Beyond Indigo...what a thought!

At first when i heard this title, i thought of colours, rainbow and all sorts of art related fundas. And i wasn't totally wrong in this regard either. But this was actually a book by an author by the name of Preethi Nair.

A really fine book too actually. The protagonist in the book is this middle age female who is caught between her job (which is not exactly what she wants to do), her parents (who have some fixed plans for her already...read marriage) and a personal life that is secure and monotonous.

At the risk of attracting dirty looks and the ire of a lot of male friends and females in general, i say i identified with the book a lot. Well not exactly with the narrator, (cos she was female and i am not), nor her job (i'm definately not a lawyer but law some how interests me...thats prolly why), or with the situations she found herself in. So then what on earth did i identify with? Good Question!

Actually i found myself drawn to the premise of the book in general. Being stuck in a job, life not going anywhere, doing the same thing everyday and being happy with it because it provides a sense of security. That sounds like most of us right? Why drift away from what we know works and what we can map out a path for? Why get into something that is the unknown and chart a new path? Why try to be Superman (or shall i say..Kkrish!) when you can be just another John Doe who has a successful life?

Well yeah makes sense but somehow i can't see myself doing that. I want to get into something better. Mark my words...BETTER, i said not Bigger! I want to chart my own path and make others take notice. Doing the same thing that 10,000 other people do is not a big deal. I want to be different. This tendency tends to put you out of place in society. Afterall who likes the proverbial black sheep? (Wonder if the sheep ever tried Fair and Handsome??) I'm not saying that the people who are following the trodden path are cowards in any way without any desire. They have their own agenda, i have mine. They have no need to explain themselves to me and i have no need to explain my rather bizzare actions to them. They are doing what they think is the right thing and might end up being the next Steve Ballmer.....but i want to be the next Bill Gates, or Dhirubhai Ambani! (I just watched Guru, but let me assure that this rush of blood is not an after effect of the movie!)

They say dreaming big is the first step but i am no entrepreuneur, atleast not yet. I don't think i'll come up with some industry in a village and turn it into 4 then 16 and increase it in geometric progression (a la Guru). But i nevertheless can't see myself following someone else around for too long. I long for independence, doing things my way and making an impact.

I also see myself doing something i am passionate about. Not just being in a job for the money but actually being in a job i want to be in. Doing something i want to do. I cant give 100% if i am not passionate about it and i need to be doing something i like to be passionate about it.

To do all this i know i need to be strong, and take some rather tough decisions when the time comes. Life isn't going to be the bed of roses or the bed of anything for that matter. (Bed of thorns somehow makes the thorns seem so harmless...so i shall not use that phrase) But then at the risk of being cliched i say, No pains, no gains right?

Neways...i was talking about the book. It revolves around general life and how a hobby turns into something more than that and can actually take your mind off the various problems that routinely plague the feeble human mind. How the narrator overcomes these blocks both mental, social and familial and lives to fight another day. It also has a strong romantic undertone to it that makes it a very interesting read indeed.

And finally a few words about the author. Preethi Nair has related a real life story or made up a truly fantastic fictional life that you find hard to disagree with. She has a very lucid style of writing with uncomplicated plots which is subtle yet really humourous. Full marks to her for this book and i can't wait to read more of her work.