Metamorphosis of A High-flier

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">When Ganesh Akansha woke up one fine day in 2005, he wasn''t transformed into an ugly insect like Kafka''s Gregor Samsa. Instead, in tune with the present, he enjoyed the first rays of the morning as an elephant. He was hardly surprised. He always wanted to be his exuberant other self, always full of himself. But he never got time; his days and nights were consumed by his high-flying job.<br /><br />Ganesh''s mother wanted him to consider buying a penthouse; his sister wanted him to choose a boyfriend for her by wading through the SMS-es she had stored; his father was keen on a Grecian holiday and he wanted his son to plan it. None of them really knew what kind of work Ganesh did; where he figured in his company''s hierarchy; how much he earned; what kind of girlfriends he had; and whether he was really happy with work and life.<br /><br />Today he had the time to reveal himself; in fact, he had already revealed himself to himself. When his mother knocked on his bedroom door to ask him if everything was fine, he kept quiet. He liked the idea of being an elephant; in fact, he liked the idea of trumpeting. He was not sure whether his mother liked to see him metamorphosed from son to elephant. He bellowed as softly as possible, saying he was taking a holiday and would be at home. He could hear his mother''s surprise at hearing a new, loud, voice; but he could sense her delight on being told that he would spend the day at home.<br /><br />He continued to lie on his bed, trying to come to grips with the huge situation. Surprisingly, he didn''t feel the weight of his size, nor did his bed creak. Today, after three long years, Ganesh would be able to humour his family for a full 24 hours. He wondered whether being an elephant would add weight to his words. He smiled to himself.<br /><br />It was 8.30 a.m. That was the time his sister began her SMS ritual, after listening to a good hour''s music on her iPod. She liked her anonymous brother very much and when she heard that he was still sleeping, she gave his door a hard knock, telling him he would be late for work. Slowly, lifting his head a little, Ganesh whispered he was feeling nice and would be with them soon. She asked if his hoarse voice was the result of a viral infection. He quickly said no, and that he would be out of the room by 9.30 a.m.<br /><br />It was 9.00 a.m. and his boss called, informing his mother that Ganesh had been promoted and would now head the company''s newest subsidiary in the US. His mother didn''t seem surprised but thanked him for the big news.<br /><br />At 9.30 a.m. Ganesh stepped out of his room to join his folks for breakfast. He wondered how he had got out of his room so easily without breaking the wood or the wall. He was more surprised when his parents were overjoyed to see him. Over breakfast, he chalked out his day. He would just keep chatting with his father, mother, and sister. They had missed him despite having him in the house. He didn''t want to miss them anymore.<br /><br />They had sized up his exuberance, anonymity, ambition long ago, and had allowed him to grow. They had seen the elephant in him, heard the muted trumpets, and cleared the thicket in his path ever so lovingly. By metamorphosing into an elephant Ganesh realised that you could only grow bigger and larger when you are among your loved ones. It''s real exuberance. It''s that part of you that is angst-proof. It''s the soul of self; it''s the soul of enterprise, it''s a highflier''s ethic.<br /><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">With deep apologies to Franz Kafka, author of Metamorphosis</span>.<br /><br />http://spirituality.indiatimes.com</div> </div>