I WILL TRY...

March 10, 2012

Once again, last evening, I came across one of these Johnnys.

Yes, I call them Johnnys… And, I love them, for some strange reasons!

This Johnny has come from Punjab to this big city of Mumbai. He has done his graduation in one of the small towns there; and, now, he feels that he can not cope up with our Cosmopolitan crowd… ‘Hi-Fi-crowd’ – as he terms them. I do not know, what ‘Hi-Fi’ really means. But, I know, he is exactly like how I was when I first landed here, on this - so called Hi-Fi - land. That was way back in October, 1980.

English was a ghost for me, then. My medium was vernacular. It is so for this Johnny, as well. His medium was Punjabi. “He is okay… I am not okay,” was how the devil kept tickling in my ears, those days… And, that is exactly what the devil’s tail is doing in this Johnny’s ears, now.

So, there I go again, last evening.

“Buddy, don’t worry, be happy,” is my very first pep.

I can sense the sigh of relief on my Johnny’s face.

“I have done it; so, you will do it,” is my second.

“Is that so?” is the honest sigh from Johnny’s end.

“If a bad nut like me could do it, a fine nut like you, certainly, can, buddy,” is the third.

“Thank you sir… Thank you very much,” Johnny is on Cloud Nine, “Tell me what I should do? I am ready.”

“I am happy,” I give my hand to my Johnny… and, also a simple work to do, as the first baby step towards conquering the Mount Everest. “Write a ten-line self-introduction in your mother-tongue, Punjabi… Then, in your own way, convert it to English… It is okay if you make mistakes… and, you can take help from anyone around. But, please do. You need to have that goal, and you need to be self-motivated to achieve that, buddy.”

“Okay sir,” Johnny’s voice is not as enthusiastic as it was a while ago, “I will try.”

I freeze, yet again!

Any body who says, “I will try,” he doesn’t.

Anybody who has done, he has DONE!

This Johnny did not come back to me to show his ‘home work’. The Prophecy had come true. He had declared those prophetic words: “I will try!”

The Johnnys want to go to heaven… But, they don’t want to die!

Once, a Parish Priest of a church started getting many complaints that many of his parishioners spent a lot of their money and time in the local country-joint. So, this Priest decided to swoop down on the bar, late one night.

And, when the Priest raided, he saw, to his horror, so many of his parishioners… all having their blissful time in that darkness.

“Get out of this hell,” the Parish Priest blasted, angrily, “Get out, you sinners, right now!”

Frightened by this attack, all the parishioners ran out of that place.

Outside the bar, the Priest shouted, “Those of you who want to go to heaven, come and line-up on my side.”

Instantly, every one of them jumped on Rev. Father’s side… except our Johnny!

Father was surprised. “And, you Johnny,” the Father asked, “are you sure you do not want to go to heaven?”

Johnny was unable to hold himself firmly on the ground. “Of course Father, I want to,” he confessed, “But, not NOW!”

For now, let me have a good time

in this country joint.

Let other Johnnys go to heaven, now,

if they want to.

I don’t want to go NOW.