Journey to super-consciousness

Chapter 4. Live every moment like it's your last.

Chapter 4. Live every moment like it's your last.

"I landed in Brisbane on a weekend; the University had sent a cab to pick me up from the airport and had arranged my accommodation in one of the motels in the Brisbane city centre. The cab driver was a Sardarji named Harvinder Singh. He was very nice and could understand quickly that I came to Australia for the first time. He gave me a couple of tips and also his contact number and asked me to contact him if I needed any help in the future. I was so happy to find an Indian and was feeling good. My happiness did not last for long. When he dropped me at the motel in the city centre, it was evening, streets were full of people enjoying the start of weekend on Friday evening and that was normal for them, which I could understand later. There was nothing wrong but it was a very different way of enjoyment as compared to my village. This kind of sheer madness, I had not seen even in Delhi. Maybe it was there in Delhi too, but I did not focus on these things as I was running behind my father's dream.
If I look back today, I was culturally shocked on the first evening, I went inside the dormitory, where two guys were getting intimated with their girl friends. I tried to stay there calm but could not stay there for long as everything I saw for the first time in this manner and I was getting uncomfortable. I went to the roof top of the motel, there also scene was no different. Finally I decided to go a nearby street in search of vegetarian dinner. I found a McDonalds, I entered and enquired about a vegetarian burger and to my dismay, they did not have vegetarian burger in their menu available at that time. However, McDonald's in India served vegetable burgers at all times. I was shockingly disappointed and angry on everything at that point of time. I was cursing people, the motel, McDonalds and the cumulative effect of all these negative thoughts made me feel that I was out of place and that this place was not meant for me. I quickly decided that I would go back to India and I immediately wanted to convey my decision to my father. I went to the motel reception and asked him whether I could use his phone to make a call to India, he advised me to buy a phone card as that would be cheaper."

"To tell you the truth Ken, I had to struggle that day, first to enquire about a vegetarian burger and then to get a phone card— almost ten minutes at each stop, just to understand their accent and convey my requirements. I used to consider myself a fluent English communicator but maybe a different style of accent caused that delay. My misery that day did not end there. I still remember, I went to a nearby seven eleven store and found an Indian guy working there. I felt so happy at that moment thinking I will not have to go through the same struggle to communicate my requirement. On his advice I got India calling, a phone card with lowest call rate. Now, I needed one dollar coin to dial the local number which would connect me to India number. I had few one dollar coins. Again because of my lack of understanding of Australian English accent and lack of clarity of voice of pre recorded operator voice, I lost all the coins without talking to my father. I neither had courage nor energy to go and get some more coins. I decided to pen down my thoughts in the form of a letter, this was the first letter of my life and you will not believe Ken, that evening, within minutes I could write twenty pages and I felt like writing more. Maybe the writer within me, which went to hibernation in the childhood after my father's punishment rejuvenated on those moments of emotional outburst. If I look back within hours of landing into Australia, how could I get so much to share with my father? Maybe I was overreacting at that moment."

Ken said, "don't worry life is all about experiences; at times we do overreact but this is all part and parcel of life. I am sure at that point of time that outburst was required for you to vent out your feelings in the form of a letter. So don't worry and continue my friend."

Nodding at him appreciatively, I continued, "As soon as my emotional outburst was over in the form of that long letter, my physical requirement like hunger and sleep started knocking my brain's door. I was going through a great combination of feelings where I was feeling sleepy and at the same time hungry but because of imagining the possible situation of my dormitory as well as nearby street, I was not in the mood of going inside my dormitory for sleep or in the nearby street for dinner. I decided to manage my hunger by buying some nuts and banana's along with vanilla flavored milk from the nearby seven eleven store. After having this unusual combination of food for my dinner, I felt like sleeping and you won't believe Ken, I had to force myself into the dormitory and behave as if I was normal. Only I know, how I managed my sleep that night in that ambience. I woke up late next morning at around 10 AM. I wanted to take shower but even that was challenge as people were moving around in common bathrooms almost without any clothes. I had to wait for my turn but I must admit that overall the morning, streets and everything was very different from the last night there. There was hardly any noise in the street or in the motel. People seemed very sensible and sober. Now I realize that weekend nights are meant to be the way I saw a night before and now I can relate whenever I go to India, that it is no different in India. Maybe it took little longer for Indian metro cities to follow that night life culture which I saw in Brisbane. Just to give you another perspective on this Ken, maybe I was outdated at that point of time as I came from a small village where basic amenities were not available and had completed most of my education from villages and small towns. Although, I did spend fair amount of my time in Delhi but I had never exposed myself to night life as my focus was entirely different."