Life is beautiful

We meet a lot of people in our day today lives . Most of them vanish without a trace ...but however a few , leave indelible traces in our hearts . Well this one is exactly about someone like that ...

For the past one year there has just been one thought that has dominated me the most . When do I resign ??? The reason , I hated my work . To be more precise , I loathed it . Kept dreaming about the day when I would leave this dreaded work and do something I liked .This was not just me but there are many more who belong to this category .But what did I love doing . I didn't know . I Read a lot of self help books which told "Find what u love doing the most and pursue it as your career " . As easy as that . But unfortunately for me , all my passions seemed to have a time line attached to it.. Started with the love of books , and as time passed by lost interest in it and wanted to be a badminton player but soon got lost amidst the competition for survival in my 12th board exams ...later on it was photography , roaming around , bikes , mba and what not ....and now its blogging..God knows how long.."the search is still on and someday , maybe ,I would truly find out what I love.... " I thought. So being disoriented and unsatisfied at the workplace was natural .

My work required me to travel a lot . This time I was in Edappal , a small village in Kerela . I lazed off my bed , fighting with the urge to get more sleep I hurried to my workplace . I had a pleasant surprise . Amidst the old banking people , there was a guy of my age meddling with the computers . I said "What are you doing ?"....." Sir ..I was called for repairing the computer ," ...Since my computer always gave me troubles I thought would learn a trick or two from this guy . "Dont call me , sir ...call me arun ...and how do I call u? "..."Oh k sir ...sorry ..err...arun...I am Abdul kalam..." . Hmmm , does that strike a chord .

Thus began one of the most enlightening friendship that I have ever had . Since I had hardly any work , I started talking to him about what I knew the most , girls . And soon the topics covered politics , the staffs out there , his workplace etc. He was one of the most enthusiastic and fun loving guy that I had ever known . We also had our bird watching sessions in the evening . Truly Gods own country , I blushed in my heart . He told me about how he was a big fan of "Lal ettan" ( mohan lal , the great actor of Mollywood ) and how he used to save money to watch his movies . He described the funny moments he had when he used to go for servicing computers . Truly the knowledge base of old people when it comes to computers can form a new classification under Khushwants Singhs humour books .

But however behind his smiles there was a lot of sadness and struggles which he never showed out . Later on, I got to know from one of the staffs , that he worked 7 days a week , for a salary which was barely enough for him, leave alone supporting his family consisting of his mother and two sisters . His father was a factory worker in Dubai ( The only respite for most of the mallus ) whose earnings he supplemented . His home didn't have electricity for the past six months since they were required to pay 25k for the erection of an electric post .He would need minimum 3 more months to get back the electricity connection . Well this was the face of the other India .But not once , did he complain , blame the government or lament about his low paying job ... An ac room , a decent home , a handsome salary , a bike , a movie twice a week , coffees at coffee day and what not , and there I was , still unhappy and complaining . And here was someone who hadn't seen a tube light for 6 months leave alone an A.C ...And still he had no worries . He had dreams to make it big someday . He wanted to open a computer retail shop one day and wanted his sisters to study and didn't want them to drop out just like how he did due to money constraints .

I took him out for dinner that day to a restaurant and though he was reluctant I forced him to eat heartily . And I sincerely believe , no human has the right to say "No , thanks " to a tandoori chicken leg piece . Though he was much younger to me he had taught me the most important lesson of my life . Life was indeed beautiful as long as you had the dreams and the strength to pursue them . Whatever be your current situation , there are always million things to cherish and be happy . And there are people who are less fortunate than us and the true happiness lies in doing something for them .I have decided that whatever happens , I am going to enjoy and cherish life irrespective of what it has to give me .After all you get to live just once and there are better things to do than complaining ...And truly , Life does seem beautiful . Well , Abdul as of now , except for this leg piece there is not much that I can do for you .
But someday , in the near future , I would definitely see u as a successful businessman and definitely I would do any help within my reach to see you there.

And then came the strange thought...

Maybe the name Abdul Kalam wasn't just a coincidence....