Dressed in a shining
black suit and a red tie, as I enter the auditorium, the hall reverberates with
cheers and claps all around. Waving my hand at my fans and followers I move up
on the dais with my wife - dressed in black with a contemporary hijab on her
head, revealing her ever charming and sparkling face. A hint of kajal around
her eyes and a touch of glossy lispstic adds to the charm of her beautiful and
elegant look. As we move on we are greeted by the dignitaries of the ranks of Politicians,
Writers and Novelist, Business tycoons, Sports icons, media persons and many
more.
The anchor, Mr Anderson
introduces me as one of the emerging novelist of the current era. With millions
of copies of my first novel sold within minutes of its launch on flipkart, I
have been a protagonist overnight!! While the flipkart is having a good
business and feel itself lucky to have my sales right, offers continue to pour
from across the globe from publishers and marketing companies for advance
booking of my upcoming work.
Mean while, Mr Anderson
goes into the depth of my career and finally invites me to deliver a few words
and address the dignitaries and the audience.
As I walk toward the dais,
I feel nostalgic for the days I have been dreaming to live this day.
“Thank you for all your
love and affection. Thank you for considering me worthy to be read. It feels so
awesome to bring smiles on the faces of so many people, and I feel blessed to
have you all.”
The auditorium echoes
with cheers and applause as I continue “Calm down friends!! I never want to be
like a celebrity, because the very thought of it could be a curse on my
writing. I am close to my reader’s heart, only because I am one of them. It is
just fortunate for me to have the courage of sailing against the wind and
realising my dream.”
“Though I am not in a
position of giving suggestions, but this one goes for free for all the youngsters
present here” The mood of the audience eases out and a short laughter fills the
atmosphere as I continue, “Always live your dreams!! You never know what you
deserve to be. Just a year ago, I was a hopeless guy working in a foreign
country on the orders of my bosses. Though I was paid well, the job made me
nothing less than an obedient and trained animal of a circus, trained to
perform the same actions, what his masters has taught. As I quit the job, many
cursed me for throwing away a golden opportunity to earn and settle down and
the result is here.” Raising my voice I continue “Here I am standing before you,
after a year of unemployment and frustration.”
Before publishing my
first novel I was more of a critic and I knew this could spark a controversy
and the media is too good at it. So just to play safe I continue further “Well,
this doesn’t mean that each one of us resign from our job and try differently.
I did, because I had made a mistake of choosing the wrong field. It was a
mistake to get into a profession which was not made for me. So, while you step
out of the college, think, research and know yourself to choose a profession
which suits you, so that you may not go through the pain of unemployment and frustration
which I went through.”
There is a pin drop
silence in the hall with the audience staring at me with full attention. I
didn’t know from where the words came out, as I never thought of me as an eloquent
speaker, but there I was.
“Thank you for your
love once again and keep reading” as I finish my speech, Mr Anderson invites me
on the other side of the dais to sign a few copies of the novel for my fans. The
queue is quite big and I patiently keep on signing until I come across my
previous boss.
I enjoy the moment to
see my boss struggling to get my autograph.
Before I could realise
that it was too much of a dream and actually an alarm failure, I kiss my wife’s
forehead, pose for the media and move toward my black shining Mercedes where the
driver opens the gate for us.
Oh no!! Sounds
ridiculous, but there I was a victim of alarm failure. As I got up hurriedly
and cursed myself, I had the option of deciding what to do and what not to do.
While you spend sleepless night thinking about the next morning, the morning sometime
have different plan for you.
With a tensed mind and
a tinge of smile for the thought of still being a trained and obedient animal
of a circus, I hurried toward the bathroom.
That tinge of smile was
so predominant that even though when I walked on the street of the London
towards the Victoria underground, I couldn’t hide it. Lot
of people noticed me with that hidden smile which at times went into full
laughter.
Off course, I had lived
my life, my dream life in dream itself, but what I was wondering then was the
whip of my master-the hunter man, waiting for me in the office with full range
of escalation and what followed next is indeed a taboo to be revealed.
