To Dreamers Everywhere

Since finalising the details of TLBB (a Bollywood trick that, DDLJ, K3G, KANK, RDB, TZP etc were all superhits!!) I have felt the very same serenity that one feels when your baby starts sleeping through the night!! "Yesss," you rejoice, "no more bleary eyes, no more ' when is this going to end'. Just a healthy glow!! " So here I am after 8 hours of beauty sleep.

After 20 years of serious writing, 8 years of planning and 2 years of chasing my dream, I am a week away from holding my book in my hand. Yes, my book: The Little Brown Box. Feels exhilarating and humbling all at once.

"What does it take to get here?" one my grade 8 students asked me on Friday after I announced this news on the PA system. I have been thinking about it since.

My wake up call came last July. I had dedicated the summer and the school year that followed to a word that was being whispered in ear towards the end of June. RENEWAL. For those of us who believe in signs, this is not a crazy idea. For those of us who have not yet learned to trust our inner voice or the voice of the Universe ( Read the Alchemist and then come back to this), this may seem like a 'new age' thing.

I went to Harlem in early July and browsed around. I found a delightful book store called Hueman Books run by J. A delightful little nook that had a fruit drinks store and a few tables at the front and rows of books written by people who looked like me, somewhat. Not well known faces that jump out of websites or glossy magazines, just ordinary people who perhaps had dreamt long enough to make that dream come true, like the Velveteen Rabbit. I spoke to J about my dream, ( it is just easy to talk to some people, the clear look in their eyes, does not judge your presence, they let you be, J is one such soul, I thought).

Dreamers everywhere will understand what I have to say next: it is hard to tell people about your dream without risking ridicule or the fear of it. "I am writing a book", you might say. " Yeah right" says the person's face while their lips utter this, saccharine- sweet; " How nice" Familiar?? Whether you want to start your own company or build your house or plant a garden or follow your calling, there is always an unspoken ' Yeah Right' out there.

J said to me: "I will wait for your next trip. perhaps you will bring some copies of your book for me." Just like that. What did he know of me, this man I had met just minutes ago? What did he know of my work, or talent? Just that I had a dream. This was message 1.

On July 5th, we went to Delaware to my aunt's house. Her father, (my grandmother's younger brother) was turning 94. My children were fascinated with the idea of meeting him: a family Elder, the brother of their great-grandmother. They sat on either side with him, his hand in theirs, listening to him as he spoke. Now Punn-joba (great grand-dad) is a cardiologist as well as a writer of children's stories. He has published his first book of stories for children and is working on another. As my kids sat there marvelling at his presence and wit, he said to them: "I wrote this book but I waited a long time to publish it. Now, though I can hold it in my hand, I cannot read it, I have gone blind" This, was clearly message number 2.

And then there was the constant reminders from my son: "Mamma, when is your book going to come out?" I would smile and say that I did not know yet and it would happen in its time.

A few days later he would ask me again with the persistance of a 10 year old boy. One day finally, I said to him: "I don't know what to do. I have not yet heard from any publishers."

And my guru of the day said to me: " Why don't you do it yourself?" That was message number 3.

As always, one is faced by two paths: and it is a measure of your courage, the courage of your convictions that makes you go out and do it anyway, in the face of all the ' yeah right' sayers that hide in the shadows.

That perhaps is the acid test of a dreamer: the ability to take that precious thought out of your heart and lay it down for the Spirit to guide you towards fulfillment.

In hindsight, this has been the easiest thing. All I needed was a hearty dose of trust and an open heart to listen to the messages of the Universe.

Stay well and keep dreaming...