Baazigar - The guy who bet on himself

Then after a string of unsatisfying successes, one night I couldn’t sleep. I asked myself some hard questions and a dear friend helped me clear the clutter in my mind. For all the English, History and Communication professors who made my student life a grand memory, I paid heed for the first time to what many of them had told me at different points – that maybe I am destined for a more creative pursuit than convincing a vagina tightening gel brand to buy ads in my newspaper. And I decided to do away with all the cobwebs and really question myself as to what I wanted to do at that very moment. Something that had nothing to do with terms like “career”, “marriageability” and that bastard of a term, “future”. And I realized that, apart from finding a hot girlfriend, there were 2 things I really wanted to do right then – I wanted to travel and I wanted to write. What followed was a plan which has been detailed below.

Phase 1

27^th Sept 7:55 am – Depart by train for Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir

7^th Oct – Reach Amritsar from Srinagar

14^th Oct – Reach Kangra from Amritsar

21^st Oct – Reach Mussoorie from Kangra

28^th Oct – Reach Delhi from Mussoorie

4^th Nov – Reach Mughal Sarai from Delhi

12^th Nov – Return home for Diwali

 

Phase 2

19^th Nov – Depart by train for Bangalore, Karnataka

26^th Nov – Reach Pondicherry from Bangalore

3^rd Dec – Reach Vizag from Pondicherry

10^th Dec – Reach Puri from Vizag

17^th Dec – Reach Dantewada from Puri

25^th Dec – Return home for Christmas/New Year

 

Phase 3

1^st Jan – Reach Vasco, Goa – Ideally from Anjuna where I would like to bring in the New Year if friends permit

8^th Jan – Reach Surat from Vasco

15^th Jan – Reach Ujjain from Surat

22^nd Jan – Reach Jaipur from Ujjain – Attend the Jaipur Litfest (24^th to 28^th Jan) among other things

30^th Jan – Return home for Mom’s birthday

 

Phase 4

5^th Feb – Depart by train/air for Bodh Gaya, Bihar

13^th Feb – Reach Ranchi from Bodh Gaya

20^th Feb – Reach Kolkata from Ranchi

27^th Feb – Reach Gangtok from Kolkata

5^th Mar – Reach Dispur from Gangtok

12^th Mar – Reach Itanagar from Dispur

20^th Mar – Return home for (Warning : stupid CA joke) the “Closing of books” on 31^st March

 

And do what, you ask?

Well, write short stories set in each of these places. The best I can.

Whatever story comes out in those 6 days in that place. Whatever that place inspires in me.

At best, I would have found peace and tranquillity and joy and a fancy Carter road bachelor-pad

At worst, when I go back to staring at excel sheets, I’ll know I tried my damned best.

 

So I am going to bet on myself. I am proud that in spite of the delay, I have realized I don’t have to live up to a stereotype. That I will not find refuge in definitions, stereotypes, perceptions and history. And then if I fail, I wont have anybody to blame; for the first time in my life, I will have to take it like a man.

- Kunj Sanghvi

 

 

(Kunj Sanghvi begins his journey in less than a week. He'll be writing about his experiences in each new city every week on InsideIIM.com. At various junctures on this trip, he'll be found working over cups of  coffee in coffee shops across the country. He'd love to meet, talk, discuss with anyone who'd care to meet him; just to know the city and its people better. Follow him on twitter here - @kunjsanghvi. He blogs here.)

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