Power and poise

I am seldom attracted to Western music or keep track of it. Even when she was alive, I didn’t keep count of awards and achievements of celebrated British singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse. Her abrupt end has thrown questions, which, perhaps, remained unanswered in her days of glory. ‘Sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts…’  Her tragic death is an example of how the song of life shouldn't be.

Look at Amy’s success. It’s phenomenal. She was all of 27. Alas! This is no age to breathe one’s last. After becoming the first British woman to win five Grammys, Amy never looked back. This gifted singer kept adding feathers to her crown and went on to write a never-to-be-forgotten success story. Sadly, success, money and limelight often have a darker side. Though it’s declared that she met natural death, we know that she invited the death angels herself.

After battling with drinks and drugs for years, drug overdose might have put the full-stop to her thriving career. In her bouts of depression, she would suddenly cancel shows and her unprofessional ways often drew harsh criticism. Many British and American newspapers reported that things had gone beyond repairs for her. She was booed off stage after a show and as the luck would have it, she was found dead at her London house the next day. 

Media has gone hoarse praising her for music and blaming her for lifestyle. Amy is mired in controversy even after her death. Indeed she is an example of how the song of life shouldn’t be. She had joined the not-so-envious league of people who probably couldn’t handle success.

It’s a strange phase where a person becomes oblivious to achievements. Dejection and depression are obvious for people who can’t manage stress that goes with success. Apart from Amy, we have examples of Bruce Lee and Michael Jackson. Here’s Diego Maradona too, whose life is full of mirth, misery and mystery.

What’s the use of potential if it doesn’t get proper expression? That’s why our respect for the likes of our own Sachin Tendulkar, Leander Paes and Vishwanathan Anand grows when we see them handle glory with an élan.

We aren’t talking merely about celebrities. It’s about leading life as a good human being. Success may or may not follow us but we have to follow the laws of nature. Balance is the theme of nature and each of us must lead a balanced life. The moment things go lopsided we are in for trouble. Inhale this moment and exhale that, give this moment and take that; the laws of nature are simple.  

That balance has to reflect in our thought processes and lifestyles. Everywhere, the golden mean has to be struck. It may not be possible to strike the balance every time yet the moment we see imbalance we should get our hint. If we refuse to fall in line, we may meet Amy’s fate.

Amy had got that hint but chose to ignore it somehow. Her song, Rehab, tale of a young woman who resists pressure to seek treatment, narrates her life story. It couldn’t probably get worse.

Though I don’t understand the Western music, I can still hear the tragic notes that Amy sings. And here I am reminding myself balance is the watchword. Make no mistake, balance.

-KanChan