Date With DESTINY

Five Bazaar India contributors contemplate the idea of fate... and navigating life on their own terms.

- DIYA J VERMA

SHRUTI HAASAN Actor and Singer

“Life may deal you a bad hand, or take away a good hand you were already dealt... how you turn it around is the game of life, isn’t it? When it comes to matters of destiny, a lot is based on what one makes for themselves. And while there are those who depend on the powers of the Universe, I believe in paving my own path; living life on your own terms is ultimately what changes the course of your journey.

While there are several factors that come into play, such as destiny or luck, fate isn’t an overarching defining force in one’s life. Instead, your faith in yourself is what defines your course. If you ask with faith, chances are, your request will be granted. We’ve all been handed heirlooms from our families— our childhood memories, our ways of thinking, be it positive or negative—and aswe grow older, we must turn them around for ourselves; build on what is good, and work on what is bad.

Doing so does not rest on fate, but your grit and the will to manifest your best life. Of course, there are things that are beyond one’s control...the loss of a loved one, heartbreak, financial upheaval, and so on, but would I call it destiny? Perhaps, not. It is just part and parcel of life.

Funnily enough, on the day I was born, a play of fate came to the fore. My father wrote down a name for me...‘Mruti’, and my mother read it as ‘Shruti’. Shruti refers to all the conceivable notes in music...and the rest is history. I do believe that people come into our lives in the form of an angel or a demon. The Universe places different people in different junctures of our journey, for a reason.