Do you have your own army ? If yes, what is it's size ?

While being at home for long periods of time, this pandemic made me realize - who are the folks that actually care to call or check on me ? Who did I reach out to, not just help but also just to have casual talk ? Who are the people that crave for my company or whose company do I enjoy ?

The genesis of this thought came while sitting on the balcony and watching the neighborhood, where a high rise is being constructed. The construction did not stop even when Covid was brutally waving across India. Daily I use to see an army of blue collar laborers working tirelessly right from day break and they went on almost till midnight. In a sense, they are volunteering or being pushed to be the army for the capitalistic leader. Similarly, I am also an army personnel for the organization I work for, albeit from the comforts of my home. However, in both the cases, the leader of the organization hardly gets impacted by my existence although the vice-versa is not the case. Both the blue collar laborer and me are directly impacted if our leadership is in a crises as our daily bread is largely impacted by the performance of organization and the leadership.

So, we live in a world where the capitalists' gains an army while providing a platform for earning livelihood for the employees. And the thought widens in different aspect of society . Similarly, political leader, artist, sportsman, etc. gain their army of followers by their actions in their respective field. The more their valuation - both tangible and perceived grows, the more the followers swell as well. If an artist does good job ,the followers become crazy fan who stalk and crave so much so that they sometimes even start worshipping akin to God almighty.

However, when I look back to reflect on myself in mirror, I naturally question that who are members of my army ? Firstly, do I have one ? I am blessed to have a family and my army starts from there. Then, few relatives. Some close friends. And some long lost contacts - from the streets of childhood, then those added during academia, later those with whom I got along in professional life and otherwise. Rest, I have not earned or gained any army. No one is there is back me up in case of a distress call beyond these few selected folks on this planet earth.

Now, a optimistic person will opine that I am lucky to have at these many folks, as many on the planet are distressed to have no family and friends. However, a more realistic social conduct makes me realize, say if I were to grow on career ladder or make credible changes in society around me or make leaps or bounds of success in a field, then I can be such a human who can attract folks who are eager to join my army. And that's exactly, any business or entrepreneur does. So does a self employed guy be it in the fields of sports or art. Even a godman or underworld gangster has an army. So, basically, if I were to be a success in a career, then I can automatically aspire to have an army. And having a loyal army is a parameter of success to some degree.

So, what do you think ? Do you crave to have your own army ? If yes, what is it's size ? Who among them is in your coterie ? Who do you think to be a loyal follower ? Or do you think you a normal mortal that is devoid of an army and is ready to be self sufficient ?