Who needs the awards?

While reading several articles on the recent Sant Singh Chatwal controversy over the Padma Bhusan awards, I was amazed how awards have become over-rated nightmares of the century. People have argued time and again that any award is a reminder of a person’s worth, if not their hard work and it is only a matter of chance that some efforts do get awarded while others don’t.

Blame it on destiny, luck, media, right connections, system etc. Nevertheless, here they are, yes sir- “the awards”- hallmarks of a person’s personal and clientele approval, their excellence and time tested emblems of success. This is to distinguish those from hundreds like them in the field who could have replaced them in a jiffy. There had been arguments over how awards if given away to people like him can tarnish their image and how already the awards in India suffer from a poor repute syndrome.

But no one wants to point this sheer fact out that in our country if a criminal can be a contender for assembly and national elections, why can’t they be decorated with the awards. After all, we must consider who the awarders and the awardees are. Shouldn’t the only thing that we must keep in mind as a gullible citizen is that a part of our tax money goes to the security of bad politicians and decoration of fraud and undeserving people?

What amused me and I have often marveled at, is the reason why we need these awards at all. Are we not paying these people already enough- the famous sportsperson, the actors, the film makers, the scientists, the politicians that we need to add more to their prize money out of our pockets and even facilitating the whole corrupt process by buying insanely over priced tickets to attend their decoration events, only to discover later on, that so and so has a criminal record. Good work speaks for itself and does not need any award for its recognition.

If you save a dying poor man on the road, would you ever need any award to feel good about it? The good job then is done right there and you are rewarded instantly. It is high times all these awards be abolished because they do nothing other than catering inflated egos, leading to unfair competition and robbing hard-earned money of common people. Who can do it? It is the common you and me who always try to look up to the uncommon and unusual among you and me. Who are they? Where do they stand without the common you and me applauding for them?

The same goes with the fan-fare. Why are you turning already narcissistic people into self-proclaimed morons? Are we doing any good to them or to ourselves? Don’t we already have enough of ideals to follow? Should it not be worth leading honest, fulfilled life acting like a warrior in every situation, doing something out of total responsibility and not for some kind of attention from the other people? Encouragement is one thing, paying respect to the real heroes is another but hey, turn around and see, what is going on- so many awards, so many self-proclaimed celebrities.

How much narcissism can we take- of others and our own? It is time we ask these questions and try and be unique in whatever we are best at under our own capabilities and honor ourselves. If you can’t honor yourselves when you close your eyes looking at your real deeds inside your heart and minds at the end of the day, no matter how many awards are given to you publicly it is nothing but simply just pathetically suicidal.