Tempest

Wednesday, 21 March 2007

Class & Beyond

We always wonder where we are going. Our dreams, ambitions and desires change every moment. We learn to handle our disappointments by changing our dreams with every failure. Sometimes we think we have found our calling and then give it our best shot single-mindedly. If then things don't work out the way we want them to, we shrug off the hurt and say "that's life". Even then we don’t give up and there is always a goal to work towards. Somewhere along the way most of us realise that doing amazingly well, becoming successful and rich, being appreciated as the best in what we do does not make up the entire contentment package. Being loved by friends and family, loving them back and being able to share the beauty of one's life experiences with those loved ones at the same level is just as important. Nonetheless we do always wonder whether we will someday be rich and successful, whether someday in a social gathering people would talk about our achievements, whether friends would look at us with pride and awe because of what we have become and where we have come.

There are moments when in between the hanging out, going to school together, competing, ragging, showing off, sharing and growing up, once in while we sit in groups and wonder where we’ll all be 20 years down the line. We have certain stereotypes in our minds. The class toppers, the studious types studying for IIT and few others who with focus decide early on to become doctors, engineers or astronauts will always in our minds do well and attain fame. We even assume that the few without much ambition but who conscientiously work hard in a never ending fashion will get somewhere. And then there are those few bright ones, those who do excellently in extra curricular activities; winning most debates and declarations, dancing for audiences at every opportunity, showing extraordinary panache in sports. These we all assume will do great things in life if only they aren’t so reckless and fool hardy. There are also always some invisible ones in class who none of us as kids on our ignorant higher pedestals give any credit to nor pay any attention to. And so on and so forth, we like seers confidently predict and assume and presume the future of our friends.

And then there are some like Josi who cannot help but make you smile even now when you look back and think of them. Always giggling at the silliest of things and her laughter was so infectious. She was girly heaven to be around. I used to be petrified of whispering anything to her in class; she had no sense of decorum and would giggle uncontrollably until we were thrown out of the class. No amount of assignments or mean deadlines from the strictest of teachers could get her to sit down and study. It simply did not matter to her. I would always be amazed at her ability to be this carefree. She would have this constant look of mischief on her face and was forever fixing up everyone in class. Some of them actually managed to come through. The only two things that would truly get her to sit down and pay attention to what you were saying were boys (and that too if it was fun stuff about them being cute, anything more serious and she would begin to yawn) and shopping. Ooooh yeah shopping. You could literally see her start drooling once the word was uttered. She loved colours! From shaded greens to ribbed blacks, red trousers to fuchsia pinks (she introduced me to the colour and I couldn’t be more thankful). She’d drive you nuts if you went looking for clothes with her. You would be forced to try on almost every bit of clothing in every alternate shop on Commercial Street and for a person like me who considers shopping a necessary once in 2 years ‘cannot avoid so lets do it as quickly and painlessly as possible’ task it was an ordeal worse than shopping with mom (which is highly embarrassing trust me)! While we would be breaking our heads over discussions on entrance exams and what to next Josi would calmly say ‘lets see what happens’. She couldn’t be bothered with maths or biology or Arts or even English for that matter. Her only true love was love and clothes. Anything she said beyond that realm was never taken seriously by any of the classmates. No one thought she would do anything great but she did make us laugh a lot and fond of her we were. She didn’t figure in the future predictions of the rich and the famous but there were forever contemplations on how soon she would get married.

She called this morning. She has never sounded this hyper, excited, out of breath and happy. Hell who am I kidding? She always sounds like all these things but it was awesome to hear her voice again! Between all the excited jabbering and bits and pieces of gossip, I gathered that she was working and was doing bloody well. Our Josi had become a Wedding Planner!! It was quite unbelievable for a moment actually. Wedding planning in India…the world had come a long way. For me it was something that happened only in the rich, wild wild west or in the movies of the wild wild west. The entire phenomenon is awesome. The whole gamut of ostentatious pseudo rich middle class Indians spending lavishly on their weddings had opened a whole new market for people who were born to make these events a huge success (my take on these weddings is a matter for another post all together). Josi was working under Geeta Samuels who is one of the most acclaimed wedding planners around. It is one of the most popular and exciting new occupations in Delhi where extensive weddings are becoming a current fashion trend and people have the money to spend on such societal luxuries. A wedding Planner is looked to with much respect and many would aspire to be one today, not just for the money (and trust me there’s plenty of it here) but for the excitement and fun it offers.

Josi had found her calling and I couldn’t help but absorb the happiness and glee from her voice. Surprises oh surprises for all those who had dismissed her match making skills and taste for colours as silly. She had actually become the first of us to begin a career and not just a career but a lifetime of doing what she loved doing. Everyone has a place. There is no definition of talent or ability or area of success. It feels wonderful to know she got to where she belongs and life did not throttle the carefree enthusiasm out of her. I wonder how many more of the predictions will fail, but am glad that this one did.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Lilith called a little later in the day to announce she got a job as a reporter with the Indian Express. Calls it her dream job...saw the dream with her a few years ago. In school we'd all assumed she'd grow up to be one of the best surgeons in the country following in her parents footsteps.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Thats another prediction proved wrong. I love it!

Posted by Pavitra :: 07:10 :: 4 comments