Dream on

July 6^th 2013, 0600 hours;
Manhattan, USA

It was Raj’s 17^th birthday today. For some strange reasons, he was never really excited about his birthday. He logged into Facebook from his android to check for the updates. There were 130 wishes for him so far, he didn’t care to browse through them. He would attend to them later, or maybe he wouldn’t at all. Without caring to log out, he walked into the kitchen.

‘Wish you a very very happy birthday beta!’ his mother said as she kissed him on his forehead.

‘Thanks Maa’, he said wiping his fore ahead.

He grabbed a water bottle and left for the hall. His dad was waiting for him there. He greeted him by a hug.

‘What do you want for your birthday?’ he asked after wishing him.

‘I don’t need anything Dad’, he said as he parked himself on the sofa to read the paper. ‘I’ve got everything that a 17 year old boy should have’

As he reached for the news paper he saw a letter on the table. It had a red seal on it, and looked like it had time-travelled its way from a time long long ago. He picked it up. He was perplexed to learn that it was addressed to him. He looked at his father for an explanation. When he got none, he decided to speak.

‘This is for me?’ he asked.

His father shrugged. ‘It is from your Grandpa. It arrived yesterday evening’

‘What! Grandpa could have just called me. Why take the trouble of writing a letter and posting it all over to The USA?’

Raj had never met his Grandparents. He had never been to India and his Grandparents had never been to USA. ‘We don’t want to leave the village’, they say. They had some weird connection with the village, which Raj could never comprehend. Nevertheless, Raj often spoke with them over phone.

‘Ok! I have got to go’, Raj announced as he left the letter back on the table.

‘Don’t you want to read it?’

‘Later; Dad!’ came the reply as Raj left the room.

***

It was almost midnight when Raj returned home. His parents were already asleep.

‘Birthdays are tiring’, he thought as he threw himself on to the sofa.

As Raj left the house keys on the table he noticed that the letter lay exactly where he had left it in the morning. Raj was curious to learn what the letter had to say.

‘It must be something important’

His curiosity got the better of his tiredness. He carried the letter to his room. As he collapsed on the bed, he opened the seal of the letter and switched on the lamp. He unfolded the parchment and started reading it.

***

Dear Raj,

How are you doing? Given that we have never met each other in person and owing to my health conditions it will be a fair assumption that we shall never meet anytime later; I believe we owe each other a lot of things. Having a proper conversation is the least we could do to fill up the gap between us. I am not very comfortable with the small talks which happen over the telephone, hence I resorted to the traditional way of communication, with which I am quite comfortable: writing letters. Reading letters might not be your cup of tea, but I insist you take a sip of it. I feel responsible for you, so forgive me if you find this letter a little boring (or ‘pacao’ as your generation would call it); it is the only thing I can leave you with. However, I will try my best to make this conversation suit your generation.

            You must be 17 by now, if my Math serves me right. How is your college treating you? Hope you are playing outdoor games. It was the only and the best source of fun for us, and I believe they still haven’t developed an app which could substitute it. I won’t ask you whether you are studying well or not. Because seriously speaking it doesn’t matter and even if it did I wouldn’t talk about it here. However I would like to ask you one question. Have you ever had a dream? When I say Dream I am not referring to the visions you have when you sleep, I am referring to the visions you see when you are awake; visions, which won’t let you sleep. I am assuming you do have one. If you don’t, then stop reading the letter right away; get back to it when you have a dream, because the latter part of the letter wouldn’t make any sense to a person without a Dream.

Let us just start with smaller dreams. You must be having a secret crush on a girl in your college. Trust me; everyone does. A girl who looks cute / pretty / beautiful / hot / sexy / <insert any other adjective you choose to describe her>. But believe me when I say; Looks could be deceptive; because they fade away with time. The actual beauty lies on the inside: the character of a person. You may ask me, “how can I know the character of a person; everyone portrays themselves well these days.” Yes, they do. But there are ways you can find out. For a starter, you can tell a lot about a girl by how she treats the people she dislikes.

Go on dates. Get to know people. But don’t opine that every date has to turn into a relationship. Before you ask a girl out for a second date, ask yourself if you could bear that girl for the rest of your life knowing that she won’t be the same beautiful girl after 5 years (by “rest of the life”; I mean the hamesha-wala-forever). If the answer is yes, then go ahead and pursue her till the end of the world. If you are not sure, then you ought to wait. Don't be afraid to fall in love. When it happens, don't take it for granted. Celebrate it, but don't let it define your college experience.

When I was of your age I always dreamed of the most beautiful girl as a life partner and so did your father. I wanted a girl like Hema Malini and your father wanted a girl like Sridevi. I confess that neither me, nor your father got our dreams fulfilled. But now; 60 years later I stand uncorrected. I did get the most beautiful woman as a life partner; it’s just that the definition of beautiful has changed. Real beauty is not something which you can see; it’s something which you can feel. And going by the new definition, your granny was; is and will always be the most beautiful woman for me. And I am quite sure that the most beautiful woman for your father is your Mom.   

Let’s now talk about the bigger dreams. You must be wishing to get into a job that pays you well or to pursue your higher studies from a prestigious university. Give in your best efforts in achieving it and leave the result to God. Sometimes you just won’t get what you wish in the first attempt. Do not get disheartened. You can always give it a second shot. Sometimes it takes more than one strike to break a stone. You should keep in mind the fact that when a stone brakes by the last strike; it doesn’t mean that the first strike was useless. Learn from the Mayans; just because you didn't complete something doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

Appreciate your learning days (schooling + college life). This is the only time in your life when your only real responsibility is to learn. Try to remember how lucky you are every day. You are the book you read, the games you play, the movies you watch, the music you listen to, the people you meet, the conversations you engage in and the dreams you have. You are what you take from these. You are a collective of every experience you have had in your life. That’s what makes you unique. There is always something to learn from every experience you have and every person you meet. And hence I say; Stop learning only when you stop breathing.

Now let us talk about the ultimate dream. It’s a dream which defines you; a dream which will stay with you till your last breath. Most people don’t have this Dream. But I want you to have it. It’s a dream which connects the person you are to person you want to be. It defines the purpose of your life. Always remember, the purpose of life is a life of purpose.

I am afraid I cannot say what Dream should be, for you have to figure it out yourself. However there is one easy way to find out what this dream is. It is the first thing which comes to your mind when you were reading the above few lines. If nothing came to your mind then close your eyes and roll them backwards so that they can see what’s inside you. Sometimes, to see things more clearly you have to close your eyes.

Remember, this dream is the power which will drive you. And the most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. The pursuit of achieving this dream is what is called Life.

I would like to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Richard Feynman: “Fall in love with some activity, and do it. If we dint do anything we wouldn’t be anybody. . Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn't matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough. Work as hard and as much as you want to on the things you like to do the best. Keep up some kind of a minimum with other things so that society doesn't stop you from doing anything at all. Always remember; you are infinity. You are the universe expressing itself like a human for a little while.”  

Love you always, all ways.

Yours faithfully,

Grandpa

***

No sooner did Raj finish reading the letter, he ran out of his room. He knocked on the doors of his parent’s bedroom. When his father opened the door, Raj looked at his watch. It was 23:58.

‘Dad, remember you asked me if I wanted a birthday gift and I said I have everything’, Raj spoke slowly and softly.

‘I actually don’t.’

‘It’s the last 2 minutes of my birthday, and I assume your offer for a birthday gift is still open’, he said and waited, as if he wanted to stress on the next sentence.

‘I do need a birthday gift’

‘And what might that be?’ his father asked.

‘I want to meet my Grandparents. Can we go to India?’ he asked.

***

an art, by Shashank