By Your Powers Combined

This latest daily prompt feels like the plot for Captain Planet. This cartoon show was so famous during my childhood that whatever happened, I could be seen glued to my TV set sharp at 4.30 pm on weekdays. So, as a means to pay my respects to this age old cartoon series, I am going to mention the five people that have actually shaped me into who I am in the form of the five elements. Disclaimer: I am not going to disclose any names here due to some personal issues. Here goes:

1. My Mom: Earth is the essence of all living things. It sustains life, gives us the resources to survive and presents to us the numerous challenges we face in our lives. Furthermore, through these challenges, this element teaches us to overcome the most difficult hurdles we face during our lives and makes us stronger. My mom has, through my whole life, proved to be this teacher. She has guided me through the most difficult phase of my life, my liver disease. She has enabled me to be able to make my own decisions. She has made me confident to face any challenge and persevere through it, because in her words – Challenges are fun, too. And even today, she is giving me the emotional support I need in a new country outside India. If I am the ship, she is the sea bed that holds the anchor.
2. Hash: Fire – the element that signifies activeness, rigor and also danger. Fire teaches us to be in control. If fire can help us get warm, it can also burn us if we put our hand in it. So we must be curious, but with caution. I met this guy first time in 2009 and the first thought came in my mind was – What a retard! Three years later, we were the best buddies in college, along with another guy who comes later in the list. Hash has proved to be the rudest and the meanest critic in my life. Whatever I do, has given his feedback on it, whether I ask for it or not, whether I like it or not. And most of the time, this feedback has helped me to be in control of the situation and not start making castles in the air. I can tell him that I met a girl and he will criticize that. I can say I saw a girl and he criticises that, too. And the occasional tension that this criticism creates is met by some illogical scenario conversations. One of my favorites is – What would happen if all the elevators in Burj Khalifa are shut down and you are living on the top floor? (It’s illogical, so if you are intellectual, please do not engage.) As far as the feedback is concerned, I guess you will find one soon in the comments section below.
3. KJ: Sometimes, you make a friend on a virtual platform. These friends, for me, symbolize the third element – wind. We cannot notice them, but we always know they are there. And one day, a strong gust comes our way and we realize that there was someone we forgot to acknowledge. I met KJ on Twitter, and we began our year long journey on the path to friendship using 140 characters. We can talk about anything, we can discuss anything. We may not talk to each other for days and suddenly one day, one of us contacts the other and it just feels like any other day. She has taught me never to stop being a friend and always be there for people when they need you. And in case someone is wondering, it’s not a fake profile; I have met her personally before leaving India.
4. FOREMechBro: With some friends, you just dive in and let go, and the current takes you somewhere. This guy gives me that flow. Our talks can be endless with a mixture of career, bullshit, girls, bullshit, computer games, bullshit, college and more bullshit. If you see the topics above, it feels haphazard. The talent this guy has is how he interlinks all these topics together and brings out a discussion out of it, followed again, by bullshit. So basically, I can link any topic that comes along my way with bullshit. And it’s always fun.
5. AUH: Finally, the heart. The center of the person. Just like the heart, this guy knows everything about me. He understands everything about me. The connection is so strong that we just look at each others faces and know what the other is thinking. Usually, it’s about someone or something we can’t talk about in front of everyone. But I guess everyone gets the drift.

There you have it. These are the five people I spend most of my time with. These are the people that shape me. These are the people that constitute my life, my personality, me. By their powers combined, I am…