Inspired from a mail that a friend mailed me...
This story is purely ficitional..
Update: Its not tht I believe in the story or anything.. I just developed a short story which a friend had mailed me..
Dated:
17 August 2047As I sit at my desk by the window, I can see that its raining heavily outside.. The wind sprays raindrops on my e-writer as I scribble this story in..I can see the Queens necklace from my window. The waves lashing against the
tetrapod barricades.. Its weird how much it rains
nowadays.. Or maybe it just seems like that from my 24
th floor 2
BHK apartment on Marine drive. They had to demolish two colonial style old buildings that stood here to make way for this one..
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The day before, India celebrated its 100
th anniversary of freedom.. Freedom..Its is such a word.. I remember when I wanted to be free. But that was long ago.. That was when I was 40 or maybe 30.. I am 62 now and I think I am free, but I
dont feel free.. I feel incomplete, and I
dont know why..
I did my Computer Engineering from the best college in my state.. I topped the university exams in the 3rd and the final year.. My mom and dad, both teachers in a govt. college had worked all their life to give me the best education they could. Their joy knew no bounds when I got selected in one of the most coveted universities in the US...
It was a dream for most middle class parents who stayed in 1
BHK apartment in the central suburbs of the city... It was the middle class Indian dream to get settled in the US around the early 2000s. It was the love for everything foreign and dollars
ofcourse when it was stronger.. Kids nowadays
dont believe that there was a time when 1$ was equal to 40 Indian rupees.. Seems like such a joke now.. Another joke is the electric cars these people are selling nowadays. They
dont even feel like cars. I miss the petrol cars they had in olden days.. But with petrol prices hitting Rs.1373/ litre, I
dont think we can afford them anymore..
I worked for Apple once I got my MS degree... I remember my uncle telling me,
"Beta, work in the US for a few years if you want, but come back to India once you earn enough dollars.. settle down here.. This is where the heart is..." He was right.. My heart was here in India.. But you know what? You never know how many dollars are enough dollars...
When I was working in Apple, I met a beautiful American girl.. Her name was
Catherine... She had the nicest smile and prettiest blue eyes and long golden curls... Though her looks were American, she was very Indian in more than one way.. She was shy and was religious and she believed in a lot of things Indian girls believe in...
My parents
didnt approve of her
ofcourse, and her parents
werent too excited bout me either.. The cultural divide started to show, and I decided in the favour of my family's wishes..
" If I dont marry you, I wont marry at all...", Catherine once told me... I got married to a beautiful girl from my caste in the 12 days leave that I had been granted the next year.. I was amazed at the number of families who wanted their daughters married off to a
engg in the US.. My dad started looking for a bride just a month before my marriage, and he says that there were a little over a hundred proposals
that I had got in just the first week!!
Once we were back in the US, my wife,
Ragini, found it difficult to get adjusted there.. I was getting promoted in office and I was setting up my own business, I rarely got time home.. My 8 to 10 routine irritated her.. But I had to do it for my future.. I was gonna have kids someday.. And education in the US is goddamn costly.. I wanted them to get the best possible education, just like my parents had wanted for me..
We were blessed with a baby girl-
Revati and then in 4 years a baby boy-
Arkaj.. I loved them so much and I so wanted to spend time with them, but I was a slave to my job and could never be around.. I became a Sunday dad..
My dad told me before I was leaving for the states,
"Once you come back here, we can buy a 2BHK house, just like we always wanted.. And then you and your wife and me and my wife can live together.." I remember smiling sheepishly at the mention of my marriage... He winked at me with a
mischievous smile.. He expired one year after
Arkaj was born.. I kissed his hand and said,
"Sorry, I couldnt buy that 2BHK flat... Sorry, me and my wife and you and your wife couldnt live together".
I left the evening they cremated him. I offered mom to come with me to the US.. She refused..
The years flew and
Revati started dating, most of the guys were American and called her Revs or
sumthing like that.. I
didnt like any of them, they just
didnt seem like the guys my daughter should be dating..
I lost my job in the recession of 2039. I was 54 then..I lost a lot of money in my business. But I still had enough reserves to last me 5 years till I figured out what to do next.. I chose to come back to India like I always wanted.. My wife was too happy. My kids
werent.
Revati was in love with an
American Andrew who taught psychology at her university. He was a full 10 years older than her. We
didnt approve of the match, but somehow we
werent important anymore..
Arkaj was studying Engineering in Boston university and
couldnt possibly join us here..
My dad always wanted to live by the sea and he always wanted a 2
BHK, so with all the money I made in the last 20yrs, I put in a 2
BHK apartment near Marine Drive. I was stunned to see how much the realty rates had gone up in these 30 years...
3 years ago
Ragini expired.. She was diagnosed with cancer. I arranged for the best of doctors. They
couldnt help much.
Revati came to India when we cremated her, she stayed with me for a week...
Arkaj had to leave the next evening..
Arkaj offered me to live with him in the US.. I refused...
Revati gave birth to a lovely baby girl, they say shes got Andrew's blue eyes.
Arkaj got married two years ago. The girl is Indian.
Things didnt go well between them..Arkaj tells me that he will soon be filing for divorce. Catherine expired from a heart attack last year, a friend told me. She had made a huge loss on the stock market crash
.. She
never did marry...
As I stroll around my empty apartment, I wonder what I have earned in all these years... I wonder if my dad earned any less than me.. My dad owned a 1
BHK in
Ghatkopar.. I own a 2
BHK near Marine Drive.. As I look by all the lost years, I wonder where did the years go.. My kids had never known their dad.. I
didnt give enough time to my wife.. I was with not with my parents when they wanted me..
And at the end of all this, do I own more than my parents did.. What do I have that my parents
didnt? What did I get for doing all this...All this for what?All this for a 2
BHK? All this for
one bedroom extra?
The End.
One bedroom extra...