What do you want to become when you grow up?

This is a question we were all asked a number of times as kids.

I find myself recollecting some of the things I wanted to be through these years. But when I come to think of them, what baffles me more than the list itself is the reasons for which I wanted to become that person - some serious, some silly and some downright ridiculous!

Sample this -

The Serious

IAS Officer - My uncle Mr. Rangarao was my idol those days. He used to live in (then) Madras and we used to visit him quite often. He was a god-like figure for me. He could talk about any topic on the face of the earth! He seemed to have a very respectable job.
He had a servant for everything - cooking, cleaning, shopping for groceries, 'Ironing'. Even to polish his shoes. I used to hate polishing my white canvas school shoes as a kid. It was a dirty but compulsory job :) He used to go around in a white ambassador car with a flashing red light on top if it. Now who doesn't want something like that? That itself is more than enough reason to become an IAS officer. Right?
Even these days, I think about preparing for the UPSC exams sometimes ... Wonder if I will be a good administrator though!

Doctor - I clearly remember keeping the medical option open for a pretty long time during my High School days. I was really good at Biology and my mom in a way encouraged me in this direction. In fact I almost became a doctor but for the one tiny problem that I faint at even the thought of a needle or blood! I have visited the pathology division for blood tests a good 3 to 5 times so far. And I do not remember anything from either of those visits because I fainted every time :)
BUT for that, I was on track to becoming a great doctor one day! Really!

The Silly

Astronaut - Every kid wants to be an astronaut at some point in his/her childhood. I was no different. I wanted to be one even when I didn't know how to spell A-S-T-R-O-N-A-U-T. I was ready to grow up, put on the space suit, hop on to the next available rocket and exit the earth's atmosphere. But then, I came to know that there was this one intermediary step of having to study some really crazy sounding subjects like Astrophysics and what not.
I was heart broken to stay the least that this was NOT in fact an escape from the grueling course of 12+ years of studies!

Waitress at Saravana Bhavan - I know! I know! I know how this sounds... But stay with me on this!
Now, who will refute the fact that Saravana Bhavan is the BESTest place EVER for great tasting authentic south Indian food. And I am a huge fan of south Indian cuisine. I can practically live off of Idli Sambar for the rest of my life!
When I was a kid, I thought I could get access to an unlimited supply of Chinna Vengayam Sambar and Thair Sadam for free if I worked there myself :)
I still laugh at it every time I go to a Saravana Bhavan for a meal!

The downright Ridiculous

Auto driver - Gasp! Take a Breath! Be fair to a kid (I think I was in the 5th standard) who was (and is) a huge fan of Rajini Kanth. Alright?
Now this is the downright ridiculous part - That was the time when 'Superstar' (I had to say it :P ) Rajini's hit movie Bhasha had released. And as we Rajini fans know, he was the super cool auto driver in it! That was more than enough reasons for me to want to be just like his character in the movie. I happened to mention this to my dad at that time and he cancelled cable connection the very next day!!



Well, all said and done, I am now a Consultant at an IT company and still wonder if this is what I am really passionate about. Who knows when my career will take a detour and I will end up doing something radically different from now!

PS: Any Anti-Rajini comments ridiculing his movies or laughing at him will be not be tolerated! :P I am still a huge fan of his :)