Chase Your Dreams, Not Your Life

Writer: ANNAPOORNI.E.G.

Sagar was a musician who had an excellent talent for singing with his mellifluous sweet voice, as well as to compose songs. He had the good skills to compose songs himself like his father. Sagar's father Ramji was a retired music teacher in the Manika village's primary school and is the only music mentor of Sagar since his childhood. Ramji hailed from an underprivileged family and had undergone several hardships in his life to run the family. 

Despite being a Doctorate in Music, Ramji was not able to achieve his dream of becoming a renowned musician, which his father, Sagar's grandfather desired a lot. But the untimely demise of his father and the family constrictions led Ramji to stay in his hometown itself to take care of his younger siblings. Sagar, who's a teenager has several opportunities lying ahead and could excel in his passion, said Sagar's father. Sagar completed his schooling and was looking for admission in a good musical college, and Ramji decided to admit him to a reputed college in the city so that he gets much exposure for showcasing his innate talent. Sagar was initially heavy-hearted since he didn't want his parents to afford much in a reputed institution and he decided to step back from their plan. Later Ramji convinced his son and Sagar changed his mindset according to his father's wish. He realized that, unlike his grandfather, Ramji should not be disappointed to see his son's talent go in vain. 

With the blessings of his parents, Sagar left for Madras and enrolled himself in the best music college in the city. He was accommodated in the college hostel. Sagar always had an optimistic cum self-reliant mindset which paved the way for his success till then. Therefore, he reassured himself once again with a strong belief that he will somehow succeed in his education.

It was the first day of his college life. Sagar was seated in the third row from the first and the classroom was occupied by 50 students. A bit nervous, Sagar looked around and composed himself. The rooftop campus, spaciously built, surrounded by quality infrastructure and well-ventilated classrooms impressed him a lot. Soon the professor entered, the one with a heavy belly and tall structure. Harsh in his voice, he introduced himself as Professor Vishwanathan, the Head of the Department of Carnatic Music. Taking a piece of white chalk, he wrote the subject name to be taught that hour. Looking at his obese belly and the white sacred thread (Poonal) popping out of his collar, students are considered as if Lord Ganesha has appeared in front of them. The three-layered sacred ashes on the forehead spoke about his orthodoxy. The cuffed collar and inserted outfit revealed his personality. 

He pointed out one by one for the self-introduction and Sagar's turn came on the way. Sagar stood up and introduced himself and his family. However, the Professor interrogated his passion for music. Though initially perplexed, Sagar was an honest and outspoken guy, who never failed to answer the questions put forth by Professor Vishwanathan. Sagar didn't lose his courage and started answering his questions one by one. All of a sudden, Vishwanathan asked him a challenging question. He asked, 

"Mr Sagar, your father is a PhD in Carnatic Music but failed in leading a standard way of livelihood up to his mark. With a Doctorate in Music, he should have led a luxurious life instead of wasting his career for his kith and kin. In spite of possessing an outstanding talent, he wasn't ready to leave his hometown and is still living in an underdeveloped village. Coming to his son, what made you opt for such a reputed college considering the family status and financial clutches?"

"Lemme simplifies the question, are you sure that a boy like you can really adhere to the norms of a prestigious institution like ours?" 

"How can we trust you, since you are your father's son, who will do anything for the family? If you leave the institution for some personal reason like how your father sacrificed his life for his family, doesn't it affect our reputation?" The Professor ridiculed Sagar in front of all the other students.

Sagar maintained pin drop silence for a minute. He then continued. 

"Dear Sir, as you said, I'm a boy from a lower middle-class family and my family solely depends on my career and income in the near future. For their welfare, I'm bound to do anything and everything since I'm the only child for them. That's the reason my father has opted for such a reputed college for my excellence, despite all the economic stringent." We might struggle in our upcoming years till I get well settled, but my parents are ready to take up any hardship just for the sake of my happiness and welfare."

"Now coming to your question, an institution is made prestigious or reputed not just by the teachers, it also depends on the brilliance of the wards. Not just this college, any institution in our country serves because of the mutual coordination of both the students and the teachers. Without either of the parties, the goal of running a school or a college is a 'utopia', especially in today's cyber era. As you already said, it's indeed hard for a family like mine to survive in this city, but what about the so-called cultured apes of the city? What makes them so dignified? Lemme now tell a short story."

The Professor was in a fix. He started becoming oblivious after hearing the facts narrated by Sagar. He wondered about Sagar's intention.

"Sir, there was a boy who had lost his father at a very young age. He was unable to be fed by his mother who thus asked him to stop going to school and sent him to work in a warehouse. While working there, he kept aside some time to host small musical programmes on the footpath. People would give him some paise, with which he feeds his younger sister. Once, when his mother fell sick, he stole a piece of the copper bar from the warehouse to sell it in the market and treat his mother, which the supervisor caught red-handed. Unable to bear the fear, he ran from the spot and was chased by the other workers. They took him to the police station and were about to file a petition when a god-like man was present in the station. Enquiring about the incident, he took charge of the boy's petty crime and requested the policemen to leave him free. Thankfully, the boy hugged the elderly man and said 'Thank you, Teacher'. Will you teach me music? The elderly man nodded his head with pleasure. Days after, the boy started learning music from the same man. The elderly man had a son of the poor boy's age, named Ramji. He thus considered both the children alike and trained them with his knowledge and wisdom."

"After years, the boy left for London to explore new arenas in music and never returned back to meet his foster father or his dear brother Ramji. He failed to express his gratitude to his Guruji cum adopted father. Unable to bear the pain, the old man died having his own son alone near him. Before dying, he had said, 'Ramji, never be unfaithful to your teacher because we believe that the Guru is someone greater than God. "Matha, Pitha, Guru, Bhagawan", and uttering this twice, he shut his eyes forever."

"I'm the only son of Ramji, the old man's grandson and I'll not disappoint his holy soul". My father had taught me to never put my teacher's head down for any reason as my grandfather's foster son did years before." 

Hearing the story, Professor Vishwanathan was left dumbstruck with tears of regret in his eyes. He repented for the pathetic fate of the old man he abandoned years before. He patted Sagar's shoulder and asked him to sit down. For a while, Vishwanathan was wet-eyed, unable to utter a word, reminiscing his times with dear Ramji. He bowed his soul before his foster father when the rest of the students were chatting with each other noisily.

MORAL: It's always good to chase your passion and develop yourself, but never forget the way you travelled through.