The lawyer God not!

It's such an irony when people expect a professional to know everything! Yeah I am starting this post on a very angry note - angry because every other day I face this! I am a lawyer and you all know that as you will see me flaunting it everywhere! But people forget one simple thing - I am a human being! All the lawyers are! We are not gifted with super powers to know and remember everything!

Reason behind the above paragraph - I am always asked different questions on law related matters by clients and relatives all the time. The question may belong to any of the 100s of existing acts. It may be of any nature viz. Civil, Criminal, Commercial, Non-commercial, Quasi Judicial and such. There are so many laws that exist. There are so many laws that keep coming out. Even if we read them all, it is not possible to remember each and every small detail of it! But people think we are God, or super heroes or heroines for that matter! They think we must know everything!

My maternal uncle happened to call me up. He lives in Gujarat. He had some query about taxation in property matter. I told him very politely that I was not aware about the laws there and he should consult some local lawyer there. He started telling how good for nothing lawyer I was and how I studied but didn't learn anything, how I don't have any future in this field and such else! He must thank god that he was related to my mom!

But it's not only about him! Most of the people expect us to know it all! Brothers and Sisters, it is NOT possible to know all the acts and all the laws. We may be able to give you a fair idea but not the exact law! Are you aware about the types of lawyers that exist? There are civil lawyers, criminal lawyers, lawyers specializing in family law matters - Hindu, Muslim, Parsi laws specialization, lawyers specializing in wills related matters, property consultants, Intellectual property related laws specialists, lawyers specializing in Government job related matters - the list goes on and on! So people, when you can't remember this list after reading it once, how will we remember the acts all these lawyers deal with all the time?

And those who think our job is easy, we have ready made templates, it's more of a mechanical job etc., well do you know that each case is different? Each person has different priority and requirements? Each state and country has different laws, we not only have to keep in mind those laws, but the dispute resolution methods too as certain modes of dispute resolution are very very expensive as compared to India, certain words have to be present in a document for it to be valid legally! Yes there are templates, there is mechanical work involved, but we have to use our brain much more than others to create a water tight document!

And we have it all easy? If only we did!

Dream

Almost all of us see dreams while sleeping. A few remember them, a few don't. I belong to the former category. I usually remember all the dreams that I see. Sometimes I remember each and every minute detail of it and other times the visuals are clear but the dialogues ain't; but I do remember my dreams.

They say that you usually dream of things/situations/people you are thinking about before sleeping. Same thing happens with me too. One such dream I saw that I remember way too clearly was based on something I was pondering about just before sleeping. India - Windies One day international series is going on. Night before the last, we played the third one day. I slept after watching the highlights of the match after the match got over. And I dreamt of going to West Indies!

Now, usually my dreams are detailed ones and one dream goes on for that night. If I get up in between to drink water and the dream gets interupted, it continues after I go back to sleep from where it had stopped. Yes, for me the dream is like a parallel universe! Here goes the brief narration of one of the weirdest dreams I have seen so far which I guess went on for whatever 5-6 hours I must have slept for!

I took a flight for Windies with a couple of cousins of mine. We were 8 people. I knew them very well in the dream, but in real life, I have never seen them. Before reaching the airport, I knew I had checked for my passport and visa. I made a mental note in my dream and boarded the flight. Now, there was one row of 8 seats for us. Rest of the flight had normal seating arrangement! So we all sit together in one line! My cousin occupies window, the moment I am to tell him to get up and give me the window seat, the flight starts. I am surprised as they do not announce anything about the take off, nor any safety instructions etc.

Now, the plane is passing by narrow mumbai lanes. I have somehow shifted to cockpit by now. I am very scared of dying in a plane crash as the wing passes by the lanes and misses the walls narrowly!But the fear didn't last for long as soon enough I realized I was dreaming and even if I died, it was only in dream!

The plane smartly navigated through the narrow lanes, a short take off at slopes and landing again and finally the take off happens. I come back to my seat and fight with my cousin for the window and manage to get it! Slowly I see that we are now passing by mountains and hills. Again, the gap between the plane and hills is so narrow that I feel the fear of the crash. Suddenly the plane lands on a huge rock where a few people are waiting to come aboard. Weird! The thought coming in my mind is of a bus stop - it feels like so, plane halting somewhere, people getting in from wherever they want! The moment I think so, their outfit change to knee length sarees and dhotis!

They are aboard and I am irritated! I get up and stand at the door! Heck yaar, if people can treat plane as a bus then I can do that too! We are flying again and my hands can touch the rocks but we still manage to fly without crashing! Ah, advantages of a dream - you cannot die there :P Wile at the door, I spot a Gujju Baa waiving at me. I wave back and come back inside!

We are descending again and this time thankfully land at an airport. There is a five hour halt and some football match going on. We are not allowed to go out of the plane but I fight with them, tell them I am a lawyer and other blahs and go for the match! I watch that match. Some local teams playing fabulously. They are all brutal when it comes to pushing and hitting other players! I come back after the match, take my seat, we are flying again. The moment we land in Windies, I tell myself that it's time to wake up and dream to get over!

Ah, I have skipped the small details of this dream. The dream lasted for quite a few hours. I don't know for how many hours I slept for and for how long each scene was happening! But it was a very long dream, and a very weird one. Got bored while reading it? Well, I never said please read, It's an interesting post! Duh!

Being Strong

I have lost the count of the number of times I have been told I am strong. Every time I have been told that, it makes me think - what makes one strong? "Being Strong" is a very relative term. I know many people who have faced certain situations in such a manner that when I even think of keeping myself in their shoes, I shiver. I don't think I can ever be as brave as them if I were to face it. And when I get to hear the same thing about me, I feel like saying - dude, it's not true!

If smiling even when you are deep in shit is strong, if controlling your true emotions is strong, if thinking about others first at the cost of your happiness is being strong then I am sorry. I don't want to be one. Those who are labeled as "strong" may agree with me that it is not something to be proud of. It's the weakest trait of a person, the worst one you can ever imagine.

People who can show their emotions are much better than those keeping a strong front all the time. Sometimes, you just need to express your true feelings. It can save you from many miseries that come your way in the future. It's fine to cry when you are low. It's normal to accept that you lost than stand there and fight the lost battle!

Yes I am in a pretty weird mood. And it is the result of the same old shit I get to hear every now and then. People can be so judgmental in life that it makes you hate yourself for appearing to be deceptive! It takes great efforts to stop yourself from slapping them! Yes, that's the only thing you want to do to them, and they so bloody well deserve it!

No, I am not strong! I am a mere mortal like you. I don't like the tag of being so amazing at facing situations. I break down too at the end of the day, if not at that moment or in front of others. And I don't recover out of it just like you. It is rather worse for me as my emotions stay buried inside me. It makes me weaker than most of you. My life is full of pessimism too, and it is a permanent state unlike yours as there is no way my emotions come out! It's a storage bag that has only fill option!

I am not writing it to hear how sorry you are for me. That's the last thing I want to hear. Nor I want comments like you understand, because you cannot! Today is one of those days when my patience bag is overflowing and I need to empty it. Public platform as I know many who can relate to this! Thank you for reading it and trying not to say sorry! It doesn't matter anyway! And a few of you, I know you are there for me. Thank you very much!