details, they shared each of their personal inspirational journeys and how they wanted to renovate the paradise with Prakash Ji’s blessings and permission. The crowd applauded the accomplishments; each one came up to Prakash Ji to congratulate him.

Prakash Ji was clearly guilty for not realizing his paradise’s value. Today, the same paradise he had neglected and given up on made him a happy, victorious, proud man. He vowed not to ever give up on his little paradise ever. He vowed to never ever give up on anything in life!