Chasing A Dream

"Has Priya not come home as yet?" Surya asked,
depositing his bag in the cramped drawing-cum-
dining-room of his tiny two bedroom flat. He had
just returned from work. He was a cashier in the
State Bank of Hyderabad, while his wife, Sharada,
a lab assistant in Reddy College for Women. Their
daughter, Priya, was a Class X student in Saint
Anne's School. They lived in Vidyanagar, while
Priya' s school was in Tarnaka around six
kilometres away. There was a direct bus from
Priya's school to Vidyanagar.
"She should have been here by 4.30. It is 5.30
now and she still has not come," Sharada replied.
Sharada's college closed at 3.00 and she was
usually back home by 4.00 p.m.
"Yesterday too she was late."
"In fact, since the last few weeks she has been
coming home late." /
"Did you ask her?"
"Yes, I did, last week."
"What did she say?"
"She mumbled something about spending time
with her best friend, then she kept quiet. You know
she is not very forthcoming. If I ask her too many
questions she just clams up or bursts into tears.
Sometimes when I talk to her I get the impression
I am conversing with a stranger, not my own
daughter."
"I know she is a difficult child. But should we at
least not know what she is up to? I...I hope it has
nothing to do with some boy... You know at this
age..."
"No, I do not think our Priya would get involved
in that sort of thing."
Priya was to appear for the Class X examination
in April the next year. This was the month of July
and her studies had started in real earnest.
Morning six to eight she went for Maths and
Physics tuition, and in the evening seven to eight
for Chemistry.
The next day, Surya happened to discuss Priya's
strange behaviour with his colleague, Durga, who
too had a teenaged daughter. Durga was a despatch
assistant in the same bank.
"Surya, you should not take it so lightly. With
teenagers one can't really say anything. One never
knows what they are up to."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Why do you not confront her?"
"She will simply clam up and withdraw into a shell.
I am worried what her reaction will be if she
knows that we are even remotely suspicious of her
activities. With so many youngsters running away
from home at the smallest pretext and news of
teenaged suicides appearing in the newspapers
almost everyday, frankly, I am scared. You know,
with both of us working, Priya is left alone in the
house quite a bit. What goes on in her mind only
she knows. I would not like to probe too deeply
and upset her. All we know she may just be going
to her friend's house for some combined study."
"I have an idea. My brother, Ajay, works in a
Detective Agency. I will tell him. I am sure he will
agree to follow her. Since Priya does not know him,
she will not get suspicious. Moreover, it will all be
done in strict confidence."
Surya kept silent for a while, finally he spoke.
"I think it is a good idea. How do we get started?"
"I will talk to my brother and let you know."
Two days later, on Monday, 'Operation Shadow'
had begun. Surya took Ajay to Saint Anne's and
showed Priya to him from a distance. Ajay
promised he would have the required information
in a day or two.
On Wednesday, Surya got a call in the office.
"Hello! Surya? This is Ajay?"
"Yes, Ajay. Any news?"
"Plenty. Can you come to Arts College at 4.30
in the evening?"
"Why?"
"I will explain when we meet."
Sharp at 4.30, Surya parked his scooter in front
of the Arts College Building. It was an imposing
stone structure which formed the nucleus of the
sprawling Osmania University Campus. Ajay was
waiting for him.
"Come with me," he said and started walking
briskly with Surya keeping pace with him. They
went behind the building and took a path which
led to a small Hanuman Temple. The temple, under
a huge banyan tree, was surrounded by a cluster
of trees and boulders. As such it was hidden from
the college. Surya had been there a couple of times
and quite liked the serenity of the place. When they
reached the place, Ajay asked him to quietly peer
from behind a boulder. As Surya looked, he saw
Priya sitting in the small courtyard in front of the
temple. There was a canvas in front of her and she
was busy painting. A few paint bottles, brushes and
drawing sheets were lying around.
"What do you think you are doing?" They heard
a male voice and turned round.
A tall, well-built man of around sixty years was
standing there. He was clad in a dhoti and his chest
was bare except for an angvastram.
"We...I...I am that girl's father and he...he is a
friend."
"Oh! So you are Surya Naidu. I am Chari, the
pujari of this temple. Come with me. Let us not
disturb her."
He took them down a narrow path that led to a
small house behind the temple.
"This is my humble abode. I am sorry I cannot
offer you chairs," the pujari said, spreading a mat
in the tiny verandah.
"You must be surprised to find Priya here."
"Yes... I.. .had no idea that she was coming here.
Only when my friend, Ajay, followed her..."
"So you had to take the help of a detective to
know what is in your daughter's mind," the pujari
said with a chuckle.
Stung by the remark, Surya started to say
something when Chari held up his hand.
"Surya, I know it is very difficult for parents to
understand the minds of their kids, especially
teenagers. Let me tell you how I came to know
Priya. She had come once with a friend of hers.
She was fascinated with the peace and calm here.
"Is it always so serene here," Thaatha?" she had
asked me.
"Yes, my child," I replied to her. "There is always
peace and calm in the Lord's abode."
"Thaatha, can I come here every day?"
"Why not, my child. But don't you think you are
too young to spend your evenings praying in the
temple?"
"Thaatha, I do not want to come here to pray.
I want to come here to paint."
"To paint?" I asked in surprise. "But you can do
that at home."
"No, Thaatha. My parents will not allow me."
"Why?"
"They consider painting a waste of time. They
want me to study Physics, Chemistry, Maths,
Biology, and become an engineer or a doctor. They
believe painting cannot guarantee a person his
bread and butter but engineering or medicine can."
"Child, don't you think they are right?"
"But I do not want to become an engineer or a
doctor. I want to become a painter. I do not mind
struggling, even starving to realize my dream.
Is it really that wrong to chase one's dream?"
"No, child, no," I replied. I was really struck by
the child's determination.
"That was almost two months ago. Since then
she has been coming here almost every day and
painting for an hour or so. Since she cannot carry
the canvas home, she has been keeping them in my
house. Come inside and take a look."
They went into the one-room house. In one
corner were several canvases. As the pujari spread
them out one by one, Surya was stuck by the beauty,
the raw energy, of his daughter's art.
"Beautiful," he heard Ajay mumbling.
"Surya, I know Ramji Jain, the owner of an art
gallery. Can I take these paintings to him? I think
Priya is really talented. I am hopeful Ramji might
give Priya some guidance," Ajay said.
Surya did not hesitate. "Of course. But let us
check With Priya first."
The next three months were hectic for both Priya
and Surya. Ramji Jain was impressed with Priya's
talent. He agreed to sponser a solo exhibition of
Priya's paintings and explained to Surya the
groundwork that needed to be done to make the
exhibition a success. While Priya got busy creating
magic on her canvas, Surya ran around helping
with the arrangements. Finally, on October 25, the
exhibition was inaugurated. Priya was hailed as
the youngest and the brightest star on the art
firmament of the city.
The painting which drew the greates t
appreciation was a simple one. It showed a tall and
well-built pujari praying to Lord Hanuman with a
fifteen-year-old girl sitting beside him. The
painting was titled 'My Inspiration.'