To be in my friend's shoes

Vidyaranya High School. The magical place where so much goes on yet the world knows little about it. Leave alone the world, even the city of Hyderabad barely knows anything about this. The students you see at Vidyaranya are not like the students you usually see in conventional schools. That's probably because the students of Vidyaranya are exposed to a pressure free environment, which is very rare in today's world. The children do not take exams till Class 8. They are free to wear whatever they want to wear. They are free to think whatever they want to think. They are free to say whatever they want to say. Now that said, here's one of the many magical moments that took place at Vidyaranya, with my son Hardik directly involved.

Over to you Hardik.....

.....

It was ten minutes past twelve. The teachers had just left us for our lunch break after a tiring drama session. Some could only think about filling their stomachs after an action packed afternoon. Some could only think about playing football. I belonged to the second group.

As I was wearing my budget Power shoes, one of my friends, Rayyan, decided to play a little prank on me. The moment I was done wearing my left shoe, he went ahead and ran off with my right shoe. I stayed cool  and I stopped myself from chasing him, knowing that he would return it.

I went to the football ground with a few of my pals. I knew that it was somewhere around that field where Rayyan had kept the shoe. I asked him where my shoes were kept, extremely certain of the answer I would receive. I turned out to be correct for I knew very well that he wouldn't reveal the answer to me. However, he gave a big hint, saying that I was standing within 500 metres of my beloved shoe.

I  then started searching for my shoe. Two minutes later, I was going to give up... any second.

My best friend Vasisht, better known as Bethu, could see that. He then did something, an act of kindness that would give Jesus Christ a run for his money. He gave me HIS right shoe and then went to have lunch in the canteen, with one shoe.

Overcome by his kindness, my expedition was back on track. I was no longer searching with one shoe on. I also had a friend on my side, Amrita, who was also not keen at the prospect of having lunch.
The two of us were extremely motivated : I due to the magnanimity shown by my best friend, she due to the idea of seeing the famous shoe of one of the most infamous people on the planet.

Rayyan probably realised that this duo's expedition was going to be successful.
So he proposed to sign a treaty. He said that he would return my shoe by 12 30 because that was when the football match would start and he acknowledged the fact that I would need my shoe to play the game. It seemed fair to me, so I called off the search.

By 12 30 when Bethu was back, he was pleasantly surprised to find me with three shoes. It was at that moment that the world of fashion changed. Bethu decided to wear one of his shoes and one of mine. I did the same. Initially, the idea was that by the end of the lunch break we would take back our respective shoes. However, we couldn't find the time and decided to do so just after school ended. By the time I reached home, I was wearing two shoes and both were my own : a feeling I didn't experience for most of the day.

The next morning , when Bethu and I met, I proposed the idea of swapping one of our shoes and keeping it that way for the entire day. He was game. This news soon became prevalent. Some laughed. Some were inspired to do the same. During Hindi class,  my good friend Wahaj asked me whether I wanted to swap a shoe with him as well. I agreed to do so and gave my right shoe to him and vice versa. We also swapped watches. So I was wearing two shoes with completely different designs and neither of them belonged to me. However, my trading with Wahaj didn't turn out to be very successful, as his shoe was too big for me and my shoe was too small for him. We also got back our respective watches soon.

I was back to wearing one of Bethu's shoe and one of mine. Home time came and I told him I'll give your shoe back when you have to go. I then got to know that Rayyan would be dropping me today. He happened to be in a hurry, so I rushed to the car with my bag hanging on to one of my hands. I had totally forgotten about our shoes. I only realised I had taken one of Bethu's shoes when I was looking at the mirror in the lift at home. I called him up after some time and told him about the accident, about which he was aware of, and also apologized to him. Worse, school would be closed the next week, meaning I could only return his shoe nine days later.

My father and his father both took the sporting side of the thing, when they got to know about this, throwing light on the great bond we share. They said that it was lovely to see such friendship.

Over to you Papa.....

...........

I couldn't resist the urge to laugh at such an event. The moment I returned home, I  saw that right in front of the shoe rack were placed a black Adidas shoe and a grey Power shoe, side by side. The event seemed even more hilarious to me when I got to know the whole story.

Oh Hardik, if only you wore your shoes faster....

Those I have voted for have always lost. I am proud of them.

11 th April 2019 :  I was amongst the 39 percent of eligible voters living in Hyderabad who voted in India's parliamentary elections.

My polling station was a school in a residential area , not far from where I live. It was the same place where I had voted a few months ago, in the state assembly elections. It's been the same polling station for many years now. For parliamentary elections. For state assembly elections. For municipal elections. 

It's the place where every candidate for whom I have voted has two things in common- First, the candidate was not affiliated to any major party. Second, the candidate lost, mostly by a huge margin.

When I decided to cast my vote for these candidates , Did I know they would lose ? I knew this 100 percent. The probability of any of them winning was not even infinitesimally low; it was zero. And it was clear to me much before I got the indelible ink mark on my left index finger.

Friends and family would ask- who would you vote for ?

When I mentioned these names, I would get responses like : you are wasting your vote; What can these people do - they have no administrative experience; These people have no organisational backing or supporting infrastructure.

Why then would I vote for these candidates ?

Here are my reasons:

1)      They had something relevant for me in their manifesto. Something that directly impacted my day to day life and of the people around me.

For example, the person I voted for in the municipal elections spoke of addressing the issue of mosquitoes in the Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills area. He had a clear plan - a combination of scientific approaches and public awareness programs to address this.

2) They had the right priorities -

For example, the candidate I voted for in the state assembly elections promised to put disproportional investment in education and enhancing the quality of government schools in the constituency.

In another instance, the candidate I voted for had promised to start feeder buses to link metro stations so that the entire area could be covered by the metro.

3) They displayed courage -

Each of these candidates knew they were up against the organisational, political and financial might of the big parties, viz. TRS, TDP, BJP and the Congress. Yet, they chose to believe in themselves, and in the cause they were espousing. It is for this courage and belief that they stood out for me.

On another occasion, the candidate I voted for was a Muslim woman in her 30s. She came from a conservative background. Coming from a background like that, the conviction it takes to contest elections, and to be out there in the sun campaigning for a cause she believed in - it was remarkable. Her courage in just being there was the clincher for me in deciding my vote.

4) They were all local and had experience of working in the area - 

For example , the candidate I voted for had worked on shelters for caregivers of poor patients in two major hospitals in the area.

My vote for these remarkable individuals , each of whom had no chance of winning , is my way of acknowledging their contribution, their ideas and their courage.

I am proud to have voted for these 'losers' - their being out there is in itself a victory for the courage of their convictions .

It's also a message of hope to the well meaning millions out there, who have wanted to make a difference to the life of others.

These individuals might be losers on the election result sheet, they are inspirational winners for me.

I voted for them in 2019, I will vote for them again.