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‘It was roses, roses, all the way,’ declares the narrator of Robert Browning’s poem, The Patriot, describing the wonderful welcome he received when he entered a town.
He goes on to say that, exactly a year later, the crowds that thronged to greet him are out again; but now, to watch approvingly as he is led to his execution. We are not told why the tide of public opinion has turned against the ‘patriot’ of the title, but he faces dishonour and death with faith and fortitude. At this time of year, I recall the dramatic downfall of that once-favoured figure.
In November, 1997, my husband had obtained employment in Malaysia, where I planned to join him soon. Meanwhile, I was celebrating my birthday with my brother, in Mumbai. After watching a movie with two of his friends from filmdom, the young starlets, Anupama Verma and Preity Zinta, wished me at midnight. The ensuing hours abounded in treats and surprises. “God’s in His heaven, all’s right with the world,” proclaims Pippa, another of Browning’s resilient characters. On that joyous occasion, I wholeheartedly endorsed her view.
By my next birthday, I was engulfed in gloom. My husband had suffered a stroke, and I had lost my father. Of course, unlike the rapid reversal of circumstances in my case, and that of Browning’s hapless hero, calamity does not always come calling after a brief period of exhilaration.
Often, in the words of American writer, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, “life rolls by like a song” for decades, with no setbacks in sight. Disaster, however, lurks round the corner, ready to strike.
Ancient philosophers believed in the Wheel of Fortune, a symbol of the fickleness of fate. In Roman mythology, blindfolded goddess Fortuna rotates it randomly. Therefore, people fixed to it cannot remain forever in the same position. A person who attains the height of happiness might subsequently be mired in misery.
We may not believe in this arbitrary allocation of events and experiences, but, with or without a wheel, human existence has its ups and downs. Those are largely beyond our control, but we have a choice.
Instead of crumbling or collapsing when confronted with the challenges of change, we can conquer them through courage and composure.