The Unlikely Catalyst

The Unlikely Catalyst

 

 “You, Varun, are a nerd. Look what you have turned yourself into. A fine man with impressive talents and great ideas is wasting time trying to solve social issues. Don’t you ever lament that things could have been so different, so fruitful for you, if not for your foolhardy ways and love for all things social?”

“Carry on”, Varun’s short but hardly sweet reply to Gaurav infuriated the latter even more.

Everyone else in the coffee-shop stopped what they were doing for a minute when Gaurav banged his fist on the table in frustration.

“Varun, this is getting far too annoying. Don’t you see the substance you have? Don’t you realise where it could have taken you? Don’t you think you still have not lost everything and it is worth a try?” Gaurav’s heartrending plea did manage to touch the sensitive heart Varun had.

“Look Gaurav, we are all born as equals. For every two children born from the same womb, the world unfolds differently. You know better than me the background that has shaped my ideologies over the years”, Varun was honest in his response.

“Ok, so I know you wanted to pursue medicine but could not due to that unfortunate surgery you had to go through when you were a teenager. Does that mean you will waste precious time in developing apps when you are a qualified chartered accountant?” Varun reasoned.

“I became a chartered accountant to ‘salvage’ my career. It was a popular a choice- a choice to survive. However, I want to thrive, not just survive. I want to do things my heart certifies. I want to do work I can be proud of”, Varun enabled Gaurav make further inroads to the former’s psyche.

“Deepa, how good are we with the trials of our app, that provides diagnosis just based on reports by a panel of doctors?” Varun asked an equally enthusiastic aspirant eager to offer the benefits of medicine to the world at large through technology. Deepa had the added advantage of familiarity with the digital world.

“There are some functionality issues faced while accessing the app on mobile but the desktop version is without glitches.

Several NGOs have lapped it up and are eager to wait for its official launch.

However, the second round of funding that’s badly needed is yet to come”, Deepa updated Varun.

Gaurav was watching the passion being built through the conversation.

Turning to Gaurav, a serious-faced Varun said, “Gaurav, this is one more hurdle but I am sure we will overcome it.”

Gaurav by now had lost the patience and confidence to make Varun understand.

Varun was battling with an identity crisis after destiny decided he could not study medicine and under societal pressure and with nothing to hold on to, he chose to study chartered accountancy.

While his intelligence enabled him earn good grades and eventually become a chartered accountant, his inner connect with the field of medicine stayed.

Gaurav left the coffee-shop, again with a resolve to persuade Varun to do justice to his intellect some other day.

Gaurav and Varun were school buddies. Gaurav was always the academically weaker student and was in awe of Varun all his life as a student.

News of Varun’s surgery and his inability to pursue medicine due to other reasons as well, came as a shock not just to Varun but also to Gaurav.

For a long time since then, Varun lacked conviction and just made use of the recipe offered by others to him to ‘survive’.

To be fair, it stabilized his life and he was a successful chartered accountant after all.

Varun was always preoccupied with this angst all his life and had a strong sense of urge to prove himself after losing out to destiny once.

This turned him into a rebel of sorts.

So while studying chartered accountancy, he also visited old paper marts and referred to books on medicine. He would surf the internet for hours together to stay updated on the latest inventions and Nobel Prize winners.

Gaurav knew he had little role to play in Varun’s life’s sudden shifts and yet he always felt bad for the intelligent friend who carried angst with him always.

Gaurav, a successful anesthetist would make extra efforts to regularly meet Varun and persuade him to utilize his qualification meaningfully.

The next day, Varun was woken up by Deepa’s call. “Sir, an investor is interested in funding the next round for us. ServiceSacred wants to see our app through fruition and are keen to join as a long-term partner.”

Varun felt vindicated- the way every struggler who perseveres armed with nothing but loads of faith and an indomitable spirit.

He got ready to meet Deepa and had also asked a few journalist friends to await some small yet exciting news.

“Friends from ServiceSacred, we are grateful to you that you see promise in our app. Our application will be tremendously useful in areas where there are few doctors and where initial diagnosis can be availed at a nominal fee. We are pitching the idea to the state and central governments to make services free and our endeavor is to spread it all across the nation”, Varun wore the confidence of an achiever while sharing the essence of his baby to the investors.

Ranjeet Biswas the CEO of ServiceSacred rose to ask a few questions. “Varun, we are in agreement with the germ of the idea principally. However, we are concerned about execution and platform compatibility. Will we see possibility of taking printouts from the mobile itself for ease and convenience of the patient’s caregivers? Any possibility of enabling services on basic handsets?”

 

“Thank you Mr Biswas. I am happy you ask these questions, for that shows the interest you take in our app. To answer you-Yes, we will have the services enabled on basic handsets as well. It will be purely a text diagnosis while the smartphones will give out visual aids as well”, Varun clarified.

“Moreover, we are trying to rope in paramedical professionals to pitch in and help answer patient queries where experts and qualified doctors are not required.

The payment gateways will also be finalized soon. Keep faith in us”, Varun implored.

Gaurav was due to meet Varun again in a couple of days. He messaged Varun “Looking forward to our meeting two days from now”. Varun’s reply was curt “Sure. I will enjoy the coffee and you will play your part”, his resistance and defiance was clear.

Varun had earned the ire of some of his friends too. As his family whole heartedly supported him while making him aware of his struggles because of his unconventional choice, his passion only grew from strength to strength.

“Varun, why is there this need to carve out an image? Why is it so necessary?”, Gaurav asked when he met Varun.

“Gaurav, I pray no one ever has had to see his identity being destroyed and struggle to carve out a new one. It is as necessary as existence. If you are unique, you exist”, Varun explained

“Why need the world’s certification?”

“For nothing succeeds like success.”

The conversation was laced with short oneliners that had ample clarity.

“My friend, once that is done, then what?”, asked Gaurav.

“Gaurav, I have not yet planned it. However, what I am doing is also because I am connected to medicine. I have nurtured my love for it. This app is known to some now, but no one knows abotu the various research papers I collected for my understanding despite not attending medical college. No one knows how I watched documentaries based on medicine for several years to contribute in some meaningful way.

Are you not trivializing my connect with the discipline when you suggest I do this just to carve a new identity? I would conclude that it is 80 per cent passion and 20 per cent the urge to prove a point to the world.”, Varun stopped after speaking out of conviction.

“You know Varun, you have now started deliberately behaving like a rebel. I admire what all you do. Yet, I am disturbed with the angst you carry and while you use it positively I am afraid this is not going to be good for your family”, the concerned friend in Gaurav expressed worry.

Varun was dating a girl for two years but the relationship ended as Natasha felt neglected because of the self-obsessed angry young man.

“You are right Gaurav. This is part of the deal. While I remain open to relationships, I am not the conventional hero that girls dream of. Nowhere close to that”. Varun agreed with his friend, for once.

This meeting was better for both parties and for a change, Varun left with a sense of guilt.

Varun was aware he was not likeable as a prospective partner. He had been hesitant to make space for a partner in his life. That won’t do.

The app took a longer time to develop than expected and even ServiceSacred pulled out after putting up a brave face for long.

Varun was once again thrown into a sea of struggles.

Gaurav was in a position to help Varun but had avoided doing so, because of two reasons. One, he would much rather see the intelligent Varun settle down as a successful chartered accountant. He fundamentally differed from Varun. The other reason was Varun’s sense of self-respect.

However, with things refusing to work out well for his friend, Gaurav decided to make an investment.

“Varun, I had avoided showing interest in your passion for long. However, for me, it is more important to see you happy and vindicated. Your product is amazing and holds promise. I make this investment as a friend but it takes away nothing from its own merit. I want to see the Varun I knew in school- passionate, enthusiastic and yet flashing a smile”, Gaurav’s words were enough to make Varun cry and hug the friend he had been cold to.

Wiping his tears and lifting his head, Varun said, “How I wish life had not unfolded the way it did.”

For once Gaurav was the more powerful voice as he signed off, “Life is beautiful. With its bitter-sweet moments, it makes us value relationships, moments and principles”.

 The app ‘DigitalDiagnosis’ was made bug-free and launched with great fanfare.

 

11.05 p.m.

SingingSoul

14 October 2016

Friday