Living Life with a Vision

Meet Shontu.

I met him at the training centre cafeteria at the JSW Steel plant in Vijayanagar. He was serving food. Probably in his mid or late twenties. What caught my attention was not the food he served – but the way he served it. A constant smile. Bright eyes. And that little extra care in the way he interacted with people. The kind of warmth that doesn’t come from training manuals. It comes from somewhere deeper.

I found myself striking up a conversation with him.

Shontu comes from a small village in the Midnapore district of West Bengal. By his own admission, he was an average student. Studies never really excited him. When he somehow cleared Class 10, his parents wanted him to continue with higher education. But Shontu had a different dream. He wanted to see India. Not through books. Not through television. But by living it.

𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.

Since then, he has travelled to several cities across Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, and now Karnataka. In every city, he finds work – restaurants, college dining halls, company cafeterias. He works, earns, saves, travels, and sends money back home. And when he feels he has experienced a place enough, he moves on. No long-term plans. No attachment to location. Just movement. Just experience.

𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 – 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮.

I asked if he ever plans to settle down somewhere. He smiled and said, “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯.” His voice was calm and clear, showing no confusion or anxiety, just acceptance.

As I walked away, I thought about how clear he was about his life. Even with limited formal education, he has a strong sense of direction. He knows what he wants, and just as importantly, he knows what he does not want: to live a life limited by fear or hesitation.

Many of us spend years gathering degrees, knowledge, and experience, but clarity can still feel out of reach. Uncertainty makes us uneasy, and we look for certainty before moving forward. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘁𝘂, 𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗺, 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁, 𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝘁.

Life does not always require a perfect plan. Sometimes it calls for courage, honesty with ourselves, and the willingness to keep going. Shontu reminded me that clarity does not always come from having every answer. Sometimes it comes from trusting the journey and continuing to ask the right questions.