Mithya

Tadbeer se bigdi huyi taqdeer bana le……Apne pe bharosa hai to yaha daaw laga le.
— Sahir Ludhianvi

I was happy lying on my sofa holding the advertisement of the singing audtion going to happen in my city.finally I got the news that they are doing the audition in my own city. I decided that no matter what comes, I am going this time. I was quite happy with this decision as this must be the one decision that I have taken from my heart in the past 20 years.

Every soul has a dream and we had all the time in the world to pursue our dreams but somehow we could not (read it as did not).Happens…happens with most of the people.In school, we thought that passing the board exams in flying colors would put our career on track and thereafter we could pursue our dreams of the heart.”pehle padhai baki sab baad mein” So we put our whole effort in the academics, putting on hold many things for the future. And let me tell one thing here ,this “academic + professional” life is like the “Mumbai Underworld”. You can enter at your will but cannot leave it on your own terms.

So we get sucked in into this quicksand,after completing 10+2 move on into engineering and then job. Soon,dissatisfied with what we are doing and when we see that the only way out of this mess is a management degree,now a B school .spend another 2 years learning the tricks of the trade and then leave with a seven figure salary.Now happy as we have the financial power to buy all the fancy gadgets that we have always wanted to and stay in that 3 bedroom flat in the most posh corner of the city. Get married and go for that ‘much dreamt about” honeymoon to the Swiss Alps. We are now satisfaction personified and every time we smile, it’s a 32 teeth widescreen one. We are the envy of society after years of studies and work and everything, and have been finally welcomed into that elite group – “successful”.

But how long can this last.”Insaan ko kabhi bhi shanti nahi milti” needs,desires are never ending. there is always something hot out there to own ” I need this”.

Alright,I was raring to perform. The audition is at 2 pm at the city hall. I reached the place well in time (years of professional life has taught me to be punctual). I saw the people pouring in through the gates, some with guitars, some looking like hooligans, some well dressed like me (again corporate ethiquttes), even a few foreigners. I will perform today and it itself so exciting that everything else takes the back seat.

Just then the phone rings.
” Hazarika? Where are you?”

That was my boss on the line. He has had to schedule an urgent meeting to discuss an issue and I was the only one in my firm with a solid grasp over the matter. Being present in the meeting and successfully handling the situation could mean an onsite assignment and a handsome increment which was due in a month. Being absent could mean none of that and above that might find me in the bad books of my boss. So I looked around the room. “There are so many of these reality shows on air and one of them will certainly have its audition soon”. Got up and walked out of the gate where I prayed while entering in to it.

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