Ayanti, was born in Kolkata in a family that had a legacy to
talk about. Her home was an ideal ‘Bangali Bari’. Tagore was the only legend in
the world and Uttam Kumar -the only Hero of the Film Industry (Bollywood or any
modern Hindi Films were never considered to be viewable). Nothing but
Bhaat-Maach was considered the best cuisine in the world. If possible they
could even have pizza bread with rice and fish toppings on it!
Amidst this well-fed Bengali family there laid Ayanti on her
bed. Weight-wise she did represent her family (She had never been a thin girl
in life). She looked good. She was fair, curly-haired sweet-looking Bengali girl.
But, yes deep inside her soul there was a wild, punk.
Every afternoon as she saw the fan moving over her head she
could see her life moving in snail-speed before her eyes- without having any
adventure or meaning or direction.
Each day she used to wish; wish of being someone else.
Wished she could be one of those stylish lots. Wished of being one-of-those
people of the society who are considered
to be ‘Modern’ (though the word is relative) by the conventional world.
One day, in Ayanti’s life the-much-awaited miracle happened!
And truly what a miracle!
On her 21st birthday, while having a spoon of
payesh (rice kheer) from her mom’s hand she closed her eyes and wished to have
not been in the world- where she lived.
She wished for a world which would be less predictable. She
wished to live in a society where there were no boundaries. She wanted to live
in a world where colours mean word and a thought means language.
Her heart was craving for a little bit of ‘indiscipline’.
She was wanting to be a little bit more free.
But, little did she know that her wishes would come true!
Few weeks later, she (as usual lost in her own thought) was
coming out of her house when to her amazement she found a weird vessel outside
her house.
She stared at it for a while, not knowing whether to scream
or ignore. For few minutes she kept ogling at it. Something struck her. She
looked at it from a distance. It did resemble a map of some Indian state. But she
could not understand which one, though.
A huge magnet came out from the vessel and came close to
her. Like a north pole getting attracted towards a south pole of a magnet,
Ayanti got stuck to the magnet so strong that she forgot about her
family-inhibitions, traditions, conventions.
She just went away!
The vessel landed her to a land-unknown.
A land known to the ‘normal’ world as ‘The world of Chaos’.
Ayanti, had no clue what to do.
Though, she had been an ardent book-reader but never had she
come across this world or heard about this world in her life.
She didn’t know that the ‘Chaotic’ world she was getting
into is a place where a girl hailing from such family (read: legacy) is not
suppose to.
For the initial days Ayanti had to struggle. She struggled
to survive the indiscipline. Though she always longed for it, but when it
actually started happening, her mind, her body and even at times, her soul
would give up.
It was the world exactly she had wished for- full of
struggles, weirdness and unpredictabilities. But, wishing for it and living it
are two different aspects. She understood that the phrase ’Easier said than
done’ had such deeper meaning than she has assumed of.
She felt like an alien. She felt like a person from Earth
landed on some other planet.
For the world, morning starts as soon as the sun rises. But,
for this chaotic world every sunrise declares the end of a day. It was a time
to catch up on a quick sleep, before the office hours of human
beings-dressed-in-formal-whites starts!
When the world thinks of planning for the weekend, creatures
of this world plans for a quick drink in the nearest/cheapest bar before coming
back to their desks and cracking new ideas.
Commonly, the world would be concerned about the ‘pitch
report’ while dwellers of this world are always out on a war to win new
pitches!
Here in this world where Ayanti has arrived imaginations,
Ideas, Out-of-the-world, Out-of-the-box, are the common lingua of the dwellers
but living a common life is very fictitious and imaginative for them.
It’s a place where being crazy is considered normal.
Where a guy with a straight hairstyle or girls with plain
Jane clothes are considered weird!
After the initial hiccups (figuratively) Ayanti could find her place in this WORLD. She now
walks, works and are very much one of those weird who gets up at 1am picks up a
pen to scribble down ideas before it runs out of the head.
She chose to get over her sufferings and started stepping
out to explore the ‘new’ world where she has arrived.
It was partly because deep down inside she knew, it was her
wish. Back in her ‘normal’ world she could easily live her life like a princess
but she always wanted to break-free!
She decided to explore. She decided to celebrate each day of
her stay on the Chaotic world.
After her decision, never did she turn back. Never did she
think of going back to her normal world. Though she knew that in her normal
world she would get all her happiness packed in a chest but the uncertainty,
unpleasantness, hardships for every small thing, adventures at every moment of
life, struggle for existence attracted her.
She found her happiness in her own way. Further, she also
found love in this world. It gave her a bigger reason to stay.
She reached the world as an Alien. But now she has become a
dweller.
She finds anger, hatred, jealousy, selfishness and greed
flying from all corners on this world but still it’s the courage that prevails
and passion –the driver who never lets these aspects affect her living.
After almost a decade of staying on this chaotic world she
finally understands that though weird in its own way, this world knows how to
give back. You give this world hard work it pays you back while you give this
world laziness or dishonesty it knows how to hit you back hard.
But, the world has place for all. It never rejects anyone.
Be it an outsider like Ayanti or a native. This world knows how to accept all.
It doesn’t know how to minus people.
It’s truly an
ADd-world!
