Thursday, September 10, 2009

Stuck in a Labyrinth !



'J'indagi jeene ke do-ee tarikke ote ain...ek, jo ho raha hai hone do, bardaasht karte jaao Ya 'j'immedaari uthaao use badalne ki                                                            ...Rang De Basanti (the movie)


All said and done, what if someone is hapless enough to fail to get/understand/comprehend as to what he/she has been dropped in this world for, what is it he/she wants to do, to achieve in life, where lie his/her interests, what should he/she strive for, what should he/she live for?

Read on...

Mother: Hello?
Subhash Jha*: Hello, could I speak with Subhash Jha?
Mother: I am afraid he can't be seen around...(before she could complete)
Subhash Jha*: He must be sleeping, I was wondering if you could please wake him up. It's urgent.
Mother: May I know who's speaking?
Subhash Jha*: My name is Subhash Jha...(before I could complete)
Mother: (remains startled for a moment... then laughs) Ohh, Mrityunjay ! You will never change. Just hold on while I shall go and wake him up.
Subhash Jha: Yeah Mrityunjay, tell me ! Long time !!!
Subhash Jha*: Hi Subhash, this is your alter ego. This is important. Hear me out....(Subhash remains flabbergasted and slavishly(in a manner characteristic of a slave) lends his advertent ear to the most 'important' voice he would ever hear)


A very 'dear friend' of yours was talking to me this morning thinking he was talking to you. We were conversing just perfunctorily when I told him about your friend Mrityunjay who used to follow you (whatever you did so far as academics is concerned) all the time the same way many school-going kids follow their friends or friends-of-friends. I told him how he behaved perversely in his pursuit of admission into an Indian Institute of Technology inspite of your constant reminders on  how good an artist he was, how good he could draw, how good he could sketch and how deservedly he could get admission into National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, one of the elite institutions for 'design'. I told him about how Mrityunjay finally understood what he wanted to do and more importantly what he was dropped in this world for to do and appeared for the entrance examinations of various institutions (with courses in 'design') only to land up finally in one of the National Institute of Fashion Technology centers which was no mean feat, by any standards.

And, then, as you are well aware Mrityunjay went on to find his name registered in the list of designers endorsed by the institute (NIFT) itself as well as in the list endorsed by the Handloom Export Promotion Council of India on its website ( the government website).


I told your 'dear friend' how Mrityunjay, ultimately, got to understand why he was there at all...Yes...I told him he finally fathomed he was there to design the grandest stage of them all.... Life..... in his own original authentic way, that he reincarnated that day as a true artist without following anyone, bereft of all spuriousness.

And then, your 'dear friend' spoke for the first time in ages...the very first time he was speaking of self, with soul, out of desperation, in pain. He told me he had just started his corporate career with a bank and that he had come to know, after the very first month at the bank, he did not want that...he told me he was oblivious to what he wanted to do, what he wished to achieve, what he was dropped in this world for, in the first place, and I could easily see the "Mrityunjay" in him. And this is not a one-out-of-a-million kind of case. This is true for most of your friends, your colleagues, your acquaintances, your relatives (belonging to similar age-groups) and most importantly it's so very true for you.

I know all this because we have enjoyed this ride together....the grand ride right from becoming a supreme academician to a simple villager in pursuit of attaining his visionary goals for his village (and other villages) to a finance wizard to an epitome of corporate success to a vocalist with a sensational musical band to an adroit film-maker making films covering meaningful, realistic, public subjects to an author with the Booker prize to his name to a Nobel Laureate in Literature to a Ph.D holder in Economics to a Nobel Laureate (again!!!) in Economics to an ardent philosopher with specializations in the emotions of Love and Friendship to an eminent Volleyball Player winning the gold medal at the Olympics (in the most dramatic final of all time) for your country to a self dependent hugely successful entrepreneur to a top-notch civil servant to an honest politician. I have been as integral a part of your dreams as the plum is to the pudding.

And I wish to help you out of this labyrinth that you and your 'dear friend' find yourselves so badly stuck in or at least I can make as sincere an endeavour as the mighty sun makes to bless us all with the indispensable sunlight, every single day of our lives. The only way known to me is to follow a conscious mental and purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings and more often than not, one's soul. It can also be called contemplation of one's self i.e. observation of things internal to one's self. And, so my 'dear friend', here's your alter ego asking you to follow the path to your soul, your self......follow and help your 'dear friend' follow the path they call Introspection. 


(The phone was hung up, the voice muted and Subhash Jha awoke from a dream that was to change his life forever...He is currently in pursuit of a living that could easily qualify for the definition of "halcyon years")


Mera yakeen hai ki hum sab is duniya mein koi ek khaas kaam karne ke liye bheje gaye hain. Zyadatar log to umra bhar bhatakte rehte hain yeh jaane bagair ki unki zindagi ka maqsad kya hai, kuchh heen khushkismat hain jo is khazaane ko pa jaate hain........aur hum mein se kuchh aise bhi begairat hain jo ise ganwa dete hain.                                                                                                                             ...Iqbal (the movie)
                                                                                                                                                 


4 comments:

Unknown said...

i feel i also got stuck in making choice what i really want to.........after 10th because of gud marks i took science(as its quite obvious gud marks means science subject) though i later on felt m not at all interested towards science. but till den it late.......but yes i chose bba in graduation. n m really happy for tht decision..........
but now also i feel........m not happy wid whtvr m doing.....i really dun know wht i want to do......because i never tried to know........but yes after reading dis atlst i m again thinking for an introspection............may be dat can help me

Subhash Rabindra Jha said...

Dear Divya

My best wishes are with you. If you ever need any help, you know where to find me. Do only what you want to.

Take Care.

lee said...

A very young man once woke up and declared with conviction " if you are not confused..u didn't get it"

I agree with ur introspection solution but the desperation that the labyrinth has managed to seethe in our psyche is very bad(well i think i can say that with some personal experience).

I think we must remember
1. Life has a span(at times a big one)
2. there is nothing wrong in having a plan
3. Remembering the big picture helps
4. introspection never hurts. At first impression it seems to draw u closer to labyrinth which is scary but its in the middle of vortex where the energy is.

There is certain romance in talking about the labyrinth thats why i would like apologize for adding a comment which tries to be bluntly logical and forward looking at end of such a fine melodramatic post(my bad).

Subhash Rabindra Jha said...

Dear Lee

Thank You very much for your comments. I do agree with your suggestions. And, always feel free to write anything, no matter what, on this blog. All your comments are most welcome.