Last Sunday night my wife and I went for a movie. After a long time. 2yrs I think. Rockon.
Story about 4 guys and their reunion. 4 guys and their dream. Dream to be India's greatest Rock band.
Nice movie.
Later that night I could not sleep. I laid there in front of the TV and gazed at the screen watching the dumbest shows on TV till 3 AM. But I wasn't watching TV. I was thinking.
Is Rockon really about 4 guys who want to make it as India's biggest Rock Band? If you think deeper into it, you will realise the movie is about passion. Passion to do what you want to do from the bottom of your heart.
Joe and Rob were 2 guys who continued doing what they had passion for and were still upset (of course Rob has other reasons too). But they persisted with their passion. Sometimes you are so deep in passion, that you loose sight of your responsibilities. Responsibilities... parents, wife, kids, loans etc...
How often does one get to do what they do passionately and still be successful?
Take my uncle for instance. Great artist....lost somewhere chasing his dreams. Every artist probably feels that one day one of his paintings is going to be sold for crores of rupees and he is going to be a crorepati. Van Gogh never became one in his lifetime. And when he did, he was not alive to see it.
So are passion and success opposite ends of a spectrum. Then I think of Sachin Tendulkar. He wanted to be a tennis player and then a cricket player and what a successful cricket player he became. He earns enough to fulfill his family’s dreams and does what he has passion for. But Sachin is not what I want to talk about. I wanted to see how many people around me do what they do out of passion are still happy.
I didn’t have to look far. My mom was my answer. She has a passion for her scouts and guides thing.... Yeah that’s what I call it. Scouts and Guides "thing".
Do you think Aditya's father enjoyed the thought that his son wants to be a Rock Star instead of doing MBA. Definitely not. He may have also said "Tumhara band shand...."
But it’s all about chasing your passion. My mom still does that. She is infact the commissioner for Maharashtra State. No matter what we say she still does that. And its not because of Rockon that I say this, I realized this about 6 months back when we all were expecting mom to stay home but she insisted that she has to go to some camp with her guides group. Crazy. Yes Crazy. Passion and crazy go hand in hand. Remember Bob Marley or Steve Irwin (Feeding a croc while his daughter Bindi was in his other hand) . Even Kedar's (Killer Drummer) dad must have said Crazy. KD still went ahead with the band right. For passion. And then sometimes your passion takes a back seat and you end up joining your dad's jewellery buisiness or be an investment banker.
As a college going kid I was crazy about impromptu outings. Going to Singhgad every second day. Bas bike nikaale aur chal diye. Or crazy about playing cricket. I played cricket for 25 hrs a day. Dont know how but we did.
Then we started working and today I don’t meet any of my friends. But do I need friends to follow my passion. Is it so weak that I stopped doing these things. Rob and Joe did not stop.
I ask myself, when was the last time I tried to beat the elevator while running up the stairs or when was the last time I teased people on the railway tracks while I stood in the entrance of the train compartment. Long time. Long Long time.
Its the passion for some thing that enables you to become crazy and that it reflects in your life. Thats why Joe (who was still passionate about guitaring) dared to cover KD's eyes when KD was driving the jeep. And thats why Aditya (who had given up his passion) was so conservative when his pregnant wife stood up in the moving jeep.
When will we learn to follow our passions. When I was in college I used to say "someday I will buy a car and then go out on a road trip and live off the road for an entire month". I bought a car..... for status.... not for passion, probably that’s why I never went on a road trip.
Question is, can I let go my responsibilities and chase my passion. Joe did that and that’s why I say his was still passionate. Rob did that that’s why he was standing there and playing the keyboard when he was supposed to be resting.
Can I.......
Will I.......
"The woods are lovely dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep
....Robert Frost "
Who knows someday your passion for something may make you successful one day….
