The Transition

"A house is made of walls and beams,
A home is made of love and dreams"

Suresh was a shy lad all through his childhood. He had a very close circle of friends whom he considered his best pals. At school , he would obediently follow every word his teachers read out. At home, he made up a routine to finish up the schoolwork first and then go to play, as his mother would always tell him to do that.
He was a studious person and was respected by his classmates. His parents who whole heartedly provided him all the love and support he ever needed . Frequent family trips, visit to important places, were all on the family agenda every weekend.Being the son of a defence employee and not studying in a defence school has its own ramifications. Defence areas are often secluded with little civilian contact and most of the defence kids go to public schools unlike Suresh was in a private school in his city, so had very little contacts in and outside school.
                              In India, tremendous pressure builds up on students after 10th. The blind rat race for competitive exams (IIT JEE, AIEEE etc.) provides a sense of hopelessness often. Suresh's parents obviously were yearning for the best from their child, like all parents do. After the board results were out, which were good considering that Suresh had scored extremely well in the 4 most hotly debated subjects in the common households., i.e Maths, Phy, Chem and Bio, Suresh's father could now think securely about the future where he could see his son as some CEO of a top MNC. Afterall , that's what all of us do dream one day ourselves. Suresh was elated , thinking that his school days are now over and he can focus on playing and learning more and more games and embarking on an adventure to undiscovered neighbourhood places.
Thats when he got a jolt. His father wanted him to pursue explicit coaching for the IIT JEE examinations, and as always, his parents wished only the best for him.Since there were very few good coaching centres at that time at his place, it was decided that he would have to move out to a metro city to pursue his coaching and further studies. Suresh was confused, at first he thought that moving out of home would be another new adventure in his life, but he was not sure if it would end well.
After contacting some close friends of his father's  , it was decided that he would move out to one of the most respected coaching centres in a not so near metropolitan city. His mother immediately broke down at the thought of her son going away. Suresh had never seen his mother break down this way. "Mom, its all okay, ill be back after completing this. Dont worry...", he said consoling his mother. He was obviously not in a mood to think much about his life ahead and only focussed on post exam enjoyment with the little time left at home. The D day came soon enough and he had to leave. His father accompanied him to the hostel where he would stay for the next tow years. He had a private talk with the hostel warden asking him to speacially take care of his child and to make sure that he is not hurt. His father provided him with the necessary things like a basic cell phone , such that he would not divert himself away from his studies wasting time on it
                                                Wishing him a very good time ahead, his father left him. He bid his father good bye and returned to his room. His roommate had not yet arrived so it meant that he was all alone in his room. Now the thought of his time ahead struck him. He is all alone in this outside world now. The days when his mother used to cook him delicacies and feed those, the days when he had the best time of his life with his parents at family trips, the days when he would come home from school and talk to his mother about the events at school are all now gone. His mother, the angel of his life , is now a thousand miles away and so is his caring father who always wished the best for his son. Oh, look there , he is now bounded to the four walls of his room. He looked around the room and could see his study table , the poster of Roger Federer, of Sachin Tendulkar, his computer in which he had stored his profiles in Need For Speed and GTA. Alas! he could only see them in his imagination, none of them were present now. He looked outside the window and could see a bustling city with people busy with their own deeds, no one really looking at him staring out of the window. He came up to the warden and asked him if he could just go out and have a walk. The warden refused saying that he would not want him to get lost. He pleaded but with futile results. He proceeded back to his room. Oh! how much did he now miss his childhood days, when his closest pals used to call him to play. Oh! his friends, his best friends, how much does he now miss them. The only thoughts travelling in his head now were"Abey Suresh common yaar... , Suresh dost how is your health now...?". Oh! those lovely days..... Oh his home.. parents... all now gone far away..
Soon enough it was night time and he proceeded to his mess. He looked around... new faces.. all unknown.. new food... not so tasty as what his mother used to cook.. but
he is got to eat that.... He was now feeling really secluded.... missing his lovely home miles away....
He quickly had his dinner and went back to his room... The night never seemed so lonely ... when he tried to sleep images of him running around and getting scolded by his Mom flashed his head... but what can he do now?? He is already admitted in the new college and they have already charged heavily for the admission....
He gets up and looks outside window... he looks at the street ahead... the street with busy people pushing each other for their way out..... Oh! how he wished he would instantly be teleported back to his home... He looked at his cell phone... Brand new... basic piece... he called up his Mom.."Hello Mom.... Mom i want to come back.... i do not want to study....i want to stay with you and Dad always.... i don't want to leave my home... ". His mother silently listened...."Son... i know itll be very difficult to adjust.. but remember.. the night is the darkest before the dawn... and i promise you... the dawn is coming.... Remember i used to tell you stories of your uncle who was in the army when you were 7...? Well he was alone too wasn't he?? but he was a superhero.... fought the bad people who attacked his country... he loved his country and he did his job... U also have to do your job son..  you have to fight your feelings... fight the thoughts inside you and prove yourself that you are no less than him... You've got to do it son.. my boy..."."Mom, but i really miss you... "."Son i miss you too... but for all good things a sacrifice must be made.... Go ahead son... become big in life...."."Mom... ". Silence prevailed for the next 2 minutes..."Good night Mom... i badly want to come back...".
                       He knew that this wasn't going to happen soon enough.. He closed his eyes and went to sleep....
                                            "The woods are lovely dark and deep, But i have promises to keep, and miles to go before i sleep ... and miles to go before i sleep....."


P.S (This post is dedicated to all those people who have pursued their +10 or intermediate education
staying miles away from home in a hostel... It also mocks at the situation where a rat race forces young students to emotionally drain themselves and leave their homes in pursuit of a top rank)...


Comments and review welcome...                                                                
                                                                                                                                       

The Vanishing Greens

Hello all...!
                 I would like to first of all thank you for taking time off to visit this link.
                About me, I am a student pursuing a degree in  Computer Science and Engineering and currently in the third year of my course at Vizag.
                This being my very first blog, all I can hope is i get my message right. Please feel free to comment .
 Ill start away with the most debated topic in many schools, colleges and offices. ENVIRONMENT.
               Let us look at this situation from another angle. We all know that industrialization will hamper the environmental balance that is highly crucial for many living beings to survive. Roads, malls, factories eat up the space and are often termed energy guzzler's; space that could otherwise be used to reduce the CO2 content in the atmosphere. On one side environmentalists argue that more the factories, the more the troubles for the region with respect to water availability, weather and energy. On the other side, the economists argue that there are people dying due to poverty and this is a good way to eliminate poverty, as more factories or malls mean more employment. Both are very valid reasons considering the very fact that India is a developing country whose economy though currently booming, needs more to do when it comes to poverty alleviation. However on the other hand, we are putting the ecosystem to a jeopardy by cutting more and more trees day by day.
              Recent and many other events bear testimony to this fact. Global warming is of course the best example any given day to show just how the lack of tree cover is burning up the earth. The floods in Andhra Pradesh, forest fires in USA, the melting ice caps in the Himalayas and even the Antarctic, all point to the nasty way in which the climate is dancing around. The reason being simple, warming of the earth is leading to unprecedented and unpredictable weather phenomenon.
             Now the situation here calls for a balance between industrialization and environment. If you  would have noticed, many environmentalists do not oppose the industrialization process , as this is what gives them and in fact, all of us a better life. What they do oppose is the reckless cutting of tress to achieve industrialization. There lies the root to most of our troubles. We all know the importance of trees and to the ecosystem. It is but natural that the reckless cutting down of so may trees will throw the ecosystem out of gear. If the cutting down of trees is indeed essential, then it must be followed by planting an equal if not more number of samplings. This can be done so that the balance is maintained in the environment that is crucial for most of the living beings. We as ordinary people may not be able to stop cutting trees, but we can always plant one. Here I join the hands of environmentalists and plead to whoever reads this blog, to plant a tree wherever, whenever possible. Just like little drops of water make a mighty ocean, your contribution will be very helpful in starting this. For all who have planted samplings, I implore you to please motivate your friends and close associates to do the same. Its for our own better future, for our own good. Together we may not be able to change many things, but we sure can make a difference...

        


                                          Thanking you and wishing you a good day..:)