A Dreamer Since 1986

I was an unrealistic dreamer when I had nothing, I’m an unrealistic dreamer when I’ve something and I shall be an unrealistic dreamer, even when I’d have most of everything!

‘Be yourself!’

This is the standard advice I’ve received from a lot of people. I guess you too have received this advice at some point of time.

However, I don’t want to be myself. I want to be the best version of myself.

Does that mean I’m a work in progress?

Of course I’m! And I shall be a work in progress until my last breath.

I’ve always been a result oriented person. If I set my eye on something, I put in the effort to achieve it. If I fail, I don’t count the effort. For me, no result is as good as no effort. I just don’t sulk over my failures.

This attitude – most often than not— has alienated me from my friends and peers, because I’m vocal about not giving a shit about the efforts if the target is not achieved. Some people think I’m heartless, for I don’t see the hard work and effort they put in.

Talking of heartless, my heart has always been pre-occupied with dreams. I still nurture my childhood dreams that are yet to be fulfilled. And over the course of my life, the list of dreams has just grown big – both in scope & scale!

Recently, after the sad demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, I came across his list of 50 dreams on Instagram. Being an admirer of his acting skill, I read his list, and was quite surprised to find our common interest in quantum physics, astronomy and the desire to unearth the least known subjects; not to mention, we share the same birth year. Inspired from his list, I have penned my 50 dreams into a list, which were written over the years, and scattered across my personal diaries.

Here are my 50 dreams:

1. Become a father

2. Meet the EBEs – Extraterrestrial Biological Entities

3. Become an astronaut/vyomnaut

4. Start a space exploration company

5. Attain financial freedom

6. Become a cricketer [DROPPED in 2005]

7. Discover a species [DONE in 2017 & 2019]

8. Write a book [DONE in 2012]

9. Write a research paper [DONE in 2012]

10. Explore a cave [DONE in 2012]

11. Understand the meaning of money, currency & wealth [DONE in 2014]

12. Discover the meaning of time

13. Understand how the stock market works [DONE in 2012]

14. Buy a Newtonian telescope [DONE in 2015]

15. Become a blogger [DONE in 2012]

16. Visit Antarctica

17. Improve the Drake Equation

18. Research: Why all ancient cultures have serpents as an important symbol?

19. Research: Why all ancient civilizations talked about visitations by sky people?

20. See Aurora Borealis

21. Photograph the Ring Nebula & the Andromeda Galaxy

22. Visit the Pyramids

23. Learn to fly a twin otter plane

24. Write a research paper on the Moon

25. Raise an orchard

26. Visit an active volcano, as closest as possible/permissible

27. Visit Machu Picchu & Nazca Lines

28. Visit Mansarovar

29. Visit Roraima Tepui

30. Short sell a stock & make money out of thin air! [DONE in 2007]

31. Visit Stonehenge

32. Paragliding & parachuting

33. Study fractal science & cymatics

34. Own a vineyard

35. Trek Mt Kilimanjaro

36. Visit the Rift Valley

37. Learn archery

38. Visit Mechuka [DONE in 2019]

39. Visit Andulasia & Pyrenees

40. Visit Mojave Desert

41. Meet Rahul Dravid, Elon Musk & Tom Cruise

42. Study String Theory & Background Cosmic Radiation

43. Study Alchemy

44. Visit CERN

45. Chase a tornado in the USA & not get killed!

46. Invent the next level space propulsion technology

47. Buy/Built a large radio telescope

48. Visit Khajurahoo

49. Make a Black & White moving picture using still images, with a narrator telling the story

50. Start an arbitrage fund for dollar-rupee carry trade.

A dreamer falls under either of the two categories – a couch dreamer, who puts himself to sleep while dreaming about fantasies, and an unrealistic dreamer, who can’t sleep because of his dreams.

I used the word unrealistic because this second category of dreamers always put some dreams in their list that sounds and looks unrealistic to others (and sometimes to themselves). For this second category of dreamers it doesn’t matter what would be the opinion of the world. For them, a dream is a dream is a dream. They set their eye on what they want to achieve and silently put in the effort to achieve them.

I was an unrealistic dreamer when I had nothing, I’m an unrealistic dreamer when I’ve something and I shall be an unrealistic dreamer, even when I’d have most of everything!