Imperfecto was looking out through a narrow gap in the crowded public
bus. It was hopeless to try anything else after being pushed around every few
seconds. The whole population of the town seemed to have been stuffed into this
rickety bus. He had no idea why he was in this bus or where he was supposed to
go. The only thought vaguely floating in his casual memory box was that he had
been advised to hop onto this one since it went to the central town square. He
asked a few bystanders at the bus stop who not only affirmed it but also pushed
him inside with themselves following suit. Without a second thought Imperfecto
had made his quantum leap into the faded white bus which had just moved after a
brief halt. The sudden jerk propelled him inside a can of sardines and
with some good help (read stuffing clothes in an already packed suitcase) from
his co-passengers he had managed to stand on his own.
Why 'central town square'? he wondered. The constant chatter of
co-passengers was like a bee buzzing in his ears drowning all his thoughts. The
December chill was not helping either. The slow pace of the bus seemed to suit
him since it kept the wind away from his skimpy sweater. It had rained the
previous night dampening the surroundings but not his mood. He couldn’t care
much. He was perfectly at home in this crowd. He had never known what it was
like to think like Shah Rukh Khan and stand out in a crowd. In fact it was a
miracle that he had survived this far without for once using his own
thoughts. Oh no! that was not right…he had in fact decided to make a mark for
himself when he was a small child…to drive the bus which took him to school!!!
Imperfecto had a dream. And that's when his fascination with buses came to the fore. He
was only talking of buses to anyone and everyone. He discarded imported cars
gifted to him for cheap crudely crafted buses sold by street hawkers in the
neighbourhood market. A small child's captivation was considered cute, so he
was cajoled to continue on these indulgences. This went on for a long time till
it was taken over by some other active imagination which had now faded from his
memory box. Not that he could remember anything! It wasn't always like this
though. There was a period when everything seemed to be falling in place…the
world was at this feet and nothing could go wrong….that was when his memory was
at his side!
We have myriad dreams when we are young. The possibility or
impossibility of its achievement never occurs to us. Yet we continue to harbour
thoughts around it. With time and maturity we realise the reality of our
capabilities and our limitations. This realistic approach to our dreams often
kills them. Well, becoming a bus driver does not look like a very exciting
career to many in India, since it is often considered a blue collar job not
worthy of pursuit by any educated individual. However, if we think a little
beyond our inner boundations, we will be able to drive a bus. I can assure you
that it takes a lot of skill to drive one – try and see for yourself. Secondly,
once you have that skill, may be you can make a career out of it – like joining
a company which manufactures buses, or innovating important features in a bus,
or developing a bus tour service or even running a fleet of buses!
Possibilities are multiple, if we only think about it! Let me give you
an example. When I was in Sydney earlier this year, I was in a cab on the way
to the airport. I was on a call from India for a few minutes. Soon after I hung
up, the local Australian cab driver inquired if I was from India. Seeing my
surprised expression, he quipped 'An Indian owns this taxi, in fact half of the
cabs in Sydney are owned by Indians'.
Just like Imperfecto, we all have lotsa dreams. Go
for your dream and pursue all possibilities to realise them!
to be continued...
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