Small Things#23 – Trier is the best!

Have you heard of the word Trier? Probably not! The word Trier is rarely used in conversations. Why? Because we are so obsessed with tags like ‘Winner’ or ‘Loser’ that ‘Trier’ has been pushed out into irrelevance.

The word got new perspective after watching the latest Hindi film ‘Chhichhore’ with family. The older one watched with interest while the little one cosily slept on papa’s lap.

‘Chhichhore’ like Aamir Khan’s ‘3 Idiots’ presents all shades of college life. It juxtaposes past and present of the main characters (team of losers in a hostel) to underscore the importance of trying. It is an emotional, fun film with a message that ‘Trying is more important than winning or losing’.

The older one got excited about the film and created a way to express the message (check the image above). And appreciation from his teacher was icing on the cake.

And it got me thinking – why is winning so important that trying does not count? What is wrong in losing? Losing is important for learning, right? And for experiencing life? Why do we push our kids harder and harder that life becomes nothing but a competition? Why don’t we simply say to our kids – Be A Trier instead of Be A Winner?

So many kids as well as adults would not take drastic steps like committing suicide or getting into drugs, if obsession with winning ends.

Not only kids, ‘being triers’ work for us too. It kind of reminds me of the powerful concept of Nishkama Karmayoga ie desire-less action!

I guess we should try working on ‘being a trier’ and then probably the word will find its way back to relevance and conversation.