“Itni shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai, ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai.”
A dreamer, in pursuit.
World is an unfair place and everyone is not equal, “some are more equal than the others”. Not everyone has the same chance of pursuing their dreams and realizing them, as I have. Little I can do to change that, promising myself every day that I will do just ‘that little’, to bring a change. One that may someday give someone, somewhere, a chance to survive, an opportunity to get educated, the option to stay healthy and, at its ambitious best, possibly a courage to dream, pursue and realize it, like I have.
Mathematician by Interest, Physician by Destiny, Epidemiologist by Choice, Disease-Detective by Passion, Human by Faith, and addicted to Life, struggling to be good man. With interests in writing, reading, smelling roses, cooking, gardening, drenching in the rain, math-n- puzzles, basking in sunshine, movies-music-n-miracles this mensan gets poetically melancholic. Negotiator, manipulator; influencer, stubborn; passionate, cocky or perhaps, just the tipping point, I am shamelessly ambitious, limitlessly optimistic, overly confident and immensely positive about ‘life’, ‘people’ and ‘relationships’, my ineradicable addictions.
Post-MD my public health career took me to, and educated me in, some difficult conditions in rural India across eighteen states, following which, an elite disease detective training led me into war zones, humanitarian emergencies and ground zero of disease outbreaks across, over twenty countries offering me a life that a few fortunate could aspire. Continents and countries with fleeing populations have offered to me some memorable opportunities and incredible challenges. The privilege of living in and experiencing the joys and pains of what life offers across the world and the comfort of expensive luxury have given me short-term joys but also left long-term pain. The $400 per night rent I paid, for hotel rooms that I stayed in, many nights, could pay the rent for a family of four for a full year in rural India. “Don’t I feel ashamed and guilty about it?”
Yes I do and, struggle with this unfairness every night. However, the same unfairness has given me those chances, increased my probabilities and created a combination of opportunities, shoulders and stages, to chase my dreams and allowed me to do ‘that little’, bring ‘that change’, into the lives of few. A dreamer, in pursuit, with a tinge of pride and some humility.
It is not often that ‘passion’, ‘mission’, ‘vocation’ and ‘profession’ confluence in one’s life. The universe has majestically conspired such confluence in my case, converging “what I love doing”, “what the world needs”, “what I am good at doing” and “what I can be paid for” into a meaningful life. Paulo Coelho’s quote from ‘The Alchemist’ was successfully piloted on my life “Kehte hain agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaho, to puri kayanaat usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai”, Original: “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” It is this conspiracy theory that has given me an unflinching confidence to dream impossible and a fearless courage to chase them.
Some very kind, generous and beautiful family, friends and professionals have hand-held me to every step of life, giving a conspiratorial direction to my fate, purposeful bend to my destiny and influenced command on my luck. Thank you God. Well, that’s what God is to me. Isn’t it?
This culminates into leading me to believe in, and try to influence ‘Change’, required in a challenging system rather than which is tolerated in an accommodating system. Little common sense, applied soundly with a blend of scientific evidence, sincere hard work on a dash of undying passion, construct anecdotal observations into- fine research into- science and policy to culminate into- human advancement. A ‘Change’ that ‘a few good men’ strive for, to change the political landscape, influence bureaucracy, realize justice, transform governance, change policies, drive politics, improve economies and eventually effect healthier society for a healthy humankind. Striving to be one among those few good men. Good as defined in appropriate knowledge, right attitude and sound practices.
Not there yet, not yet… remain a dreamer, in pursuit.