The hidden volcano

Shreya woke up suddenly startled with the dream she had. She reached for the phone kept at the side. The time was 4 in the morning. For the next two hours she tossed on the bed as sleep had evaded her mind. The fear of her dream coming true made her restless. The idea of reaching late at the venue terrified her even in her dream.

As the clock struck 6, she stood up and immediately got ready to reach the venue. Seeking her parents blessings, she was all ready to step out accompanied by her father, Mr Kadam. With wishes from her mother and brother, Shikhar, she quickly went downstairs and leaped into the auto rickshaw hired by her father.

As the rickshaw started, her mind went through a series of flashbacks.

***

She had always a dream of serving people through the noble profession of doctor. After her board exams she had started preparations for the medical entrance test. Being unsuccessful in her first attempt had not shaken her up.

Soon she was enrolled in a coaching institute by her father. Then what begin was a journey to accomplish her aim and to fulfill all the aspirations. But what seemed easy to her was an uphill journey. With all dedication she started her journey.

Then came the most awaited day of her life- the day which was not only important for her but even more important to her parents.

***

“What are you thinking?”

The sudden voice of her father interrupted her chain of thoughts.

“Nothing as such,” prompt came her reply.

Through the rest of the journey she decided to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. Soon she reached the venue. As the time of her exam neared she became tensed. The sight of students brushing up at the last minute made her even more tensed. Her time passed by observing all the people around her- students with their eyes in the books and their anxious parents by the side.

Soon she entered the room and was pretty happy seeing the questions. With a relaxed mind she began the exam. “Half an hour is remaining”‘ the voice of the invigilator alarmed her and she in a jiffy started marking all her answers. She tried attempting a few more questions before handing over the answer sheet. Un-satisfaction was written on her face as the invigilator took her sheet.

As she stepped out of the building she could see anxious parents waiting for their students & awaiting to hear about their performance in exam. As her steps moved towards her father, she coaxed herself to smile.

“How was the exam?”

“Pretty nice. However, I was unable to attempt all the questions I knew as I was stuck at a question.”

“Hadn’t I warned you to do all easy questions first?”

She was known to attempt all the questions in the given time. However, this was the first time that she was unable to even study all the questions. The thought of this first mistake spelling doom for her petrified her.

***

She waited with bated breath as her brother typed in the roll number. She closed her eyes and hoped for the best.

“97% percentile”, exclaimed her brother.

However, she was unsatisfied with this percentile. Soon she saw herself along with her father visiting many government colleges for admission. However, she couldn’t make through. She had lost an important part of herself- her smile. She was shattered from within.

“Shikha, Mr. Khandelwal’s daughter, is working in a MNC and her brother has made it through AIIMS. I am scared of our children’s future. When will be they able to make through good colleges and a well paid job?”

Mr Kadam listened to her wife’s concern while his face expressions changed from a composed one to tensed.

Tears rolled down Shreya’s eyes as she listened to her parent’s concern. Unable to control her emotions she stealthily turned towards her room. Lying on her bed she felt her life had nothing more worthy. She felt helpless seeing her parent. Foot tapings made her aware of someone approaching the room. She quickly wiped her tears and pretend to sleep. Her mother came over to her and left soon after seeing her sleeping.

However, sleep seemed like a distant dream to her. Tears in her eyes had made her vision so blurry that she was unable to see beyond this dark tunnel.

***

Seeing Shreya changing the TV channels continuously, her mother advised her to read some educational magazines.

“What will I get after reading?”

Her mother was shocked by this answer.

Sleeping, watching television, not talking much and remaining aloof described her routine since past 2 days. Her parents got worried for her.

“It is fine if you have not made it through. Don’t remain sad. You can take admission in another coaching institute and the next year you’ll surely get a seat in a good college.”

“I don’t want to enrol for coaching classes, papa. I’ll take admission in Delhi university.”

“Fine. You always wanted to become a doctor. I’ll never be able to forgive myself for this.”

Silence prevailed through the rest of the evening. Before going to bed Shreya’s mother comforted her.

“You can choose to do anything you want. Don’t be disappointed after this defeat. You can do something better than this. It is not necessary to become a doctor. Don’t take any tension”.

As the lights went off, everyone went to sleep.

***

Mom and dad,

“I have never been a good daughter. I even could not fulfil your dreams. I never wanted you to fail because of me. I have always remained a topper in front of your eyes. But this is not true. There used to be times when I would be fourth or fifth in the class during class test. Sorry for lying to you during such cases that I had scored the highest as I lacked the courage to speak the truth. Hope that you would forgive me for this. I had no other option but this. I love you all and sorry for leaving you like this but nothing was left worth in my life.”

Yours Shreya

 

Mrs Kadam’s hand trembled as she read the last few lines from the letter kept on the drawing table. Unable to believe her eyes she rushed towards her daughter’s room only to find it unlocked. Her repeated cries made Mr Kadam & their son to rush towards Shreya’s door. After a few unsuccessful attempts Mr Kadam managed to break open the door.

Everyone was shocked as they entered the room. Mr Kadam handled his unconscious wife as he was dumbstruck seeing his daughter lying in a pool of blood in front of his eyes.

Shreya was rushed to the hospital but it was too late to save her life.

***

“The only burden which children carry is the expectations of their parents. Don’t make your dream your child’s. Not everyone can excel in studies. Some are good at particular sports and some in dancing, etc. Let your child be a free bird and let him/her follow their passions. Parents want to know from a child what they want to become on growing up. But is a child capable to think at such a tender age about his/her strengths, their interests. Then comes into play parents role when a child grows up with the thinking that they have to be doctor or an engineer. With this comes the pressure to excel in studies. We should think about this. Do we want a future for our children where they succumb to pressure – the pressure to excel, pressure to fulfil your parent’s dream.”

Mr Kadam looked at her daughter’s photo as he uttered those last words to his friend. He just wished that he had done something so that today his daughter’s photo didn’t had a garland over it.

__END__