LEARNING TO LOVE WHAT WE DO
“If
something is important enough,
even
if the odds are stacked against you,
you
should still do it.”
Elon
Musk
Some
months ago, when Pratyaksh was enrolled for eleventh standard (ISC) in my classes,
his mother said it clearly, “Sir, he doesn’t like studies at all… Pandemic has
further destroyed him… He doesn’t like to write a line. I don’t know how would
he clear his Accountancy paper without solving sums. Exams will be offline. I can’t
even say, whether he is going to stick with you or not…”
Well, at Pratyaksh’ age, my state was even horrible. Like him, even, I was a ‘nice’ kid, well-behaved
in every sense, except in studies. But, Pratyaksh’ mother had told me about his
two passions: Mridangam and lawn tennis. Those two things needed no coaxing and
nagging… He practiced them with a great deal of focus and self-motivation.
On 13th of this March, Pratyaksh’
Mridangam Arengetram (the first public performance) was held at the auditorium
of Mysore Association (Mumbai). Today at 6 p.m., the recorded programme was
premiered, and Pratyaksh’ mother had sent the link to me.
Ironically – or, should I say ‘expectedly’? – Pratyaksh will have to re-write his Accountancy exam tomorrow morning! Yes, his mother’s fears had come true… He had flunked in the subjects of Accountancy and English (as he had missed the English exam). The school was kind enough to give him one more chance. He and I have been working diligently last whole week in Accountancy. Today, we had our last online revision-session from 5 to 6. As soon as the session was over, I clicked the Arangetram link…
Watching
Pratyaksh perform, so effortlessly and with such humility - accompanied by some
very talented artists on stage - was a sheer delight. “He truly belongs to that
space,” I found saying to myself. I have not seen him play lawn tennis; but,
from what I keep hearing from his parents, I can say the same thing – “He truly
belongs to that space!”
And, what about this
bitter gourd on his thaali – ‘Accountancy’?
“He won’t touch
it Sir,” his doting mother says, “unless your magic works!”
Magic is working,
slowly and steadily. I am saying this from my own personal experience… I
started loving my studies – particularly Accountancy and English literature
much later, when fine teachers came to teach us in F. Y. B. Com. One never
knows what is going to bring about this turnaround in Pratyaksh’ life –
whether it is a teacher like me or some fire from within. But, on watching him
play the Mridangam, and imagining him play lawn tennis, one thing I can say
with certainty: Self-confidence builds on self-confidence… Like attracts like…
Success attracts success!
In other words, Pratyaksh will start liking the bitter gourd, so that he can have an amazing thali experience!
Life,
like a thali, will offer all of us some things which we do not like… It’s
Life’s way of keeping us grounded… Humble, pliable and earnest!
“Do what you
love. If you can’t, love what you do.” I learnt to love what I did along my
way. And, I am very sure, Pratyaksh, too, will learn it along his.
Probably, with
such quiet motherly-faith in her young one, Pratyaksh’ mother has enrolled him
for our upcoming summer programme on ‘Personality Development’… “He needs it
more than anything else, Sir,” the mother asserts!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: pixabay
Videoes: 1. Shivkumar Vishwanathan 2. Cut Media
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