When I was little, I wanted to be a Bus Conductor. I passionately wanted the job. Just imagine! Riding in a bus all day, everyday. And playing around with all that small change! I loved the sound the coins made when the conductor shuffled the purse looking for change.

I still remember discussing my career plans with my Dad.

Me: “Dad, I want to be a Bus Conductor when I grow up”
Dad (from behind a newspaper): “Very good. Very ambitious.”
Me: “Yeah. Then I will have lots of coins. I will be rich!”
Dad: “Why don’t you try to become something where you’ll get lots of notes instead?”
Me: “I don’t like notes. They don’t make a nice sound. I like coins better.”
Dad: “You have a very bright future ahead.”

I wanted to be Train Driver, Restaurant Waiter, Cricket Batsman, Telephone lineman, Pilot and Nuclear Physicist at various points during my schooling years. Years later, when it finally came down to joining an Engineering course, I decided to do Software Engineering, simply because they seemed to be getting the most money. This was back in 2000, at the height of the dot-com boom. 2 Months after our College started, the dot-com bust came and evaporated all the dreams of big money. I was mentally preparing myself to go into my backup career plan - further studies to pursue a PhD.

One year into college and it became clear that I was not PhD material. I barely managed to pass some subjects - getting 34 and a half, which would be rounded up to 35, which was the minimum passing mark. I had lot of trouble writing 5-mark answers, which were expected to be at least one page long. There was no way I was going to be able to write a full thesis.

Fortunately for me, when graduation time came in 2004, the software industry had recovered sufficiently that I landed a job. I decided that it was high time to get disciplined and to start a serious career. This dilly dallying and switching career plans every 2 months was not going to work. I decided I was going to make it in the software industry.

8 Months later, I was researching Tobacco Farming. It turned out to be surprisingly lucrative. And it turns out the tobacco plants don’t need that much water either. Now all I needed was some farm land…

It’s been 3 years now since I graduated, and I’ve put my Tobacco farming plans on hold to pursue yet another career - I want to write a Bollywood movie now. Seriously. I’m hoping to cast Rakhi Sawant in it.

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