“Thank you for the booking. We will reach there by late afternoon.” Amogh ended the phone conversation and looked at his co-passengers. “Today we reach Alibaug, I have booked our holiday home there. We will spend the evening in the company of sea breeze!”

“Sounds interesting,” Ojh offered.

The three had gone to sleep quite late in the night, on concluding the long, meaningful discussion. After a sumptuous brunch, they had left Ulwe. The plan was to spend the day in Alibaug, as they had started quite late.

Shardul acknowledged the delay. “I think, looking at all of us, we are used to wake up and start the day early. Yesterday, of course, was a beautiful exception. My point is, let’s start early in the morning every day, may be even before the sunrise!”

“Agreed,” said Amogh.

“Agreed,” concurred Ojh.

“Before sunrise…before sunset. Ok, let’s target reaching holiday home before sunset!” Amogh exclaimed, driving with utmost focus, avoiding each and every pothole on the way.

Amogh’s focus did not go unnoticed. Ojh was quick to comment, “You do all your activities with full passion and focus, don’t you, Amogh!”

“Agreed,” Shardul beamed from rear seat.

They had to stop at a red signal. Amogh grabbed the opportunity to moisten his throat, to get ready for a long discussion. On signal turning green, he reignited both, the car and the discussion.

“I have come to believe that purpose and passion are the two ingredients needed to shut the noise around us completely. The noise is not just physical noise of say, festival music, gatherings or rallies, or firecrackers; but more importantly, the noise produced, often deliberately, by the negativity around us – negative circumstances, negative people, etc. These two qualities take you in the zone. And once in the zone, you don’t even have to respond to such noise, such people – it all becomes non-existent! I am telling this because once you yourself get into the zone, you, Ojh, will not bother about what the board or the management of your company is doing. And you, Shardul, pouring passion into your purpose will make all these external factors of tutor, and the lobbying, non-existent in your mind, at least to quite some extent.”

They had reached the holiday home at Alibaug. Amogh pulled out his ID card at the gate and they entered the hotel premises.

All the time Ojh and Shardul were glued to Amogh’s talk. As Amogh turned the car to the right, the serene beach adjacent to the hotel captivated Ojh and Shardul. They didn’t even realise that Amogh had stopped the car, got out and was signaling both of them to get down.

When they finally got out of the car, Amogh summed it up. “You both were mesmerised by the beautiful view! As an analogy, I felt you were in the zone, this beauty being your purpose and passion. I said something in the process and that something was noise for you, practically non-existent! Welcome to Horizon Resort!”

Both Ojh and Shardul had broad smile on their faces. Ojh looked at the hotel entrace and noticed something interesting. “Wow! Horizon Resort. The tagline below says, ‘discover your purpose…’!”

***

The visitors had checked into the hotel room and were fascinated at once with the view that the room had to offer. They almost rushed to the balcony to experience the beautiful sunset over the horizon.

Amogh, who was left behind by Ojh and Shardul in the rush to balcony, exclaimed, “Well begun is half done! Pun intended. Before sunrise, before sunset, as we had decided when we began. So, half of it, that is, sunset part is accomplished!”

Shardul was shaking his head in disbelief. “That is the joke that can get the nearest to being called professor’s joke. But I am sure, our professor will surpass himself and accomplish even greater heights!” As if feeling guilty for saying even a bit of something disrespectful for whom Shardul had developed immense respect, and to make up for it, he concluded, “On a serious note, yes, team, we made it! Kudos, Amogh, we have begun well indeed.”

Ojh added, as if in deep concern. “Good Shardul that you diverted the conversation. Otherwise I was about to add impromptu, ‘We are our biggest competitors’; and I am sure, we would have picked the thinnest of a thread to continue the conversation in that direction! Though I wouldn’t really mind travelling that motivational way!” Similar to Shardul, Ojh also felt to express due reverence to the ‘professor’. “So, Amogh, over to you, as to how you are going to navigate our path this serene evening.”

“Let’s pick some food before picking the thread! I can hear loud stomach grumbles!” Amogh rushed towards intercom to order food.

***

The sea breeze, as it was brushing and gushing past the three men on the beach, was also refreshing their minds and souls. Beach is also a place where one naturally feels to introspect, to reflect upon the real meaning of life. It was, thus, a very apt ambience for Ojh and Shardul, who were already treading on that route. It was also an apt stage set for what Amogh was about to discuss.

“Just as sea has stages of low to high tide, similarly, there are stages of turbulence in our mind. Turbulence out of external world, turbulence out of the surrounding world, and turbulence out of the world within. And the toughest of the three is the turbulence within. As Ojh said few minutes back, the toughest competitor is the one within,” Amogh had picked the thread on the topic.

“True. But professor, all this is very surreal, especially for a mind like mine which is truly areal! So, kindly elaborate!” Shardul conveyed his ignorance on the topic and his expertise in words simultaneously.

“That’s awesome, Shardul, you continue to throw remarkable surprises! Great vocab, and nice, subtle way to convey unfamiliarity at the same time!” Amogh complimented.

“Hey, lest you forget, he is our Stanford guy! He just showed how strongly he has cracked the GRE!” Looking at Shardul, Ojh added onto praise, “You don’t even need a tutor, Shardul! You already seem to be ready to pursue MS in US!”

“Thanks for the appreciation, friends. Feels good,” Shardul offered, as if adding further evidence to the belief that graceful people, usually are people of few words made elegant, through their grace.

Amogh changed the gear. “I will elaborate what I mean to say. We can force peace in the environment through our position in hierarchy, or by brute force, power; but making peace with ourselves can happen only when we align with our conscience. There can be false peace outside, but never within. Within, there can either be true peace, or, in its absence, definitely some turbulence. For we can defy the outside world, but we can never defy ourselves…” Amogh paused, to let his words register. “That is why, the biggest challenge to achieve in the art of peace is the internal peace, the peace within!”

Shardul erupted as if he had touched victory, momentarily. “I can relate to this, for sure! The tutor, for example, silenced me by brute force. The lobby also uses influence to deter me all the time. But they are never happy. Never at peace, as I realise now, Amogh. Why? Because within themselves, within their conscience there is always turbulence ruling. Under such a rule, there can never be that internal peace for them. On the contrary, I can at least hope of achieving that ultimate peace. Perhaps by focusing on my purpose, if I am really able to do that!”

Ojh joined the wagon. “I think I too, can relate to it. When the outside people are hellbent to pull you down, they will enforce silence in the surrounding by their power. Just as the board did to me – they made me leave the company. But they cannot enforce silence on their conscience, their human side! As opposed to this, I still have scope to attain peace, by following my heart, following the path that my father’s love has laid down for me.”

Amogh made a loud clapping sound of his palms and then clenched on to his fists. “You both got it! Great! Now is the time to take that giant leap. The minds are fully ignited! Where would you like to have the launch into the space of inner peace, here from sea beach or hotel room? Weather here on beach is favourable for the launch, so my personal choice is the former. Unless we are hungry.”

“Former, of course! Today’s menu is inner peace!” out came the loud words from Ojh.

“Former, as per our reformer!” Shardul gave a firm, witty reply. Ojh applauded, Amogh basked in the compliment, while both Amogh and Ojh yet again silently admired Shardul’s play with words.