A JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES,
MASTER OF NONE!
Friday-
the best day of the week.
The
last day of the hectic, boring, monotonous LONG week.
Friday-
the day where all you think about is the weekend.
The
moment you get up on a Friday, there is enthusiasm in the air. Enthusiasm for
the coming weekend.
Everybody
starts planning for the weekend the moment Friday arrives. Some of us plan for
a picnic with family, some of us plan an outing with friends, while some of us
plan to just relax at our home- chilling on the sofa with a huge bowl of
popcorn & the recorded episodes of HIMYM or FRIENDS on our laptops.
Bliss!
It
was a long weekend this time. The usual Saturday Sunday, coupled with a holiday
on Monday as well, it being the occasion of Gudi
Padwa (or Ugadi, as you would say
it.)
Every single friend of mine at the
office had already started planning for this 3-day long holiday since a month
before. Some of them had plans to escape to a serene villa, while some others
had plans to take their kids to resorts. Youngsters of my age had a lot of
plans, including outing with friends, shopping, TV, movies, & also a bit of
a studies here & there.
Finally, the much-awaited weekend was
here. The moment office ended at 6:15 PM on Friday, I changed my WhatsApp
status to “A Long Weekend is hereJ”.
There was soo much of enthusiasm in
the air- be it the roads, or the trains- people were busy chirping with gusto
about the coming weekend & their plans. Plans about outings, spending some
quality time with families, celebrating gudi-padwa,
preparing various sweets & other special dishes, & so on.
I
reached home by 7 PM as usual. I freshened up & immediately logged on to
Facebook. Most of the updates were about “Friday”, or the “weekends” & most
of the statuses were about – yes, you guessed it right- the weekend.
An
hour or so passed, & my mom was home. With a huge bag of groceries. I rushed
out & started peaking into the bags. It turned out; it was full of
ingredients for making puran poli.
“You
gonna make puran poli?”
“Yes!!!”
“Why
mom... Couldn’t you make something else? I don’t like puran poli!”
“Stop
crying... I am also making Shrikhand!”
“Yayyyy! Love you mom! You are theeee
best!!!
The
next morning, I woke up earlier than usual. I had full plans to study. As exams
were nearing, & I hardly got time on weekdays, weekends were my only
saviors.
The
day passed on peacefully, with a lot of studies, a bit of TV & some nice
time gossiping with my mum-dad.
Later
in the evening, I decided to go to the dentist- a long pending work since the
last month. Soon, I was done with that (painlessly) & got back home. By the
time I reached home, my mom was about to leave.
“Where
are you going?”
“Arrre, you know naa there’s a program on Gudi
Padwa? I am going to see those kids ka
practice.”
“Ooo.. okk okk…”
Let
me inform you all here that, there was a huge program planned on the day of Gudi Padwa. My mom is a part of two
social groups- both of which are engaged in cultural programs. It appears there
were two different programs planned by both the groups, one in the morning
& the other at the evening.
In
the morning, there was supposed to be a procession- a huge, long procession-
where a lot of kids were going to perform lazim
& dances, with all those formations & stuff like that. Also, aged
aunties were to sing bhajans all the
way, & other people were supposed to accompany them, with some kids banging
the dhols, drums & pianos. It was
a long procession- walking, of course. It was planned to start at morning 7 AM
& everybody was supposed to reach the starting venue by 6:30 AM- all
dressed in their costumes, with the proper makeup’s, accessories, banners &
so on.
The
second function was supposed to start at evening- around 5 PM- which was a
singing program. Some of my friends- all of my age, or maybe just an year or
two younger to me- were to perform- rather sing. Around about 15 songs. With a
proper orchestra.
So,
back to the story. Soon, Saturday came to an end, & with it ended one day
of peaceful serenity & enjoyment.
The
next day- Sunday- was spent in a similar manner. A bit of a studying, meeting
up with my friends, chit chatting with mum dad & catching on some sleep.
The people who were to perform on
Monday, were practicing the whole day, keeping aside everything else. Putting
in all the possible efforts, they wanted to make this cultural program of my
city, a success- probably putting in as much efforts as Alia Bhatt did for
Highway.
“Arrreee.. do you know till what time did
these kids practice the songs on Friday??”, my mom- with an over the pitch
excitement in her voice.
“What
time?” me- expecting a 9 or a 10 PM in response.
“1:30AM!!!!”
my mom- with her tone reaching a 5 times higher decibel than before.
“OH
My God! 1:30??? In the morning? Are you serious?” me- totally taken aback.
“Yess
Yess!! They practiced till 1:30 AM, & reached home by 2 something!”
“…………..…”
I am blank!
“Arre, not just that, do you know… Preeti
had an exam on Saturday morning! Two exams actually! After that practice, she reached home by 2, had dinner,
then again woke up by 4AM-to study for the exam.”
“………………..”
I am still blank- & speechless.
“In
fact, after the exams, she reached home by 5PM, & abhi 7 baje I went to see
their practice, toh she was there- practicing!”
my mom was just not stopping.
&
I just had no words.
It
appears, my mom had a lot of things to say- rather, a lot of things to make me
go into a hibernation state.
“Not just preeti! Do you know, even
Ritu! Even that girl- she has a paper on Tuesday- early morning 8 AM at
Chuchgate. She is everyday practicing itna
late tak, Monday she’ll be there in
the morning procession- playing lazim
& dhol, & also at the
evening- singing.”
“Mom- will you please stop? It is
making me feel insignificant!” I snapped.
Thankfully, that made my mom stop with
the over-the-top-pitch “words of awe”.
Monday morning arrived. I woke up, had
a nice long shower, dressed up in new clothes & started helping mum with
the pooja. Soon, we were done, &
we left- for the procession. I wasn’t going to be a part of the procession – as
I found these things quite boring. My only reason for going there was- many of my
mum’s friends had asked me to come, & my granny wanted to check out all
that was happening. However, as my granny cannot walk that well anymore, I had
a nice reason to escape from the procession- “I have to take nani back home..” ;)
We
reached the mandir- the starting
point of the procession. As I reached there, I saw a girl, on the floor there,
stooping- making a huge rangoli. That
was one of my friends- Preeti! (Yes, the same girl mentioned above!)
She were busy making a nice huge
colorful rangoli, while I stood
there- watching her make it.
Let me state here that I am very bad
at all these things. Be it a rangoli,
or any other artistic thing. Not that I suck at artistic things- I can make
beautiful greeting cards, & I can sketch really well. But making rangolis or knitting croshia is just not
my cup of tea.
So,
I just stood there- watching her make the rangoli-
with a bit smearing on her new dress & her hands smudged with the rangoli colors. (Oh I would die, but not
sit down on a road & smear my clothes with colors! - like I said, just not
my cup of tea!)
Finally,
she was done with the rangoli. And
yes, it was beautiful. Simply beautiful.
Soon,
all the other people arrived- kids, aunties, uncles, aged people, youngsters-
everybody. A bit of here & there, chit-chats, prayers, & everybody was
ready to go.
The
procession started- I said good-bye to everyone & left the place with my
granny.
By
the time I reached home, it was 9ish. I had some snacks, cleaned up the house,
& sat at my study table with books.
BORING!
The
only bad thing about festivals is that you just do not feel like studying!
Thinking what to do, I logged onto
Instagram & started scrolling through the pictures. I came across a picture
uploaded by my friend- a picture of an angry Shiva! It was a beautiful picture!
Without even realizing, I took out a pencil & a plain paper, & started
sketching. 15 minutes- & it was done. A beautiful, almost similar sketch of
an angry Shiva was there- on my paper. Perfect!
Within
a few hours, my mom was back from the procession- all tired. She looked soo
exhausted- walking so long, in the harsh sun. She told me about the happenings
in the processions, who did what, which aunty wore what color sarree, which aunty wore what
accessories…etc etc etc.
&
so passed the afternoon.
In
the evening, my mom- being a committee member, left by 5:30 PM- while I was
supposed to reach the venue by 7 PM.
Dressed
in a simple kurti, I reached the
venue. The place was buzzing with enthusiasm. I quickly searched through the
crowd, located my mom, & sat down with her. The program soon began, &
the stage was taken over by some of my friends, & some other
people-probably of my age or younger, & soon the hall was filled with their
first song of the evening.
The
program went on & on, while I kept waiting for it to end.
“9
PM & still no signs of it getting over. God! When will this be over so that
I can go back home, have dinner & sleep.
Kalse wapas office.. Oh God! Why!!”
With
each passing minute, my head started paining more & more- with the loud
music & the high pitch voices of the singers. (no doubt they were singing
really well.. rather fabulous, but it starts getting onto you after a 2 hours
of continuous music & high pitch songs)
Finally, the program ended & it
was 10:30 PM! Me & my mum dad rushed out of the place & reached home-
had food, & slept!
We
were tired! Dead tired by the entire day!
Tired
by getting up at 5 AM in the morning on a holiday!
Tired
by reaching the procession venue by 7AM.
Tired
by merely accompanying the procession for a 5 minute or so.
Tired
by attending the evening program.
Tired by listening to the songs.
Were
the kids not tired?
Logically,
shouldn’t they be more tired than we were?
They
did so much of mehnat- put in so much of efforts- shouldn’t they be
more tired?
However,
no- they were not tired. Not even an ounce!
Or
probably they didn’t, hadn’t realized it in all the enthusiasm.
In
spite of slogging the whole week, practicing until 1AM at night, waking up at
4AM on mornings, attending exams, attending classes- they still weren’t tired
today.
I
really wonder- how?
How
can one have so much of energy? How is that humanly possible for anybody?
But
it is- for some people it is possible.
Il
tell you the signs of these people:
1-They
can sleep at 2 AM & wake up at 4 AM & still not look a bit of sleep
depraved. Not a slight dark circle around their eyes.
2-They
can participate in all programs of all sorts.
3-They
can sing, dance, cook, make rangolis,
design bags, stitch clothes, make accessories- you name it!
4-They
are always buzzing with energy! Not once will you find them tired & exhausted!
5-They
are always fidgety! You won’t find them sitting stable at one place for even a
whole 10 minutes!
6-They
always have good, traditional, expensive dresses & sarees- for every occasion!
7-They
are either excessively social, or they have absolutely no idea about what is
happening in the world around them- no in between!
Look around- you definitely must be
having at least one such person in your friend circle!
All
this makes me come to another point.
Not
that I am against such people. They are really good & they do a lot..
really! Hats off such people!
But,
is there really any use of running around so much? Where is the peace?
Let
us take an example. Preeti. She is an engineering student. Last year of
engineering. She took up science because she scored really well in 10th
std, & she & her mom have a belief that smart students who score well,
only go to the science field. Engineering is her priority (as her mom says). With
that, she can sing- she has cleared exams of professional singing. She can
dance- she has cleared exams of Katthak
dancing. She can make beautiful rangolis.
She can act well. She can give speeches. She can cook. She can knit. She designs clothes. She can do everything that you can think of.
Hobbies?
NO.
These are not just her hobbies. She keeps doing all this, not just because she
likes it, but because she feels, it will be of a great help in the future.
Really?
What does she expect? Working on-field as a civil engineer, will she be told to
make rangolis there? Or ‘dancing-singing-cooking-knitting’
will be put on her CV & it’ll really help her get a job?
Then
what “help” is she talking about?
&
what happened to the “priority” here?
Do
people really not know or do they just act dumb?
This
was just one example.
I
have friends who have been doing a lot of things, all at the same time.
Just
for the craze of it.
People
do CA, CS, ICWA, LAW. All four degrees- at the same time.
I
ask, "why?"
“So
that it will help in the future!”, they say!
Really?
Do you really think that you are going to get a job in a company where they
make you the head of all the four departments? Do you really think they are
going to give you the work of a CS, a CA, as well as an ICWA?
No
people. They won’t.
If
that was how companies worked, there would be all one-man companies.
X
will set up a company. X will be the financer. X will be the legal head. X will
be also manage the accounts, & conduct the meetings. X will manage human
resources & X hiii will advertise
the products.
Hilarious.
Why
not tell X to buy the products as well?
If
multi-coursing in all streams really helps, the most it’ll help is the
preference while appointing you. Nothing more. & definitely not as much, to
match the level of efforts you are putting in right now, compromising on other
fun & peaceful things, which you probably will not get later in life.
There
are people who take up a medical course, but are just not interested in it. They
clear each year with a huge difficulty, but still carry on with it.
Why
friend? When you couldn’t get a medical college seat without a huge donation,
& you are struggling with just the first year of medical college, & you
get a double drop in the first year itself, do you really think you’ll be a
good doctor?
Instead, why not simply take up
another course? Which matches your caliber & interests you as well?
I
have friends who have been doing a course like CA as well as CS. However, they
do many things with that as well. They do CA, with an LLB. & they have
further plans to take up MBA.
Like
why? What & where is the connection?
CA
+ CS+ LAW + MBA = Jack of all, master of none!
I
really wonder what is wrong with today’s generation.
No
doubt, there is a lot of competition, which is bound to increase with each
passing day. But it definitely does not mean that you step on every rock that
you come across. That will just make you fall in the river instead of acting as
a bridge!
If
you all ever saw Takeshies Castle-
Isn’t
that how it actually is?
You
need to think & step on a stable rock- judge the rocks & plan your
steps – not haphazardly step on any stone randomly, just to make you reach the
next level.
Similarly,
when it comes to your life, you need to sit down, think what you want in life,
& start working in that direction- just to achieve that one goal. You
cannot have 10 goals at the same time.
You
always aim to reach the mountain top- & the mountain top is just one, not
ten!
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So
all people out there, take a look at yourself. What is it that you are doing
& what is it that you actually want to achieve.
Having
hobbies is not a bad thing. In fact, every person should possess at least one
hobby. But a hobby should be kept a hobby. Do not confuse it with your goal, or
worse, do not engage in a hobby thinking it will yield you benefits in your
future.
A hobby is for your
pleasure, your enjoyment- not as a support for you to achieve your other
distinct goals.
Aspiring
to achieve a lot of things- great! You ought to be determinant to achieve a lot
in life. However, see to it that you do not end up juggling with ten different
things, while struggling to attain efficiency in even one.
Find
out what you really want in life. Where you really want to reach. What do you
picturize yourself doing, ten years down the line. What makes up for your career & what
stands out as your hobby.
Ultimately,
it is your life. Only you have a hold on it. Sure, destiny does matters a lot
too. But 90% of your life is under your control. The way you shape it now, that
is exactly how it will turn out later.
Always
remember-
“A
Jack of All, Master of None,
A
Master of One, Later Hires the Jack.”
So,
take a breath & think to yourself. Whether you are really doing what needs
to be done, or are you just gathering stepping-stones, which YOU THINK will
lead to your success.
Life
is a beautiful blessing. & you get this blessing just once. So make the
most of it- in the right manner. Not trying to get everything & ending up
with nothing.
Get some PEACE in your
life & life will give definitely gift you the best PIECE of your future.
~gAuRi