People Watch Part 2 - Darpan - what reflects with in.

When life gives you lemons and serves you a lemon cake.

This post and the posts which will follow are about some wonderful charismatic powerful people who in their own way make life better for  people around them. They have positively in them which enriches people around them. They are my peers my elders my young friends. 

So lets begin.

Today I write on Darpan.
Darpan is a gem of a person, he lives life the way it should be lead, from  the front, without inhibiting others and doing logical carrier and social building activities.

 But to say that I know him completely is unfair to both of us. The post is on Darpan I know and hence its on Darpan the Rock Star!

 A few years ago I met him in a B school selection process and he knew so much. But underneath that was a humble yet inquisitive person. Over the next  1 year we did keep an occasional touch like explaining what is gudi padwa and why I am wishing him. He is from Delhi you see. But then as luck would have it I did spend a year in the same hostel as he did and we bonded as friends.

 He loved to debate and I loved to listen to perspectives. Then over the next few years we did drift away. Until one fine day I called him on his birthday and he gave me a thrashing I deserved. I learnt no matter how busy you are , you need to be in touch with your friends. 

Darpan understands culture, appreciates it, supports it. He likes good plays, movies and concerts.These words may sound hollow but that the problem with words not with him. Its like reading in words about a delicious icecream versus experiencing a delicious icecream. To narrate in words the experience of having icecream is going to fall short.

Darpan did manage to intrigue me and my classmates with his different takes on topics. When I did meet him a few years from then he was the one to question my choices in professional growth and for me a person who stirs you out of your comfort zone is very valuable. That means this person is brave and is willing to take new things on with positivity.

I believe this part of Darpan he should cherish and keep at it no matter the price the world will extract out of him.
I am unsure if he knows that his experimentation along with a certain consistency (focus) will help him achieve quite a lot.

For the world he does bring a person who likes to break status quo. He does that with ease, with a smile and a conversation.

With no tailored made incidents to stretch a persons life.  All my observations on him do lack a story because what I write on Darpan is based on a few years of conversations and reactions, you converse with him, you pick up little things you have ignored.  

There are times when you dont agree with his views of course but he is not the sort who will force you to agree. He accepts the difference of opinion.   

Once after a late night clasical music concert I was having a walk with Darpan. It was 3- 4 am  in the morning and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (no offense - I am classical music illiterate) had bored me to death with his strumming of one single note. He actually played one note for 2 hrs. I dont quite remember who said what at that point but Darpan ended up defending Panditji. But he did accept the fact that a musician has to perform to the intelligence of the audience, may be even educate it.

Darpan will be tremendously influential in years to come, that is my prediction. But I can say this now, that so far its life well lived.

People Watch -Part 1 - Tati as I recall.

Once upon a time a very long while ago there was a atirekki, (a terrorist), while most I heard of are adults this one was a child. He was a bully and his target was me... It took its toll on me and it will be hard not be prejudiced towards a person like him. May be for life.

 But then life gives you lemons and serves you a lemon cake.

This post and the posts which will follow are about some wonderful charismatic powerful people who in their own way make life better for  people around them. They have positively in them which enriches people around them. They are my peers my elders my young friends. 

So lets begin.

Tatianu  at first he met us and all he knew was - " My name is Tatianu, and  I don't know English".

 And as an awkward pause began he smiled. He had a very natural smile. That along with his currly hair made him stand out. Ofcourse he was white skinned which did make him stand out anyways. Tatianu did learn English but he also was able to make any person feel comfortable as he mastered the art of connecting with gestures and a smile. 

He was a Brazilian. Being enthusiastic was natural to him. I remember the day after Brazil lost to France 3 0 in the 1998 soccer world cup final. The match itself was interesting as i watched with a Brazilian and French next to me, both my friends and both watching the match in India and expecting me to support their team. In the end it was joy for Patrick my French friend but sorrow for Tatianu. He cried. But the next morning he was very cheerful as if Brazil had won the game. For Tatianu lived with emotion but was balanced.  Brazil might have lost the game but Tati as we called him won hearts. Its been 15 years and yet he matters to me and the people he enthused. Hence I begin this series with Tati.

Tati could behave as he liked at times and yet he made you smile while doing so. Once I remember him getting up in the morning and getting ready in 10 mins to go out. Naturally I asked him, "Tati you had bath?"

"Yes"

"When?"

"Last night."

The conviction which he said last night was as if he had a bath just now.

His presence made the person feel good about themselves and the world and for me I feel Tati makes a difference in this world.