By Apoorv Shandilya:
Words have always fascinated me. The world, not so much. Most of my childhood memories are of nostalgic joy and happiness. Some part of the joy was surely due to the books I read and due to my family, which always stood behind my back.
I studied Science for two long years, hoping to get a grasp of it. Perhaps they were the longest years of my life. Today, when I am finally pursuing English literature, I am reminded of how foolish I was to choose something which I never intended to study. A voice from somewhere kept pestering me, telling me that I was wrong to pursue Science. I never loved or even barely liked doing what I did. But for the most part, the subject was never at fault. It was the choice that I made. The choices that make all the difference.
Four months back, when I stepped into Christ University, there weren’t many expectations that I had. I duly loved literature and yet my failures over the past two years had subdued my desire to pursue something I loved with all my heart.
I have met people who do not like the fact that I read and write a lot. To the majority of people, it does seem idiotic. Much to their displeasure, I don’t agree. There’s nothing wrong with me and nothing wrong with the others either. They just don’t possess the same eyes as I do and are unable to discover the magic that unfolds each time we turn a page of a book which awaits our arrival.
I still must admit that I do find myself perplexed by people who question me the reason I read and write about things which are outside the boundaries of my syllabus. I have failed to answer this question quite a few times now, as I do not know the reason for it. I would never be able to answer this question honestly as I know that it is only love that can make me do stuff with complete satisfaction involving the whole of my heart. I love writing. I love it so much. The concept of freezing a moment in time and capturing the essence of that moment in words is insane.
Writing is never just about making money, becoming famous or wooing girls for that matter. For the most part, it’s about the love that writers have for writing. The sheer temptation is the driving force.
As someone lucky enough to have a family which supported me in my decisions, I must admit that I never really faced a hindrance in pursuing English literature for higher education unlike many others hidden in various corners of the well sophisticated society, covered in veils, wearing facades.
And no matter what you choose to study, it’s always better than something you are forced to.
I have always hated monotony. I realise how lucky I am to have witnessed it myself. The world demands to be seen through lenses that are not always ours.
And that is the secret behind a smile that was never there and the reward that never existed. Yes, the world demands to be seen differently, with each rising sun and the surreal moon. All we truly deserve is freedom. Freedom to choose moonlight over the sun. And when we realise what we truly deserve, we are free. I am free.
There are things that we wish never happened, but beneath this reality, lies the truest of the truth, that every event was no such luck that we had always thought it to be.
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