From the demonetisation drive, the lesson we have learnt is that the riches should be put to good use rather than being stashed uselessly

The Midas touch is a popular idiom in English language that denotes successful people, the people having the ability to do everything to their advantage. It is also to denote those people who have the capability to produce large profits with ease. This, however, is an implication that may not give the right significance of the story, though in the popular parlance this is how ‘the Midas touch’ is used.

The fact is rather different. The Midas Touch is a story from Greek mythology about the king who lived in ancient Greece. The king had a little daughter named Marigold. Being a king, Midas was rich and had plenty of gold. Yet he was greedy and had great fancy for gold. He always wanted more gold. One day, while he was busy admiring his stock of riches he had stored, a beautiful fairy emerged in front of him. The fairy was carrying a strange looking wand which had wings.

Midas was told by the fairy that he was the richest man in the world and no king had as much gold as him. But Midas did not seem to be contented. He said that even though he had so much gold, he would like to have more because gold was the best and most wonderful thing in the world. The fairy asked if Midas was sure about his desire. Midas nodded in the affirmative.

To this the fairy asked what would be that one boon which Midas would like to have. The king said his only wish was that whatever he touched should turn into gold. The fairy said that his wish would be granted and from the next day after sunrise, whatever he would touch will turn into gold. But the fairy warned that the boon would not make him happy. The king was still insistent. The fairy after granting the boon departed.

The next morning as the king woke up, the first thing he wanted was to test whether the boon worked. He touched the head of the bed, it turned into gold. He then touched the chair, it turned into gold. This made him ecstatic. He frenetically started touching every object in the room. They all turned into gold. His joy knew no bounds. Soon he felt hungry and called for breakfast. As he touched the bread, it turned into gold. He touched the meat, it turned gold. Not a thing he could eat. All was gold. He picked the glass of water to drink. The moment he touched it, it turned into gold.

Perplexed as he was, the king saw his daughter coming inside. He tried to hug her. She turned into gold. This shattered the king completely. He cried for help from the fairy. The fairy came. The king prayed for withdrawal of the boon and promised that he would never again crave for gold. He had realised the truth.

So the Midas touch is not about successful people. Why people fail to learn this lesson is another story. As the Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes were demonetised, many would have now realised the futility of amassing them. Some, however, still did not realise as they bought gold, and in desperation rail and airplane tickets! Who knows many would have gone for an open heart after that broken heart. The moral of the story: Riches should be put to good use rather than being stashed uselessly.

The writer is a professor of management and public speaker. He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com