Donut Or Dal Chawal?

Tenacity or Tenderness?

Serene was a new girl in Indore, quite oblivious to the consequences of leaving home for the first time! She didn't know how to cook, fold clothes or for that matter of fact, to live without her parents. But her audacious adulthood compelled her to take the decision of moving out of her hometown, Kolkata and settling somewhere else in search of a proper 'job'.

The world of dreams exists for people like her, Serene was far from reality, she just thought that if she got a good job (of course she wasn't aware of what a good job could be!), she will be successful. This very thought drove her out of her own comfortable niche. Serene had only two things as her Godfather, the courage of being honest and the determination to learn.

She was already working as a school teacher in one of the best schools of Kolkata but there was something that was missing, she couldn't understand, was it her work profile? Was it the scope for promotion or was it her salary?! As usual, Serene couldn't figure out the problem but she knew for sure that it wasn't the place she wanted to be in...

Serene had really understanding parents, they always tried to provide a conducive environment and never misunderstood her when it came to taking decisions. But she was a child of utter perplexity. In her mind, she constantly struggled with a farrago of thoughts! Her decision of looking for jobs out of her hometown made the parents worried, what would she do without them?! She can't even sleep alone in a room, she needs her mother by her side, always. But, her father understood one thing that Serene had to grow up, do things according to her own ability. The time has come when the spoon feeding has to come to an end. Thus even though he was breaking down inside, he insisted on the fact that it's time for Serene to get the best of both worlds!

Serene was an ambivert, she had only a handful of friends who closely knew her and understood her.

The closest was Aziz, a diligent boy who was her best friend, their personalities were absolutely at opposite poles but something that bound them together was the courage to explore the world, both of them believed that they could change the world! Aziz said, "I always told you to apply for better opportunities, I know you would get the best, you are born to get the best, when will you understand that Serene?"

Serene started applying to other schools, from all over India, she wrote 45 handwritten letters to different schools of different cities! To her surprise, what Kolkata didn't do to her, the city of Indore did! Serene got response letters from 9 schools! She was now quite sure of what she was going to do..Serene, the delicate darling decided to go to Indore, in search of her 'dream job'.

The Molly-cuddled One!

Serene was excited, she was going to start a new life! As if she was getting married, well, this marriage was with her 'dream job'. But there was a katzenjammer, who would accompany her to Indore?! The biggest question, just like the 'aakhri padao' in Kaun Banega Crorepati, she was just 1 question away from the jackpot and here, the Amitabh Bachchan was her own father who wouldn't let Serene go alone!

Then came the fairy Godmother, who literally saved Serene from every molten situation, her aunt,her father's sister. At first she was too apprehensive about what would Serene eat, if she meets new boys how she should behave, how she should live a life of celibacy! Well, Serene had never thought of all these, she was always a tortoise, comfortable in her own shell.

All set, Serene started writing letters to the schools she wanted to apply, she met Aziz and realized that her process wasn't the apt one. "Are you writing letters?!" Aziz asked, in an awkward manner Serene answered that she did. Aziz said, "You just need to look up the names of the top schools and apply ONLINE!" "What if I sent registered letters?" asked Serene. "Well you can but...okay, you do the letters, I will mail your CV to some of the schools," said Aziz. Serene wrote around 20 letters and then began the toil. That was her first visit to a post office, she came to know about this weird rule where one gets a chance to post only 4 registered letters at a time, which means Serene will stand in a queue and post 4, again she will repeat the process until it's done!

She felt like crying, it was the month of May, the heat and humidity was killing her but there stood the 'delicate darling' posting letters for her dream job. After a series of tasks, Serene waited patiently for replies, she could apply to 30 schools with the help of Aziz.

Now, she was just one call away , just one reply which will ultimately be the game changer...

Where the Mind is without Fear...

It was a Saturday and Serene was exhausted after appearing for so many interviews, people asked weird questions, "How much do you know grammar?" "Will you be able to handle the classes properly?" "Why do you need to work?". She went to take a bath, as she could not see any relevant calls coming up. Just as she applied her favourite strawberry shampoo on her long hair, the phone started ringing! She was startled and almost dropped the bottle but she managed to answer the call quickly. It was a call from the most famous school in Indore, the receptionist asked her to meet the Principal, Serene was perplexed, another school called to finalise she almost gave them her word! What will she do then? Serene chose to tell the truth, the receptionist wished her the best and disconnected the call. Serene took her bath and came out to order a warm cup of tea....the phone started ringing again! She saw the same number, she quickly responded, she was nearly trembling with anxiety as the receptionist uttered the words, "Madam, our Principal wants to meet you for 5 minutes, I request you to come and meet her once."

Serene trembled, stumbled but got ready with her CV and booked a cab, her drop location read 'The Shishukunj International School, Bypass..

This story goes back to 2016, it is 2020, a tender Serene has grown up to be a compassionate teacher, Serene and Aziz got married in 2018, her father left her in 2019 after a 2 years struggle with cancer...life didn't stop for Serene though, Aziz, still proved to be the strongest support in her life.

Probably this was a happy plot of life set by her values, the blessings of her parents, the school she is working in and definitely the Almighty who has always helped her in choosing the 'Dal Chawal' over every 'Donut'.