Wishful Thinking

Every kid has an ambition, some may be stupid, some may be not so stupid, and some actually make sense. I had a rather stupid ambition. I was born and brought in a small city called Khorfakkan in U.A.E. The city is so small, that almost everyone knew everyone. One could travel from one end of the city to the other in 15 minutes (considering there is high traffic). It had the best beach that I have ever seen, and it truly was a great sight. The crystal blue water meeting the sandy beach with the hot sun showering us with its rays. A few ships seen on the horizon. Truly a wonderful sight. Ok I am shifting off topic here.

As I was saying, since it was a small city, there are many people you see a lot. One such lot of people was the guys at the ADNOC Petrol Pump. I saw them once in every 3-4 days. They all knew my Dad very well, and in turn always saw the young kid who accompanied him each time he was there. I was totally in love with the aroma of petrol. I used to love going with my Dad to the petrol pump just to get a sniff of the petrol. That is when I made the biggest decision till that date. I had decided, I wanted to be a petrol pump guy at ADNOC.

I realized that a petrol pump guy isn’t cool enough by the time I was in the 6th standard, and it was time I thought of a better career choice. We had these annual day plays, and I very diligently took part in each and every skit. Though at first I got a lot of “not-so-important” roles, once I reached the 9th and 10th standard, I started getting roles which actually had dialogues, and not just me going across stage as “Wind” dressed in a grey, wavy cloth. I played Artful Dodger (from Oliver Twist), and Julius Ceaser (from Julis Ceaser, DUHH! – though that wasn’t on the annual day), and… Ok once again, straying off topic. Well what I am getting to is, I realized that what I wanted to be was an actor.

I don’t know where the actor interest vanished. Me changing schools probably had a big hand in that. Well, when I reached the 12th standard, it was pretty much already decided. “Mera beta Engineer banega”. After a few years, voila I was an Engineer. The only problem was, I was still doubtful about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I attended a wedding anniversary party of one of my friend’s parents. That is when I saw my true ambition. I wanted to be a MC (FYI – Master of Ceremony). Yes, the MC at the function was super cool, and kept cracking jokes. Everybody loved him, and I was in awe. Ok, so it was decided, MC it is.

This ambition lasted exactly one week. In the hostel, I watched a lot of stand up comedy, and I realized that with a lot of practice, and a lot of readymade jokes (either copied or borrowed), I could try being a Standup Comedian. This particular ambition of mine lasted 15 minutes. Come on, who am I kidding. Spontaneously say funny stuff, oh come on, not my cup of tea. So yes, my small attempt at being India’s own Russell Peters went off just like that.

I was in Bangalore, and forgotten all about my past ambitions. As is the case with most of us, I found myself working in a job I wasn’t sure of doing for the rest of my life. I had time for one last ambition – so what could it be. The decision which was going to shape my career and stay with me forever. I randomly saw a picture of one of my friends on Facebook, and he was working as an Event Mangager for some company. The pics showed a rosy picture (I believe), and I had decided yet again, I wanted to be an Event Manager. Nothing could stop me, or so I thought till I called up one of the biggest event management companies in the country. The receptionist laughed at me, and connected me to the HR just to humour me, I guess, who shun me off saying something about me not having relevant experience. I tried explaining to them that I had experience managing and co-ordinating activities for a lot of Diwali dances, one fashion show and one farewell party to our seniors. Apparently, that wasn’t enough. So there it went, the Event manager dream out of the window.

That was almost a year ago. I decided on that day that I was never thinking or dreaming of any job. I would just take it as life would decide to dish it out to me. But then, once in a while, I still do close my eyes, and think of that little kid, who used to stand in the ADNOC petrol pump, sniffing petrol pump sniffing away to glory.

P.S. With the way the price of petrol is rising, I believe a lot of us would be happy just to get a sniff.