God proposes... Anand disposes...

‘Yeah sure…you’ll get it by next Monday. Don’t you worry!” he assured the caller on his phone. A beautiful lady, introduced to him as his personal assistant, informed him that she deposited the cheque for Rs.5 lakh in his account. He looked at her stoically and she retired to her desk wondering why he did not give the expression of a happy man earning handsome amount. He didn't change the expression, if there’s one that he’s wearing, but fixed his gaze at the blank skies through the window…
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Anand was considered a child prodigy by his parents as well as the teachers. They believed that he would make it big someday, given his versatility in a gamut of arts and studies. And he was never short of opportunities coming his way. But they could never read what he would do next... he displayed dazzling skills always but at the right time! He attended the selections for club level football team skipping his class 12 exams. The coach was so impressed with his raw talent that, besides picking him, suggested him to be regular so that he could be nurtured to make a great prospect in the game. After having trained for months under the watchful coach, he abstained from his first match in the league to appear for his class 12 supplementary exams!! He came out with flying colors but his coach pledged to see to it that Anand would never have to do anything with the black n white ball again.

Sciences and engineering were the subjects in demand for graduation and they would be obvious choices for anyone who had as good an aggregate as Anand, but our protagonist had other plans, as usual. Out of nowhere, the love for arts cropped up… and before his parents could raise their eyebrows in surprise he took admission in the city college. He continued to surprise them as he attended the classes religiously. Looking at his articles in the college magazine in his first semester his English professor, Dr.Rao, was quite pleased and started pampering him as he identified the spark in his writings. Dr.Rao, being a popular author himself, considered Anand as a great prospect and decided to groom him.

Sindhu, Anand’s senior and a member of the editorial team was curious to see him, as the professor, not very famous for appreciating his students publicly, repeatedly praised the young lad. She was bowled over by the hunk that he was. They worked together for the magazine in the times that followed and the inevitable had to happen. They could not spend much time away from each other, not unpredictable of course, but their need for privacy hindered the-systematic Dr.Rao’s timetable that he prepared for Anand. He wanted Anand to read Shakespeare’s works like Romeo and Juliet but this romeo had his own Juliet to look after. He wanted Anand to attend workshops on skills like articulation but Anand used all his articulation skills in finding excuses to skip the workshops and go to coffee shops with Sindhu.

The professor could only manage to catch more time of his boy when Sindhu eventually passed out of the college. He used his own skills in successfully inducing some seriousness into the boy’s head. Anand, for a change, didn’t mind to be pre-occupied with work as he got his parents' consent already for Sindhu.

“I’ve decided long back that your marriage will be with Mathur’s son”, asserted Sindhu’s dad. “And he’s your junior? Which means, he is still a kid who must be having no seriousness in life for me to believe that he’d take care of my daughter. It’s not for nothing that our tradition says the groom must be older than the girl”, he continued. But Sindhu was equally eloquent and adamant to convince her dad to take a decision only after meeting Anand. She was confident that her father would be as impressed by the boy as Dr.Rao has been. “But I promised him that I’d heed to his word and be engaged to Mathur uncle’s son if he’s genuinely not impressed by you!!” she informed, rather pleaded, Anand to make sure he would come all prepared. Anand, never a man to feel pressure, could sense her anxiety and took her hand assuringly.

“Anand… my son!! Here’s a golden opportunity for you, the best gift that I can ever give you… I’ve got you short-listed for the “Budding Indian Writers” competition in Shimla. If you make a mark, publishers will come forward to sponsor your works! It’s up to you now to stand up and deliver. It’s your first major step in becoming a professional writer!!” Dr.Rao told Anand on phone, beaming with happiness. He told Anand that his itinerary was planned and he’d have to start the next day morning. He’d be away for 10 days. Anand rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock. It was 10 mins past midnight! He woke his parents up and told the news. They wasted no time and he was all set to travel the next morning. Once he made himself comfortable in the train, he suddenly felt his heart in his mouth as he remembered that Sindhu must be expecting him that day!! He was restless for a while, but consoled himself, “I’ll meet her family immediately after I go back”. In the following few days he excelled in presenting his ideas, his works and his style. RK publishers selected Anand and five others and invited them to their annual ceremony where they would award them a sponsorship, explaining them the importance of making it, for it would be attended by their boss, a man famous for his short temper.

Anand was heartbroken… he felt the ground shaking violently under his feet and he wished the seismic forces had suck him to the depths instantly when Sindhu’s father told him she had been married to some Mr.Mathur’s son and already left to the USA. “I always sensed that you are a kid, you don’t know what life is and how serious it is. Sindhu could understand it only when you left for some stupid competition knowing very well the consequences!!” her dad fumed. A few weeks passed by but Anand could not come out of the shock. Quite a number of phone calls were not answered, including those from the RK publishers. On a fateful day, Anand’s dad picked the call when he was just home from work and the voice on the other end summarized, “We’ve been trying to reach Mr.Anand for some time now. We communicated to him how important it is for him to be present at our annual ceremony. Our boss is miffed at his unavailability and we are sorry to inform that the sponsorship offer stands withdrawn”. Anand did not answer his dad. It seemed unimportant for him. The other important thing he failed to realize was how miserable he made his parents' life to be. His father, crestfallen, suffered a cardiac arrest leaving Anand and his mother in dumps.

Anand had to find work. Dr. Rao, like RK publisher’s boss, didn’t want to see Anand again after all that had happened. But, like as usual, very prospective proposals came his way. And, like as usual, he disposed them all… When he was offered his father’s job, thanks to the persistent efforts of his dad’s colleagues, he was busy convincing his school-days violin guru to take him as his full-time disciple. After some months, when the guru was convinced that he could recommend Anand’s name for the upcoming events in A.I.R, Anand found himself too busy with an offer of writing the script for a film to be made by his college friend. And when the script was 80% complete, his friend found him teaching salsa dance!! And when……… huh, the list was really never ending!!

Fifteen years later Anand found himself in a printing press, doing the modest job of a proof reader. God seemed to have got tired of his proposals so Anand hardly had anything to dispose now… It may be because of the time that had slipped away quietly or the loss of his mother, who, despite spending ten years more than her husband with their son, hardly understood Anand any better, Anand mellowed down in the last few years. Anand was just surviving, not living, in melancholy having lost everything in life in his pursuit of… well, he never knew!!

One day, Dr.Rao visited the printing press and came across Anand. He thought it was someone he knew but could not recollect immediately… Anand identified him instantly, but just slipped away immediately feeling shameful of how he ruined his professor’s faith in him. Dr.Rao enquired who that was he had just seen and then recognized Anand. He spent more time and gathered as much information about Anand as the people around could give. “He always comes to me with a notebook in his hand, tries to convey something but shies away from telling what he wanted to say. I never tried to know what he’s struggling to say” the press owner said. The professor checked Anand’s table and found the notebook. “The talent that comes with birth, never fades away”, the professor reminded himself after reading the first two pages and left the press with the notebook. Anand later found the notebook missing but it didn't bother him.

“God proposed many beautiful things to me, and I disposed them all…”. It was the first line in the notebook, as well as the last one. Between these two, Anand poured out his life. Dr.Rao assigned the book as a case-study to his students and asked for their feedback. “He’s a loser by choice..” ruled one of the students in their next session couple of days later. “He’s just crazy!!” exclaimed another. “I’ve so far seen many works about how to create or win opportunities, this one tells how not to miss the opportunities” said one more student. “I fell in love with his love story”, “My elder brother realized he has more things to look for in his kid son now!”, “Life is a serious business”, “Besides the content, there’s freshness and amazing skill in the articulation and presentation. It has every reason to be a great book” are some more reactions. Though the professor limited himself to distributing the copies among his students, slowly but gradually it reached wider circle. Two years later, he got a call from a renowned publisher proposing a deal to print and distribute the book. It was released with the title “God proposes, Anand disposes”. For a debutante, it became a decent seller to start with and gradually became more popular. A hunt was launched to trace Anand who, though less frequently, never stopped changing places and jobs. Anand had the reason to smile after many years. Not only that his book won laurels, but he was also handed over a handsome amount. Publishers queued up to release his next work. As irony would have it, he accepted RK publishers’ offer and started working on his next book. They were very confident, with the sample drafts that Anand had sent thus far, that a masterpiece and a great story-teller were in the making so much that they were prepared to sign him for his next few books as well.
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Anand’s secretary came in to bid good bye for the day and found him still gazing through the window. She thought he must be plotting for the climax of his book and retired silently without disturbing him. Yes, he is in deep thoughts. He got to play soccer with some school kids near his home yesterday evening and one of the youngest came up to him and innocently asked, “Uncle, you are playing so well… would you coach me? I want to become a good player!!”. Anand got up from the chair. The book is not in his mind any more. He just said to himself, “Soccer is my future… I could not become a good player, but I will sure become a good coach” and rushed out of his office. And God sighed in despair, “Not Again Son!!”

Stars of Chinni’s World

My mom, uncles and few other relatives used to tell us, in our childhood, bits and pieces which can be summarized into the story of an inspirational man. 

Once upon a time in a remote village, there was a couple Sriramayya and Mallamma. While all his remaining siblings were well off Sriramayya was one unlucky guy, loosing money in everything. These poverty-stricken couple lost their first kid within few days of his birth. In another couple of years, Mallamma gave birth to another baby boy, but within few months he was detected with small pox. Everyone thought the baby boy was no more but an elderly lady’s tantric methods brought him to life! That's how he began, with a struggle and making it his habit in the days and years to come…

Mallamma named her son Venkanna and her world revolved around him. But yet, not getting a penny of income from the head of the family made life really tough for them with single-meal-days becoming more and more common. Mallamma had no option but to engage herself in some labor. She used to buy tobacco from the local merchants and roll them into cigars. Once Venkanna reached the age of 11-12 years, he used to carry these cigars to the nearest town to get better returns (as the local merchants were not offering a better deal), walking all the way 13 kms on either side… and coming to aid of his mother in whatever way he can. All this, he did by still maintaining good aggregate and extra-curricular activities at school. Eventually, in the state-wide public examinations for class X, he was the only one to pass in first class in the entire mandal comprising about 40 villages, while his good friend Raju secured the next place. There were celebrations all over the village and Venkanna was hailed for bringing name to the village. But the real tests were yet to come.

Venkanna was not in a position financially to afford higher education. He went to his uncles to plead for supporting his further education and faced the humiliation of his life time. One of the uncles offered a permanent employment to feed his cattle, another one just made a mockery on what he is going to do with further studies while another one made this kid stand in his corridor for hours without saying a ‘yes’ or ‘no’!! And not long after he faced this apathy from his uncles, the family had to move away from the village as Sriramayya had become completely bankrupt by now, owing money to almost all and sundry in the village. The family shifted their base to Mallamma’s maternal village. All the villagers who lent money to Sriramayya had given up any hopes of getting their money back. But this entire episode had a huge beating on Venkanna’s psyche and his confidence on who he considered his own people.

In his maternal uncle’s village, Venkanna, along with his cousins and friends, used to spend time in the local big-shot and politically influential Ammanna’s house. Ammanna used to engage this boy in activities like writing letters and other stationary work. Observing the boy’s spark, his methodical approach and keen interest in learning, Ammanna felt he could do more to the boy. He sent him to a contractor and the boy could start his career, finally, at the age of 17 as a temporary labor in a government company with a monthly earning of 150 rupees. But Venkanna told his parents that his salary is only 100 rupees. Venkanna continued to work hard, impress the management and cemented his place in the company, becoming a permanent employee within two years. He still continued to hide the actual earnings from his parents and build the reserves of his savings.

One fine day, at the age of 24, almost 8-9 years after they vacated his birth place, Venkanna landed in his village. He carefully distributed the savings he accumulated all these years and went to each of the persons to whom his father owed money, politely told them that he could save money to re-pay almost 80% of the debt and requested them to write-off the remaining amount and interest. For the people who have already given up on the entire amount, it sounded like music to their ears!! In the course of these re-payment meetings, Venkanna happened to meet Ramulu garu, a very hard-working and kind-hearted yet a rich-man himself. Ramulu was so impressed with this guy so much that he could see himself in Venkanna. He did a thorough inquiry about the boy and made him his son-in-law, by giving him the apple-of-his-eye, Roja!! It was a move of Ramulu which surprised many in the village… as Ramulu had already found rich alliances to his other daughters. And Venkanna was a man who did not have even a hut of his own! But as they say, marriages are made in heaven, and so was this one.

When the new couple started, they were a family of four (including his parents) living in a house with a single room. Venkanna realized that his job was far from over… he was determined to improve their living condition, carefully planning each and every rupee of his income. Roja quickly read the situation and proved to be the real better half of her man, valuing every penny of her husband’s income. She was Venkanna’s greatest strength, understanding him to the core, although having come from a rich family. They had two sons in due course of time. Venkanna had set two clear priorities: 1. To provide quality education to his children (which he was deprived of in his childhood) 2. To improve their condition and standard of living.

The couple did the long journey together, taking some hard decisions and sacrificing their short-term fun moments for their long term goals. Venkanna was well known for his systematic and planned approach and he implemented them meticulously. He made sure his kids had absolutely no pressure on them and got good facilities. He continued to take care of his parents and the greatest thing was that he carried the responsibility of being the only son with aplomb, even though as-a-matter-of-fact, it was his father’s inability that led to almost all the hardships he faced in life!! Venkanna could certainly achieve his targets, although not in a typical filmy style, turning big over-night… Yes, it took time. Not one or two years, but a couple of decades!! He eventually ended up with a 2-floored house and a small car. His sons settled well in their lives in decent jobs and gave the satisfaction to him that all he relinquished was worthwhile. He earned the status, respect and reverence with only one way he knew… HARD WORK!!

Venkanna is my hero because he is someone who I can really try to emulate to make it big... He is my hero, for showing what perseverance and hard work can help you achieve. He is my hero, for exemplifying the life of character and values… And yes, he is my hero because I am what I am because of him!! Venkanna is none other than my ever loving dad, Venkata Rao!! Roja, is my sweet mom Saroja. Ammanna garu is the father of our ex-minister and senior congress leader late Sri Gudivada Gurunadha Rao garu. And dad’s friend Raju is none other than late Dr.K. Appala Raju sir, HOD of Mathematics dept in NIT Warangal!