As I walked on to that circled red carpet that day, the voice of my 6th standard class teacher echoed in my memories..
"Your daughter is going to be a big failure. She doesn't know to talk in English. We are going to lose 100% pass rate in 10th standard in our school due to her. I can guarantee that she is going to fail in English and embarrass all of us". These were the words which she told my mom when my mom and I went to meet her to get the progress report on that day.
It may sound like a scene from "English Vinglish" movie (an Indian Hindi movie). But, sometimes, truth can be stranger (and weirder) than fiction.
English & I share an interesting past. I remember how I got stuck in a conversation and got petrified when a group of students from editorial team from REC college, Calicut (Kerala, India)came to interview me, as part of the "Ragam" cultural fest when my team was selected as the "performers of the day". I was ashamed and embarrassed of my inability to talk in English in spite of studying in an English medium school. And yes, by this time, I was in my 2nd year of graduation.
This moment of truth was one of the life changing experiences in my life. It triggered a vengeance within me to race with this language.
My purpose had always been to just learn and not be in any competition with anyone. I believe that there is something to learn from everyone around me. And others have never failed to amaze me in the way they have helped me learn from their own actions and words.
In 2011, when I watched a TED talk for the first time, it shook me. It made me think. More importantly it pushed me to add a new dream in my dream list. Some day...before I die, I wanted to give a TEDx talk. I made it a point to watch one TED/TEDx talk every week. And the more I watched, the more vivid my dream became.
And when I finally got to stand on that stage with an adrenaline rush, a super fast heart beat and a strong need to pass my intention on to the world, the reality was very different from what I had fantasized it to be.
Everything that could go wrong went wrong that day. The visual aid facility didn't work. I could not use the PPT I wanted to use. The mic had a loose connection. Suddenly some video started playing at the background as I was talking.
In between all these chaos, there I was, to realize the biggest dream of my life.
As I went about the talk, I learnt to live with the reality. I learnt to move away from my fantasy. Above all, I allowed myself to feel the happiness for the blessing I have been showered with.
And my biggest learning has been to accept myself and allow myself to show the world who I am, the way I am with all my flaws and perfections, with all my vulnerabilities and strengths, with all my failures and success.
Now, I have come to believe, every imperfection in my life has something deeper to offer me. And I embrace that offering with humility and pride.
Thank you life. I celebrate you. Always.
And here is the link for you to watch me living my biggest dream :) Happy watching!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iet_FO5Lg1o&t=118s
"Your daughter is going to be a big failure. She doesn't know to talk in English. We are going to lose 100% pass rate in 10th standard in our school due to her. I can guarantee that she is going to fail in English and embarrass all of us". These were the words which she told my mom when my mom and I went to meet her to get the progress report on that day.
It may sound like a scene from "English Vinglish" movie (an Indian Hindi movie). But, sometimes, truth can be stranger (and weirder) than fiction.
English & I share an interesting past. I remember how I got stuck in a conversation and got petrified when a group of students from editorial team from REC college, Calicut (Kerala, India)came to interview me, as part of the "Ragam" cultural fest when my team was selected as the "performers of the day". I was ashamed and embarrassed of my inability to talk in English in spite of studying in an English medium school. And yes, by this time, I was in my 2nd year of graduation.
This moment of truth was one of the life changing experiences in my life. It triggered a vengeance within me to race with this language.
My purpose had always been to just learn and not be in any competition with anyone. I believe that there is something to learn from everyone around me. And others have never failed to amaze me in the way they have helped me learn from their own actions and words.
In 2011, when I watched a TED talk for the first time, it shook me. It made me think. More importantly it pushed me to add a new dream in my dream list. Some day...before I die, I wanted to give a TEDx talk. I made it a point to watch one TED/TEDx talk every week. And the more I watched, the more vivid my dream became.
And when I finally got to stand on that stage with an adrenaline rush, a super fast heart beat and a strong need to pass my intention on to the world, the reality was very different from what I had fantasized it to be.
Everything that could go wrong went wrong that day. The visual aid facility didn't work. I could not use the PPT I wanted to use. The mic had a loose connection. Suddenly some video started playing at the background as I was talking.
In between all these chaos, there I was, to realize the biggest dream of my life.
As I went about the talk, I learnt to live with the reality. I learnt to move away from my fantasy. Above all, I allowed myself to feel the happiness for the blessing I have been showered with.
And my biggest learning has been to accept myself and allow myself to show the world who I am, the way I am with all my flaws and perfections, with all my vulnerabilities and strengths, with all my failures and success.
Now, I have come to believe, every imperfection in my life has something deeper to offer me. And I embrace that offering with humility and pride.
Thank you life. I celebrate you. Always.
And here is the link for you to watch me living my biggest dream :) Happy watching!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iet_FO5Lg1o&t=118s
You continue to amaze me. Can't wait to read your autobiography. When are you planning?
ReplyDeleteVery soon...its there in my bucket list for sure! And I am going to call it "Yet another life" :)
DeleteGood write up Veena...Love it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Glynis! :)
DeleteBravo!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rahul!
DeleteHey Veena - congratulations lady and all the best to living that dream further on , and be inspirational to many more :-) - Tarence
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Tarence! :) So kind of you to say that. Thank you!
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