CHANGING OUR LIVES

Buddies,
Its true dat ppl lyk us are very fortunate…fortunate enough to have been brought up in well to do families where our wishes get fulfilled even before they drop from our lips. All we know about “struggle” is merely its literal meaning…coz its our parents who have faced it and outfought it to get a secure future for us…so that we could climb every milestone of our lives…clutching their fingers….without even having to know how the face of “struggle” looks like…we ask for 1…and we get 1000…such are our parents..
Nevertheless ,we plaintiffs, never stop making fuss over trivials….wen we dn lyk da colour of da dress papa bought, or it is outta fashion….or if mum refuses 2 finance for a party we have promised to throw for our friends for no gud reason, bcoz she hasn’t received her current salary yet…or dad ‘s voice goes down as a gesture of reluctance wen we put our hand on a branded shoe or dress(even wen we hv more dan enuf 2 suffice us).. bcoz dis is outta his budget.
Sounding crazy….am I?? well I m very much in my sanity…..
We call ourselves to be pampered….but its high tym dat we realize that we are not earning any credit if we continue to pass on airs of a pampered child wid utterly disgusting tantrums.
Ppl , we have to stop for a single second and instead of deciding the next venue for our hang-out…try to imagine the odds that our parents fight everyday, to be able to fulfill the heaped wishes of ours.
Hard isn’t it??
Imagine the tym,when we are engrossed in chatting with friends and gorging on burgers and pizzas, sitting relaxed on a cozy couch in a restaurant…and our dads dripped in sweat….have lunch from da packed tiffin…and den get back to the tedious mundane schedule of wrk…despite of having a troublesome back ache and done up by the toll of the day…jst for the sake of US.
Imagine us slamming da door and fussing inside our room…jst bcoz mum refused to get us a new dress. And mum, instead of buying a new saree…gets us two( not even one) new dresses…jst to satisfy our caprice.
She herself walks in da scortching sunlight to save some pennies….but asks us to hire auto so dat convenience is at its best wid us….
So buddies…this is..
sad but true is nt it??
We grumble at such minor issues..which hold no water…now let me tell you a story which teaches us a lesson as to wat extent a son can afford to abide by his father’s words and sacrifice without a single frown on his face. May be its nt one f dose famous rags to riches stories…..but da protagonist of my story deserves every inch of that appreciation that the heroes of those stories have earned…..though dis column is too triffle a platform to appreciate him… yet I dedicate this blog to him…
The story goes back to some 35 years back..He was a medical student in Chandigarh…in fact to pile on… a very bright and promising student…from the remotest corner of the country..agartala..and he had been awarded with...wid 3 gold medals…more dan enuf to make his family proud …
Well, he hailed from a family where he had 5 more bros and sis… and his father ( a great doctor himself)…was da sole earner to feed 6 mouths…his father was much into social service and so as a result…there wasn’t much affluence in da family…
He knew that it wud be difficult for his dad 2 manage financial circumstances…so he decided 2 go home once in a long tym…atleast this trivial act wud save his dad some money he knew…
He studied hard der…. keeping up his reputation….oblivious and uninterested about the filthy enjoyments and allurements…his peers were engaged in.
Finally he did successfully complete his M.B.B.S…but being such a meritorious student wid such amazing results….he aimed for higher studies….
It was then that he wrote a letter 2 his dad …”dad..i knw its high tym …dat I start seconding u and give u a whiff of relief…but dad… I have been selected for the higher studies…dis isn’t gonna come 2nd tym to me so…Dad, can I still afford to ask to give you some more trouble for 2 more years?? After that I vl take up all ur trouble 2 me.”
And after some days…came his dad’s reply…with a small story narrated in it…
“it was during the old royal days wen one of the kings had called upon poets from all over…to present their magnificient pieces of literature …and whosoever cud impress him…would be rewared wid a handsome amount. Vidyapati, the renowned poet of his tym, was sitiing in a boat amidst many oder poets…that ws heading towards the royal palace. He recited his poem jst 2 make sure that nothing went wrong in there…
But as soon as he finished reading his verses, he heard the feeble wails of a woman on the boat. Encompassed, he asked her what ws wrong. She said that her husband ws also a poet…but nt as famous as vidyapati. With tears flooding her utterly poverty stricken face, she said slowly dat they hadn’t had food for da past 3 days and they had come over here wid da hope of earning some money so that they cud atleast suffice their intolerable hunger. But vidyapati’s outstanding literature had shattered her last resort….bcoz now she knew that her husband ws nowhere in da lurch….
Wen vidyapati realized this with eyes wide open,unable to grasp the past few seconds….he felt a shiver…something provoked him from within…and suddenly widout giving a second thought, he tore off his poem into pieces and threw dem into da river. Looking at everyone’s bewildered faces, he said, “ a knowledge wich causes pain to oders is no knowledge to me…and so it is of no use”
And den his father wrote…
“son, come back… ur siblings also need to study, why cause pain to ‘em”
Such was the greatness of a father who cited such an example to convince his son to accept this lost battle ….and such was the righteousness and obedience of a son who left in no time…jst becoz “it was his father’s instruction’…he did not even care to pay a second thought of judgement or write a second letter of argument…bcoz he cud see his father’s tears and his family’s need which ws beaconing to him more dan his gleaming path of career.
Though he had his dream half fulfilled den…but due to this one act…his father had showered all da blessings on him…and by virtue of dat…today hes one f da renowned optamalogists…successfully done wid his higher studies….occupying a highly dignified status in his society… known by all and sundry…. And even 2day…he treads on da path of strict principles …and enjoys his austerity…
And u knw wat, this great dad ws none oder dan my maternal grandpa, and his ever obdedient and grt son is his eldest son, my uncle.
My dear friends…. To be frank, even I am one of a being like u all… and I confess with shame that yes even I have been a spendthrift at times…even I have squandered money when I hv been whimsical….
But even after being one of the 21st century modern grl, after I heard this story(from my dad again), it brought about a sea change in my ways and thoughts…. And I am sure it vl do da same justice wid u too… and slowly… one day wen u vl b about 2 pay even one rupee….u vl see 100 paise in it…wen u vl grab a costly dress, u vl see the plain striped shirt of ur dad…. And wen u vl have a grand sumptuous order placed b4 u on ur treat, u vl see ur mom drenched in sweat, preparing ur favourite dish, even after coming back from work!!!
And believe me….it vl b den…wen u vl start living for oders..and not ur selfish “self”…
LIFE IS AT ITS BEST THEN…..TRY AND HAVE A TASTE OF IT

A DISGUISED ANGEL-a friend

Buddies,
It is since our first wink, our first clutch, our first step, and our first fall, that we have been fantasized a thousand times by those fairy tales- tales of angels and fairies which are liked by all and sundry, tales which still drive us into frenzies, and somehow urge us to spin threads of imagination of those ever relished stories. And most often it is that special “angel” which we love to think about, dream about…..that angel which “grandma” used to talk about…with us all ears to her…and eyes wide open…fumbling and trying to embrace that angel who promises to allay all our fears, wipe our tears, generously showering twinkling stars of sheer happy moments.
But that’s all grandma said…she never said how would he look like…how would we know the footsteps of our angel…how would we know that we have been already enchanted by his charm….or rather how would we know…that he slithered away…simply unnoticed…keeping us oblivious of his steps..
And our expectant eyes keep on looking out for him…and our hearts yearning for him to come….but u know what…it is then when you are eluded by happiness, betrayed by destiny, detested by your blunders, shackled by adversities…..that out of the blue..you run into him…yes dear, that buddy of yours with whom you were not even in talking terms… but lit up by a special countenance…arms open to embrace your every pain..and just give you blissful moments. You look into his eyes…and as soon as he winks at you for the first time, you somehow know that “everything’s gonna get alright now”. You take and take from him unkowingly…and as for him, he stands out from the crowd of your buddies following you at your heels, yet with both hands, he showers and showers, contented merely with the pat, you give on his back. Your frowns change into smiles, your problems change into challenges, your weakness changes into courage, your limps change into strides..and your dreams change into goals….and you see life singing the most beautiful lullaby to you…and you just enjoy being asleep in the cradle of paradise…tending to forget that “friend”..
And one day, lying down clueless, alone, when you look up to see the sky lit up with those magnificient galaxies and just catch a wink….suddenly you feel a goose bump…a hot jet of blood flows through the veins…your ears get pricked up in that tranquility…and with a quiver you realize that it was your angel…”yes..it was him..oh god!!”…and you wonder how could you have not known this when this was so much amalgamated in your heart and mind.. And then with a saline drop rolling down our cheek…and eyes yearning to just have one glimpse of that angelic friend, you turn back…and suddenly u stumble…and guess what..you just fall into the arms of your angel again….HE’S ALWAYS THERE…BACKING YOU UP AS UR SHADOW…EYES FIXED ONLY ON YOU…So that’s your angel guised as your friend and your friend guised as your angel……and you wish that you keep on stumbling each time and falling into your angel’s arms forever and ever….