"Main aap sabko apne bachche ke samaan maanta hoon". Those were the words that for the first time drew me out of my slumber during another one of those boring journeys. The man who had just entered the compartment, with a few other fellows trailing behind him, was forty something; with a medium build, an average height, a mediocre belly, slightly greying hair, and a face that showed a blend of wrinkles of past experiences and dimples of future expectations...a typical middle aged man. And instinctively, I knew I was going to get a story for my blog today.
While the opening line might give you the impression of affection towards the two younger men to whom itwas addressed, the tone was a giveaway. An admonition was in full swing and my man had taken up the role of an authoritative father. "Main aap sabko apne bachche ke samaan maanta hoon...aap logon ki hamesha madad karta hoon, lekin agar aap log galti karenge to main saza bhi doonga", and so on and on, the conversation went. I should not call it a conversation though, for the other two men were simply standing head bent, listening most of the time, and uttering apologies whenever there was a short pause in the scolding, which was essentially the time this "father" took to draw in fresh air. Anyway their resigned faces made it evident that they had exhausted all attempts to explain their side of story, and would have nothing more to say even if given a chance. They were there just for that; to stand and listen.
The admonition might not have been pleasant to the receivers but I was all ears. I gathered that my man was a station superintendent and the other two were his subordinates who had done something gravely wrong in the opinion of the superintendent. The plot was thickening... the story was getting interesting now... But Alas! just as I was starting to get a hang of the issue involved, the train halted at a station and the two got down... A wonderful story, stymied midway...
Or probably not. For now, the father turned to the third young man who had accompanied him and who was sitting silently till now... It was his son.
"Son", he said, "Take good care of yourself". It so happened that his son was going to join some job near delhi and because he was going out of home for the first time, the disciplinarian father had to give him 'the right advises'. "You must get up by 6 in the morning, finish your daily ablutions in an hour..." and several other details on daily routine were added. The son nodded a compliant yes.
Then the father said, "You must take special care of your dietary habits. Don't go for a lot of junk foods. Do take fruits". and then an idea struck him. "Do one thing. Buy Half a dozen bananas every week, and take one daily in breakfast. and you must also take milk. And u can buy bread from the market which you can eat with milk in the morning....your breakfast must be nourishing"...and then as an afterthought, "And also buy a packet of namkeen bhujiya. you can have that for evening snacks". The son nodded a compliant yes.
The son had been well behaved till now. He probably thought that now was the time to ask for a little favour. "Papa, I might need a bike there". "All right", the father said, "take the one at home". "But papa I was thinking of buying a new...". "Rubbish! it is foolishness to spend so much of money on a new bike. Son, you know that our means are limited. It will unnecessarily strain our finances. The older bike will do as well. And anyway, don't spend too much time roaming around. put full efforts into studies. You have to build your career now". The son again nodded a compliant yes.
Meanwhile the disciplinary urges were gathering steam. "And do no get into bad company. By the way, who was this friend who came with you last week?" The son uttered a name, which the father did not hear but continued with his sentence. "I would not like you to move around with him. See how haughtily he behaved that day...not even said a namaste." The son protested, "No papa, he is not that sort of a guy. He probably did not wish you because you were talking to somebody else". "That's no excuse. Son we believe in our culture, and one should have atleast the manners to greet elders. I do not want you to keep friendship with him. Is that ok?". The son was evidently flustered, but nodded a submissive yes.
The air was heavy, and there was silence for some time. Father decided to change track now. "Right now, I have roughlythousand rupees saved. I can garner another from my GPF. Your tauji has also agreed to give some money..." and so on, he enumerated not less than 10 sources of finance, with no end use in sight. It was after atleast five minutes that the secret unravelled. "With this money I will get a room built on the back side of our house on roof.", and then, "This will be over by 2008 and in the year 2009 you we will marry you off, and then you sister the next year".And then as if to placate the son, "That room will be for you. We will have an attached bathroom too. That way you will have an independent unit, and it will also be connected to ground floor so you can come down anytime you want". This must have been a bombshell for the son... but he nodded a silent yes.
Pretty soon, however, the father's demeanour began to change. The train was approaching Faridabad now, where the son had to get down while the father had to continue his journey further. The son hastily packed his belongings, even as the father continued with his advises. "Son, do take good care of yourself. And keep calling regularly, you know your mother gets worried". His speech was getting more and more rushed, trying to compress all that he wanted to say in the short time available. His tone was changed too, instead of a stately poise it had started sounding more like a plea. "Son, be happy and don't worry about anything. If you don't like the job just come back, God has given us enough. Just concentrate on building your career, and do take good care of yourself". "Son, do call up tomorrow, Son, keep good care of your health, Son..." and his voice trailed off, as the duo went out of the coach, the son nodding his yeses which he did not mean, and father trying to catch up with him, more anxious, more talkative, more breathless with each passing minute...
...When the father came back, he was quite. His shoulders had drooped, his face was melancholy and resigned, and all signs of a "man in command" had evaporated. I looked up at him, and caught a glimpse of his eyes...moist. The authoritative father was nowhere to be seen. I was looking at the real father.
Dear Father, probably your son did not see this today. Probably he is rebellious and angry with you today. But some day, he too will see a real father and he would remember you...and he would know that you too must have been the same way today :)
While the opening line might give you the impression of affection towards the two younger men to whom itwas addressed, the tone was a giveaway. An admonition was in full swing and my man had taken up the role of an authoritative father. "Main aap sabko apne bachche ke samaan maanta hoon...aap logon ki hamesha madad karta hoon, lekin agar aap log galti karenge to main saza bhi doonga", and so on and on, the conversation went. I should not call it a conversation though, for the other two men were simply standing head bent, listening most of the time, and uttering apologies whenever there was a short pause in the scolding, which was essentially the time this "father" took to draw in fresh air. Anyway their resigned faces made it evident that they had exhausted all attempts to explain their side of story, and would have nothing more to say even if given a chance. They were there just for that; to stand and listen.
The admonition might not have been pleasant to the receivers but I was all ears. I gathered that my man was a station superintendent and the other two were his subordinates who had done something gravely wrong in the opinion of the superintendent. The plot was thickening... the story was getting interesting now... But Alas! just as I was starting to get a hang of the issue involved, the train halted at a station and the two got down... A wonderful story, stymied midway...
Or probably not. For now, the father turned to the third young man who had accompanied him and who was sitting silently till now... It was his son.
"Son", he said, "Take good care of yourself". It so happened that his son was going to join some job near delhi and because he was going out of home for the first time, the disciplinarian father had to give him 'the right advises'. "You must get up by 6 in the morning, finish your daily ablutions in an hour..." and several other details on daily routine were added. The son nodded a compliant yes.
Then the father said, "You must take special care of your dietary habits. Don't go for a lot of junk foods. Do take fruits". and then an idea struck him. "Do one thing. Buy Half a dozen bananas every week, and take one daily in breakfast. and you must also take milk. And u can buy bread from the market which you can eat with milk in the morning....your breakfast must be nourishing"...and then as an afterthought, "And also buy a packet of namkeen bhujiya. you can have that for evening snacks". The son nodded a compliant yes.
The son had been well behaved till now. He probably thought that now was the time to ask for a little favour. "Papa, I might need a bike there". "All right", the father said, "take the one at home". "But papa I was thinking of buying a new...". "Rubbish! it is foolishness to spend so much of money on a new bike. Son, you know that our means are limited. It will unnecessarily strain our finances. The older bike will do as well. And anyway, don't spend too much time roaming around. put full efforts into studies. You have to build your career now". The son again nodded a compliant yes.
Meanwhile the disciplinary urges were gathering steam. "And do no get into bad company. By the way, who was this friend who came with you last week?" The son uttered a name, which the father did not hear but continued with his sentence. "I would not like you to move around with him. See how haughtily he behaved that day...not even said a namaste." The son protested, "No papa, he is not that sort of a guy. He probably did not wish you because you were talking to somebody else". "That's no excuse. Son we believe in our culture, and one should have atleast the manners to greet elders. I do not want you to keep friendship with him. Is that ok?". The son was evidently flustered, but nodded a submissive yes.
The air was heavy, and there was silence for some time. Father decided to change track now. "Right now, I have roughly
Pretty soon, however, the father's demeanour began to change. The train was approaching Faridabad now, where the son had to get down while the father had to continue his journey further. The son hastily packed his belongings, even as the father continued with his advises. "Son, do take good care of yourself. And keep calling regularly, you know your mother gets worried". His speech was getting more and more rushed, trying to compress all that he wanted to say in the short time available. His tone was changed too, instead of a stately poise it had started sounding more like a plea. "Son, be happy and don't worry about anything. If you don't like the job just come back, God has given us enough. Just concentrate on building your career, and do take good care of yourself". "Son, do call up tomorrow, Son, keep good care of your health, Son..." and his voice trailed off, as the duo went out of the coach, the son nodding his yeses which he did not mean, and father trying to catch up with him, more anxious, more talkative, more breathless with each passing minute...
...When the father came back, he was quite. His shoulders had drooped, his face was melancholy and resigned, and all signs of a "man in command" had evaporated. I looked up at him, and caught a glimpse of his eyes...moist. The authoritative father was nowhere to be seen. I was looking at the real father.
Dear Father, probably your son did not see this today. Probably he is rebellious and angry with you today. But some day, he too will see a real father and he would remember you...and he would know that you too must have been the same way today :)
2 comments:
:-)
waah..is pe ek movie banaenge director saab!!....sheer gravity of thoughts....keep it up sirji :)
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