Everyone needs a SUPERMAN!!
Have you ever noticed how badly you need
superman? No, I am not talking about THE superman to save you from superhuman
attacks….I am just asking about your superman…your personal superman…Does that
leave you confused?
Let me answer it this way. I can
distinctly remember a day when I had put in a lot of effort in sketching for a
school project. I and my brother fought over something and at the end of the
fight, my sketch sheet was crumpled. I started crying over it and just then my
mother came with a straight sheet of paper with my sketch intact! That day my
Mom became my superman…and in fact she will always be! She had just ironed the
sheet of paper…but somehow it changed my day and the way I saw her. That day
she became someone who could do anything, anything that seemed impossible, she
could make milk taste better by just adding some secret syrup, she could make
me reach school even after I missed the bus, she could convince anyone, she
could show me plants turning their shoots while adapting to light, she could
make any dish I could think of, she could make me do stuff which I thought I
was not capable of doing, she could make me feel strong just by letting me shop
for grocery, she could make my clothes look better just by dressing me herself,
she could do everything I knew only fairies can do. And she has truly been the
fairy who grants every wish. Over time, I have seen her doing things which only
she can do and which are just impossible. Even today, there are times no one
can comfort me as her voice can, she can make me talk when I keep saying to
everyone else “I am alright”. She was my first and most favorite superman, my
wonder!
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Singularly, I got my next superman too
soon. My Dad was the next miracle. He could do a lot of things which were even
more difficult. He could open the containers my mom couldn’t open, he could
impart life to plants which looked completely lifeless, he could make the mixer
grinder work, he could make lamps grow brighter just by cutting the wick to
perfection, he could mend my toys with ease, he could answer every question I
had, with undying patience every time, he could make me feel powerful by taking
me to his office, he could show me how stones sparked to give fire, he could
show me small fishes munching food, he could give me that freedom to take small
risks which other parents thought before giving, he could bring me books from
other cities the same day I wanted them, he could solve the sums I could never
understand, he could speak flawless English, he could even draw straight lines
without a ruler!! All these were so great for me back then and I must admit to
date, I know there have been great things my Dad has done, apart from the
things which just seemed great to me. I have seen him perform those miracles as
I grew up. Even before we know some problem has come, he has them solved
already. Every time we have lost hope, he has tackled it, even at times when we
have faced monetary problems, he has never let the effects reach us, and we
have been over privileged every single day of our lives. He is my all time
superman…one who can change the world!
My brother was my next superman. He
could climb steep walls, he could scare away lizards, he could use pastel
colors with perfect strokes, he could remember difficult spellings, could save
me from the ‘enemy gang’, could manage anything, could get me that small packet
of snacks I loved so much, could excel in each and every exam, could be that
all rounder in school every mother wanted her child to be, could be my worst
enemy and my best friend, could sometimes understand me better than my mom,
could love me so dearly and yet never let it show ever.
If the process of growing up takes us
closer to reality, it also takes us farther from the eventual realities of
life. All this time, I never realized that I had a protective cover; I had
someone in life who I believed could solve any problem and that’s what left me
so carefree, secure and happy. I started believing that there are some problems
that can’t be solved; there are some issues where we are limited by the human
capabilities, some which are too big to be handled. Somewhere down the lane, I
stopped believing in the magic potions, fairies, miracles and most importantly
supermen, not because my supermen lost any of their abilities, but because I
became too blind to see them! I didn't know that even if they don’t exist,
somewhere they give us the comfort of belief. The loss of that comfort becomes
taxing.
I had started living ‘practically’ and ‘rationally’.
I started ‘being human’, just human, and exactly when I was about to move out
from the whole concept of supermen, I had to give it a second thought! He took
me back to the days of my innocence. He made me fly over earth, he made the
breezes touch me gently, he made winds play violin for me, he made flowers
bloom for me, he made the sun shy away, he made the dew wash away my scars,
both physical and emotional, he could make the seas change tides over the wave
of his hand, he could freshen air, he could make me run, be breathless and enjoy
victory over myself, he made me do crazy things, he made me feel that I was the
most favorite person on earth, he made me understand that even if I don’t get I
want, even I lose out, even if I fail, it was okay because life was not about
winning…life was about living, he made me see the colors in sky, the shapes in
stars, the rainbows and the rains, he made me drench myself in the rain and
still feel the same 8 year old kid I was, he let me muddle in puddles, he let
me watch the ripples in water, he returned me the freedom again, not just to
break away the cocoon I was in, but also to feel the shield so many supermen
still had over me and I have to admit that my superman had started having the
supernatural effect...happiness was back, in every damn situation!! Life
changed so much because I again had someone who could do anything, yet again! I
had found my next superman! He couldn’t do the miracles but had the power to
convince me that the miracles were for me…and that’s what supermen do!
I have a renewed faith in the fact that
everyone needs a superman, if not a person who can do anything, at least a
person who can do anything for you! You can’t live with the feeling that there
are things which can’t be done. You need and deserve an assurance that
everything is possible. They might be anyone, your deity, your beloved, your
parents, your friends or even yourself…but trust me, it’s wonderful to have a superman.
Till the point you know he is out there, your life remains simpler, secure and
happy. Everybody has a superman, you just need to look closer to find them and
if you don’t find someone, it can’t get better, because here is the chance to
become a superman…someone’s superman! J
