Every mother has dreams for her
child. And all mothers want their children to become someone important and
successful when they grow up. I am no different. However, as a smart, practical
woman, unlike many parents, I did not want to impose my preconceived notions on
my child. Instead decided to list all of Aby’s strengths and then find
professions that would match his natural talent and inherent aptitude. For that
I decided to observe Aby and his interactions a little more carefully.
The one thing I already knew was
that Aby really likes giving others a chance to do things. It is his large heartedness to share the
opportunities that he is blessed with. Like-he will let me pick up his toys and
books after him. He will let the maid get him water, spoon, TV remote etc. The driver is allowed to carry his
school bag. The gardener is allowed to remove the picnic leftovers from the
garden. So, all in all, he is
inclusive and allows for all people to participate, creating a sense of camaraderie
(in this case, of serving Aby). Now some cynics might have a twisted
pessimistic view but I think that this can be an invaluable management skill.
We all know how poor-managers do not like to delegate due to their
insecurities. Well, that’s not Aby. Given this important skill set of
‘delegation of responsibility’, the careers that came to my mind were business
management and civil service. Nothing exciting, so I continued my observations.
I also made the most profound
discovery last week when I went for a Parent-Teacher Meet. The month before had
been full of disturbances and difficulties – an out of town wedding, shifting
of house, Aby’s illness – leading to occasions when the homework was incomplete
and the preparation for the tests was less than required and on an overall
level his performance was less than ‘great’. But I love my child and refuse to
see any imperfection. Hence I went full of ammunition to gun down any
‘concerns’ of his faltering performance in class. In preparation (or shall we
call ‘over-preparation’), I had made my own list of ‘concerns’ on teaching
style, curriculum, extra curricular, mess-food; even school timings. The
meeting started on a cordial ‘praise the pupil’ note while I was anxiously waiting
for the ‘concern’ cue. After fifteen minutes of discussion I realized that the ‘Concern
note’ will not come. I was surprised. Almost disappointed at not being able to
use my ‘prepared’ counter arguments. I decided to double check and asked the
gentle question: what in your opinion are the areas of improvement? The teacher
said, “Aby is doing very well in studies, his behavior and manners are
immaculate, he is respectful to me and his other tutors. He even finishes up
his food at lunch-time. God bless this child.” I was shell-shocked. I came back
home in a dizzy but there was an important lesson to be learnt. No matter how poor
his performance, Aby definitely has the guile and charisma that he would make
others feel good about themselves and in turn shower praise onto him. Only one
word came to my mind: Politician. I dismissed it quickly.
In my search for Aby’s other
skills, I recalled something I have known for a while now. Aby has a natural
talent for presenting coherent graphic descriptions of facts and ideas. A
couple of years back, when asked by his teacher why he was late, he said: “I
was coming to the school when the alien ship captured me to take me to their
planet. So along the way I fought them, stole a shuttle and escaped. I went to
the galaxy police for help. They suggested I take the bus to earth, which I
took! But by then I had missed my school bus so I walked my way to school. That
is why maybe I’m a little late!” Now, imagination, if not lying, is a critical
asset. As we move from the information age to the creative age the world needs
people with ideas. Filmmaking, writing, advertising are all professions that
could open their doors to him. I was staring to get excited but was I closing
the door of opportunities too early?
On further exploration, I
observed that Aby’s most captivating strength is that of not being trapped in
the competitiveness of today’s world. He would rather give the weaker souls a
chance to taste success rather than hog all the limelight. He would start last
in every race so that other ‘not so fast runners’ could win, he would do
careless mistakes in the Maths test so that those taking after school Abacus
tuitions can feel rewarded, he would refuse to study the maps so that those
less traveled can feel at ease around him. Although some cynics might say he is
plain and simple lazy, I think he is a giving soul who is sensitive to other’s
caliber and sense of well-being.
So I now had all of Aby’s key qualities to start my final
analysis. He is inherently lazy, non-competitive, does not believe in hard work
(or work, at all), makes others do his work but at the same time he is very
bright, imaginative, likes sharing and giving, , good at communications; with a
talent of charming everyone round and making others feel good about themselves.
And I thought what possible profession could hone these talents. Well if he was
good with literature, or Maths, Design or Dance it would have been easier to
find a suitable career choice. And
then suddenly, almost like a bulb lighting up in the mind, it struck me:
Godman! Yes, you read correctly! Godman. He should be a Godman. Now Godmen always have a way with words
and after visiting them, inspite of unbeatable problems and un-survivable
circumstances you feel secure and relieved. And they always make you do things-
especially for themselves. And most importantly it’s a life of comfort and
unspeakable riches.
Every time I look at Aby now, I
imagine him in plain but graceful saffron clothing, sitting on a podium giving
Updesh and Gyan to thousands- no, millions of people in a huge marbled gallery.
People holding on to each of his spoken words and showering Rose petals at him
while his bankers work overtime to find the best investments for the quadrupling
income. And in all of my visions I
see myself wrapped in the lap of luxury and grandeur!
