Over the past few days, I've often been coming across people
in their twenties, early or late, who are trying hard to carve a niche for
themselves in the professional and the corporate worlds.
Well, today the world is full of these people.
Almost everyone you meet in that particular age-group falls
in a similar category, trying to prove themselves in their chosen respective
segments of the corporate circus. These people that I have met, have been
Analysts, Engineers, Marketing professionals, financial advisors and the like.
Peculiarly, very peculiarly indeed, I have found a common
thread running through them, all of them. Almost all of these passionately
driven, smartly dressed and appropriately conducted young people, have had a
history of artistic inclination. All of them, yes. And this comes out of them
accidentally almost.
Something being talked about, or a song on the radio, or
some place they visited, or any such nostalgia-evoking occurrence takes them
down the memory lane, and the reminiscing of the good old college or school
days begins, which does not, nearly ever, stop immediately. A few pegs down,
and you can't rule out a full-fledged performance out of them. A few more, and
the nostalgia might just become too strong to handle, often making people break
down, or at least romantically muse over the days of beautiful art gone by.
And more often than not, in good measure, these people
hardly carry many regrets about not being able to visit their respective
revered arts more frequently. It is almost as if they are happy saving their
best performances for such drunken moments, or moments of nostalgic gatherings,
and once the reminiscing session is over, they're back to chasing their
professional goals passionately and cheerily.
Such encounters have, lately, left me wondering. Are these
people better off than the ones who recognize their love for the arts early on
and direct all their energies towards their chosen and accepted calling?
Because clearly, the former are the ones enjoying the best of both worlds. Okay
well, not the 'best' of the other world, but still...you know what I mean !
These people, who tread the socially acceptable and
respectable professional paths, do good for themselves monetarily, and still
manage to keep bits of their art alive within them, which shows up at social
gatherings, have earned my respect of late.
making things look easier for his corporate clients, and
dealing from his suite in the city's swankiest luxury hotel. A painter creates
wonderful creations every Sunday after working hard in the University all week,
while a poet gathers applause from his colleagues over cups of coffee and
cigarette puffs at work.
I can't say this about everyone else in this context, but I,
for one, sometimes do miss the academic competitiveness I possessed as a
student. The urge to learn more and more and to display the power of the
intellect in academically inclined circles, the proving of superiority through
meaningless scorecards, the primness and the decor of corporate social
behaviour. This makes me wonder, isn't this other breed enjoying more, being
able to live both lives alternately.
The vella dimag, as is its convention, plays games with the
self.
