Arjun Saxena is seen smiling in a big hoarding near the park. Dentowhite has been enjoying the brightest of days since the day this superstar has endorsed it. That wide smile tells it all. He is holding a box and the tagline says- “A Smile can take you mileS” followed by his signature.
Rahul’s eyes are directed towards the hoarding. He is lost in thoughts and is not exactly looking at it. It has been a tiring day for him. IT professionals can never enjoy life. It’s almost 6 in the evening and he is sitting in a park inside the office premises. He has still got some work to do and has just taken a break.
“Tired?”
Rahul looks to his right. His colleague Arun is coming towards him. The park is brightly lit. It remains empty most of the time, nobody feels like staying inside the office proximity once they are done with their work. All the benches are empty except one.
Rahul nods his head. “Still left with some work” He replies.
“Me too” Arun comes and sits beside Rahul.
“Had coffee?” Arun asks.
“No, not feeling like having anything”
“Depressed?” Arun tries to dig deep. Arun and Rahul are good friends amidst so many negativities of a professional world.
Rahul nods his head. Nothing has happened today but the fact is that he doesn’t like his work.
“The same old thing then”
“Yeah, I am tired of all these computer work, how can an electrical engineer survive on databases?”
“I know” Arun feels for Rahul.
“How about enrolling in music classes?” Rahul asks.
“I have been saying this since the last year, you sang so well in the party last year”
Rahul’s eyes gleamed and lost lustre in no time. “How can I manage timings?”
“Hmm that’s an issue, but it would a breather for you at least” Arun is always supportive.
“If only I could go against my parents’ suggestions of doing BTech” Rahul murmurs “I have wasted a lot of time Arun, I can’t do things I would have liked it to be”
“You love music, right?” Arun asks.
“Yeah, it’s my passion, but my parents were always like, ‘it needs luck, people rarely flourish in music...blah blah blah’”
“Luck?”
“Yeah, they are not wrong but...I don’t know” Rahul sounds perplexed.
“Talking of luck, it reminds me of a story, not a story actually, it happened to my friend” Arun seems to be in a reverie.
“Who?”
“My childhood friend, we hardly meet these days though but his life story has changed my perspective on life”
“What story?”
“Yeah, he was telling this the last time we met. Pushpendra was a very good friend of mine. We are friends since our boards. Our paths have got separated but we still make it a point to meet at least once in a year. His father, Hari uncle was an astrologer, a famous astrologer during his days. He used to sit during the evenings and clients would come with their problems. The accuracy with which he used to foretell was amazing. He would hardly go wrong. He never used to take money. The happy clients would gift him pens, shirts and what not, he was a bank clerk and astrology was his hobby”
“Well, bank clerks might make a balance between his work and hobby but...”
“I haven’t finished it” Arun interrupts. “So, little Pushpendra used to be amazed by the fact how his dad calculated things and said things about the days to come. It seemed to be a magic trick and he would often think that there’s trickery but how things become so accurate was something out of his imagination. His dad would say that it requires huge amount of knowledge and practice to get things right, there’s no trickery. I have seen him twice or thrice and his appearance would amaze me. There was nothing special in his actions or appearance but his eyes were extremely calm. People said that he was extremely pious. So, this Pushpendra, I have seen him grow like anything and there lies the story”
Rahul is listening with full focus. The park is still empty.
“Pushpendra was a good student but he would always panic before the exams. With maturity, he would often ask uncle to predict how the exams would go. Uncle would hesitate initially but with insistence, he would calculate and say how it would go. Most of the time the result would come out positive and the reality tallied with his predictions. The most amazing thing happened during the boards. Uncle rightly predicted that he would be the topper of the school and it happened. Pushpendra would often ask how the calculations are done and uncle would say that it requires immense knowledge and time to do such things. With time Pushpendra developed various skills like writing, singing, acting and he would often take part in cultural programs. This time was no exception, Pushpendra went back to his father and asked how it would be like if he goes on with his passion. Hari uncle predicted that the initial days would be extremely hard but with persistence he would see success. So, this time around, Hari’s life took a tumble. He started feeling the heat of competition, people would often run him down, and numerous ego clashes would often de-motivate him. He would often go to his dad and recall how persistence would bring him the best of days. He would break down very often. In the meantime, uncle’s health deteriorated. He would no more sit and take clients, most of the time he would recline on the couch and take rest. Pushpendra was balancing it well. He completed his graduation, took care of his family and was flourishing in cultural activities as well. Hari uncle’s predictions were transforming into reality. Pushpendra was once more amazed. He was now adamant in asking his father as to how can a person be so accurate. He still said ‘Let the time come, you will gain the knowledge needed’...last year when Pushpendra was cherishing the peak of his success, uncle died and that was the occasion that took me to him”
“What did he say?” Rahul sounds eager.
“He said that when uncle was breathing his last, Pushpendra wasn’t at home. He came back as soon as he got the news. Uncle wrote a letter the day before. He wrote-
Dear son,
I have been a very lucky father to see my son flourish in things he always wanted to do. You would often panic before trying out things. You lacked the self confidence and would come to me. I wasn’t sure whether my predictions would have a good effect on you but it actually did. You would often ask how I was able to tell you the things of future with such accuracy. There are calculations behind every prediction I have made till date, but with you, there was an exception. When it came to the clients, I actually applied the science of astrology to foretell things they wanted to know about but when it came to you, I never used any science but pretended to have done so. What I did was encourage you in things you wanted to do. I tried to instil in you the self confidence that nothing is impossible. I said that you would come first in your boards and that encouraged you to study more. When you came with the doubts about pursuing your passion, I said that initial days would be tough so that you work harder to reach to the peak and once you work hard, you are bound to be successful. Son, I never used any techniques but followed my heart as a father who would encourage his son and give him the belief that pursuing dreams and working hard for it would actually give him the success he deserves. I have a premonition that the beautiful time that I spent on this earth has finally ended, so I leave you with the greatest knowledge of life-self belief.
Regards.
Rahul is totally moved by the story. “What an amazing man” Rahul says this after a little pause.
“He truly is”
“What is Pushpendra doing?”
“That which he does best, acting, scriptwriting and what not. Yeah but the name ‘Pushpendra’ is too old fashioned, he has changed it to Arjun....Arjun Saxena”