Alls well that ends well...!

As many hurdles you pass, the better results are received!! Personally, true, so far! The biggest hurdle (which I enjoy completely) for me is this stupid public transport thing! I love it for sure and find it more comfortable and convenient than a vehicle of your own, but it gets to me when I have to go places which are way too far, not that I mind it really. I enjoy my work, remember? :), yet..

Recently, I had to go and interview this elderly Doctor, all of 72 years old. I am telling you, as much as old people love to talk, they are as inspiring too! He stayed like in the outskirts of the city and my appointment with him was in early hours of the morning. The lazy sleepy ass that I am, it was going to be really tough for me. Outskirts! Early morning! Public Transport!! Haha Nabzy baby, you were in for a ball!! ;) Until my overly protective sister decided to be utterly sweet, compromise on her early morning sleep and drive me down. (Yay!! Problem solved!!) But, she does not stay here, she had no idea where I was taking her. Sultanpur Road! She said, "What? Where? There has to be an area name? Something! What Sultanpur Road?" We were half way to Sultanpur, when, thanks to the few landmarks the Doctor's wife had told me about could be seen on that 'country side road' which takes you straight to Sultanpur, we reached 'safe n sound'.

"Okay, Nabila! Make sure you do this quick, but what Doc. is he? Why do you have to interview him?" I really did not want to tell her, she would kill me. "He is a Vet." And just as I expected, "W-H-A-T!!?? Early in the morning, you make me drive to almost another district in the state, to interview a 'jaanvaron ka daaktar'." The huhs and ggggrrrrs... follow till date and shall continue all life. Memorable, you see! :)

So, now this guy, unlike how I had imagined him to be, looking weak, very smiley and slightly hunched back. Yes! I had not imagined him like this. Imagined him more like a fit, straight back, suited, serious man. He was a sweetheart and he actually took lesser time than I had imagined. Firstly, cause he is 72, the older people get, the more they love to talk, my grandpa was like that too. It is now, I feel sad for all the journos who came to my place to interview Dada. And oh, secondly cause what we were going to talk about was amazingly interesting (not for my sis definitely! She is not an animal lover!)

The year Dr. Narendra Deva Shrama retired, that very year he made the country's first ever Animal Crash. Cute, isnt it? He wanted to actually open a yoga training institute, since he was completely into yoga and all that, and there weren't many proper yoga institutes in Lucknow in 1995 too. Anyway, it so happened that a friend left a dog at his place and said "This is your first dog for the crash!", to whom he had mentioned about the animal crash plan (which he was not that serious about, then) . But there was no escaping that plan now, and then began his animal crash story. He told me that most dogs which came to him became so emotionally attached to him that they often forgot their original owners. Wow!! I would not want to leave my dogs with him!! But hai hai ye majboori... (I dont have a dog anyway... :'( or :D ... dunno... comfused..huh..anyway!!)

I knew he has been a Vet all his life, yet whenever people came to drop their dogs for a short while or long,how did he manage to befriend them? He said, he would study the dog's behavior in the first meeting and slowly make him comfortable. He insisted on analyzing the psychology of the animal! >>sigh<< I wanted to study Animal Psychology and take it up professionally, one day! :'(

And them my sis started to pull my kurta, showing signs of restlessness, boredom and hunger! A sweet interview it was! :)

So, the moral of the story is, that whenever I have traveled far for a story, it has always been very interesting and enticing. Like that Chhannilal story, I told you about in my 'Chai time Baqwas' post. That place was not too far, yet not too convenient either. And then this other coverage of a Special Children Olympics that was held here a few months back. That was a heart changing experience. Beautiful! Can not forget even a single moment spent there. I have been awe struck since then. Physically, mentally disabled children, running around, playing, racing, dancing, there was no negative competitive feeling anywhere to be seen or felt. It was like they were out in the open on that field just to enjoy their mental and physical freedom! They looked more free than most 'normal' people, free from grave matters that surround us, unnecessary stress that we take, free from all sorts of inhibitions and boundations! It was a feeling as if someone unlocked, unchained my tightly chained and locked heart, which started to breathe in the freedom and optimism they exuded! :)

This is the beauty of my profession. Inconvenience, deadlines, people hating you, people unnecessarily being nice to you too sometimes, too much of struggle, too less money, but it fulfills my desire to be a vagabond in minuscule ways. I get to see a world, know people, explore and expose myself to so much that I would not as a normal student. Just two years as a Freelancer in this field, still an undergraduate and I feel so nice about what I am doing. I feel like a changed person. I feel more liberated, more strong, and the independence part goes without mentioning. Though, I also get sick of it sometimes. Sometimes, I just do not want to write, sometimes I do not want to write 'about' a particular thing, sometimes I just get plain bored, but most of the time, I love it! The high that a byline gives you, is definitely better than any Adam (pun intended).

And, now I am hoping to see my self specialize from next year, if only things work in my favor. I just pray and wish, I really know what I want to specialize in! But, even if I don't, I'll be living the life of a gypsy, mentally. Living that gypsy dream of mine. :)