THE DAY NOSTALGIA PAINTED DREAMS IN BOLD COLORS

Dear Palak,

Today I remembered a funny incident from when I was in second or third grade. You know how kids have these big dreams? Well, mine was to become a road roller driver. To me, those massive wheels made it look like the king of the road, almost like an airplane, but on the ground! I was so fascinated.

But, guess what happened when I told my grandpa? He kind of lost it. He yelled, “You gotta be only 8th pass to drive a road roller!” I didn’t get it back then, but thinking about it now, that was my first brush with the whole idea of job discrimination and how we view different kinds of work. It’s weird how these small moments stick with you, right?

Oh, I’ve always had this knack for being drawn to the quirkiest of jobs. Take this one time in 9th grade, for instance. Arnab and I were totally hooked on the idea of becoming bus conductors. You might wonder why, right? Well, we had just watched Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and were completely taken by that scene where SRK helps Kajol catch the train by grabbing her hand. We thought it was the coolest thing ever and wanted to do the same – only with bus – helping young girls catch their buses like movie heroes! It’s kind of funny thinking about it now.

Of course we were just joking around, but you know what? I was totally serious about wanting to be a magician. I was actually pretty good at it, too. But, man, people always seemed to poke fun at that dream.

There was this one time, I remember, when Manabendra sir asked everyone in class to share what they wanted to be when they grew up. I was super hesitant to even mention magic. But then you, sitting right there, you were like, “Go on, talk about magic.” And so, I did.

Now that I think about it, that was the first time anyone ever really encouraged me about my choice.

You know, back when I decided to become a writer, it was Pallabi who really pushed me to go for it. And all those letters I wrote to you? They played a huge part in shaping me into the writer I am today.

Anyway, just last night, I got a call from the CEO of EMBIBE. It was pretty late, and she’s like, “Pritam, do you want to go to London?”

And I’m like, “Why, ma’am?”

She says, “To attend the Bett awards, of course.”

Turns out, EMBIBE’s been shortlisted for the prestigious Bett Awards. I had written the case study and put together the presentation. And she wanted me to be there, to even accept the award if we won.

But here’s the kicker – I’ve lost my passport, so I couldn’t take her up on the offer. I did tell her, though, to give a shoutout to you and Pallabi if we end up winning.

“You are crazy, Pritam. But you have loved good women. Great women actually,” she said.

I smiled.

With love, hugs and other things,
P