Life comes at you Fast

Experience the improbable was something that presented itself on this particular day.  A unique first once in a life time event came my way rather fortuitously when I was given the honor of being a Chief Guest and of course the key note speaker where I was to address a large group of 200 odd  “Achievers” from my company at an upscale hotel.  Got up early that day, dusted my blazer that was comfortably ensconced since long.   Read and re-read so as to learn by rote a canned speech provided by the organizers for the occasion.  Rehearsed and conjured up images of how I would deliver so as not to make myself a fool in front of the cream the company holds.

Come evening, and when I was just about to start for the venue, the skies opened up.  A good omen, I believed.   The venue was a close 7 kms away and I had made a measured judgment of 20 mins to traverse the distance.  The clouds were looking ominous and I felt…oh like any other rainy day…I should be well in time.  What started as a drizzle soon turned into a downpour.  What appeared initially as Cats and Dogs soon turned out into Elephants and Rhinos and several Giraffes to add too.  Roads soon turned into puddles and then into pools and soon into streams.  Vehicles got stuck behind each other and resigned to the Will of Nature a few engines died down.  It was a decision to make whether to wade through the streams that were now at a threatening 1 foot height or to stay put and bide my time.  On a parallel note, Ironically, I was right behind a Tanker carrying water to quench thirst for a few perhaps a colony away.  20 mins soon turned into 30 mins and then to 60 mins.  My mind was furiously at work apprehensions galore, if this was not going to be my day.  I was already an hour late for the function.  With a strong resolve and few mumbled prayers, I took a diversion trusted the Suzuki I was in and stepped on the pedals vrooming my way through the streams following a few other motorists in a narrow lane.  It was like “Chal Meri Dhanno aaaj….blah blah and blu…”Prayers answered, I finally reached the venue a good 90 mins late and to my amazement, the organizers kept the function on hold.  Ofcourse, there were several others amongst the 200 who also got stuck in a similar predicament and were trickling in into the venue well behind schedule.  Whew, I thought, after all stars seemed to be favorably aligned and my moment of truth was going to unfold soon.

The function started off with a good note and the MC started off  on a rather “Ahem”….good note singing some good praises in my honor introducing me.  And then the dreadful moment had come…Life comes fast at one.  To my utter shock and horror the MC started off narrating my canned speech word by word, sentence by sentence in gay abandon obviously oblivious to the fact that that was something that I had to narrate.  I turned ashen for a while, upset and wondering, why is this happening to me.  First the deluge and then this happenstance.  No this was not happening…no this was not happening…Thinking on what to do next…what to blabber (yes…after what had just presented itself, it would be a blabber..I surmised) when my turn came.  And amidst the chaos that was going on in my mind…I faintly heard my name being called out…as if I was in the middle of a bad dream and someone calling me out distantly.  Snapped out of my thoughts, when I came to,  I realized that the mike was being ushered under my nose amidst a reasonable applause.  I wondered if the applause was for the MC who had just finished his, rather, my bit or was it in anticipation of what I was going to come up with.  Summoning courage, with several deep breaths, I got up with laden feet, drained due to my thoughts.  And I suddenly remembered a bit of an episode from “Suits” and a bit of what our companies Chairwoman had mentioned a few days ago and a bit of this and a bit of that and a bit of what I actually wanted to say in the absence of a canned speech.  A potpourri of a well orchestrated menu came to the fore.  Confidence buoyed by the response from the audience further rekindled my self belief.   I realized that it was all coming together as beads stuck on a string into a well amalgamated cohesion.  I ended my monologue 15 minutes later into what I felt was a thunderous applause.

Fortune favors the prepared mind someone said…and here was a day when everything that could go against this did.  I guess my stars were aligned favorably that I was able to emerge out of this un-enviable bizarre situational day unscathed……