The Paper Boat

Once upon a time there was a planet far away - a planet I created when I was in a very happy mood. I decided that this would be a masterpiece – the most beautiful place in the entire universe, so I painted it green and blue and purple and pink – what a colorful, agreeable picture that was! I then sent my most favorite angels to live on that planet. These angels were my own children – my happiest children. I knew that the beautiful planet I had created, needed looking after, and only my happy little angels could do that for me. The little angels agreed to go live on the new land. They decided to call it the Happy Land.

Let me describe Happy Land to you the way I made it – green, lush gardens and forests, bright, blue skies, clear water that took any color, majestic mountains, lilies and roses along every street, serene lakes, rivers and glaciers, birds that chirped and made music – To my children, Happy Land resembled their own home – Heaven.

So they faced no challenge in accepting it and getting comfortable there. Very soon, Happy Land became their new home. They played on the green fields and gardens, climbed up the mountains, ran along the streets and swam in the beautiful waters. They laughed, danced and sang happily during the day. At night they played under the moon light, they counted stars and stared at the dark, yet shiny sky. They were such a happy bunch – always together, supporting and helping each other, having fun with each other.

My happy little children had not learnt how to fight, they did not know anger, and they were completely agnostic of greed, pride and ego. I had only taught them how to love and be happy. This is also why I carefully decided to place them on my favorite planet – my creation so beautiful!

Years passed and my little angels lived happily on the land that had become their new home. They enjoyed every day to the fullest; however, their most favorite time was when it rained! Whenever it rained, they played harder under the cool showers. They laughed and danced and sang as they bathed under the rain. When the showers stopped, they made paper boats to sail in the standing rain water. That was their favorite activity of all!

Every month, they would eagerly wait for me to send some rain their way so they could set sailing! And I would admiringly look at them as they did so – it always made me smile when I saw them so happy.

One day as my little ones were playing in the gardens, they spotted a disc in the sky. A huge disc that spun around itself - it looked as if the disc was approaching their Happy Land. They all got together and carefully started walking towards the disc. The disc gradually landed. The little angels all gathered around it. In a few moments the disc opened, and out came three creatures. Who were they? – The angels did not know. They looked big and beautiful. They had broad smiles on their pretty faces.

“Hello children. My name is Rhea. And these are my friends Jack and Rita. We are visiting from a planet far away. We would like to move around on your lovely land and would like to know you all better.” said one of the foreigners in a beautiful, polite voice.

The children giggled together – this creature was so lovely. She was tall, had long hands and legs, long brown hair and was dressed in something so shiny. The three foreigners stared at each other, they were probably wondering if the children were scared.

“My name is Theo and these are all my brothers and sisters - Ali, Saira, Ram, Krishna, Rahim, Meera, Nico, Paula and Zoe. Welcome to our home. We have never had visitors before. But we hope you will have a good stay. Let us show you around”, said Theo. My other little ones all smiled and held hands together as they bowed pleasantly in front of their guests.

“Umm. Thanks Theo, and everyone. We would like to meet your parents if possible. Can you tell us where to find them? We would like to meet some adults around here.” replied Rhea.

“Adults? We don’t have any of those” laughed Theo. “Dear guests, this is Happy Land. You are welcome to look around, but you will not find adults here. This is our home – we are all children and we never grow up.”

The foreigners were taken aback. They were confused and thought the children were lying. But after looking around for a couple of hours, they realized that the children were in fact speaking the truth! Happy Land had no adults – the inhabitants of this land were all children – happy, innocent children who were ignorant to ego, anger and hatred. And these children, really never grew up! The foreigners were simply astonished at the amount of happiness and harmony that existed on this magical land.

My children were great tourist guides – they took the three foreigners for long walks around the lakes, over the mountains and on the sea side. The beauty of Happy Land was mesmerizing and the foreigners forgot their own homes as they soaked it all in. The little ones were also great hosts – they served the foreigners the best fruit, green leafy vegetable soup and the best milk that could be found on Happy Land.

Later that night they asked their guests if they wanted to play under the moon light. The foreigners simply smiled back – full of amusement. “No children, we don’t really play. We have lots of work to do. We have to report back what we have seen today to our teams back home! But we will come down with you and watch you play for some time if that is okay?” Rita said.

“Sure, feel free to come and look” Meera smiled back.

I could see that the children were finding the foreigners rather curious! Who would not like to play in the moon light! Who would not like to count stars in the bright sky! My little ones were probably thinking.

I could hear some giggling…

“What exactly do they mean by work?”

“They don’t want to play? They don’t like moon light?”

“What do they mean by report back home?”

Curiosity on Happy Land was growing. It made me smile, but also made me a little nervous.

The next day I decided I would send some rain their way – they deserved to enjoy under the showers after doing such a great job at entertaining three “adult” guests on Happy Land.

After sunrise, I sent down the first shower. The little ones all got up excitedly and gathered together to play in the rain. The three foreigners were still asleep – perhaps they were tired.

Ram suggested, “Should we invite our new friends over too? They were smiling last night as we counted stars.”

Saira agreed, “Yes, it would be impolite not to let them know that we have our shower dance. And then we will have our boats too – we should let them join”.

Theo went over and invited Rhea, Rita and Jack. The three were truly fascinated by all they were experiencing.

“We would love to come and watch you, though not too keen to get wet in the rain.” laughed Jack.

Rita and Rhea agreed – they would stand under a roof and simply watch the children.

Again, the inhabitants of Happy Land were confused – who would not like to play in the rain! These showers come once in a while – wouldn’t you want to make the most of it when they are here? Why getting wet in the showers would be unpleasant to someone – they failed to understand. But then, these were foreigners. Who knows what land they came from – perhaps they were scared of showers!

The three foreigners watched with utter surprise as the children played in the rain – it was as if they had no worries in life, no inhibitions. They laughed and danced without barriers. The foreigners looked at each other and smiled – they were all thinking the same thing: should these children be laughed at, or should they be envied? They did not have words to express their thoughts to each other.

That evening after their moon light dinner the foreigners told the children that they would have to return back home the following day. As a token of thanks they gave the children a yellow shiny statue – statue of a bird. “It is made of gold”, Rhea said. My innocent children had no idea what that meant! But they found it most attractive and amusing.

The curiosity in the little minds was mounting – they had questions to which they were hoping to get answers today.

“Rhea, you said you did not play, you worked. Can you tell us what that means? What is work? And why don’t you play?” Krishna dared to ask.

The three foreigners were touched by his innocence.

“Well, you see, we are not children. We are grown-ups. And grow-ups have to work – we work to learn new things, we work to build new things, we work to make things such as this lovely gold bird. We also have to work to get food.

I know this is too different from your life here, but that is how things are from where we come”

“Can you show us some of that work you talk about?” Rahim asked

“Hmmm. Let me see. Okay, maybe I can show you some pictures on my phone. Here, look everyone. This is called a phone. We make these phones on our land. And look at these pictures here – do you see these tall structures? They are buildings. We build them, and we live in them. And look at this – these are our offices – we sit in these offices and work on our computers and tablets. Look at this picture, this is an adult working.

You see, on our land, people work. They work to make things and then they sell these things to make money. Then they use that money to buy stuff. They use that stuff to make more money, and buy more and more stuff with that money!

Oh it is really too complicated – I don’t think I can explain it to you. You will understand it all when you grow up!” Rhea replied.

“But, but we will never grow up” Paula said.

“Oh that is not such a bad thing Paula. You are happier if you don’t understand!” Rhea laughed.

My little children had learnt something new today – something I had kept them away from. They were all silent. There was no staring at the moon-lit sky that night and certainly no star counting.

The children were in deep thought – they were trying to digest what these foreign adults had shared with them.

The foreigners left Happy Land, and taught my children something new – the concept of making money, the concept of working and building things. With this new knowledge, there came a sense of dullness and dis-satisfaction among my happy children. But there came something else – growth! Yes, when you learn, you grow. And my children were no different – they had now learnt something new and had grown up just a little!

The following morning had a strange start.

“Theo, I have been thinking a lot – we should try to build something new – like those foreigners do. I saw those pictures they showed us. We should have some of those buildings on our Happy Land. I want to do it friends. Would you agree?” Ram suggested

“No Ram. Our land is beautiful as it is, let us not change it” Theo responded.

“Ram is right, Theo. I would like to do something new too!” Ali said.

“Yes, for how long will we remain children? I want to grow up too, and be like Rhea” Saira said.

“I don’t think so Saira. I am with Theo. Let us not try to change our Happy Land.” Krishna said.

What was happening here – I had never taught my children how to fight – but today they were having an argument. The united bunch was now divided into two groups – a group that wanted to grow up and live like adults and another that wanted to stay as is.

Little did they realize that in the process of developing an argument and entering a fight, they had already developed another trait of adulthood. Yes, they had now grown up just a little bit more!

The following few days were full of arguments – to cheer them up, I also sent some rain their way. However they were too busy arguing and barely noticed the showers! There were no dances, no songs and certainly no paper boats. It was disheartening to see my little ones grow up – yes, as the days went by, the arguments got serious and the groups became more divisive – my little ones were becoming more and more like adults!

In the next few days the bunch broke up into separate groups – one group started building houses – the other was upset so they started hampering the building work. Arguments were now slowly turning into fights. There were stone throws and sticks… and worse.

Years passed, the little ones were no longer little – they were all grown ups now. Many rains had fallen, but there were no more paper boats. They were all busy working… or fighting!

Somehow, all those things I had tried to keep them away from – ego, anger, pride – had all come to them as they grew up.

It was disappointing to see my favorite planet turn into something so ugly. I sent them another round of showers with the hope that they would all come out and dance as they used to when they were children. I always hoped for that – though in the past several years that had never happened. My eyes craved for the picture of my little ones sailing paper boats in the standing rain water.

I sent down the pouring rain, and continued to look down with hopeful eyes – nothing happened. I spotted Theo sitting at the window of his tall office. He looked old, and was in some deep thought. I wanted to hear what his mind was trying to say. So I went closer. 

Theo had a tear in his eye and a smile on his face. He was looking at the rain and was calling me, “Father, Oh Father! What have we done! I don’t want this life of an adult man – I don’t want this yellow, shiny gold, these tall offices, this money and these riches. All I crave for is that innocence that filled our Happy Land – the times when we could play in this rain and sail our paper boats without thinking of anything else. Bring me back my paper boat – make me a child again Father. Make all of us children again. Let this all be a bad dream – take us back to where we started! Father, please take away this adulthood”

Out across the building was Saira staring outside weeping silently, thinking similar thoughts. Far away sitting at a wooden desk were Ram and Meera, both looking at each other and wondering if they could ever get back their happy days.

All my children were calling me for help – they all wanted to go back to being children. They were tired of adulthood.

I decided to go down there and visit them. As I landed on Happy Land, they all came around me and stood there weeping, looking at each other and at me with their tired eyes.

Theo started to speak “Father, what have we done to ourselves. Take us to the beginning – we want to be children again. Please Father!”.

“My dear ones, I cannot do that. It is beyond my powers. Once you grow up, there is no moving back. You are adults now, and you will remain adults until you live.”

“Oh Father! This is unbearable, it really is. We are tired, we are fighting, we are unhappy” replied Rahim.

“I cannot give you what you are asking for, my loved ones. I simply cannot! But I cannot bear your pain either. You are still my children and will always be. So here is an offer I shall make you –

While you will not be children again, you will be able to have your own children instead. You will be fathers and mothers of little angels. These little angels will be your bundles of joy. You will play with these children and teach them how to live & how to be happy. These children will be your hope for future happiness.”

Years have passed since. I still watch over my children, and grandchildren. I often send some showers their way, as I am doing today.

“Do you know little Theo, when we were little, we made paper boats and sailed them in the standing rain water”, says Theo to his son Theo Jr.

“Can you teach me how you do that, Father?”

The paper boat is ready and Theo & Theo Jr. are on their way to sail it in the standing water. As they arrive, there are four boats sailing already. 

Theo leaves his son to play and goes back to his window, watching his child with his companions. Little Ali, Rahim, Ram, Krishna, Paula, Meera, Saira, Zoe and Theo hold hands as they see their boats sail on the water.

Deja Vu

Let me introduce myself to you before I start. My name is Time, yes, that’s right – Time. Haven’t you heard of me – all of you have experienced me. Some people believe that I am an illusion, but no – I am real, very real.

I am the one that waits for no one. I keep passing, I keep moving. I have never stopped – ever. And nobody can run ahead of me. People try to do so, by attempting to look into their “futures”, by making plans for what comes next, by thinking and worrying about the tomorrow that they really don’t have any control on. Don’t get me wrong – I am not suggesting that you as a human should stop planning for tomorrow. Yes, you should – I appreciate good planners, and more often than not, I come out most favorably to those who plan their tomorrows. But the fact is that only I can tell what exactly comes next. That’s why they say “Only time can tell!”

While I have come across a number of good planners and people who act on their plans without procrastination, I have seldom met people who actually realize my value. My value really lies in “moments”. While seconds, minutes and hours are my units, my value really is in the moments.

Okay, enough about me. Now let me introduce you to the main character in my story – Julie. Why is she the main character? Because I really like her – Julie is one of the most organized people I have ever come across – always plans ahead, never procrastinates and is usually ready for what comes next. She manages me, uh, I mean she manages her time really well. But like many of you, she is not very good at enjoying her moments. Moments – in which my real value lies. She does not realize that these moments will pass, and never return. I am afraid for Julie – I am afraid that it will be too late before she realizes it. I really want to help Julie – you see, I am really, really fond of her and her little daughter Elsa.

So, in order to help Julie I have decided to play a little game – a game that I like to call “Déjà vu”. Déjà vu is when you have a moment where you realize that you have already gone through a certain experience in the past. To me, it is real fun! I love to see people’s faces as they experience déjà vu.

Only in Julie’s case, I will make that happen by running really fast for Julie – so that she experiences her déjà vu moments from the future, right now – today. You want to join me as I do this? Come on, it will be fun! Let’s go to Julie’s house!

Okay we are here. Julie, her husband Mark and their daughter Elsa live in this 2 bedroom apartment in New York. Elsa is 4 years old and goes to school. Mark is a trader – he works really hard. Julie is the head of technology with a large publishing company in the city. Now let’s get in and see what they are up to this evening. I am sure Mark is not at home yet, and Julie has picked Elsa up from after-school day-care. Don’t hesitate, come on in – they cannot see us! Just keep watching.

Listen, Julie is calling Elsa to dinner. “Elsa dear, ready for dinner? Mommy has to work tonight, so let’s finish dinner soon and then I shall read you your story quickly, okay?”

Little Elsa always obeys, look how she joins her mother at the dining table. “Yes mommy. I am ready. Do you know what happened at school today? You have to hear this – it is so funny”

Julie is busy checking her messages and emails – she has to plan for her busy tomorrow. Uh oh – look, she is almost missing her moment. Well, let’s see what happens. Let’s listen to Elsa.

“Today we went to the park Mommy. And guess what we saw! We saw a mommy rabbit and a baby rabbit! The mommy was taking care of her baby, it was so cute! You know mommy, I fed them a little carrot! It was so much fun. You should have been there.”

Julie is nodding along, but looking at her phone. She is looking at her planner – organizing herself. She is very particular about it. Oh Julie, you have missed the moment!

“Mommy! Are you even listening to what I am saying?”

“Oops, sorry Elsa. I was not attentive. What’s that now? You saw a rabbit in the park?”

“I won’t repeat myself”

Well well, Elsa is right to be upset. She deserves attention. And silly Julie, in the midst of planning her hours for the next day, she has missed her moment today. Now come on let’s do something fun. Let’s run. Yes, you can come with me. I am going to run a lot faster and take Julie into the future – 10 years away. Ready? Get-set-go

Aha, look there’s Julie setting up the dinner table. ”Elsa, can you join for dinner please? I have to work late tonight, and I am sure you have to wake up early tomorrow”

Elsa is not responding. Come on, let’s go see what she is up to – there she is, on her bed with her phone. Ah, she has ear phones on, obviously she cannot hear her mom calling. Oh there comes Julie.

“Elsa, take those ear phones off now, and come to eat dinner”

Elsa looks up – “Okay sure, will be there in a sec. You can start”

Julie is waiting at the table. And here comes Elsa with her phone – probably she is chatting with a friend.

“Elsa, you know something funny? A colleague of mine at work just published a bunch of articles on rabbits! I happened to read one today and was so surprised with a few facts – did you know rabbits have a panoramic vision? They can view predators from all sides. And apparently rabbits need company of other rabbits – they get too lonely and bored otherwise”

Elsa is nodding along, but is constantly looking at her phone.

“Elsa, are you even listening to what I am saying?”

“Oops, sorry mom, I was not paying attention. You had a story – what was that? You read about rabbits? They taste good huh?”

“Never mind, I am not repeating myself”

Oh look, look at Julie’s face – she had a déjà vu moment there! Hasn’t this happened before? She is thinking. This is such fun! Don’t you agree? Come on, let’s do more of this. Let’s run again, and take Julie and Elsa further into the future – ten more years! Ready? Get set go!

Ah look what Julie’s up to. She is taking a walk in the park! She is looking old now, isn’t she? There she is sitting on a bench, let’s go join her. Look how she is browsing through some pictures on her phone – pictures of Elsa. Looks like Elsa doesn’t live with her any more. She is trying to call her now, but getting no answer.

Oh, what is she looking at, let’s take a look too. Wonderful! It is a couple of rabbits! A mother rabbit and a child rabbit! Julie seems to be enjoying the view, she is smiling to herself. It looks like she has learnt to live the moment. Now she is taking a picture. Yes, no wonder, she is sending it over to Elsa! Let’s see what happens next. 

The message is gone, I think. Ah there is a reply from Elsa – “I am in a meeting, will call you later”. Oh dear, the moment’s gone. But look at Julie’s face – it’s that déjà vu look again. Oh I am enjoying myself so much. I hope you are too. Shall we do a bit more of this? Don’t worry, nobody will know - I control them all anyway! Let’s run again and take Julie and Elsa further into the future – let’s go ten more years into the future. Are you ready? Get-set-go!

There is old Julie. Who is the little girl she is playing with? The little girl looks like Elsa, but that cannot be, Elsa must be thirty five years old already! Yes, you guessed it right – that is Elsa’s daughter Elise.

Let’s wait and watch what happens.

Okay, now Julie is getting the table ready for dinner. “Elise darling, can you come for dinner please? Your mommy will be here to pick you up in a few minutes. Let’s eat and be ready before she does”

Oh Elise is so obedient, here she comes. “Gramma, do you know what I saw at school today? It was so much fun! You want to hear about it?”

Look at Julie, she is all ears! “Of course darling, I want to hear all about it.”

“Well, we went to the park and there we saw a mommy rabbit and a baby rabbit. The mommy was taking care of the baby rabbit. I fed them a little carrot Gramma. It was so much fun!”

Hey look at Julie’s face now – it is that déjà vu look again. Come-on, accept that you are enjoying this as much as I am. Let’s wait a bit longer to see Elsa, shall we?

Ah the doorbell rings finally, it must be Elsa. And it is! “Hi mommy, hi little Elise. Ready to go?”

“No Elsa, wait. You have to hear this wonderful story that Elise has for us. She has had the nicest experience at school today – and I want you to hear it right now”.

“Can we do this in the car?” Oh Elsa, what is the hurry!

“No you may not my dear. I want to hear this once again with you” Oh poor Julie. She wants to have the moment once again. Okay, let’s give it to her.

“Okay, sure. Elise tell mommy your story”. Look, Julie is taking Elsa’s phone away.

“Today we went to the park Mommy. And guess what we saw! We saw a mommy rabbit and a baby rabbit! The mommy was taking care of her baby, it was so cute! You know mommy, I fed them a little carrot! It was so much fun. You should have been there.”

Hey, look at both their faces – Julie and Elsa, I think both of them have had the déjà vu moment. Poor Julie has tears – I think she has learnt her lesson. I think she will be more careful moving forward. Let me take them back now, shall I?

How about you? Would you like to come back to the present too? Or do you want to stay here? Don’t worry, I will take you back – I know you want to live all those moments and more, I shall not take them away from you. So are you ready? Get-set-go.

Ah here we are – there’s Julie still at the dining table and Elsa finishing her dinner.

“Please Elsa, I want to hear the rabbit story. Please can you repeat it? I promise I will always be attentive, I really promise. I mean it. But please tell me the story again darling.” Look at Julie pleading. And she has thrown her phone away on to the sofa!

I think Elsa has forgiven her mommy. “Okay, I will not repeat again, so listen carefully. Today we went to the park. And guess what we saw! We saw a mommy rabbit and a baby rabbit! The mommy was taking care of her baby, it was so cute! You know mommy, I fed them a little carrot! It was so much fun. You should have been there.”

“That is so wonderful Elsa. Would you like to go to the park this Sunday and look at the rabbits again? I would really want to see them myself too. Would you go with me please?”

“Sure mommy I’ll go with you.

Mommy, I just heard somewhere that rabbits can see all around! I don’t know where I heard it, but I did.”

The Expat Doctor

“Hi, is that Vikram?” she asked as she entered the Coffee house and saw the handsome, lone young man seated next to the window.

He stood up and shook hands with her, as he gave her one of his shy, yet charming smiles.

“You must be Parul. Nice to meet you.”

Parul – Dr.Parul Joshi was here on a blind date – a date set up for her by her parents. She was here to meet Vikram Hooda, a young engineer who had been introduced to her parents through their network. Parul’s parents were interested in making Vikram part of their family – by getting Parul married to him. However Parul was totally uninterested in marriage, so she had decided to meet Vikram and end it all before it started.

But as she shook hands with the tall, well-built, handsome young man she subconsciously changed her mind. She sat down and they began their very first conversation.

Vikram was soft-spoken and polite, irrespective of all his achievements. He was also an excellent listener. They talked – actually Parul talked for hours, and he actively listened to her. She told him about her childhood, her college and her medical studies.

She had completed her Bachelors in Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) from a top Medical school in India. She had recently started working with a hospital in Bangalore, and was thoroughly enjoying her work. She loved and truly believed in her profession, and dreamt of being of great service to mankind in future.

Before they realized, it was past dinner time. Parul had never before felt so free and talkative. There was something about Vikram that made her talk and open up. Something about his smile made her forget the world. She was clearly falling in love with him! When she entered the coffee house, it was with the intention of ending the dialogue before it started, but at the end of the two hours, she felt as if she could go on talking with this man forever!

And her wish came true – in the next six months Parul and Vikram were married in a grand wedding ceremony in Bangalore.

After marriage Parul continued to work with the hospital for several months. Vikram worked for a large engineering company – he was well known in the company for his intelligence and his great attitude. His work was well rewarded and soon he was promoted to higher ranks. With his promotion came additional responsibility and opportunity. His company offered him an Expat opportunity to move to Germany for three years.

He came home with the great news.

“Would you like to go on an extended holiday to Germany?” he asked Parul.

“What do you mean?”

“I have been offered an Expat deal to go to Germany for three years. I can take it if we want.”

“Three years? That’s a bit long. What does this deal mean to us?”

“Well, it is an expat deal – so, we will have a luxurious life – in addition to a solid pay package, we will have a fully furnished and fully paid-for house, we will have a car, when we have kids their school fees will be paid too, we will have domestic help, first class air travel, paid holidays, free air tickets for our families. The list goes on. Honestly, to me it sounds like a great deal. There are at least six people on my team who would die for this deal. But I will totally understand if you want me to decline.”

It all seemed too good to be true. Parul had heard about Expats in the past. She had an uncle who had been an expat in Malaysia with his family. She had seen their lifestyle and had been quite impressed by the same. They had everything she could dream of! A bungalow, a luxury car and exotic holidays! She had seen some of their pictures at fancy restaurants, ski resorts, five star hotels. Their children went to international private schools, and their education was all sponsored by the company. The family had a nanny, a driver, a cook, a cleaner – a lifestyle only few could imagine to have.

Wouldn’t she like to have all that? Perhaps yes, but then, what would she do in Germany for three years? She was a qualified doctor, could she practice medicine there? Well, visa restrictions on expat families do not allow them to work. So only Vikram would continue to work and she would have to stay back home – with all the riches & luxuries that the expat deal promised, it would indeed become a rather extended holiday!

She thought about it for a long time – financially it made a lot of sense. It would be a great experience for Vikram professionally. From her own perspective, having an international, expat life for a couple of years would not necessarily hurt – yes it would mean she would take a break from her hospital for three years, but would that make her an obsolete doctor? - probably not. So she decided to say yes.

“Let’s do it Vikram. It will be an adventure. And, I wouldn’t really mind taking that extended holiday you talked about.”

Within the next two months they were on a flight to Frankfurt. Their exciting expat life in Frankfurt had now begun. They were delighted to land in this beautiful, enchanting city that was not only an industrial & financial powerhouse, but also a culturally rich destination. Parul knew from her research that Frankfurt was one of the most preferred expat destinations in the world – the standard of living there was great with sound housing, excellent public transport, non-existent crime, low unemployment and superb international expat schools. Both Parul and Vikram were happy and thankful to have had such an opportunity.

The first few days were spent settling down. The company had provided them with a large, posh apartment that was not far away from the city center. The apartment was in a relatively quiet part of the city that was largely inhabited by expats with families. They spent the week furnishing the place, and getting to know the neighborhood. Their immediate neighbors were expat families too – one from Argentina and another from Italy. They received a warm welcome from these new friends, as they gradually settled into the new place.

Weekends were spent exploring the beautiful city, and the surrounding regions. The Imperial cathedral, St Paul’s church, all the medieval buildings, the opera house, museums – they visited each and every tourist attraction and spent hours admiring the beauty of the city every weekend. They also travelled around, exploring places outside Frankfurt, and outside Germany too. A romantic vacation in Paris, a weekend in Brussels, A holiday in Rome, An adventure in Amsterdam, A historical tour of Athens – they visited every exotic destination in Europe over the following few months.

Weekdays typically were quite busy. Unsurprisingly, Vikram would remain busy at work from Monday to Friday. But surprisingly, Parul would also remain busy from Monday to Friday! When they had started planning their move to Frankfurt, they had feared that Parul would get terribly bored of doing nothing. However, life here was not boring at all! Parul had become a member of the Expat wives club. She had made a number of expat friends there. These were all highly sophisticated and educated women from all over the world.

While their spouses went to work, they often planned their own activities together – visit to a spa, tour of a museum, movie evening, a shopping day on the Zeil or Goethestraße  – which is where one would find the highly classy, designer shops. Parul had slowly, but surely developed significant interest in designer brands.

All in all – life was great for Parul and Vikram. A year passed, and they did not realize how fast time had flown away. Amidst all the enjoyment and holidaying Parul realized that she was pregnant. Both of them were delighted to get the news, and spent the following few months preparing their lavish apartment for the baby’s arrival. They bought an expensive crib, a pram, a car seat, baby clothing, toys.  Parul’s expat friends threw her a very fancy baby shower too!

Finally the little girl Leila arrived. Parul’s parents visited to meet their granddaughter. They were immensely pleased to see how happy their daughter was – what a life style she had! They were very proud and content as they returned back home.

With the little baby, came a nanny who helped Parul. She also took great care of the baby when Parul was busy with a kitty party or another ladies event. This was not very frequent, but Parul did take a break from the baby atleast once a week.

Time continued to fly as she enjoyed her extended holiday. Soon the three years were over. One day Vikram came back home from work and asked Parul if she was ready to go back.

“What do you mean go back? Can we not stay a bit longer? Can your contract be extended another term?” she asked.

“Well, I can get the contract extended by three more years, but I thought you wanted to go back.”

“Not really Vikram. We are happy, aren’t we? And little Leila will have a great school here if we stayed back. She will start school this September.”

Vikram agreed and they continued their expat life in Frankfurt.

Their daughter grew up and started school – the international school that taught English and German. They were very proud of their girl as she was trilingual – she spoke Hindi, English and German. Parul continued to make several new friends at school – the mothers of other kids.

Years continued to pass, and it was Leila’s fifth birthday. That afternoon, she had to be taken to her pediatrician for her vaccinations. Leila was a surprisingly brave child when it came to doctors and injections. She was not nervous at all, as Dr. Davis inserted the needle into the little arm. Dr. Davis was a kindhearted, warm woman. After the injection she gave Leila a little lollipop. The little one was super-excited as she took her reward from Dr. Davis.

After the doctor visit, the family of three started driving back home. Leila was on her car seat, and was in a deep thought. Parul wondered what she was thinking.

“What are you thinking of baby?”

“Thinking of the doctor, mumma.”

“What about the doctor, dear?”

“I like the doctor. Why are you not a doctor mumma? You know, I want to be a doctor just like her.”

For several seconds Parul went completely blank. Her daughter had asked her why she was not a doctor.

Well, somewhere on the way Parul had forgotten that she was in fact a doctor. Would her little girl believe her if she said that she was a doctor too? Would she ever say “I want to be a doctor like mumma”?

Parul remained silent. Only Vikram could hear her silence. As they got back home, she excused herself and drove away. She stopped close to a little garden, parked the car and sat down on a bench.

There was much thinking to be done. Where could she start? Could she start with that “gold medal” she had been awarded years ago for her exemplary performance at medical school? Or could she start with her dream of one day becoming a great doctor who would service mankind?

She started questioning these achievements as tears rolled down her cheeks – “Am I really a doctor? Who am I?” she asked herself.

Here in this beautiful town that she called home, she was known as “An expat wife”, “wife of Mr. Vikram Hooda”, “An expat mother”, “Mother of Leila”. Not a single person knew her as Dr.Parul.

She suddenly started feeling like a stranger in the enchanting, pretty town. She knew every corner of it, but no longer felt like she belonged here.

With a heavy heart and a mind full of unorganized thoughts she drove back home. It was her daughter’s birthday, so her little friends had all arrived. She stood in a corner and watched the children play. They were playing a game facilitated by an animator called “Be your mommy” – each child had to play his or her own mother.

A little girl came up wearing an apron – “I am mommy, the chef of the family”

Another little girl came with a handbag and a comb “I am mommy, I am lovely”

Finally it was Leila’s turn. Parul wondered what Leila would say. She looked at Vikram who smiled back approvingly. Leila came walking with a plastic stethoscope and said “I am mommy, I am a doctor”.

Parul smiled as she saw the show. Vikram walked next to her and held her quietly.

“I had forgotten that this was an extended vacation, Vikram.” She said.

“And now the vacation is over my dear, it’s time to go back to work, Doctor.” he replied.

The Alarm Clock

“Wake up you lazy fella!” yelled Arin as he pinched the arm of his ever-sleepy room mate Tony. Tony gave a growl in his sleep, turned around and went back into his slumber. After 10 minutes Arin kicked Tony lightly on his leg “Hey sleeping beauty – snoring like a beast – wake up now!” Another growl, slightly louder this time, but nothing more than that from Tony. After 10 more minutes, Arin came with a jug full of water and splashed it on Tony’s sleepy face “Stop ‘snoozing’ me like that – okay? I am not an alarm clock! Wake up right away ‘sleepy sleeperson’” Now Tony had no choice. He jumped off the bed wiping his wet face, while yawning out loudly. The two room-mates got ready in the next few minutes and rushed out to take the test – that day they were taking the final test of the semester on computer networks: an important day for all the candidates studying Computer Science & Engineering at the university.

Arin and Tony had been room-mates and best friends for over a year. They had moved to the university campus in Pilani – a small town in the Rajasthan region in India, about a year ago. They were randomly put together in one room by the hostel authorities. Arin came from the southern state of Kerala and Tony was an expat from Singapore. They were very different – they liked different food, had different habits, spoke different languages and had different approaches to address similar situations.

Arin was always an early bird – woke up at 6 AM sharp. He had been doing this since he was a child – it was part of his daily regime. He always went for a quick jog in the morning before he started his day. He was always on time at school, and was considered one of the most reliable and trust-worthy individuals at the university. He came from an upper middle-class catholic family from Kerala. His parents were professors at a local university in Kochi. Arin was trained to be highly methodical – he always followed rules and processes.

Tony was a late starter – he slept late and woke up late. He was a “nonconformist” - a brilliant young lad who had a number of unique and different ideas. He did not necessarily follow rules – in fact, he had a knack of bending rules to his convenience to get tasks done. Born and brought up in Singapore, he was half Singaporean and half Tamilian – his dad was from Singapore and mother from Chennai. He had always lived in expat communities and had travelled around the world.

With all their differences, one thing that they had in common was their open-mindedness and curiosity. That made it very easy for them to live together and enjoy their student life irrespective of all their differences. On most occasions they would complement each other. Arin was the methodical, process-driven perfectionist, while Tony was the free spirit – ready to explore ideas outside of the box, try new approaches and bend rules if not break them. Together they made a solid team. They also learnt a lot from each other – Tony started appreciating some of Arin’s processes and Arin started finding Tony’s unusual ways interesting.

Tony always depended upon Arin to wake him up every morning – Arin was really like an alarm clock. He never slept a minute after 6 AM. And every morning after his short jog, he would wake Tony up. Not once did Tony wake up in the first attempt. Arin felt like an alarm clock that is “snoozed” over and over again. And then out of frustration he would jump to extreme measures such as pouring a jug of water on Tony’s sleepy face!

They were both studying to become software engineers, and worked on a number of different projects together – some as part of their regular curriculum, and others out of their own interest. They built many interesting programs and applications that could work on different devices.

Togetherness was not limited to work - They also had parties, picnics, movie nights, trips, a bunch of drunken adventures –everything you could possibly imagine a couple of twenty year olds to do!

Before they realized it, they had reached their final semester. The students were all planning their next moves – jobs, entrepreneurship or more study. Tony decided to pursue a career in research and started preparing for the same. He received an acceptance from MIT to pursue a Master’s degree in computer engineering followed by a PhD. It was exciting! Arin on the other hand wanted to pursue an MBA. Top business schools recommended candidates to have firsthand professional experience before they applied. So Arin decided to take up a job. He was offered a software developer role at a bank in Mumbai. The role was very well paid and was a great stepping stone for his next steps – an MBA in finance from an international Business school. He decided to accept the opportunity.

Soon it was time for the graduation ceremony. Everyone was excited and happy to receive their diplomas and they were all looking forward to their upcoming careers. Of course, they were sad that their fun student life was coming to an end. Arin and Tony in particular knew that they would be missing each other. Soon after the ceremony Tony had to embark upon a flight to the US. He had to get to the New Delhi Airport from Pilani. Arin joined him and his family, to say goodbye at the airport. When they reached the terminal, Arin handed over a little box – a present for Tony. “This will replace me buddy – it has a snooze button too” he smiled.

Tony boarded the flight and opened the box – it was an Alarm clock. Yes, he was going to need that in his friend’s absence.

A number of years passed. Tony had completed his graduation and his PhD at MIT. As a result of his high caliber and excellent research credentials, he had been offered the position of Associate Professor and research scientist at the Stanford University – department of computer science. He had accepted the offer and had been working with the university while continuing his ad-hoc research work. He was still a free-spirit and a nonconformist, but thanks to the 5 years spent with Arin, he had learnt to appreciate methods and rules. He was one of the most respected computer scientists in the world of academia. He was also a well-known figure in the business world, and his consultative advice was requested frequently by digital businesses all over the world. Every year he took a 2 month break to visit an underprivileged village in India or Africa and gave free computer coaching to young children. He was very much involved in philanthropy and was much admired for the same.

Tony had remained in touch with his old friend – at least in the few years after graduation. Arin had followed his dream too – after 5 years of professional experience at the bank in Mumbai, he had applied to top international business schools. He was accepted to pursue an MBA in Finance at the London Business School. He had completed his business studies with flying colors and had become an investment banker in London. He had started as an analyst with an international investment bank, and very quickly had moved up the ladder from being an associate to being a Director.

The job of an investment banker is a coveted, financially rewarding one, however, it comes with significant stress. Routine working hours for a financial analyst at an investment bank could be 90 to 100 per week. People often have misconceptions about investment bankers – that all they do is number crunching, financial data modeling & projections. But in reality investment bankers spend a lot of time with clients – social skills are very important to be a successful investment banker. Arin had it all – he was highly analytical, and at the same time was great with clients. He was hard working and never had a problem working extra hours. Often he would have to work late nights, which meant, he would often wake up late too – Tony’s old alarm clock had surely lost its rhythm!

Arin’s workaholic life continued – he worked a lot, and he earned a lot too. Soon he became a very rich man, and earning money became an obsession to Arin. The young man who was once very particular about his rules and had always followed them, had now become an expert at bending them if it meant more money.

His bosses were very pleased with Arin – he always helped them make more money. He always found creative ways to involve and engage with investors and take their money tactfully. He never ever broke the law and the rules, but he very nicely worked around the law to ensure that his bank, his bosses and he himself were becoming richer and richer.

To begin with, this caused no problems to anyone; however a few years after Arin’s marriage things started to get harder – his wife was not a happy woman! They had a child together, but Arin rarely saw his family – he was so obsessed with work and money – it was an addiction.

A few more years passed – now the contact between Tony and Arin had been reduced to “Happy Birthdays” – no, that’s not true. It was limited to Arin’s birthdays – Tony never missed wishing his old friend – but Arin had always missed Tony’s birthdays. Arin had started gaining weight and losing hair and though he was barely 42, he looked a lot older. Excessive work, lack of exercise, unhealthy eating habits, stress – you name it and Arin had it all. The last thing that one would want at this time was the news of a divorce.

Arin’s wife filed for a divorce and claimed the custody of their only son. Not that it mattered much to Arin – he was completely drunk by work and money – it was as if he was in a deep slumber and nothing could wake him up from that.

Arin’s old mother was immensely unhappy and disturbed to see the life of her only son fall to pieces – even worse, her son did not ever realize that his life was falling apart! All he cared about was more of what he already had – money, and the stress that came with it!

Arin had no friends that she could turn to, so she decided to call his old friend Tony. She broke down as she explained to Tony what had happened. Tony was not very surprised to hear about these sad developments in Arin’s life. On several occasions in the past he had tried to persuade Arin to change his life-style. But Arin had ignored all his advice and had turned a complete deaf ear to Tony’s words. But now, things had gotten out of hand – Arin’s health, his family, his friends, his ethics were all leaving him, and yet, he was not willing to wake up from his craziness. He had received so many alarms in many different ways, but he had conveniently “snoozed” each and every one of them!

Tony decided to pay a visit to Arin at his lush house in London. He made up an excuse of a European holiday and came to see his old friend. Unsurprisingly, Arin was not there at the terminal to pick him up, but he had sent a chauffeur driven Mercedes to pick Tony up. The car took Tony to Arin’s house. His old mother welcomed Tony, and told him that Arin was at office – as usual. After some rest, Tony took a little walk in central London and came back home at dinner time, with the hope that Arin would be back. But there was no sign of Arin. It was past 10 PM, and Arin’s mom suggested they ate dinner. As she was serving Tony at the dining table the phone rang – it was Arin’s subordinate from the bank. Arin had just been admitted to the hospital as he had suffered a sudden heart attack.

Tony rushed to the hospital and waited for the medical procedures to be conducted on Arin. After a while the doctor informed Tony that Arin was now out of danger, and that he had been administered some sleep medication so that he rested for a few hours. Tony sat next to his friend and held his hand. He had tears in his eyes to see Arin in such a state. He wept for a long time remembering their old days together at the university. What had Arin gotten himself into! He was always the reliable, methodical chap – could he not have applied a few of that methodical thinking to his own life? How did things get so unbalanced?

He had Arin’s hand in his as he was thinking and reflecting on the past. There was a time when he had depended on Arin – his best friend to wake him up every morning from his slumber. Arin had been his alarm clock, and today Arin was fast asleep – asleep in his obsession for money and power: so fast asleep that so many triggers, signs and alarms had failed to wake him up. Tony wished that his friend woke up from that slumber today. “Wake up brother, wake up” he said softly.

A few hours later it was morning. Tony was next to Arin as he opened his eyes.

“Tony! Sorry I wasn’t there to receive you. Have been rather busy you see.” He said. “And then had these sharp pains in my chest last night, and they had to get me here. I hope I get out of this place soon. I have an urgent meeting to attend today”. Tony was utterly disappointed to see that Arin had “snoozed” the alarm once again!

“You will be released in a few days Arin. You cannot attend that meeting today. Do you know you had a heart attack? Your bank has been informed that you cannot return to work today”. Tony said, realizing that he had to do something else to make Arin wake up. Later that day, he met with Arin’s wife. She was shocked to hear about Arin’s heart attack, and agreed to help get Arin out of his addiction.

Arin was unhappy to hear that he would not be going to the bank for days – what could the bank do without him? He was indispensable. His presence at meetings was absolutely required. He was the one that made things happen! He thought that his colleagues and supervisors from the bank would be rushing to the hospital to get him. He waited all day – but his phone never rang. He had no visitors from the bank.

The following day he waited again – no visitors from the bank and no phone calls. The only people he saw around him were his mother and his good friend Tony. In the afternoon per Tony’s advice Arin’s wife and son came by to meet him. They stayed with him the rest of the day. It was literally the first time he was spending time with his son, who started telling him stories from school. Arin had never really played the role of a father, but he found that he was enjoying his son’s company – he was actually enjoying it a lot. His son was just as curious, methodical and intelligent as he was. He started remembering some of his childhood days as he saw his son ask all types of questions. That made him smile, that made him really happy!

For the first time, at the end of the day he felt “happy”. He asked his wife if she could bring their kid along again the next day. She agreed. They did this every day for the following 15 days. Arin’s mother, his wife and son kept him great company, together with Tony. Tony could see that slowly, his scheme was working. Arin was getting closer to his son.

There were no visitors from the bank. Arin gradually realized that the bank did not really care much about him. All he received from them was a “Get well soon” card – not a single visit, nor a phone call.

He had given away several years of his life making the bank richer – years that could have been spent with people around him: people who really cared for him – his wife & child, his mother, his best friend. He had taken them all for granted. But ultimately when he was about to die, they were the ones who stayed with him. They gave him the strength to survive. They made him happy and gave him the motivation to live longer.

After the 15 days, Arin moved back home. His family and his best friend were with him, and they celebrated his return together. “Will you be returning to work soon Arin?” Tony asked.

Arin smiled and looked Tony into the eye; he took a deep breath as he said “I have sent my resignation to the bank a week ago, Tony. I have finally woken up from my slumber – thanks to you all.

Friend, thank you for being my alarm clock – I kept snoozing you whenever you advised me to change my approach towards life, but you kept trying, until I was finally awake. Thank you for waking me up today.”