BACK TO SCHOOL???

I must admit that summer makes me nostalgic. Ok...technically, monsoon has already made its presence felt, but even so, I have to pen my thoughts when I think of "summer". Walking along Sankey Tank, I feel my eyes growing misty and I am not exaggerating this....it happens to me EVERY single time....the canopy of gulmohars, spring blossoms and the lush green foliage remind me of all those times I walked back home from sports practise at 2.00 or 3.00 in the afternoon (having left home at 6.00 in the morning) wincing at the thought of being at the receiving end of my mom's rather voluminous vocabulary, but also excited that I could spend the rest of the day reading and playing/chatting with Gauri and my dad.....with absolutely NO HOMEWORK!!! Then my thoughts would wander towards my practise routine for the next day which I couldnt wait to begin-My coach used to come up with the most innovative practise ideas and used to take me to cross country runs at his whim and fancy ..."Lefty..chalo...lets jog till Jakkur and come back..mummy knows you will be late right..;) " - that was enough to make me prance around like a small child who had discovered Charlie and his chocolate factory!!! All the games of cricket, volleyball, dodge ball, handball...name it..and I played it!!!! So, summer basically meant play..play..and MORE play!! Who cared about getting roasted under the sun or catching a stomach bug-what with all the gallons of tap water that would be guzzled down like beer- those WERE THE DAYS!!!!

While in school, I remember people telling us that those were the best days of our lives..and we could only scoff at them...for apparently no reason..I guess it was peer pressure that made me act so!!! I have to admit folks, I cannot agree more with all of them who share this view. I realised that there are some of us who would just love to be students all our lives..who actually enjoy studying for exams (those innumerable time tables that I made..if only I had studied instead of planning them..and then making them..and then re-planning them...phew!). At work, the idea of "performance appraisal" is so incongrous...the politics, the varying standards, the hidden agendas- all these just leave a pathetic taste in my mouth- the dispassionate, clinical method of working just wrenches my inners! Why do we complain about the long hours we pend at work when we had no problems spending 8 hours non-stop in class and then bear those interminable special classes and also make it a point to come early to school and leave really late... why didnt we complain then? Why didnt we mind all the trials and tribulations of exams? Why did we enjoy all that competition and rigours of various club activities? My question, simply put is why didnt we grumble about the 12-14 hour days while we were in school? What is different now that makes people talk about stress, tension, burnout? I have one answer- INTEREST and PASSION. These 2 things that I simply cannot identify in my work place. Of course, there are very many around me who are extremely busy, but never, not even ONCE have I heard a word of pleasure or contentment with what they do! They have simply turned into machines who are being paid for something that simply makes no difference to anybody or anything. There is no direct impact of our work that we see...unlike doctors or even teachers or sports coaches who immediately see a world of difference from their contribution to society!

At then end of the day, I know that given a choice between a fat paycheck doing stuff that makes one regurgitate all the food consumed and going back to school/anything that involved our passions, we would definitely choose the latter! Can you imagine the magnitude of difference one could make in this world if we were driven only be our passions? If we are passionate about anything, then obviously we shall excel in it and needless to say, a mouth watering emolument will follow....so, maybe we need to sit down for a minute and reconsider the decisions we have taken..things can never be too late....as for me...I still miss my playground..and school is all I can see myself heading towards!