ART OF WAR TO ART OF LIVING

Chapter 1 THE ART OF WAR 古之所善戰者，勝於易勝者也 A clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease – Sun Tzu (Sūn Zǐ) Xi’an, 1983 It was the Year of the Pig, 1983, and Xi Xiao Ming was born on the fifteenth of August. It happened to be the double Seventh Day, a day which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. In short, Valentine’s Day! There was no abundance in the life of Xiao Ming. She was born to parents with incredible aspirations and but with limited means, like so many of those who are born into middle-class families. Her family barely survived, doing with only dreary necessities while they craved to move up the social ladder, to greater security, to prosperity and a higher social standing. Her only drive was to never face the inherent lack that always loomed large behind the facade of pseudo-happiness that her family could afford through her growing up years. The young girl could barely flourish in the penury, with little to hope for, enveloped with the dark reality of stagnation. Xi Xiao Ming had inherited the genes of being a staunch non-believer from her parents. Thus, neither she nor her parents ever had the comfort of seeking refuge in a supernatural power. On occasion she did observe her mother look up in what seemed to be prayer, perhaps to nature or their ancestors, she never knew. Her mother looked to shooting stars, as harbingers of hope and better times; comets with a trail of hope and sought intercession. Xiao Ming pined to have a sibling with whom she could share her inner wounds, feelings, lack of wealth and her ever growing aspirations. As an atheist, she had no one, no external force with whom she could share and unburden her heart. Eventually she resigned to not having a sibling. Xiao Ming’s father was desperate to acquire wealth and status in life. Her parents ignited the spark of aspirations and millions of dreams in her. Once they realised that she was not just an average student, they decided that she would fulfil all their aspirations, helping them become prosperous and triumphant. Her RNA thus became acquisition of wealth and to live the life of a queen. The only way Xiao Ming could make the world her stage was through the power of education and her agile brain. Sun Wu or more voguishly known as Sun Tzu was ancient China’s paramount military strategist. Xiao Ming’s father was an ardent follower of Sun Tzu’s strategy and had passed on the trait to his beloved daughter who adored her father. Sun Tzu never advocated war; in fact, according to him, it was the last option as he realised long haul wars damage the victorious as well. He theorised and delineated his strategy into the iconic book, The Art of War. Here was a book that offered pointers to eminent management polymaths, strategists and major corporations. Military organisations have drawn several learnings from this epochal corpus of literature on strategy and how the war is won in the mind. The famous espionage organisation, CIA has made it mandatory for their officers to appreciate various nuances of this epochal treatise. The star-struck daughter obediently followed her tender but stentorian father and absorbed various facets of this masterpiece to combat misadventures and challenges in her life. “A clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease,” were words from the military strategist Sun Tzu that got ingrained in her mind and enchanted her. Xiao Ming decided that come what may, she would not capitulate to any adverse situation in life. Thus, the winsome woman was to develop a highly logical and robust mind, always looking for solutions. Xiao Ming had had a roller coaster ride. She failed the first time she applied at Tsinghua University Computer Science programme. A dejected Xiao Ming then applied to an airline as well as the police force too, but didn’t succeed at either. Her parents exerted incredible pressure on her, as they saw their plans going awry. She was even turned down by KFC! “Jack Ma applied to Harvard ten times and was rejected each and every time. Now, he is one of the richest entrepreneurs in the world as the founder of Alibaba, one of the biggest e-commerce companies on the planet,” Xiao Ming told herself often. On her second try, she succeeded in getting into the Tsinghua University Computer Science department. Xiao Ming missed having a sibling very much. She wanted someone to share her innermost feelings, the highly competitive environment of the world, the dark habitat of her house. The all-round mediocrity she saw was mind numbing. The only saviours, the cushions were her two precious dolls, Bao and Bai, which were gifted to her by her parents. They were her only companions in life with whom she would share all her emotions; all her successes and the stories of her failures too. To her Bao and Bai were not inanimate objects, they assumed live form in her life. They interacted with her, wiped her tears, provided her with deep insight about life and became her guardian angels. It was as if, Xiao Ming through the intensity of her thoughts had infused life into them. Bao and Bai were to become her alter ego. The toys assumed gargantuan life size. As Xiao Ming grew so did the toys. Were Bao and Bai mere toys? In the mind of the feisty Xiao Ming, they were her siblings. Over a period of time Bao and Bai became like animate beings, with whom she could share her innermost feelings which many a times she was sceptical to share even with her mother. They became her compassionate and comforting siblings. The contretemps between her parents, her obnoxious cousins, her first crush, the chiding she received from her dad when she failed in mathematics, excessive bleeding during her menstrual cycles; her mother could never provide a satisfactory answer to the array of questions she posed. But Bao and Bai were there to provide tailor made solutions to a variety of her predicaments. After all Bao and Bai were nothing but a reflection of her mental construct and imagery, laced with all the teachings of Sun Tzu. They were the armoury in her arsenal to win wars when distressed and lonely. Her experiences with Bao and Bai combined with her imagination, gave her an idea for an app. An app which possessed all the features of a sibling and was an eclectic mix of emotive buddy, a supportive friend and a sibling, someone who she lacked, in fact what her entire generation lacked, following the one-child norm of her country. The idea gave birth to a start-up, her start-up. The singular thought that surfaced in her mind repeatedly was that this start-up could be her dream-come-true and in a sense a younger sibling to mould and develop as best as she could. When the time came to think of a suitable name for her start-up, she could only relate to the thought of a sibling. Hence, she registered her start-up by the name of, Xiōngdì Technologies. ‘Xiōngdì’, signifying the sibling that she never had. Every time she would think about her start-up, she would have visions of how it would help people. She envisioned a girl invariably harassed by the family, deprived of sharing these negative thoughts with anyone. But with this app she could interact with it and it would act as a stress buster. A little girl lost her toy and was reprimanded by her parents. Poor girl shed copious tears in isolation. But the moment she interacted with the app, she felt fortified and protected. A student failing his examination would be petrified of sharing the marks with his father. For him, the app would be a sounding board and he’d feel relieved on interacting with it. She had exciting thoughts of how young girls would share their crushes, missing menstrual cycles or exploitation by a family member. Just being able to share an emotional burden would be such a relief. The app would almost be humanoid. It would be brimful of emotions and successful in providing comfort when required. It would act as a sibling, for anyone who wished to have one! Xiao Ming derived a deep sense of satisfaction from her thoughts. She knew that normally the apps or foreign objects depleted the chi levels. But this particular app would bolster it. It would create a sense of sharing and caring that would envelope anyone who used it. In a jiffy, her mind formulated her thoughts into a series of equations. If, B was Bonding with sibling, Em - Empathy, EQ - Emotional Quotient and SQ - Spiritual Quotient Then, B Em+ SQ + EQ + X factor, it would result in bliss; Xiao Ming’s team was working at a furious pace to develop the app. She was regurgitating Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and also reading through the treatise focussing on the chapters of Positioning, Directing, Weak and Strong Points. There were certain pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of the app that required urgent attention. This took her to Shanghai. She had to choose between travelling by high-speed train or taking a flight between the two giant cities. She consulted Bao and Bai who opted for the train journey. Xiao Ming, Bao and Bai travelled together. At the station a strapping youngster had noticed the pretty looking Xiao Ming. She had been pre-occupied with her work on the app but did notice the attention she was receiving. They shared a glance and there was a flutter in their hearts. Once they were on board the train, Xiao Ming got down to serious work, paying scant attention to her co- passengers. It so happened after a while the handsome looking man exchanged his seat and sat down next to the young woman from Shenzhen. It was a comfortable journey, where in much to the frustration of the young man, the prepossessing woman was engaged in deep conversation with Bao and Bai. “Interesting and decent toys ... are you a toy?” he enquired of his fellow traveller’s companions. “No, we are her siblings. I am Bao and he is Bai,” was the response he heard and literally fell off his seat. “This is something inconceivable. I heard the toys speaking!!” Xiao Ming burst out laughing as Bao and Bai fell out of her hands. The vivacious woman’s laughter caught the attention of the other passengers travelling in the coach as they looked at her in annoyance. “Well, I have mastered the art of ventriloquism, that’s how you heard the toys speak!” “I’m Xi Xiao Ming,” the charismatic lady was to add. “Hi, I’m Lu Yao. I work in software at Tencent,” the young man replied smiling broadly. “I had applied for a job at Tencent, but failed to make the cut. Presently I have launched my own start-up and we are in the process of developing something unique,” she added. “Really! What is it? I’m curious now,” Lu Yao asked. “Can’t tell you anything … For now, my lips are sealed.” The cities of Shenzhen and Shanghai are separated by a distance of 1,431 kilometres. Coasting along by the high-speed train, the distance between Lu Yao and Xiao Ming bridged considerably. They discovered that they shared common interests like technology, their interest in Sun Tzu and his masterpiece The Art of War, running on the treadmill, swimming, Tai Chi. Above all both venerated Xi Jin Ping, the Chinese President. Yet despite all his persuasive powers Xiao Ming did not reveal what her start-up was planning. “Well, you do not trust me?” Lu Yao asked. “Trust is earned Mr. Lu Yao,” replied Xiao Ming, as charming as ever. “My faith rests in Bao and Bai and the stratagem of Sun Tzu,” she added. The two of them exchanged cards and promised to meet soon. How soon, was a question uppermost in their minds. They dozed off during the rest of the journey after a sumptuous meal. Soon they reached Shanghai and the two looked at each other affectionately and expectantly. It was neither love at first sight, nor a fatal attraction, but some kind of a magnetic pull towards each other. “I have a confession to make. I exchanged seats to be next to you during our journey,” Lu Yao spoke expectantly. “Wise decision. I was hoping you would do so,” Xiao Ming answered candidly, her eyes twinkling brightly. They parted ways outside the station. *************** Xiao Ming had finished her work and decided to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art in the People’s Park. A middle-aged woman noticed Xiao Ming observing an intricate vase almost in a trance like state. The woman said “A very beautiful piece of the history, isn’t it?” startling Xiao Ming. The two struck up a conversation and Xiao Ming was astonished at the woman’s eye for detail. As the two women went through a couple of more exhibits, they developed a bond. “Where are you heading to next?” the woman asked Xiao Ming as they were exiting the museum. “I was planning to visit a place near Nanjing Road East,” replied Xiao Ming. “In Shanghai, the area around Nanjing Road East is like a red-light district. I would advise you against going there lest you be approached or witness sex tourism operating,” was the woman’s sensible advice to a shocked Xiao Ming. Looking at her face, the woman invited Xiao Ming to her home and offered her a hot cup of Tie Guanyin tea and a few savouries. She also gave her number and email ID. Afterwards she dropped her at the Grand Hyatt Shanghai where the beautiful techie was lodged. A few more months passed and Xiao Ming was in the thick of developing the Virtual Buddy App at Xiōngdì Technologies. She would occasionally call Lu Yao and the two would meet during real pressure cooker situations. On a few occasions she did ring up her friend at Shanghai and sent her a few mails too. But there was no response and Xiao Ming used to wonder about the woman who had extricated her from the impending disaster. She silently thanked her as she never knew about prayer and was a non-believer in any case. Just a day before the launch of the Virtual Buddy app, as she sat checking her emails there was finally a response from her friend in Shanghai. Reading the email, Xiao Ming was at once disturbed and unnerved. “My aunt passed away peacefully on the night of January sixth. May her soul rest in peace. Regret the delay in reply.” Xiao Ming turned ashen faced. She checked her mobile phone and found there was a similar message on her phone too. A Trip to Guilin Xiao Ming was reaching breaking point as work on the app reached its final stages. She was pouring in all her energies and hoping for a positive result. When she received the upsetting news from Shanghai, she decided that she needed to take a break, even if it was a short one. She called up Lu Yao, on whom she was increasingly becoming dependant. Lu Yao too could not deny that he was greatly attracted to Xiao Ming, but refrained from asking any questions on what kind of app his friend was working on. They decided to spend the weekend at Guilin, situated on the west bank of the Li River bordering Hunan to the north. The city of Guilin has long been renowned for its scenic beauty, and is famed for the fragrant sweet Osmanthus trees that populate the region. On their way to Guilin, Xiao Ming broke the news of the messages she had received on her mobile and email two days back about the middle-aged lady at Shanghai. Xiao Ming broke down and began to sob inconsolably. Xiao Ming always seemed so strong, composed and in control. Witnessing Xiao Ming’s, unexpected breakdown rattled Lu Yao. Though the young man always perceived himself to be no less than Schumacher, he lost traction as the car emerged out of an S-curve, swerved off the road and began rolling down the slope. Xiao Ming and Lu Yao shrieked violently. The next few moments stretched like eternity, before their vehicle finally stopped its rash tumble down the slope. As they stepped out of the car, rattled and completely unnerved, they clung to each other. Xiao Ming could not but help share with Lu Yao, “I felt someone held me firmly in my car seat while we were heading towards a catastrophe.” “Believe it or not, I too felt a strong hand steady the car as it was hurtling down,” Lu Yao added. Not quite sure of how things had gone awry in the blink of an eye, but grateful to walkout without any major injuries, the two were still in a daze. “I know you might think it is silly, but some supernatural power saved us today, Lu,” Xiao Ming burst out. “My aunt saved us. In fact, she has protected you twice. The first occasion was in Shanghai and once again today,” Lu Yao shared with her. “I had replied from the unknown number about the unfortunate demise of my aunt,” Lu Yao spoke in a hushed tone. Xiao Ming wistfully looked up to the skies and shed a tear.