Honey, I won a million US$!

“Honey, I won a million US$!” a very few will believe these when they hear something similar from their spouses. Even if someone does, it will be with so much of suspicion and scepticism.

Our household has two female of the species and each of them, I know will react in two diametrically opposite ways. My daughter who still believe in magic as well as miracles will congratulate me and probably request me to buy her a robotic puppy. She wanted to take one for a walk but we told her it was too expensive for a toy. The other woman will convince me this offer was from that distant land in Africa which had built up quite a reputation for itself by promising top dollars in lottery, inheritance or charity to anyone who was willing to bite the bait.

But if it is true and all mine, a million US $ in clean monies will make a huge impact on my life and for that matter anyone's life. A million US dollars is more money than it actually appears to be, it's six and half crores of Indian Rupees. I can argue that the pleasure is in earning and such easy money will definitely not make any self-respecting individual happy, blah, blah, blah.  I will then be naive... to say the least!

It will make a difference...

If you remember the salaries for fresh graduates from engineering colleges during the nineties in our national capital, you remember me. I know how is it not to have money in the bank when the bills start coming at the beginning of the months. All we could do was dream big.

I was not the only one in the league of daydreamers desperate to see even quarter of a million disposable rupees sitting in our accounts. An amount considered good enough to feel secured and content. It did not happen as quickly as I wished though it came earlier than dreaded. It brought in the independence and basic security to the life alibi after giving away 50 hours of each week for a paltry sum and slogging the butt out.

I soon realized how dynamic this world was and how fluid the targets could be. New targets progressively replaced the earlier ones and the transition was so seamless that even I was kept in the dark when my goal posts moved. Then came the realization that the journey is more important than the destination itself. There are many unfulfilled desires and there will be many more that will add up with the passage of time. Some of those, I know for sure will never see the tick on it's right side. Even if a million dollars come my way all of a sudden.

So how much good is that money for me!

I will not imply that a million dollars is no good for me or it cannot buy our desires. It's not just big deal, it's a massive deal. It’s true that I cannot buy me a personal jet or a celebrity mansion with a million dollar but I can easily retire in a decent bungalow by the sea with a shiny sports car in the garage along with a four wheel drive to keep it company. What remains can continue to work for me at various financial institutions to generate steady revenue and sponsor a well-balanced diet of tea, coffee and other liquids hailing from the Americas, France or the Scotland. 

That probably will be a fantastic lifestyle that allows for every luxury without the need for any work.  Eat drink and be merry with the hobbies and other passions close to the heart, as they would say! The million dollars question, however is would we be able to do so or find it too selfish a thought to have crossed my mind. I know the answer. 

We would be much more comfortable trying to make this money work for the needy, less fortunate and the ones in distress. Let's put together a non-profit organization to look after them and in the process generate a few employment opportunities as well. We are game to take up the challenge to make the million dollar work hard and work effectively to allow this machinery move on.

This I can say with conviction, will make the world a much happier place than having one Suman speeding away in his fast car flashing a Zenith, Piaget or for that matter a top of the range Rolex and leaving behind a whiff of Havana cigar mixed with his personalized designer perfume.

 This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.