It is almost time to go back home, to be exact just 10 weeks more.....For whatever reason, the question that echoes in my mind is what would my life be like if I hadn't come to London for masters... At a glance the answer seems to be simple to me... If I hadn't come to London, I'd have completed the first year of Masters in Physics at some university in India. On the plus side, I'd have been closer to home, would probably be with some or the other of my close friends...be in a more familiar setting. On the other hand, I wouldn't have met a lot of truly wonderful people if I hadn't come to London, people who actually made being away from home easier, more bearable.

It was my choice to come here for post graduation,exactly like it was my choice to take a science graduation while everyone around me was choosing engineering or medicine, and it was my choice to go to Pune to pursue it, in a state whose customs,culture and even language was alien. These are just some very superficial examples. There are many things I have regretted in the past, and I still do. But looking back, I see that they were all really results of some choices I made. I have ended up hurting people and I regret that. But sometimes that was inevitable to something very vital to me. That sounds downright selfish, even to me. But that is what I did. I feel that what I did was what I had to do, because life is all about choices.

That is not some notion I have coined up myself. That is a piece of idle talk from one of my cousins which has stuck to my mind all these years. That itself is quite surprising because we don't really see eye to eye in most things. I remember this bit, probably because his own life is an illustration of how anyone's life can take a wholly new path owing to certain choices.

My uncle is a business man with five sons. The one in question (let us call him A) is the second. It was always expected that the first two of his sons would succeed my uncle in business, work with him like his two hands etc. It was expected that A will do some graduation, do an MBA and then join the family business like his elder brother did. That was the first notion (in my memory) that he refuted. He chose software engineering, which was fine with everyone, because he was just doing a graduation. Then he got placed in a very reputed firm and he chose to take it. All hell broke loose at home. My uncle was furious. It was unacceptable to him that a son of his wouldn't submit to his will like he did to his father and his eldest son did to him. No number of yellings or reasonings or pleadings had any effect on A. Uncle had to give up eventually. Then, after three years, in an unexpected twist, he quit his job and came into family business. Everyone was happy that the black sheep finally came into his senses and returned to the flock where he belonged. He was there for almost five years, did any number of things with it, started a few establishments of his own (when in his rebel mode), then merged it with his dad's company....so many things like that. Then last year, all of a sudden, he announced that he is going to some Godforsaken corner of Africa to volunteer with the UN peace corps. Everyone was flabbergasted. Even his mental balance was doubted. My uncle raved, auntie shed tears. But being A, he stuck with his choice. And he went to Africa. All through last year he was posted in various corners of Africa, undergoing training, teaching village children, setting up medical camps and so on. He returned to India in January this year when his big brother had a nearly fatal car accident and is planning to go back now that he is more or less fine.

The A I knew growing up was a restless guy , who flitted from thing to thing like a butterfly. He never even stood still for an amount of time, always shifting and all that. Restlessness was something I always associated with A. Even though he was never really mean to anyone, he gave out that aura, the aura of a mean, rich,spoilt brat, which he was, in many ways.Volunteering for world peace is so not something I would associate with that guy. But now I feel as if that A no longer exists. That wiry boy who was forever shifting his weight and fidgeting has transformed into a kind,compassionate,understanding man. And finally, after what seems to be an eternity, he seems to be really happy, content with where he is, what he is doing. I truly believe that A has found his calling in life.

He was never my best friend. In fact I'm not sure I even like him sometimes. Inspite of all our fights, misunderstandings, a thousand arguments...A has earned my respect forever with that one choice he made. Although the nobility of the cause is to be applauded, I admire him more for following his heart, going through hell and back (which I'm sure he must've felt it is, compared to his style of living back home) to keep up with his life choices. His transformation has actually led me to believe that it is all about the choices we make in life...that these choices make us who and what we are.