Crossing over...

I wonder about last time I hooked up to something unique and the course of life was decided. There are always a few people, few incidents which effects the psyche of a person and then things normally starts changing...I met 'nethra' a 10 year old girl roaming around the busy street with a flowery white color mudded skirt, her curly brown hair exposed to the sun were tied with a red color band, she had a comfortable slipper and every time she looked at the advertisement hoardings...she use to stare profoundly with a desire. This was not the first time i saw that, everyday she use to pass that road watching companies advertising their products, persuading customers, almost choking them at times for a purchase.....after observing her for almost a week I could not stop my excitement of meeting her…
This time she was smilingly watching the 'kingfisher airlines advertisement'. A model was wearing a typical red dress with a scarf and was looking alive and the picture with a big aircraft almost looked like a fairy tale…hoarding definitely gave hope. Nethra was so lost in her and she did not even notice someone approaching her.

"She is an Airhostess…she attends customers in that plane…."

"She looked at me accepting my revelation…..her smiling face looked astoundingly descriptive…."

"You like her or the plane?"

"She looks beautiful. Can I become like her?"

I was shocked to find the influence of the hoarding in the mind of a young child…..she started living her dreams….kingfisher was spot on in designing that hoarding, it struck a mind of a girl…I remembered I had the habit of looking at hoardings when I was a kid, I do not know whether it affected my psyche or not but it did help me in keeping my mind fresh in distinguish reel from real….I was thinking whether she would grow up living in fantasies and become a wax doll or some real strong women…..
She zapped me again….

"I know I can never be like that….I am wearing a white dress and she is wearing red…."

I put my hand on her shoulder trying to strengthen her dream…

"You look very beautiful and I am sure with proper education, you will be better than her…you must smile…..what is your name?"

"Nethra….."

She did not reveal her full name….may be even her name was a borrowed one, may be she never knew what title to include….

"But, when will i grow up to become like her?"

"I am sure you will….."

"You like airplane?"

"She nodded her head with hope…it is so big; like a bird…..I am sure you would have sat in that plane and met her?"

"I am not sure whether I met her or not but I have met beautiful girls like her in that plane…."

"Do they have lot of beautiful girls in that plane?"

"There are lots of planes like that and yes there are lots of beautiful girls like her…."

She came very close to me by then and she was grabbing my trouser….I started liking her, she was accepting me as someone who could answer to all her questions and make her feel out of ordinary…

"Do you want to become like her? She also earns money….."

She again nodded her head, her sparkling eyes had a desire….

"I have no money….I just have 4 rupees…"
She had one rupee 4 coins and she was holding it tight in her left hand, had sweaty palms when she showed me the coins…..
I passed a smile and then she smiled back….

"I am sure when you become like her you will have lots of money and you can keep it in bank…."
She smiled as if the platform was set for her on a street….

She asked me to come further….while we were going together we passed a lot of hoardings….and then we stopped in front of a hoarding….
"It was SBI…."

They had launched a new branch office and were on a verge of becoming the largest bank with maximum number of branches in the history of banking……
The hoarding was informative with SBI visibly distinct….there was nothing picturesque about the hoarding but Nethra liked it….

"Is this the bank?"

"Yes it is…..it's called State Bank of India….."

"So, when I earn I can keep my money here…..will they not steal my money?"

"No they will not…..I did not want to tell her about market dynamics and scare her out of the uncertainties of present market condition….

"Nethra I have seen you on this street several times looking at the hoardings…you come here daily?"

"Yes, I don't like playing with Ronit and Priya, they always tease me 'coz I don't have many clothes to wear and I am poor….my teacher tells me that I am not poor and I know I am not…"

There was a command in those sentences and she was looking as if she could take her friends head on and beat them with her imagination….

"Yes you are right, you are not poor….."

"But, money is very important….you can't buy anything without money…."

She was teaching me a lesson now….

"I like coming here daily and looking at these pictures…..I also like that picture of that girl…"
She showed me another hoarding of a bride; she was advertising a matrimonial website'shaadi.com'…
I was wondering how a young mind like her can relate to such advertisements….

"My mother says I will get married fast….but I don't want to….."

"Every girl has to marry? I am sure you will also get married, but you should not think about that now…."

"You sound like my father…..my mother always fights with my father, I don't like it….."

"But I am sure they love you a lot……"

"Yes they do….I also love them a lot, I would never leave them….I will also buy a house for them…."

A 10 year old girl was sharing about her dreams to me, it was not just not about her but it was also about her family….she knew she did not have money but at the same time she was rich from mind….she was not scared to disclose her desires…..rather all this while I was thinking I wish I was half as confident like her as a kid…

"Do you have any other favorite hoarding on this street…..?"

"Yes I do….she took me to a hoarding with a bunch of family members playing together…
"She asked me…..what is this? .....i like the dog in the photo; I also have a cat name 'soni'…"

She was standing in front of Life Insurance Corporation of India….
"This Is insurance, it helps you to save money and use it at the time of urgency"

"Then I can make a house and take my grandparents along with us for a holiday….."

"I am sure you will…but you have to work very hard for this"

"I will….and I will be in that plane one day and fulfill my mother's wish of a house…so that my parents don't fight with each other….." she had teary eyes when she said that….

"will you come tomorrow again….."

I will…..

After leaving her on the street….i was wondering about her all the way back home…her entire career plan was on a stretch of half a kilometer on a busy street….from becoming an airhostess, to earning and saving money, getting married, planning for a holiday, get insurance coverage and fulfilling her parent's desire….she could see beyond the vision of her eyes.
I don't think I ever planned up my entire career like her…she was just so perfect, she went on to the extent of choosing companies even without knowing much a whit about the companies. There were several hoardings on that street but she selected the best ones and almost had the blue print of her career ready in front of her eyes….

Conversation with her opened my eyes about the dreams as a child and a big question mark on its realization. She was uncluttered in her plans, it was so simple and yet achievable. She was an epitome of a child's imagination but at the same time I was a bit scared that nobody plays with her dreams. If we could set to achieve every child's dream, guide them in the journey of life…we might help many more Nethra's in making their dreams realize….and letting them live life uncompromisingly….

Nethra goes on to head a company of Air Hostess Training....