Tunes without a purpose

Music was blaring from her iPod as she sat on the seat of a tightly-crammed passenger bus on her way to office. She was tapping her feet in tune with the song playing from the little device that slid comfortably inside the pocket of her jeans. The volume was so loud that even the guy who sat next to her was humming the same song, occasionally tapping his feet as well.

Namita appeared to be immersed in the music, but was actually thinking about the impending deadline which she had to meet by the evening. Namita was still trying to find her feet in journalism, even though it had been close to a year she’d been working at one of the most reputed media houses in town. While she did not entirely enjoy her work—given the hectic work schedule, the frantic routine and impending deadlines—she still sort of admired the profession she was in.

She signalled the conductor boy to slow  down the bus at the next stop as she stopped the music that was still playing on her device ,and detached the earphones. Quickly, she paid the bus fare and then made her way towards the office, still thinking about the structure of the opening sentence which she would use in her article. It was around four in the evening and she had close to three hours to submit the write-up.

“That’s quite enough time,” she thought and took a deep breath as she saw her friend Kreepa, who was also a journalist at the same office, waving at her, and gesturing towards the canteen with her face. Namita looked at her watch and told her that she had to meet a deadline by seven. But Kreepa would pay no heed.

“That is a lot of time,” she said. “You can take a short nap, wake up and still submit the article before seven. Why are you worrying so much?”

Namita agreed, though hesitantly, and both of them went to the canteen for a cup of coffee. As they waited for their warm beverage, Namita kept looking at her wrist watch every couple of minutes. Upon receiving a stern look from her friend, she did stop fiddling with her wrist-watch, but her mind was still overwhelmed with the article she had to finish by the evening. Finally, the coffee arrived and both of them started to sip the drink and she forgot, although only momentarily, about the deadline. Her friend asked her about her recent trip to the Everest Base Camp, and just as Namita was sharing some interesting details, a common friend, also a journalist, joined them.

“What is this talk about,” Ayush asked.

“Nothing,” came a nonchalant reply from Namita.

And as an awkward silence began to creep in, Ayush asked rather abruptly, “Namita, what is the purpose of your life?”

She almost spilled her coffee and gave him a confused look. What bewildered her most was the seriousness of the query and the solemn face which he had when he made it. It looked as if he was trying to find an answer to that ultimate question, as if he was at a point in life where he was questioning his own existence.  

“Is it always necessary to have a purpose in life?” she questioned back.

“It is. Everybody has a purpose in life,” he said.

“So, what is your purpose in life?” she quizzed.

“That is what I am trying to figure out.”

“What if you fail to find your purpose in life? Will you stop living?” Namita was soon possessed by the conversation and even forgot that she had a deadline to meet. Kreepa also seemed drawn by the conversation they were having.

“Well, I wouldn’t stop living but I definitely wouldn’t enjoy my life if it were without a purpose,” Ayush clarified.

“So, you haven’t enjoyed your life thus far?” Namita shot back.

Looking a little uncomfortable, Ayush replied, “Yes.”

“It is indeed great to have a purpose in life, but I’ve always thought or believed that the attention should be focused on the journey, not just the destination,” she said as she saw both her friends listening to her intently.

“You might end up living a wonderful life, full of happiness and satisfaction, without even knowing your purpose in life. Will you be dissatisfied then?” she asked Ayush, looking at him unwaveringly. Ayush did not reply this time but it looked as though Namita’s question had left him confused. “Nothing can be greater than the fact that you took birth on this planet and that you are alive right now. There needn’t be a greater purpose in life than living. Everything else is secondary for me,” she said.

After a pause, she added, “That’s my perspective, and I wouldn’t be surprised if people refused to agree with me.”  She finished this last sentence with a loud slurp, but her mind was still on the topic. The other two were listening intently, but Ayush felt like Namita’s words were only adding to his confusion.

 “Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi weren’t born with the purpose of freeing their countries from oppression. They found their purpose as they went on with their lives,” she continued. “It doesn’t have to be something preordained and I think it’s perfectly okay even if you don’t find any purpose in life.”

That was when the article she had to submit shot back in her mind and Namita realised she was really getting late.

“For now, my purpose is to finish an article by seven. All else, I don’t care,” she said with a smile and got up to leave as her friends kept staring at her until she had disappeared entirely from their view.

- Kumar Sharma