Not My Life

Ashok and Rajan went to IIT Bombay and graduated in 1971. Ashok stood at the top of the class, gold medalist, scholarship and all that. He was voted by his peers to be the one who was most likely to make his first million by the age of thirty.

Ashok and Rajan both got accepted into Harvard’s prestigious business programme.

Ashok had an immense fascination for cars- Rajan told me.

Both worked really hard but it was tough for most students to match up to Ashok’s talent. As graduation approached, Ashok was hot property and every company was vying to swoop him. Rajan got placed in a top investment firm and Ashok went to work for a little known computer company named after a fruit.

Those were days before Facebook, and Mr Rajan & Ashok lost touch. They hadn’t met or seen each other for years. Mr Rajan told me he had recently come down to India for work and was chauffeured in the fancy company car. Kolkata being Kolkata, his car broke down and was taken to
this upmarket garage. It was lunch time and most of the staff was out for lunch. A lone mechanic was disturbed but he seemed more than happy to help.

As he finished his work, the mechanic caught a glimpse of the man inside the Mercedes. ‘Rajan?’ the mechanic said.

Mr Rajan couldn’t believe his eyes. It was Ashok.

After working very briefly for Apple, Ashok realized that his true calling was something to do with cars. He decided to come back to India and developed some major component for car engines. He sold this & opened this garage. He personally repairs cars that come in, aided by all his mechanics and he said that not a single day has gone by when he felt he had ‘worked’.

As he was leaving, Mr Rajan said, ‘I’m sixty and I’m very rich and at a very high position in a very big company. Looking back I can say I’ve achieved everything that everyone else wanted me to achieve.’

‘And you know mom, what his parting words were?’ - ‘I’ve not lived a life I wanted to live. I’ve lived someone else’s life.’