I started off with engineering and realized
early on that it wasn’t my cup of anything. So of course concerned family
members subtly (same heavy sarcasm note as before) pointed me towards the medical
field, then (a little frantically) towards accountancy, then (with a gun to my
head) towards an MBA program. But every family has a black sheep and I
spectacularly disappointed everyone by announcing that I was entering the
‘Creative Field.’
Three basic reactions met me everywhere I went
(remember those family events I mentioned earlier) 1 Blatant Disbelief; 2
Unabashed Shock; 3 The Head Shake / Look-of-Shame. Blatant Disbelief came from
the younger crowd. Mainly because they realized that my days were numbered. I
was definitely going to be cut out of the will. But also because they never
really thought ‘Creativity’ was something you turn into a career option.
Unabashed Shock was from the parent-age crowd.
Mainly shock towards my poor parents, who everyone assumed had “let me go out
of hand” (literal translation from the Hindi “haat se choot gayi hai”). “If
only you would have been more strict.” Also it doesn’t help that my elder
brother is one of those mathematical child prodigy types (I never stood a
chance, see). The shock was more since my ‘gene-pool’ was obviously so strong.
The Head Shake / Look-of-Shame thing happened
from the grandparents’ gang. Since they have seen the world, this anomaly
(yours truly) was something to be expected. The proverb should have been ‘A
Look is Worth a Thousand Words.’ With the looks I’ve faced, I swear, less thick-skinned
people would have dropped like flies. But luck favors the brave and I’ve
withstood all the Head Shakes and Looks-Of-Shame with a smile.. by that I meant
skittish simper.
Now that I have all your sympathy and you are
feeling like I come from a family of weirdoes (its not their fault.. it's
society playing safe as a whole), let me assure you, I’m no unique case. In our
country where ‘trend-changer’ is only a thing for the big cities (that too only
some parts of big cities) a ton of my friends have faced and battled similar
reactions. I’ve done an earlier blog on ‘the not so beaten path’ which was
basically my journey from aww-some.. to awesome (wrong blog if you were looking
for modesty). But I recently had a chat with a couple of people who told me how
they were struggling with getting their families to understand what they wanted
to do—their ‘Passion.’ And I just wanted to reach out and say.. hey.. you are
not alone (I just felt like Charles Xavier… how cool is that!!!).
Some of the greats all started under family
pressure but stepped out from under-the-wing so to speak to achieve nothing
short of utter greatness. Alfred Hitchcock, started as an estimator
(esti…whaat) for the Heneley Telegraph and Cable Company (oh and you thought
you had it bad). Bill Cosby was a bartender (that’s a pretty cool job
actually). Ashton Kutcher was studying engineering and working odd jobs as a
carpenter and farm laborer (how can someone so good looking be allowed to do
that!!). James Cameron majored in physics before changing his ‘Avatar’ to
become a filmmaker. I mean, wow!!.. can you see where I’m going with this.
The stories of so many people who have made it
massive in the creative world started just like us (may be farm laborer is
stretching it a bit). But my point being if these people had buckled under
family pressure or gone with the flow and continued down the path they
originally were put on, the world would have been at a loss. (Tell me you’re
not inspired yet). Since I’m going all Professor Xavier on you, I’m going to
quote from the man himself to keep the fire in you burning, ‘A new and
uncertain world. A world of endless possibilities and infinite outcomes.
Countless choices define our fate: each choice, each moment, a moment in the ripple
of time. Enough ripples, and you change the tide... for the future is never
truly set.’
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