Tap-some-Bong

Dream -

He had the superpowers he always wished for...he could fly (no kryptonian side-effects), he was super strong (no boy-scout behavior and savior's syndrome), he didn't have to breathe (so water and space were pretty much accessible), he had special sixth sense...he was telekinetic and could shape-shift!

In short, he was THE-Superhero!!!

Reality -

He was just an above-average Joe. He went to school and then college like all other kids of his generation. When he was about to turn 11, he desperately waited for the letter from Hogwarts to arrive...Ofcourse it never did! Then he grew out of it.

When he was 16, on a class field trip to a nuclear reactor plant, he dearly hoped for some freak accident to happen to him...it never did, either...so he grew out of it too!

Dream -

Life had been cruel to him... His parents never appreciated his special abilities. They thought of him as something of a freak-show! He had no friends and whoever he crushed on, always liked someone else... He dreamed of a normal life but was subconsciously reliant on his powers too much to get by with life.

Reality -

His life was normal. So normal that he was eternally bored! He has parents who were always over indulgent in his life and over protective of him. He had very many friends and girls usually found him cute. He dreamed of a superhuman life...a life that was not governed by laws of nature!

Dream -

He fought the anti-social elements without any sense of obligation to a past or a person. He liked being a superhero...somewhat like Metro-man! He had no weaknesses so villains could hardly ever exhort him. And he never wanted a change of scene...he was satisfied being him.

Reality -

Ah life! He wished for it to change somehow...everything was so predictable! He hated being an above-average Joe...he hated being a pushover and he really wished that someday, somehow he will be able to deny his parents whatever they emotionally-blackmailed him into doing, against his wishes!

The Merger -

He waited and waited and finally he decided to take his life in his own hands! Now by day he was his normal boring self and by night, he went by the name of "Tap-some-Bong"...the night crusader, the friendly neighborhood superhero, the alien boy scout...nobody was any match for him. For he was not goodness embodied, he was goodness itself!

He became everything he wanted to be...

He fought aliens, monsters, zombies and mafia clans!

He dressed in spandex outfits that hid his true identity and made him feel cool!

He finally had real friends who were always there for him!

He knew who crushed on him and who missed him the most and who was his fan!

He could share whatever was on his mind and the world paid heed to it!

He developed his own isolated perfect life!

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All thanx to facebook! :D

Redundancy...thou art dear!

Its a given that an artist's inside is reflected on her outside endeavors. I am just the one who believes in keeping subtlety absent,when the obvious is glaring one in the face! Presently, many of my talents are feeling redundant, which in turn is making me feel similarly... NO COMPLAINS though!

What is unnerving is that in the very heat of my 20s, I am not supposed to be so satisfied with being idle. Sure, like many direction-less aspirants of my generation (the no. is fast dwindling!) I can be floundering around in life, doing not even a single thing that I truly want to...but being redundant is something our "Gen-Y" isn't very good at! We have to feel useful. We have to know that our life means something (see, we don't really believe in self discovery at the age of 30!). We have to know we had some dreams and we either lived them or we didn't. There is hardly ever any scope left for "may be(s)" or "someday"...

We want it, we take it(or get ambushed,trying).

And thus my wonder at the fact that I am so at ease with my (short-lived) redundancy. In fact I am quite liking it! Life has absolutely "No Demands" from me for almost a quarter of a year :D!!! Now at the beginning of this long coveted break, I could only imagine the stupendous amount of days I would have to be happily useless... then the time actually begins. Many of the concessions and liberties of being useful have to be given up...but What-the-Hey!, once you taste the utter lack of obligations after going through a (supposedly) highly demanding, professional course; its PURE BLISS!!!

It is understandable that a percentage of that feeling is coming from the fact that once life is going to restart, everything will be in its place (Yeah right, I made it happen!)...the sense of future security can put anyone at ease. But a major portion of this feeling of ecstasy over being redundant is coming from an accumulated need for a break, over the years...

Living in a famous-for-its-population (and mildly competitive) nation, one learns pretty early on that education and career building isn't going to be easy (especially when you are a Jack-Of-All-Trades-Master-Of-None sort of person). So of-course, adolescence is fueled by quotes like -

"beta ye do saal +1,+2 mein mehnat kr lo; fir araam hai"

"bete CAT crack kr lo, fir MBA toh apne aap hojani hai"

"Friends, I(a wannabe cool Prof at a B-school) assure you, with two years of smart work in your MBA, you will reap benefits throughout your life"*

*Conditions in corporate world are nothing like college, dude! I am just messing with you!

So one trudges on in life, putting in a little more of self in the process of becoming someone else. We lose time to chill and be ourselves...we harbor that grudge against ourselves for being all that useful, all our young lives! So when finally, the chance to be "FREEEEEEE" presents itself...it certainly is dear.

CHEERS!!! :P