Size of the Dream

"Back to Rajkot Saab?", he asked and received a nod and a tired "Hmm" in return. I could feel him half open his mouth to start a conversation but by then I had already started another one on my phone. So without saying or asking anything further he turned the key, switched the headlights on, swiveled the steering and headed towards the Junagadh-Rajkot highway. It took another half an hour before he could find an opportunity to say something to me that too thanks to the dumb battery of my smart phone.
"Want to ask you a question Saab. Do I have the permission?"
"Yeah go on"
"Saab what is the size of your biggest dream?"
Of all the sizes that he could have asked me about, this was the least embarrassing but the most unusual one.
It took me a while to determine if I had comprehended the question or not and then came the reply, "70mm"
The spontaneity of my reply surprised myself. However, the driver could not understand the underlying meaning of my reply. He continued,"Ok, do you want to know the size of my dream Saab?" and his eyes visible to me in the rear view mirror gave a quick glance. On hearing the affirmative from me he said,"The size of Taj Mahal." Without allowing me to ask anything, he himself went on "Right since childhood I have been hearing that the Taj Mahal is one of the greatest architectural marvels of the world. I too want to build a structure that is equally magnificent"
I had to replay the whole sentence a few times in my head to assure myself that I had heard him right.
"It is alright to have a dream because dreams do not cost anything, but being able to realize them is another thing altogether because reality always brings along a cost with it. Do you have any idea how much it would cost a man to build something of that sort. Even Ambanis would think twice before attempting something like that. Don't you think you should focus on buying at least an apartment before you die?" came the ultra philosophical and super practical advice from me.  

The driver gave me a quick glance and I saw some confusion on his face.  I thought may be it's only now that this person has realized the cruel humor that's hidden behind his dream. But then he said something that changed my perspective towards things forever.  He said, "Saab, there is a reason a dream is called a dream. What's achievable is called a goal but what's impossible to achieve but keeps you going is your dream. Dreams aren't real and may be they aren't even meant to be but they give you those few moments of bliss that will still make push really hard to at least get an inch closer to it.  Have you seen any celebrity performance on a stage?  I once went to one. Of course I could afford only the cheapest of tickets which made me barely enter the stadium and stand in the farthest row. And standing there I could barely even make out who was who on the stage.  And I thought how lucky would be those people who were about 10 rows ahead of me. They must be getting a better view which at least justifies the price of their tickets. But you know what?  After the show when the crowd was coming out of the stadium,  I overheard some people who were apparently sitting in the foremost VIP rows mentioning that they could barely see the celebrity's face properly.  That's when I realised that my dream would actually get fulfilled not by going a few rows ahead,  but by reaching the stage.  That perhaps is an impossibility and will never happen but it will at least keep me pushing to go at least one row closer at a time"

I was awestruck as I couldn't believe the clarity of thought that driver had.  He wasn't very educated I believe but his wisdom left me speechless.  Also,  that day I learnt the true meaning of one's life's dream.