Dasarathi’s Director Dream

Dasarathi’s Director Dream

Debi Prasad Choudhary

Los Angeles

5/25/2016

(This is a fictional story of an individual who wanted a position of power)

Dasarathi travelled with his father to live in a small isolated village at an age of about 14 years. This was the first major promotion in the career of his father as headmaster of a high school. While travelling, he over heard the conversation of his parents with excitement that they might virtually own the new organization, similar to the headmaster of the school where his father served. He discovered that his father became the boss of a large campus that had 15 teachers of different ranks and five peons. Although his mother did not have any official power, she exercised considerable influence to secure major domestic help from peons. A peon from low cast carried water for external use such as washing and bathing, whereas the one from higher cast brought few buckets for cooking food. The vast open field of the school was used for grazing of cow. Every evening, few teachers used to visit their home and sit around his father to praise him and talk ill of the people they disliked. He and his siblings received very special treatment by the teachers and the community. He did not even had to comply with the due dates for library books or attend school activity in time. As his father was invited to many important village functions, Dasarathi slowly but surely started realizing the importance of their family in the contemporary society even though their financial situation was not much different. For the first time, he started admiring his family and wanted to become like his father.

After a couple of years, Dasarathi travelled to his major town for higher education where he was exposed to a plethora of religious sects.  The leaders of these organizations earned much more money compered to his father and had more influence among their followers. Yes, they were less educated and virtually performed no structured duty.  They were not accountable to anybody, unlike his father, who had to report to a school superintendent every month. The head of the religious groups, who visited the town, were good public speakers. But, their material had no difficult concept of trigonometry or English grammar that his father used to narrate in the classroom. Dasarathi considered this easier career path and tried to gather as much information as possible from different groups.  As the college educations of physics, chemistry, biology or English language were inconsequential he had little interest in them. In the end, his poor performance in final examination did not fetch him an engineering or medical seat. By this time, he knew that it was impossible for him to become sufficiently “crook” to lead the religious groups that visit his town often times and slowly abandoned the idea.  Most of his friends joined jobs in banks or went for higher study in professional colleges. Just to keep family honor, he decided to become a student of physics, which was sufficiently honorable in his town. With some difficulty, he secured a seat and developed a taste for the subject. Now, let alone heading an organization like his father, he was not sure of getting a real job and continued higher and higher studies with scholarships.

Dasarathi saw a ray of hope to head an organization in the middle of his graduate studies few years before completing PhD. He was offered to become the director of a planetarium that was newly built in the capital city of his home state. As his university paperwork was not in good shape for completing the PhD degree, he considered the job for a moment. Anyway, there was no guarantee of a good job with great monitory compensation after completing PhD, which was going to take long years. Dasarathi thought, after getting a nice secured job as a head of an organization, he might be able to get married and entertain his parents to earn the admiration of his native society. Soon, Dasarathi’s dream faded away as his fellow students and classmates taunted him. They told him it is foolish of him to abandon pursuing the path of knowledge for shortsighted quick gain. His PhD supervisor mocked in public that it is time for Dasarathi to play and enjoy life as a kid! It is not wise to take burden of heading organizations at such an early stage. Of course, his PhD supervisor was an extraordinary wise and simple man with almost no taste for power or public command. Scholarship and pursuit of knowledge was his passion. Dasarathi resisted his desire to send the application for the post, as he feared that it would make his desire public, when a secretary types the curriculum vitae and application in the institute. In fear of public humiliation for his desire to become director of a planetarium Dasarathi abandoned the idea, and eventually completed the degree and travelled abroad.

His regret of not opting for the directorship became apparent while looking for a suitable groom, whose parents were asking Dasarathi’s father about the job status. Those days scientist was not known as a job, it was considered some thing like a “good man” or a “saint”!! So, it was not easy to find a bride for a jobless scientist, who was living on fellowship. His parents had to say that he is a “scientific officer”. The “officer” title was more useful than “scientist”, although scientific officers in his institutes were to perform bookkeeping jobs in purchasing equipment and help in research work. Fortunately, Dasarathi located a bright, ambitious, independent thinking young girl, who was also good looking, to get married and travel abroad. While working abroad, he found that the institute director, a distinguished researcher in his field, did not enjoy as much power as his father. He had some unpleasant job of looking after administrative affairs and mostly enjoyed while goofing around with colleagues and students. Dasarathi’s dream of becoming a director started to change.

After a couple of years of staying abroad, Dasarathi returned to his country to join as a postdoctoral fellow in a new research center. The institute was new, full of active young people and few powerful old men, who newly acquired power to give away stuff.  Dasarathi was offered meager salary but an accommodation to live. As he was expecting his son, a good accommodation and medical benefit was good enough a package to accept the job. Dasarathi got a two-bedroom apartment in a decent locality, even though some others fellows lived in better houses in the campus. Timid Dasarathi did not have enough courage to demand equal facility because; by this time it was clear to him that he belonged to a slightly inferior community. He did not belong to the community of known scholars, famous scientists; ancient warriors who were Tamils, Bengalis and few Marathas. Even though Dasarathi’s ancestors were great architects, poets and also astronomers, the contemporary conditions of his community were not as good enough. Added to this, Dasarathi did not belong to any famous or powerful family nor he had any recommendation from such people. So, he used to receive whatever came his way as benevolent offer from the society. After a week or so, he became annoyed as he was forced to share the apartment with other institute guests. Following the advise of some friends, he brought the matter to the attention of institution head Sri. Kumar Phirke. Phirke asked Dasarathi, “as a mere postdoctoral fellow, what more do you expect? You should be grateful with what you are given”. Dasarathi was not only shocked and got depressed but came close to see - what powerful positions do in his society. It was also encouraging for him to see, how powerful people can make others happy or sad, as they wanted. Desire to become a director again aroused in him. Silently, he started looking for another place where he might get some respect apart from enough compensation. Later of course, he developed a decent friendship with Phirke while working in another organization. Many years later, he heard that American Embassy asked if the PhD degree of Phirke was genuine. And Dasarahi joked even he had the same doubt!

Eventually, Dasarathi joined his home institute, where he completed his higher studies as a junior most scientist. Since most of his professors and supervisors were still working, he started feeling like a student again. It was a refreshing experience, but his new group head Dr. Gobardhan Giri, who was of same age as his PhD supervisor, was worried and stared training him as a responsible employee. Gobordhan-babu asked him to come to office regularly shaved and well dressed, unlike a student. Gobordhan-babu appointed Dasarathi in many committees, and insisted quitting smoking. Essentially, Dasarathi’s was now molded into a responsible salaried employ. As Dasarathi was learning new field of research from Gobordhan-babu, he felt it like a second PhD and forgot about the directorship all together. By this time, he had access to the top leadership of the country and spent most of his effort in travelling the world and being busy in high quality scientific research. Even though the salary was not really great, as he became a young father his life was good.

After few years, on his return from a few months visit to America, he found his immediate senior, Dr. Gajanan Gantayat, in the office of Dr. Giri, who retired in the mean time.  Now Dasarathi experienced power from close quarter with Gajanan Babu.  Now he started liking the power again. Gajanan babu used to get money every month to run the center and had absolute power and freedom to spend the way he liked. Everybody in the office used to surround him and praised him for several hours. The office guards started carrying the briefcase of Gajanan babu as soon as he came out of his car. Dasarathi became jealous of this, especially when his wife started feeling the burn upon the gossip of office staff. Even though Dasarathi would have liked to become a director, he was keen to go to America to earn some more money and focused on some good quality work without antagonizing anybody. Eventually, after he left for America for a couple of years, Gajanan babu faced many problems apparently due to excessive use of newly acquired power and replaced by Hanumant Rao, a reputed scientist from south. Rao sahib asked Dasarathi to come back as soon as possible, so that he can try to fetch some national awards for him and participate in building large research facilities. Dasarathi returned with excitement and full of hope of getting some national awards, so that he can face his wife to counter neighbor’s gossip.

This time, on his return from America, Dasarathi faced tremendous trouble especially as his family could not fully integrate in the changing environment. His son had forgot the native language and his wife did not like the accommodation. With the hope of better tomorrow, Dasarathi continued and got opportunity to come in proximity to the top science managers of the country. In the mean time Dasarathi got a promotion to the next stage with a salary hike that gave him a hope of a better future, eventually leading to a directorship. On one occasion Dasarathi was in charge of taking care of the top most manager, Sri Ravana Jani of his organization during his visit to the city. He accompanied Sri Ravana everywhere and eventually carried the check from his office to pay for the accommodation and other expenses. The check carried the amount equivalent to what Dasarathi would earn in ten years as a result of his new promotion. This observation renewed his interest in directorship and he decided to work hard with Rao sahib in making a new research facility and managing to get national awards. Rao sahib could not help achieving any of his personal ambitions and progress became slow. Dasarathi neither got any national award nor could see any large project coming. He became increasingly frustrated from both family pressure and professional non-progress. Eventually, after a couple of years he returned back to America.

Dasarathi focused on “various paperwork” and raising a family in America like any first generation immigrant. He focused in the professional excellence that demanded most of his time. The “Director Dream” was eventually dead. Without notice, after few years he was asked to take the position of an associate directorship of a small organization. This position came with some incentive of additional monetary benefit but lots of responsibility.  Even though, the workload was a bit more, his long cherished dream was finally fulfilled. His family was happy as some people started recognizing his new position of high honor. That aroused his old desire of directorship that would bring real power and lots of honor. Such positions in America are non-existent, so he again looked for them in his native country. During one of visits to his native place, he met an old friend, who was the director of a large government organization. Watching the servants, drivers and praisers, Dasarathi thought, it may be worth giving another try for such a position. After all, now he is an associate director of a reputed American Organization, what ever that might mean!!

As soon as Dasarathi noticed the advertisement of directorship for a relatively large reputed organization from his native land, he started talking to some of his colleagues and seriously explored the possibility of such venture. He knew that his family will strongly oppose any such move but his strong desire made him submit an application. Since, he was reviewed for a recent promotion in his organization that fetched him 11% pay raise, his curriculum vitae was almost ready. As he submitted the application, he announced it to many of his friends and colleagues, who encouraged him to actually take it up, if offered. He even had a vision - why he would like to become director of the organization. He prepared in American style, where all stakeholders in the organization, starting from ordinary workers to top level managers, take interview and ask question like, “why you want to become director?” He sent the application package, prepared meticulously, by email and waited for a response. After many months, he received a two-line response asking him to send a signed copy by airmail. There seemed to be no such enthusiasm of hiring a director. Later, he received a letter from the highest government office, asking him to come to the national capital for a discussion with management. He was excited partly because he might get a free air ticket to visit his native land and see his parents. He enquired if the travel expenses are provided. He thought, after all if selected he will decide the fate of at least 200 people, including about 90 high intellectuals. So, he might even get a first class airfare. He started dreaming the type of wine he might order in the plane. To his disappointment, the officer from the institute declined the airfare request. He had serious apprehension for the capacity of these directors, so decided to give-up the hope altogether.

In the mean time, Dasarathi had achieved a very respectable position in American society with a handsome pay package. So he had no intention of any superficial respect, as he learned everything is measured by green dollars. After a year or so, he again received a letter from the government office in national capital, to appear in the office for discussion. In the mean time, he started enquiring the status of contemporary directors in his country. To his surprise, he found that it has lost the charm to such an extent that some of them prefer to remain anonymous. He also found out that the salary package for the director would be much less than the income tax he is currently paying. Without real power to play an effective role of directorship or an attractive pay package, Dasarathi gave up his “Director Dream” forever and preserved the letters of correspondences with high government officials as valuable memories to convince his wife that he is an eligible director for the top institutes back home!!