Connected! ....... Chapter #3

Kshitij knew his parents too well to anticipate their actions and when, almost an hour after they had dropped Kshitij at the airport and returned back home, he was proved right. His mother went straight to the kitchen to down herself in her chores and his father went to his study where he'd pick up a book to distract himself. Both of them found an envelope addressed to "MOM" and "DAD" respectively.

His mother picked up the envelope that said MOM, teared it open and started reading.

"I won't be surprised if you were wondering if IOT was short for a domestic help that I had arranged for you, or a girlfriend who I had asked to take care of you when I wasn’t here. Sorry to disappoint you, Maa, but, it'll still be me doing that. Just that my reach now is global *wink*. Confused? Allow me to elaborate. Why don't you ease up on your knees and grab a chair?

I did some of my techie thing at home that you hate so much. For starters, the whole house now has temperature control, 21 degrees, all the time, just how you like it. If you still feel cold or hot, just say the words 'It's too cold' or 'it's too hot' and it will readjust. And just for the record, yes, I hated getting up every time to adjust it. The next time you want to order groceries, just tell the digital assistant on your phone. Yes, it's the same well-mannered female voice I taught you to play with. She can order vegetables for you and do a lot more, but sorry, I can't marry her. Your foot massager is now connected to your phone and I have set the programs in your phone for your routine massages, the directions to use them, I will share on Skype. That way, you'll still need me for something, right? *wink*. I've set a notification for you to take your medicines and also when you need to buy them again provided you keep having them as prescribed, which I know you will, won't you? *raised eyebrows*

I know it's not exactly having me there, but, this will at least keep you in my shell - if only virtually - till I come back. Another thing, you can now check if you've left the gas stove on from your phone from anywhere. You don't have to rush to the kitchen every time you suspect you've left it on. When I'm back, I know you'll have all this removed because you love bossing me around too much. To tell you the truth, I love being bossed around by you. Love you, Maa! Now, go to my room, there's a little surprise for you at the printer. I'm sure you'll like it".

She rushed to Kshitij's room, turned the lights on and headed straight to the printer, where she found a lone piece of paper lying. She picked it up and seeing what it was, she couldn't help her eyes welling up again.

His father found the envelope between the book that he was presently reading. He fumbled around the desk to find his reading glasses but eventually found them tucked in his own shirt. He tore open the envelope and started reading:

"Hey Dad, I know and you know that you're a tough a guy on the outside, but in the inside, you're nowhere close to it. I'm sure you understood when I mentioned IOT, but I'll give you the details now. Now that I won't be around for a while to drive you around, I've saved some of your most visited locations on the GPS in the car. Just scroll and select the place and hit the engine. Please please please use it because it took me 2 days to have that in place. I've setup your phone to track you daily morning walk and the status notification comes to me regularly. Yes, I'll haunt you until you lose another 6kgs. I've setup additional notifications for all your insurance policy renewals and domestic bills. You don't need to worry about them, I will, but you'll get notifications nonetheless. I've told mom too, but, even you should know, you'll get alerts for taking your medicines and when you need a re-fill, on your mobile. Most importantly, you can now check if any switch in the house is left on from your mobile and switch it on/off from your phone from anywhere. And that remote of yours that you keep losing so often, you won't need that. All from the phone. One thing I won’t be able to do is charge your mobile, that my dear father will need to be taken care of by you. Now, for the last thing, turn on your laptop, I have a surprise for you."

He leapt up and stretched to get the laptop from the far end of the table and switched it on. The superficial tough-guy cover melted instantaneously as soon as he saw the desktop wallpaper.

His mother had found the same picture in print that his father saw on his laptop. The similar 3 pairs of eyes glaring back. A certain sadness of being so far away for so long rendering as tears in the eyes of his mother. His father's vain attempt to still look stern, yet happy, but completely defied by his teary eyes and slight drooping face. Only Kshitij managed to hold on to the storm inside and brighten up the picture with his handsome smile.

                                                                       ____________________

Kshitij gulped a couple of quick sips of water to ease the knot that refused to surrender and took a deep breath before he flicked open his phone. He found his father online on Skype, which, he guessed would've meant they had reached home and probably read their letters. He placed the video call.

                                                                       ____________________

The speaker of the laptop started beeping. The similar Skype ringtone. He straightened himself and accepted the call. It was his son, no surprise. Kshitij noticed the red eyes and said, "Dude, not you! It's difficult to contain one. I can't manage two, please!", and his father too managed a chuckle.

"Security check done?", asked his father.

"Yes, I'm in the lounge, thought I'd check on you. Where's mom?"

"Let me check".

"Check in my room", Kshitij said  with a coy smile.

His father called out for his mother and both of them sat in front of the laptop. Kshitij noticed both of them holding the envelopes and his mother holding a paper, which must be the print of the picture, and said, "I see you've both read it, right?"

Both nodded a yes.

"So you know how blessed you are to have a son like me", he joked and all three of them shared a laugh.

"How did you manage to have all this setup?", asked the father.

"Do you really think that you got that 3-day stay at Jaipur because you filled out a survey in the mall?" Kshitij said mocking them.

Kshitij's parents had received a courier one morning informing them that they had been picked out in a lucky draw after they had filled out a survey in a mall. When his father told him about it, he did his best to create a scene by telling them to not trust and asked him to give the details and he'd call the hotel personally to check if the reservations were authentic and if the travel tickets were real. Of course they were. Kshitij had made all the arrangements himself for a couple of reasons. One, his parents hadn't been on a vacation in a long time and the 3-day trip would allow him to rig the house. He took one of his friends along, obviously a geek himself. The two nerds worked round the clock for three days and electrified the house upside down. They managed to sneak out before his parents returned.

"That was you?", asked his father and his mother found her jaw drop a little.

"Yes. Well, not all me, I had Raman help me, but, yeah, largely me."

"At least tell us how to get it all working", said his mother.

"One by one, Maa, one by one. I don’t want you to get too comfortable without me. Okay, I've got to go now. I'll text you ASAP. Love you"

"Bye, take care", both of them said waving their hands at the screen.

............ To Be Continued

Connected! ....... Chapter #2

The security and immigration took about 45 minutes and Kshitij was now sitting at the lounge, waiting for the boarding call. His sense of humor was the best quality of his simple, hardworking persona, or so he was repeatedly told. He was the life of conversations, smiles were a given when Kshitij was in the room. Even the people he mocked didn't mind his mocking. He was the kind of person who was perceived as somebody who never had an off day. All was always well with Kshitij Mehra. Not today though. His brave front contracted the moment he had the time to reflect what was happening. He was sitting in the darker corner of the lounge. The cheerful conversations, the laughs eluded him. The ever so jolly Kshitij was in a trance which had a strangling hold over him. His mind was blank and he felt an urge to untie the knot in the throat that had kept him from talking properly or seeing eye-to-eye with anyone. Slowly the lips started to quiver and the knot gave way to a trickle that found its way from the eyes to his cheeks where he managed to wipe it off. It shouldn't be this big a deal, he tried to convince himself, but couldn't stop another trickle tracing the previous one. He took a deep breath and tried to not cry and in line with that attempt started to check out foreigners around him, but, not with the zeal he would've liked to.

Moments later and a dozen of deep breaths later, he started to breathe easier and relaxed his back and made himself comfortable on the couch. He couldn't help but let his mind wander to the time his manager initially broke the news to him.

He was working on designing a query. The update queries always gives you the jitters, no matter how many times you've done it before. Always! With his nose dug into the two monitors in front of him, he received an IM ping. He ignored, changed his online status to "busy" and after a momentary lapse in concentration, got back to staring the screens again. Eyes on the screen and hands on the laptop, he received a follow up message. Oh damn it! He thought. Opening the IM window, he found it was his manager. This better be good.

"Hi."

"Need to speak. Can you come in to my cabin?"

Were the two messages his manager left him. A very evident fact about Kshitij's inherent nature was the fact that he was aware. He had always been. He was aware of when he was being bullied in school, he was aware that his parents were making sacrifices for getting him through college. He made metal notes every time he noticed something. Not to payback or to avenge, but, just to be grateful. He didn't forget and after watching Game of Thrones, he figured he was a Lannister. He would always pay his debts. Professionally, he was well aware that he was exceptional at his work. He knew when he was being taken advantage of. Seven years in and he understood the price tag that he carried although was less, but, he didn't mind. He knew his manager valued him even if he didn't say that out loud. At times, he threw unreasonable tantrums and got his way. He was also aware of the line he mustn't cross with his whims.

Reaching the cabin, he knocked and opened the door. He was gestured to sit.

"Rohit, this better be good. I was in middle of something really important.", he said.

"You still realize I'm you manager, right?", Rohit said with a grin. "You're supposed to get on your toes when I ask you to", he continued trying to remind Kshitij of his authority.

"Yes I remember. I also know that if that query I was working on goes wrong, you'll be the first one to kick my ass and your own will be on fire. So while I try to save both our asses, do you care to tell me what's it about?"

Rohit leaned in, resting his hands on the table and said, "very well you smart ass. Getting straight to the point, I've got an approval to send you onsite initially for 2 years. The extension beyond that will be subject to approvals and requirements from the client. Start packing my boy." He leaned back in his chair and folded his legs for a dramatic effect as if he just announced a life changing decision.

Kshitij, with a smug grin on his face, almost imitated his manager. Leaned back in his own chair and folded his legs with his hands resting on the arm rest of the chair. That bossy look could intimidate anyone. Rohit for a brief moment too got caught up.

"What? You're still not happy? You know you're tougher to please than my wife and she is a fan of jewelry if you know what I mean.", Rohit said.

"Well, you're 2 years late in announcing the news, but, I'll take that", he finally managed a genuine hearty smile.

Rohit returned the smile, stood up and stretched his hand towards his smartest, most valuable team asset. Kshitij too stood up and shook his hand.

"Unlike most of the times I've said it before. You, my friend, have earned it. Keep it up."

"Thanks, Rohit. Appreciate it."

Rohit gave a proud nod and said, "I'll let you get back to saving our asses again."

"Yeah, right.", Kshitij said with a chuckle now. He was still smiling when he walked out of Rohit's cabin and stopped smiling only after he'd reached his cubicle and unlocked his computer. He'd need to break this news to his parents now. He decided he'd do it as soon as this damned update was complete.

Connected! ........ Chapter #1

Kshitij dragged his trolley bag to the entry gates of the airport. Damn, it was heavy, not just because of the knitted woolens his mother had stuffed in, but primarily because of the eatables it contained. He was going on-site for 2 years. Two long years, and his mother, it looked like, was determined to not have him starved.

"Maa, it's not a jungle where they're sending me. It's New York city. They even have Indian food easily available. Will you seriously make me carry all this?", he had argued in vain.

He looked back and saw his parents follow him slowly. His mother, walked with her lost puffy eyes and his father apparently surveying and observing and absorbing everything. Kshitij looked at them with a knot in his throat. He had been working in a different city for 7 years now, but, this was different. He couldn’t come back every 3-4 months, “Work from Home” wouldn’t mean eating those Aloo Parantha’s dripping with oil and a lot more. He wouldn’t cry. He shouldn’t. It was for the best his father had convinced him. “And its only 2 years, as long as you don’t hook up with a blonde or a read-head for a green card”, his father had said, in an attempt to lighten his mood and they both shared a laugh. Mustering all the courage he had, he cleared his throat and called out to them, "Mom, dad, quick. It's almost time. Dad, you can start your goodbyes. Mom will do a couple of more rounds of shedding tears before she finds her voice back", he said playfully teasing her mom. He received a weak slap on his shoulder from his mother as she wiped a trickle from below her eyes and a wry smile from his father.

He embraced his mother the moment he felt she was about to burst into tears again, but, that didn't help the cause. She burst out. "Mom, that's my new shirt!" he said in her ear, teasing her again and tightened his embrace. "I promise I'll try my best to not bring a firang daughter-in-law for you, but, I can't promise none of them will fall for me", he joked and she finally managed a chuckle. He pulled of the embrace and wiped her tears.

He turned to his father who gave him a proud nod and stretched his arms in a gesture to hug him and then whispered in his ear, "Get me the finest scotch there is", and patted his back. Kshitij after pulling out of the embrace beamed at his father and winked.

"Alright then. Enough crying. Let's take the customary selfie. You know they don’t allow people to board planes without an Airport selfie nowadays", he said, but his mom and dad were oblivious to the context. He dug into his pocket, and clicked.

"We're so used to having you around. How will we manage everything?", his mother finally managed to speak.

"IOT", Kshitij replied.

"IOT?", both his parents said in unison.

"Yes. I'll explain later. I'll call you after the security check, alright?", both of them nodded.

He touched their feet before leaving and then dragged his bag to the other side of the Airport entrance.

Polar Opposites?

Prologue

I held them one in each hand. Excited and nervous and scared all at the same time. Excited because I wasn't sure if someone would've actually tried it before and nervous and scared because I probably was breaking a law. A law not written or declared explicitly, but, a law defined by the society, a law which we unobjectionably obey. If somebody came to know I did it, I'd most certainly become a social outcast, not supported by either of the two. I'm still in the confines of my room, this won't get out. I'm good at keeping secrets, I reminded myself, I can absorb one more. I looked at left hand and thought, this is smaller, will it be repelled and thrown back further by the one I held in the other hand? Is the smaller one always the weaker one? I was then reminded of our very own little master, Sachin Tendulkar. He was small, but capable of giving nightmares to the most fiercely built (bowlers) in the world. Which meant, if the one in my left hand was capable enough, its smaller structure won't be a factor. About to start, my heart started thumping. Was I breaking a divine protocol? I had seen in the news and it sure looked like I was just about to do something that's not nature, that's not meant to be. Why else would human life be put in danger for a thing that looked so trivial to me? With so much circulating in the news, why did I feel the matter was trivial? There must be something wrong with me, no?

All set now, I willed myself to begin. Not sure why, but, I even said a prayer. I apologized to both if this was about to offend either one of them or even both. Taking in and letting out a heavy breath, slowly but surely, maybe against social protocol, maybe against a divine norm, I went for it. . . . . .

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An idle mind is not a devil's workshop, it’s a creative genius' sanctuary. Or so I tell myself after a long weekend of idling around in my house watching multiple TV series in my boxer shorts. One such fine weekend, I had this sudden surge of curiosity to do a social experiment, the boundaries of which would be confined to my room. I'll give you a small background on how I zeroed in on planning to making such an absurd attempt.

Since I've started reading (wasn't that long ago), I've learned that books can be such great company. That you don't need to step out of the house to travel. That it's more refreshing reading a good book over a weekend than sleepovers and wasting a complete day trying to get that "proper sleep" the following day. Yes I'm boring and unapologetically proud of it. I've also started to believe that each and every book teaches you something. Even if it's a crappy book, it teaches you to advice people to not waste their time on it. Noting the fact that they teach and we learn, I started with the possibly irrational experiment. Who cares if it's not sensible? The one thing I love about the four walls, the floor and the ceiling of my room. They don't judge me!

I was blankly staring at my bookshelf and not sure when my senses started tingling and when I started thinking again, but when I realized, I was staring at the cover of the book I had recently read. I saw Lord Ram's strong musculature, his back arched and his strong hands with a bow and arrow pointing towards Ravan's Pushpak Vimaan. The Scion of Ikshvaku. I instantly got up and took out the copy of The Quran from my cupboard. How and why I have a copy of The Quran, is not a question I like to entertain. . . The questions wouldn't be thrown like stones if I had Bhagvad Geeta instead of The Quran, which, to me, is worth sighs than answers.

One with the Mighty Hindu god who guided us to the perfect way of living, the Ram Rajya, and the other with the guiding principles of the Muslim fraternity. The disciples of both not necessarily seeing eye to eye, at times hurting each other in the name of honoring their respective teachers. If the disciples don't stand each other, would their Gurus tolerate staying in close proximity to one other? After all, whatever we learn is from books like these. Our actions must be influenced by these scriptures, no?

What if I bring these two books close? Would they repel each other? Maybe there'll be sparks shooting out before they repel? My mind went to the final duel between Harry Potter and Voldermort. Their wands always repelling one another. But that was because they had the same core, like same poles of the magnet repelling each other. In anticipation of some fireworks, I took the two books in different hands when it dawned on me if I was breaking a social, maybe a religious protocol. Will I be punished? Will a god-like creature appear in front of me and give me a curse that my generations will inherit? I must admit, the weight of heavy religious burden that I've been bestowed upon by the my past generations was getting to me.

I stood in the room, the silence aggravating the thrill of the scene, with The Quran in my left hand and The Scion of Ikshvaku in my right, my arms stretched on either sides. Gathering courage to defy the social norms, expecting, hoping against hope to see some fireworks and smoke, I started to bring them close. Progressing in slow motion, I observed in rapt attention like the audience waiting for the magician to unveil the climax of his trick.

My arms closing in now, my half engineering mind going through all permutations and combinations. The Quran is smaller in size (like the Muslim population in our blessed country #sarcasm), will that make it repel easily and be overpowered?  Will my arms burn and turn to ashes? How will I explain what happened to my arms to everyone? Will it hurt? If I have no arms, how will I work? Will this be how both the gods punish me for breaking "the rules"? Idle mind at full throttle. The two books not about two feet away, I expected some repelling force forcing both my hands in the directions opposite to where they were progressing from, but, nothing came. I waited, continuing the gradual motion. About one feet away now. I would've expected smoke by now, but, nothing. Maybe it'll explode suddenly on touch, I wondered, encouraging myself. Six inches to go and still nothing. I won't lie, but I was starting to get disappointed, like a scientist who expected too much, but, wasn't seeing the results he'd worked so hard for. Three inches, nothing. Two, One, nothing. The books finally touched and as soon as they did, I looked up, expecting to see red streaks of light or some form of magic, still nothing.

Disappointment followed the five overly anticipated minutes of unreal expectations. I tried in vain again, stretching my arms and bring the two books close again twice or thrice, pretty quickly now, avoiding the drama, hoping that probably the gods didn't notice the sin the first time. Nothing happened. Accepting the fact, I returned the books to the bookshelf, this time placing both of them together and then switching the lights off and burying myself in sheets.

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Epilogue

It's been a week since I placed the two visually (apparently) polar opposite books on the shelves and there's still nothing worth noting. They're sitting peacefully where I placed them a week back. Neither of them has tried to move from its place or push the other. God hasn't given me a sign to part them so I let them be in their happy place. They spend so much time together that I won't be surprised if they talk to each other when I'm not around and bitch about what an idiot I was for trying the experiment. If they do discuss, I'm sure they share a healthy laugh. As long as they don't bother me, I'm fine with whatever keeps them happy.

>>>> THE END <<<<

Just another day .... Chapter #3

It was after 7 PM in the evening when Vivan returned home, all drenched in sweat. He had scored 27 and taken 1 catch and was hence was happy. He saw his father’s bag on the dining table and knew he had returned. The door of the room was half open and Vivan sneaked at the side of the door. This was a little game Vivan and his dad played. One of them would sneak to the side of the door and scare the other when they came out of the door. So he stood there without making any sound and waited for his dad to come out. He could hear his parents talking.

“How about we take Vivan to someplace nice in the summer vacations? I’m sure this will be a change for him and he’ll enjoy!” he heard his mother telling his dad. His heart leapt with joy but he strained his ear to hear his father’s reply.

“What? You know we can’t afford it, right? The EMIs are coming up and just because we’ve not been keeping up with the deadline for the last three months, we’ll have to pay additional interest. How can we shell out money for a trip?”

Vivan didn’t understand any of the technical terms, but, his father’s tone told him that it couldn’t happen. Then there was silence. He dropped the idea of scaring his father and quietly went into his room and opened his books again. Not really bothering to study. Fifteen minutes later, his dad entered the room and asked him, “When did you return, Champ? We didn’t hear you come back.”

“It’s been ten-fifteen minutes, I guess.”

“Alright. Your mom tells me you’re having trouble with some questions. Shall we look at them?”

“Yes. I’ll get the books”. He went over to his bag and returned with a couple of books and pointed at the questions he wanted help with.

“Let’s see, what have we got here?” His father replied while looking at the questions.

They spent about twenty minutes completing his homework and by that time, it was time for dinner.

Vivan and his father sat down at the dining table while his mother arranged the plates and dishes at the table and began serving. Vivan was altogether silent again. They ate in silence. When they were about to finish, Vivan’s father looked at him and Vivan had all his attention on his plate. He could see that his kid was a little lost. He then said out loud, “I feel like having something sweet after dinner today” and then looked at his better half for a response.

“Don’t look at me. I’m way too tired to stand in the kitchen for another 30 minutes. I’m just going to change and sleep now and let the maid take care of washing the dishes in the morning.” She retorted.

“So, if you’re that tired, you wouldn’t come with me and Vivan for an ice cream, would you?

“You both are going out for an ice cream?” she said

“We are?” asked a surprised Vivan.

“Oh yes we are, Champ. And honey, you are invited, but, seeing how tired you are, I guess me an Vivan will have to eat your share.” Said his father in a mocking tone. Vivan giggled.

“Well, nobody but me is even touching my share.” She got up, piled up all the dishes and carried them to the kitchen. Vivan looked at his father who was staring at his mobile screen.

“Dad, can I have a fudge?” Vivan tried his luck because fudge was a dessert only for special occasions.

“Well, sure Champ, whatever you like” replied the father still looking at his mobile. “Grab the car keys for me please”. Vivan, full of joy at the thought of having a fudge, leapt from his chair and fetched the car keys and handed them to his father. “Let’s go”, he said hoping both Vivan and his mother listened to it. They got into the car and went off. Vivan was as cheerful as ever while having his fudge. His father looked at his mother and smiled at her. He read her lips when she mumbled “thank you” and smiled back at him.

 

 

THE END.

Just another day .... Chapter #2

While returning back from the school, he was least interested in what was being said or done around him. He was silent. The thought of going out for a vacation was not in his mind now, but he was rather unsettled. When he got down from the bus at his stop, he saw his mother waiting for him with that ever-so vibrant smile which was almost contagious to Vivan, but not today. He seemed lost. His mother noticed that and tried to divert his attention by asking him how the day was and he replied to that in a subdued manner, simply saying, “It was okay”. Walking side by side, Vivan kept kicking a stone on his way and his mother kept telling him about what she was planning to make for dinner and that his father would come a little early today. Nothing seemed to interest him at the time.

 

When they reached home, his mother asked Vivan to go change and freshen up while she prepared him lunch. He obeyed like always and when lunch was served, he sat down eating, but not entirely interested in the food. He was not thinking about the conversation in the school anymore, but, the balance of the day was messed with. Like all mothers understand without their kids speaking a lot, Vivan’s mother also understood that something was troubling him, but she didn’t want to nag him. He was a simple boy like most at this young age and his expressions were a mirror to his thoughts. She tried to deviate his attention again and asked, “So, how was Mathematics today? Did you have your notebook corrected?”

“It was good”, he replied. “I got a star for the homework”, this time with a little more emotion.

“That’s pretty good, isn’t it?” she said with an elated smile.

“It is and mom, nobody else got it among my friends. Just me” he said with a proud smile, almost forgetting that he was even upset. The lunch now tasted better somehow.

“So what else did you do in school?” she asked.

“Well, nothing special. Oh! Rishi and his family are going to Goa in the summer vacations. Tanmay has already been there and he was telling us there is a pool in the hotel. Pranav hasn’t been to Goa but he has been to a beach and he’s scared of the waves. He’s always scared of everything.” He kept stuffing his food while talking. She instantly guessed what might have tripped Vivan’s mood.

“Vivan, complete your homework before you go playing”, said his mother when they finished lunch.

“Yes, ma’am”, he yelled from the other room.

The reply reassured his mother that her kid’s mood was back to normal now. Realizing how simple kids are, the fickle nature of their transparent heart, brought a faint smile to her face.

 

Vivan spent about thirty minutes completing the little homework that he had and then, shutting his books ran off to his mother and found her in the kitchen arranging dishes.

“Mom, I’ve completed most of it”, he told her while sitting on the kitchen shelf. “There a couple of questions that I don’t understand, so I’ll ask dad to help me out”.

“Why can’t I help you out?” she replied

“Because it’s Algebra” he said plainly.

“So?” she said not looking at him, still arranging the dishes.

“So, the last time you taught me Mathematics, we were stuck on one question for 30 minutes” he reminded her.

“You don’t say, smarty pants, it was a tough one”, she said with a wry smile. “Now get off the shelf and go play, but, dad will be home in a couple of hours so you get back before him. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am”.

 

He jumped off the shelf, ran to his room to grab his bat and ran out of the door, yelling while shutting the door behind him. “I’m going”.

......... To Be Continued

Just another day .... Chapter #1

The class was quiet and Vivan was sitting resting his elbows on the desk, half yawning. He never liked the Hindi period. It was all right there and ever so obvious. That’s what we’ve been learning from the time we started speaking, he kept telling himself. Sure there are some odd words which are hard to pronounce, let alone learning their meanings, but, a class VI student knows enough of the language to use simpler words instead which explain the text just fine. The fact that this was the first period on this day of school didn’t help either. The only consoling thought being that the period that followed was Mathematics. He loved numbers. The way numbers and variables worked together and how different operations brought out something else was nothing short of magic to him. The Mathematics period was his dose of caffeine. He wasn’t the brightest or the sharpest or the fastest in Mathematics, but, he liked it nonetheless.

 

The bell finally struck after what felt like a lifetime and the Mathematics teacher stepped in. For the next 40 minutes, Vivan was wide awake and attentive like he was watching a magician go about his routine tricks. He took notes, and tried to grasp everything that was being taught. When the bell finally struck again, indicating the end of the period, he was smiling. Satisfied with what he had learned.

 

The class was noisier again. The hustle of bags and books was because it was the lunch break. He took out his lunch and went over to his group of friends, Tanmay, Rishi and Pranav. The boxes were opened and spread across the table and the chit-chat started. Rishi told the group that his father was planning to take their family out for a trip to Goa in the summer vacations. Tanmay had already been there and told him all about the hotel and how there was a pool in which he played for the entire day splashing water at his younger sister and how they enjoyed on the beach and the boat ride and what all his father bought him. Pranav pitched in and told his tale of when they visited Andamans and played on the beach and about the huge waves that appeared like they’d swallow you and about the endless expanse of water to which Tanmay nodded his head vigorously in agreement because his mouth was stuffed with food. “I was standing at the corner of the world. Water was all that it was in front of me”, added Pranav. Vivan was silent throughout the conversation. He didn’t go out very often. He felt uncomfortable at such conversations. Whenever someone was narrating something like this, he’d try and force a smile so as to suggest he agrees because he had nothing to comment. He had somehow become better at forcing a smile in the middle of such conversations because nobody seemed to notice that he was having trouble sitting through it. He’d chose the Hindi period over such conversations any time, because it at least didn’t require him to fake a smile and he could yawn in peace. He was in a similar situation when his friends discussed where they’d gone for dinners on the weekend and the new video game that their fathers had gifted them. Their boxes were empty in the first 10 minutes, but, the break lasted for 20, which meant he had to sit through for 10 extra minutes just nodding absent mindedly. The bell finally rang and he was relieved to return to his seat, but he had trouble gathering his thoughts now.

 

He too wanted to see those gigantic waves that Pranav was so scared of. Pranav was silly, he thought. He wouldn’t be afraid, but may enjoy it. He wanted to go there, but he couldn’t ask his parents to take him. That break apparently left the rest of the day rather unpleasant for Vivan.

 

……………To Be Continued