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Everything will be alright in the end, so if it’s not alright, then it is not yet the end – Sonny Kapoor

The character of Sonny Kapoor (played by Dev Patel in the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) is entirely fictional. The writer Deborah Moggach, upon whose book (These Foolish Things) the film is based, is not the originator of the above saying and neither is the screenwriter, Ol Parker. After a little research, I discovered that the phrase was used in the movie Om Shanti Om, however, that was also not its first use. Some people attribute the original expression to John Lennon; others to Paulo Coelho or Fernando Sabino.

So the truth is that we cannot be absolutely sure, but I like to think that Sonny was right; that the saying has its origin in an old Indian proverb. It feels right because somehow, it seems to sum up the spirit of India, where joyous optimism refuses to surrender to the vagaries of life. It is the mood we so often encounter in personal development literature, that intuitively knows we cannot fail at something if we never give up. It may have become the mantra of many modern self-help gurus, but I believe that attitude conveys something of the essence of India.

Taken from A Letter to India, book available free from all major stores.

P.S. In some countries, Amazon may have set this book to paid. If that is the case, you can get it on Google Play for free!