An article, for a change!

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN…

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
Took the one less traveled by,
and that Has made all the difference.”

Robert Frost was mighty right, and if I may say so, a genius in propounding such an intricate and profound concept in terribly simple words. A cross-road is something that all of us face in our life. At some point or the other. Decision-making has never been Man’s hobby and has brought agony, penitence, misery and, at times, joy and content to man. We all say that ‘one simple decision can change our lives’. Whether the aforesaid statement is true or false is left to personal discretion, I suppose. I, personally, feel that the ‘change in our lives’ due to any decision was meant to be. It couldn’t have been any other way- better or worse.

Real life experience has taught me to believe in defying the odds and finding solace in such extremity. And no, it is not rebellion. It is simply an attempt to find faith in the most unknown.

After finishing school, we all seem to be stuck in a ‘trance’ition (pun intended) stage, where one has to take a decision with regard to one’s career. After my 12th class, I had three options with me- National Institute of Fashion Technology, NALSAR, Hyderabad for pursuing Legal Studies, or a little known, yet amazing, M.A. course at IIT-Madras. Three completely different streams- three diverse careers! To choose either one, and give up the others seemed like a morbid proposition- but this HAD to be done.

After a lot of discussion and comparison, it was decided that my true interests lay in the M.A. course at IIT-M, which by the way, is a brainchild of a genius and I could not help falling in love with it.
However, now came the hard part. Society can be a cruel place to live in, at times like this. With conflicting viewpoints from a zillion people, taking a decision and sticking to it becomes a Herculean task! With social pressures thrusting ‘law’, the lucrative profession, towards me, it took my family and me a great deal of inner strength to put our foot down and stuck by the decision already made. And I think I did just fine.

India is no longer a nation that blindly follows convention. Indians are slowly, but surely, realizing the value of pursuing their true interests and leading truly happy lives, that are not governed by the sole intention of making money. Right from a home-maker to a hotshot business tycoon- every person has a value of his own, and societal status and recognition are definitely NOT a measure of this value.

To all my confused friends out there- please listen to your heart. Do whatever it prompts you to do! Trying to build a career without a base of concrete passion is like building a palace on water- it will sink! Follow your dreams, and success (in its true sense) shall follow!

P.S.- And if ever, people hound you for making the so-called ‘wrong’ choice, turn around, and in a classic Rhett Butler style, say- Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!