When I saw black

The headline read ‘The Wedding of the Century’. From a three-day pre-wedding celebration in the family hometown of Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, followed by a luxury cruise to Europe with 1,200 of their closest friends, featuring events in Palermo, Sicily, Rome, and Cannes, and culminating in grand celebrations at the Jio World Center in Mumbai featuring international stars like Justin Bieber and Beyoncé, the wedding cost an astounding $600 million. ‘The wedding of the century’ is being hailed as one of the most extravagant and expensive weddings the world has ever seen. The groom was the son of Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man and a multibillionaire.

I've had a few unforgettable people in my life, and they still live in my mind, sparking a range of emotions and reflections. The first is Bill Gates, and the second is Mukesh Ambani. How I came to know them is a fascinating story. In the year 2008, I joined Microsoft. Since my engineering college days, Bill Gates has been my hero, and working for him was a dream come true. However, what intrigued me while working at Microsoft was Bill Gates's commitment to giving. Microsoft has an Employee Giving Program in which, when an employee donates to a nonprofit, Microsoft matches his donation one-to-one. I had been supporting a school in my hometown called ‘Parijat Academy’, which offers free education to underprivileged children, and I found the one-to-one donation-matching a great opportunity to double my contribution to that school. However, I soon realized that my help for the school was limited; for example, if I donated $100, Microsoft's matching would make it $200. But the school needed more—thousands of dollars to build the school hostel, pay teachers' salaries, and cover transportation costs. How could I raise such a huge amount alone? It is said that “When you have good intentions, the universe acts as a mirror, conspiring to support you,” and support came unexpectedly. Microsoft Giving also has a program that donates $17 to nonprofits for each hour Microsoft employees volunteer. I had been volunteering many hours for the school, and I could claim those hours under this program! It was like a miracle, as if Bill Gates had heard me and said, “I empower you to achieve more.” In the next six months, I started logging my time. The hours I spent working on the school website or preparing to run the charity marathon were diligently entered into the Giving program, and voila, I received the good news: Microsoft donated thousands of dollars to the US-based foundation in support of the school!

It is said that good deeds open new doors. Acts like volunteering or helping others often lead to new opportunities, and I started to see growing support for the school. Maybe the website I built and the newspaper articles I wrote helped boost the campaign. During this time, I received exciting news: Uttam Teron, the founder of ‘Parijat Academy,’ was chosen by CNN IBN for the Real Heroes award. They selected 24 unsung heroes from all over the country in various fields such as women’s empowerment, youth and social welfare, health and disability, education and children, and sports, and Uttam was one of them. The award was to be given by Reliance Industries Ltd, India’s largest private sector company. We all celebrated when the event took place, and Mukesh Ambani, the owner of Reliance and the richest man in Asia, presented him with the Real Hero trophy. It was a great relief for me; I felt that the tough days at school were finally behind us.

The school made significant progress over the next decade. Starting with just four students, it grew to 400. Student interns from around the world, including the USA, Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asian countries, came to teach the students. Many of my friends and well-wishers visited the school, and the institution became a pilgrimage for us. However, in the early twenties, the school encountered a major obstacle. The COVID pandemic led to a complete lockdown, severely impacting the school's finances. Since the school depends on donations from visitors, and visitors stopped coming, it faced a large shortfall, leading to teachers not receiving their monthly salaries. The financial crisis persisted for months, and when I learned about it, I knew I had to do something. I decided to organize a fundraiser for the school. I approached our non-profit foundation, but the initial response was not encouraging. Some members believed the school was well-established and suggested reaching out to major donors for support. One member, pointing to an old newspaper picture of Uttam and Mukesh Ambani, asked, “Why can’t he reach out to Ambani, the richest man in Asia?” I was disappointed. How could someone reach out to Ambani directly? Still, I did internet research to see if there was any way I could seek financial support from Ambani's company for the school. I came up empty-handed; there was no such channel. I soon realized that the trophy presented by Mukesh Ambani to Uttam was purely symbolic. It was just a photo opportunity.

Meanwhile, news of Mukesh Ambani's son's wedding, dubbed ‘The Wedding of the Century,’ reached a feverish pitch. The media competed to report on jaw-dropping million-dollar performances by global celebrities. I was dismayed by the vulgar display of power and wealth in a country where millions barely have enough to eat. Couldn’t they donate toward better healthcare, access to education, and a higher quality of life? The school's fundraising efforts also stalled. I was very disappointed. Amidst my despair, one day, I experienced something that entirely shifted my perspective.

One day, my teenage daughter brought home a question paper from her class assignment. She often showed me her homework, and I loved working with her. That day, however, the question paper was unusual. There were no questions on it, only a black dot in the center of the page. Holding the page high, she asked me, “Papa, what do you see?” I looked carefully and replied, “I see black.” She asked again, “Really, what else do you see?” I examined it closely and said, “I see a black dot.” With a mischievous smile, she commented, “Papa, what about the white space on the paper, don’t you see it?” I started to realize the meaning of her question. I was so focused on the black that I hadn't noticed the pure whiteness around it. This test acts as a metaphor for life. Our lives are like a white paper, but we all tend to focus on the black dots.

I started the school fundraising campaign with a fresh perspective. I realized I needed to shift my focus from the negative experience of Mukesh Ambani to something more positive. I recalled how Microsoft had financially supported this school. I reached out to an ex-colleague to ask about Microsoft's employee volunteering program. To my pleasant surprise, he told me that the program was still active and that Microsoft had increased the $17/hour contribution to $25. I was amazed by the uniqueness of this program. There was no need for a reference, a plea, or a personal pitch, as long as the program was honest, sincere, and humanitarian. I felt as if Bill Gates had heard me and given me strength. My ex-colleague agreed to volunteer for the school, and the fundraising was a success.

The Black Dots are tiny compared to the rest of the canvas in our lives, but we often let them take center stage, just like the Black Dot in the Test. Friends, let's not allow the Black Dots to overshadow all the good in your life; let's shift your focus away from them. Let's enjoy the beauty of the pristine white space.

District 25 Newsletter: Bill Gates, Toastmasters, and the Pursuit of Happiness

https://www.d25toastmasters.org/2021/07/15/bill-gates-toastmasters-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness/