August 05, 2007

Alternative Realities

Sometimes I wonder what I would look like in a world of alternative realities – an uncountable set of possible outcomes born of a tired mind looking for a refreshing change from the uneventful reality of mundane existence. I see people around - people I have known for donkey’s years, constantly walk paths that increasingly digress from my own and develop distinctly different identities - identities that entice, excite, invite and enchant. The mere fact that they look different from afar adds glamour to their reality and creates a desire within that constantly nags with the question – what if?

What if my undergrad was not as uneventful? What if I had found courage to propose to that girl? What if I knew how to swim, or had played tennis or spent time in the gym more often? What if I had travelled the world a bit more to savor the varied tastes of vast lands, infinite seas and ineffable cultures? What if I had experimented with hard rock and drugs and every other conceivable contraband substance for that matter during undergrad just to prove that I was on a glorious path to discovering self and thereby find acceptance with the hip-hop and happening? What if I had rode a bike to ladakh and scaled inconceivable mountain tops to showcase my love for unbridled adventure? What if I had mugged up every conceivable trivia in order to dazzle people around with my superior knowledge of the evolution of mankind? What if I hadn’t become and engineer and chosen to be a journalist instead? What if I had continued as a softie for the rest of my life? What if I had found eternal love in discovering and adopting virgin technologies and writing indecipherable chunks of computer code that did nothing more than churn out volumes of unidentifiable green symbols on a jet black screen to paint me as a super-geek?

But here I am, on the verge of starting out as an investment banker in the financial capital of the world – London. Caught in the web of these unending what ifs, I struggle to seek balance and make peace with my self today. What if I was to accept my condition now as is and begin to feel happy and content? Yes, that sounds right. Hackneyed? Maybe. True? Most certainly!!

Back! and the Front of It!!

Yes, I haven’t blogged for over a year now. No, I am not going to cook up a reason. Just state that I am back, for now, with a changed name, a different perspective, and lots of stories to tell – some personal, others not so much!