Imperfecto on a road trip without knowing where to go
A rude jolt broke Imperfecto's brooding as he crashed over an elderly neighbour who cast a scowl. Before the reprimand came he managed to meekly apologise. He had been conditioned not to hurt anyone. Over time, this thought had strengthened its foundation and extended to inability to refuse anyone without feeling extremely guilty. He just could not say no and if he had, for a higher compulsion, the next few days would make him guilty to the core. The other attribute which accompanied this foundation was believing everyone on their face value, no matter what. Quite a vicious cycle, right?
Slowly but steadily, he was slipping in the quicksand and his endless struggle to stay out of it had unknowingly made him shy, introvert and sensitive. Even today, he could not see where he was going. That's when his recall power sprang back. 'Oh yes! I know' he smiled to himself. A newspaper advertisement had announced a career carnival at central town square, where leading companies were dishing out jobs. 'If you have completed class XII this is your chance to start a bright career' screamed the front page advertisement. Imperfecto loved reading newspapers but could only afford one, so to get the best of the lot, he had managed to convince the newspaper vendor to supply three different newspapers on select days!
Imperfecto was not exactly a class XII passout. He was in his second year of graduation from a non-descript institution, which was the only one to offer a seat for the sorry figures on his high school marksheet. The irony was that he had to shell out more to get admitted here simply because it was not government aided. That made him feel guiltier, so when he spotted this advertisement, it seemed the right opportunity to break free and show the world his capabilities!
With dreams in his eyes, Imperfecto alighted from the bus exactly two hours since he had boarded, to be greeted by chilly winds from the north. He shivered a little in the fading afternoon light. The frugal lunch did not help either. Now central town square was not exactly a small courtyard. It was the central business district of the bustling city. Imperfecto had hoped that his destination would be near the bus stop, but it the stop turned out to be terminal where all city routes converged, making it a chaotic place. There were lots of people around trying to get in or get off variety of buses lined up as far as he could see. He looked in disbelief at the mess around him. This was scary, he could be easily lost here. So he carefully looked for signs and made his way out towards some large buildings.
This led him to the main road, which he crossed carefully along with a crowd which scampered through equally nonchalant rows of honking cars, auto-rickshaws, cycle rickshaws etc. Once on the other side, he looked up at the imposing Victorian style buildings and wondered where the career fair was on.
He thought for a few minutes before deciding to walk towards his left on a hunch. He kept walking for a few minutes but there did not seem any sign of an event here. These were mostly office buildings. He did not bother to ask anyone - what if they shouted back at him? He preferred to assume that no one else would know and continued to search on his own. He reached the end of street and move to another but without success. At times he seemed to come back to the same place – the labyrinth of streets was so confusing. What could 'Google Maps' do if you did not know where to go?
Have you even been on a road trip without knowing where to go? Probably not. On the contrary there is much planning involved to ensure that we reach our intended destination, isn't it? It is quite clear to any traveler that the aim is to reach the intended destination within a definite time. It is with this aim that we begin the journey. Otherwise aimless travelling, which is good at times, rarely leads one to an intended destination. So is with other things in life. If goals of life are in place, then it makes the journey more focused and achievable within one's lifetime. If the goal (or ultimate destination in case of a road trip) is unclear, then all related activities will simply come to nought and we will end up with a lot of wasted time and effort, resulting in despair and helplessness, just like Imperfecto was feeling while hunting for the career carnival.
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