The thrill in being normal
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“We are not controlling your life, we are helping you out…”
“Who are this ‘we’?”
“I am sorry but that is classified information, I cannot give it to you”
“God… How did I pass my University Examination?”
“You wanted to pass, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, but I attempted less than even twenty percent of the questions… how can I still pass?”
“It’s enough if you want to pass, the rest will be taken care by us”
“So, now if I want a job, you’ll get it for me?”
“Yeah sure, why not?”
“And what if I don’t perform well in that job, I would lose the job won’t I?”
“We have people everywhere and at all levels… you don’t have to worry about losing your job at all”
“Why should this happen to me? Can’t you see all the others are normal, they get the marks they deserve, they get the jobs they deserve, they get to live their lives they deserve…”
“You don’t have to. You are special… you can get what you want… you just need to let us know your wants”
“You have any idea how it feels to be controlled by you people for 20 long years? Right from the day I remember, I have been getting almost everything I wanted – toys, food, education and almost everything. You people interfere with almost every aspect of my life in the pretext of making me happy but you don’t understand what situation you have landed me at this point of time… You just don’t have an idea how helpless I feel”
“We have ensured that you get what you want till now, and will continue to do so, you don’t have to worry”
“Great then, I want to be normal”
“What?”
“I want to be normal, like all the other people in this world. I want to fail and see how much failure hurts so that I would enjoy success, when it comes. I want to earn my living and taste the food that I earned for myself. I want to struggle for a living so that I can sleep at nights. I don’t want a bunch of people controlling every aspect of my life – I want to be free. I want to be normal. I want to live my own life – that’s what I want. Can you give it to me?”
“We can, but all the privileges that you have been getting from us all this time would be stopped immediately. Is that ok?”
“That is perfectly ok. Just let me live my own life, I would be much happier on my own”
This is a special classified project that the Psychology department of the University has undertaken where we would adopt a kid and give almost everything that he needs through our network and resources. The objective of this project is to find out if a person can live happily if all his wants and needs are met at every stage of his/her life.
Destination Infinity
PS: This is one story that I wrote (In Tamil) during my college days, I became famous in my class for having ended a story in a flashback. They thought it was unique 🙂 Those days I used to write something in pieces of paper and pass it to other benches for their comments and feedback, and the paper would return to me with all the comments! I guess I had a mini blog and a mini audience back then itself 🙂
PPS: Don’t spoil kids by giving them everything. That was the message.
I liked it 🙂 a very nice message presented in a very different manner 🙂
Kash, mere class mates bhi aisa hota… hmmm…. 🙂
Applause !! Applause !! Applause !!
Wonderful DI !!
Yeah, this is unique !! I just dont have words. I liked the whole stuff !
Not even one comment I received like this, when I passed the paper on to my class mates!
Thats because your writings were too ahead of their times 😀
i second that! 😀
Wah… this is nice! And i liked this line the most "I want to fail and see how much failure hurts so that I would enjoy success…"
And also loved the idea that you actually used to pass on the paper for your classmates' comments 😀 you missed out on petenting "blog" back then.. socho tum abhi kahaan hote agar yeh kar paate!! 😆
Jo bhi us samai hua (I mean the tone of the comments etc), I was damn afraid to start a blog where virtually everyone can come and read… more so because I rarely express common sentiments – I would want to be different for the sake of being different. But blog-mates are sweet, actually 🙂
Wonderful !!!! absolutely wonderful !!!!!
**Applaud**
I don't know if the times have changed or people… jo bhi hua, accha hua 😛
I mean applause !! please correct. !
I join in the applause!! I applaud too 😆
Scary!!!! I can't imagine being under the scanner forever!!
I like the way you think!
Well even in our real lives, we are under the scanner for most of the time – either in homes or in work places. Sometimes, some good things also happen because of that, I guess. But it largely depends on whose scanner we are under!!
Rakesh that was the scariest for me too! More than getting used to having every wish -artificially fulfilled was the horror of being watched!
awesome style you have of flashback :)..liked the story
Actually, I mildly mentioned in the post that 'I became popular' but the actual fact is, they made so much fun of it. At that time, I told people – Ek na ek din mein bade pardeh me aaunga… lo aagaya 😛
Very interesting story. But is it only fiction? Unfortunately not. In every country many young (and often rich) people are helped by by their families' powerful connections – the "boys' network" – as they call it in Canada, and do not have to fight for their life. They pay for schools that will never let them flunk, they get their jobs without any real merit, and they become part of that same ruling class that helped them.
That's why I always hold the view that being or getting rich is by no means a ticket to ever lasting happiness. For all the hand holding those kids get, they will pay dearly at a later stage of their lives…
Amazing DI!!! Love the idea of a paper blog doing the rounds in class!! You had it in you to write even then!!?
I agree with the message in the end – about not stifling someone by giving them everything, because that is not 'normal'… in fact that might be what happened to Siddhaarth the price when one day he saw an old man and a dead man, and a sick man – he had been brought up without nay such exposure. Loved this post… I find a lot people are blogging about similar issues this week!!
Actually, I was in to creative writing back then. They even conducted a competition called 'Creative Writing' and I represented my division in my college – but lost in finals. When I took a job, I thought it was the end to my creative writing hobby, but later on I was so glad to find the blogs… It was like 'made for me' 🙂
Some exceptional people like Siddhartha become Buddha due to the situations that they are exposed to/ not exposed to. But most of the kids grown up in that way, struggle hard to get their footing in this world
I agree with Man of Roma in what he said in his comment.
I think that you have also shown that giving a kid everything is no way to happiness.
I am good at analyzing the number of ways in which we don't get happiness… but not good at analyzing how we do!!! 🙂
Amazing style.. I will spread this..
Thanks, it spread like fire in my class too 🙂
very nice story to bring out something we usually dont stop and think!
One of my talents is to confuse normal situations 😛
Amazing DI.. liked it much 🙂 🙂 so beautiful and that flashback is so nice.. 🙂
The ending of the story in a flashback idea… even Spielberg would not have thought about till now!!
awesome!!! loved it 🙂 perfect!
and i loved the innovative ending too…
The ending is supposed to be the beginning of his life – with a clear view from now on…
Hi there that's a nice story with a moral , ah I see, a writer from college days itself, nice memories, the innovative mind that makes life kool 😉 keep writing..
Some times, innovative thinking ends up complicating perfectly normal situations 😉
Hi Di,
You have been awarded:
http://kanaguonline.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/awar…
You seem to have a huge stock of awards to give away 🙂
🙂 Indeed beautiful… Keep up the spirit and good work..
Hmmm… The spirit of the story is more about unlearning, than learning
This is an entirely different story. Everybody knows that rich kids who are pampered from their young age, cannot face the world if something gets wrong in their life, later on. But you have expressed it so nicely. As you have said, we will enjoy success more if we face failure first.
I loved the idea of paper blogging and getting the feed back! Very good idea.
Yes, this is the right place for you and we are here to happily read your posts.
Yeah, I too felt the blogs were made for me! 🙂
This is just brilliant! Thank God I came by ur blog for this!
want to struggle for a living so that I can sleep at nights. – Superb!
A nice way to convey the message 🙂
Certain things I can write from my experience too… not necessarily the one you have pointed out 😉
Have you watched 'The Truman Show'. It is a very good movie and the storyline is very good. Try sometime.
I appreciate recommendations like this – I have not watched many english movies – need to watch this – will do it soon, thanks
ya but to keep failing is also not normal right?
You think beyond your age – I guess it is, but not very sure
super! totally super! i loved the entire "feel" of the story!!
I wonder if the Siddhartha/Gautama Buddha story had any influence on this story 😛
Indeed a great post!
Great flow of thoughts.
I re-wrote the entire story this time, some how I feel the version written before a few years was not so good… I am thinking if this would not be good after a few years!!
Hey DI,
I wld be the first person to whom your stories used to come since I was sitting next to you..Gr8 work mait..
Knowing that you might read this post, I didn't indulge in too much self praise…. otherwise, I would have written a totally different 'PS' section favoring me 😛
Great story! The variety on your blog is getting better and better by the day!
That's more to do with my inability to keep to a certain theme/ topics – I am more like a Jack of All trades and my future ambition is to become the best Jack in town 🙂
hi,
haiku is 5-7-5 syllable structure with 5 syllable in first line, seven in second and again 5 in the third. But modern haiku is a variant wherein it is just a poetic expression simpler in words and restricted to three lines.
only this much i know of it 😀
-Aiz.
It is my feeling that such restrictions in poetry might halt the flow of thoughts – but on the other hand it is challenging too… anyway thanks for the info…
Nice story! Infact a reality which reflects our own life. We are running after so many things in our day to day life hoping that would make us happy! If we are given whatever we want, with out any struggle, do we really remain happy?
Your story addresses it nicely! good blog.
Now I know that the flashback idea is an old one for you 😉 Flashforward has also been tried by you. Now, what remains? The present, I reckon 🙂
Joy always,
Susan