CHANGING OUR LIVES

Buddies,
Its true that people like 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…because 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 one and we get thousands…such are our parents..
Nevertheless ,we plaintiffs, never stop making fuss over trivials….when we dont like the colour of the dress papa bought, or it is out of fashion….or if mum refuses to finance for a party we have promised to throw for our friends for no good reason, because she hasn’t received her current salary yet…or dad ‘s voice goes down as a gesture of reluctance when we put our hand on a branded shoe or dress(even when we have more than enough to suffice us).. because this is out of his budget.
Sounding crazy….am I?? well I m very much in my sanity…..
We call ourselves to be pampered….but its high time that we realize that we are not earning any credit if we continue to pass on airs of a pampered child with utterly disgusting tantrums.
People , 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 every day, to be able to fulfill the heaped wishes of ours.
Hard isn’t it??
Imagine the time, 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 the packed tiffin…and den get back to the tedious mundane schedule of work…despite of having a troublesome back ache and done up by the toll of the day…just for the sake of US.
Imagine us slamming the door and fussing inside our room…just because mum refused to get us a new dress. And mum, instead of buying a new saree…gets us two( not even one) new dresses…just to satisfy our caprice.
She herself walks in the scortching sunlight to save some pennies….but asks us to hire auto so that convenience is at its best with 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 what extent a son can afford to abide by his father’s words and sacrifice without a single frown on his face. May be its not one of those famous rags to riches stories…..but the protagonist of my story deserves every inch of that appreciation that the heroes of those stories have earned. Though this 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...with 3 gold medals…more than enough to make his family proud …
Well, he hailed from a family where he had 5 more brothers and sisters… and his father ( a great doctor himself)…was the sole earner to feed 6 mouths…his father was much into social service and so as a result…there wasn’t much affluence in the family…
He knew that it would be difficult for his dad to manage financial circumstances…so he decided to go home once in a long time. Atleast this trivial act would save his dad some money he knew…
He studied hard …. 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 with such amazing results….he aimed for higher studies….
It was then that he wrote a letter 2 his dad …”dad..i know its high time …that I start seconding you and give u a whiff of relief…but dad… I have been selected for the higher studies…this is not going to come second time to me .So…Dad, can I still afford to ask to give you some more trouble for two more years?? After that I will take up all your trouble to me.”
And after some days…came his dad’s reply…with a small story narrated in it…
“it was during the old royal days when one of the kings had called upon poets from all over…to present their magnificient pieces of literature …and whosoever could impress him…would be rewared with a handsome amount. Vidyapati, the renowned poet of his time, was sitting in a boat amidst many other poets…that was heading towards the royal palace. He recited his poem just 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 was wrong. She said that her husband was also a poet…but not as famous as vidyapati. With tears flooding her utterly poverty stricken face, she said slowly that they hadn’t had food for th past 3 days and they had come over here with the hope of earning some money so that they cud atleast suffice their intolerable hunger. But vidyapati’s outstanding literature had shattered her last resort….because now she knew that her husband was nowhere in the lurch….
When 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 without giving a second thought, he tore off his poem into pieces and threw them into the river. Looking at everyone’s bewildered faces, he said, “ a knowledge which causes pain to others is no knowledge to me…and so it is of no use”
And den his father wrote…
“son, come back… your siblings also need to study, why cause pain to them”
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…just because “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…because he could see his father’s tears and his family’s need which was beckoning to him more than his gleaming path of career.
Though he had his dream half fulfilled den…but due to this one act…his father had showered all the blessings on him…and by virtue of that…today hes one of the renowned optamalogists…successfully done with his higher studies….occupying a highly dignified status in his society… known by all and sundry…. And even today…he treads on the path of strict principles …and enjoys his austerity…
And you know what, this great dad was none other than my maternal grandpa, and his ever obedient and great 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 have been whimsical….
But even after being one of the 21st century modern girl, 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 will do the same justice with u too… and slowly… one day when you will be about to pay even one rupee….you will see 100 paise in it…when you will grab a costly dress, you will see the plain striped shirt of your dad…. And when you will have a grand sumptuous order placed before you on your treat, you will see your mom drenched in sweat, preparing your favourite dish, even after coming back from work!!!
And believe me….it will be then…when you will start living for others..and not your selfish “self”…
LIFE IS AT ITS BEST THEN…..TRY AND HAVE A TASTE OF IT