"He is an interesting person said my friend." We were on our way to meet a friend of my friend. Over the past few years he has been busy with his photography. He is self taught and has gained repute as an excellent photographer. He has the capability to bring his photos alive.He is in great demand for his ability to add vibrancy to the photos he clicks. How did you meet him ? I asked. My friend said " oh he is a very eccentric character and when I met him first, it was hate at first sight. He thought I was an inefficient and stuck up person and I felt that he was overrated. We were both young and still finding our feet in this big bad world. I was jumping at any opportunity to make money.A project for a photo shoot came our way . He was looking for a creative mind with the ability to tell a story and I was looking for someone who would bring to life my ideas. "so how did you two gel?" I asked; My friend laughed and said " oh we did not gel at all. But one thing was sure - we both realised that we require each other if we were to make the project at hand a success. When we first met, it was with barely concealed contempt that we regarded each other. Since it was a small project we did not have many people involved to begin with. And so started the uneasy relationship. In the beginning we shot down each others' ideas and dismissed them as stupid and laughable. There could not be two people who were poles apart. I preferred planning things down to the last detail - he wanted to jump into action impulsively. I wanted things in place in advance and he wanted to start off and tackle the obstacles as they came along. I wanted to be in charge of the execution and he wanted to be the executor and the planner all rolled in one. I did not mind a few faults as long as they were manageable . He used to get pissed off with the smallest mistake. This would lead him to bad mouth all and sundry. And it did not make him popular with the workers at all. We had already run through three coordinators. The first left in a huff when she was brutally tongue lashed by my friend. The second could not take the pressure of our differences and the third left in tears cursing us both roundly for our egos getting in way of the completion of the project.
Things were getting out of hand. The deadline for completion of the project was fast approaching. And the end was nowhere in sight. The fact that our disagreements were getting in the way of completion of the project was not helping at all. The time for burying the differences was near at hand if we wanted to make a name for ourselves in the Market. The returns in terms of cash was not much. What was important was we would be established in the market. I was determined to work out the differences that morning . By the afternoon it was clear that we were nowhere near what I set out to do. Was it not for the presence of the third party we may have come to blows.
My father told me that when you are banging your head against a wall it is best to come back with better weapons to destroy the wall. I had reached the end of my tether and there was no other option but to leave the scene with as much dignity as I could muster. I needed an outlet for my frustration. By evening, to unwind I went to the local pub 10 Downing street. Was it my fault that my friend also came to the same Bar that evening? When he entered I was already down a few. I did not think twice about baiting him. A whispered comment about him to my companion (loud enough for him to hear) and raucous laughter thereafter got the desired result. My friend came at me at full tilt. I was waiting for him. All the pent up frustration of the past few days boiled over. We were soon at each others throats, punching each other on every exposed part of the body. The other revelers joined with great enthusiasm. Each scoring punch progressively diminished my anger and my intoxication. Soon neither my friend nor I were trying to avoid each others blows. We were just punching each other with the intent to do maximum damage.The bouncers who were in a stupor suddenly came alive and efficiently separated us and threw us out of the Bar. The ignominious exit cooled off our ardor somewhat and we went our separate ways.
The next morning when we met again it was as if nothing had happened the evening before. We were very businesslike. In the following days we ironed out most of our differences with regard to the project and - surprise of surprise - we completed the project in the given deadline. Our work was duly appreciated and in the next few years our symbiotic relationship - My organization and his creativity - earned us lot of projects. Along the way our animosity gave way to genuine friendship. Not that my friend or I changed ourselves much. He was still an impatient man who did not tolerate stupidity and inefficiency and I was always wanting to experiment...
Over a period of time he became a reputed photographer with a client list which read like the who's who of the celebrities and glitterati and I went my own way all over the world. I meet him most of the time when I am in town. And we still laugh at our first encounter.
"Why are we going to meet him?" I asked tentatively. You must meet him because he has lot of ideas which if they fructify will yield phenomenal results. When we reached his place he was alone in the house. I could understand why my friend took the trouble to explain about his friend. The moment we sat down to a cup of tea he immediately formulated an opinion about me. And then went on to dispassionately dissect the performance of his son at a recent cycle race. But i could see that in that dissection there was also pride in the performance of his son. We threw around a few ideas and soon it was time to leave this feisty person and chew over the ideas that he had thrown at me.
Hoping to meet him soon...Again...
Things were getting out of hand. The deadline for completion of the project was fast approaching. And the end was nowhere in sight. The fact that our disagreements were getting in the way of completion of the project was not helping at all. The time for burying the differences was near at hand if we wanted to make a name for ourselves in the Market. The returns in terms of cash was not much. What was important was we would be established in the market. I was determined to work out the differences that morning . By the afternoon it was clear that we were nowhere near what I set out to do. Was it not for the presence of the third party we may have come to blows.
My father told me that when you are banging your head against a wall it is best to come back with better weapons to destroy the wall. I had reached the end of my tether and there was no other option but to leave the scene with as much dignity as I could muster. I needed an outlet for my frustration. By evening, to unwind I went to the local pub 10 Downing street. Was it my fault that my friend also came to the same Bar that evening? When he entered I was already down a few. I did not think twice about baiting him. A whispered comment about him to my companion (loud enough for him to hear) and raucous laughter thereafter got the desired result. My friend came at me at full tilt. I was waiting for him. All the pent up frustration of the past few days boiled over. We were soon at each others throats, punching each other on every exposed part of the body. The other revelers joined with great enthusiasm. Each scoring punch progressively diminished my anger and my intoxication. Soon neither my friend nor I were trying to avoid each others blows. We were just punching each other with the intent to do maximum damage.The bouncers who were in a stupor suddenly came alive and efficiently separated us and threw us out of the Bar. The ignominious exit cooled off our ardor somewhat and we went our separate ways.
The next morning when we met again it was as if nothing had happened the evening before. We were very businesslike. In the following days we ironed out most of our differences with regard to the project and - surprise of surprise - we completed the project in the given deadline. Our work was duly appreciated and in the next few years our symbiotic relationship - My organization and his creativity - earned us lot of projects. Along the way our animosity gave way to genuine friendship. Not that my friend or I changed ourselves much. He was still an impatient man who did not tolerate stupidity and inefficiency and I was always wanting to experiment...
Over a period of time he became a reputed photographer with a client list which read like the who's who of the celebrities and glitterati and I went my own way all over the world. I meet him most of the time when I am in town. And we still laugh at our first encounter.
"Why are we going to meet him?" I asked tentatively. You must meet him because he has lot of ideas which if they fructify will yield phenomenal results. When we reached his place he was alone in the house. I could understand why my friend took the trouble to explain about his friend. The moment we sat down to a cup of tea he immediately formulated an opinion about me. And then went on to dispassionately dissect the performance of his son at a recent cycle race. But i could see that in that dissection there was also pride in the performance of his son. We threw around a few ideas and soon it was time to leave this feisty person and chew over the ideas that he had thrown at me.
Hoping to meet him soon...Again...
Finally got to read this one. A good story is built like a suspension bridge. The pillars are grounded on rock (facts) while web of wires (fiction) has just enough tension to make it strong (credible) but has enough elasticity to swing in the wind (excitement an expectation). This one did all of that. You are well on your way to building a golden gate indeed!
ReplyDelete