Social Family Story – I am happy….
Image© Anand Vishnu Prakash, YourStoryClub.com
It’s raining heavily. My dad is holding a lamp and anxiously keeping an eye on the sky and the courtyard. He makes a rough calculation on how much time he has before the study room is flooded. The study room is filled with books, magazines and scripts. Many of them are lying on the floor. He must remove them before the room is flooded. He dips is finger in the pool of water accumulating in the courtyard to assess the gap between rising water and the floor. Two more inches….if he waits till dawn, everything will be lost.
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“Just pour two inches of Soda, I will take care of the rest” That’s my friend Aneerbaan. Our parents used to be neighbors. He has come to my house from Assam. More like an in transit stay. Tomorrow morning he would leave for Goa.
“You live a fantastic life my friend. No tension. No worries. Just fun. Everything is available 24/7. Back home everything shuts down by 8, as if 8 PM is the new mid night! This is the benefit of staying away from home. No family tension. Everyday struggles are miles away from you. You are a lucky man living a happy life!”
We are sitting on the balcony of my flat and it’s drizzling. “Let’s go inside”
Something’s not right. I have been trying my mom’s phone and it says switched off. I call up mom every evening. That’s my habit. Sometime I think I finish off my responsibility by talking to her for 10 minutes every day. I try her number again. It’s switched off.
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My mobile rings early in the morning. Hari kaka is on the line. “Baba, your mom is not keeping well. We have brought her to a city hospital. Can you send some money to dad’s account?”
“What happened to mom? I have been trying her number since yesterday! Anyway, I am transferring the money right away”
“Minor chest pain. Don’t worry. We are here”
Thanks to modern technology, I transfer some money to dad instantly.
Aneerbaan is leaving for Goa. “It was a pleasure my friend. I would have loved to stay for few more days. I envy your life man. It’s so blissful”
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No luck from last two days. All the mobiles are switched off. I called up the only PCO in my small town. Come to know from Ajay, the PCO owner, that no power from last 3 days. Now I know why all mobiles are off. How to charge without power? I get a call in the evening from Hari kaka. He is calling from Ajay’s PCO.
“Baba, the doctors have referred your mom to Chennai. Your father is getting old. But, don’t worry, I will take her. You have office duty, so don’t trouble yourself. More ever, Chennai is very far from your place. I will take care”
Mom reaches Chennai. I call her every day. Mom says I need not come. I manage a few days leave and reach Chennai. Mom is lying in the hospital cabin. The doctors rip open my mom’s chest to take out all the pain. Post op she gives me a faint smile, as if everything is alright.
“You should not have come” She says. “Long leaves are not good for your career”
I adjust the stray hairs on her forehead and keep silent. That night she says, “You have been standing here the whole day. Go and take some rest. I am feeling better now. The nurses are very attentive. All I have to do is press this button…..”
Hari kaka joins in, “Your mom is right. Go grab some food. There is a food joint just round the corner. I will stay near her. Why should you struggle when I am here? I am used to it. Go now and come in the morning” I notice the reddened eyes of Hari kaka. Probably he hasn’t slept in last the last couple days.
Just because I stay thousands of miles away from home, nobody wants to burden me with their struggles. They want me to keep clean of their sorrows and pains. I don’t have to run to a chemist in the middle of the night if my father’s cough keeps him awake. Nobody inform me about minor ailments. My mom never tells me about her chest pain. They want me to be happy. Am I really happy……?
–END–
