O God, He's Grown up!!

There was a screaming passenger in the flight. For me, every journey is a chance to snooze away, forgetting everything happening in the universe. It could be the dirty old and crammed bus running between Chennai and Pondicherry or the economically designed seats of a budget an airliner. I never find it difficult to take a good nap all along the journeys. As an extensive traveler, this was just a part of the job. Many times night journeys were a way to reach the destinations. Chennai to Bangalore, and back, Chennai to Coimbatore and back..Thanks to the Golden quadrilateral that brought about a spurt in road development in our country, such journeys are increasingly comfortable now-a-days. A jerkless night is ensured by the hi-tech busses running on these roads.

The flight from Chennai to Abu Dhabi took off at 10 in the night. There was nothing unusual as the plane took to air. As usual, I just leaned to the seat and closed my eyes. Suddenly, the entire surrounding has started reverberating with the high pitch screams of a little kid. He, accompanied by his father and grandma was occupying the seat just behind me. He could utter only a word. In between the breaks from the nonstop cries, he uttered that word "Thatha" "thatha"..... he is asking after his grandfather. In the absence of his mom, it was the old woman, his grandmother, taking care of the child. As the scream continued relentlessly, the "paatti" tried her best to console him. Surprisingly, not even once he uttered the word "amma".  He went on repeating "thatha" The grandmother tried all the tricks up her sleeve to divert his attention but the kid would never relent. Each word of the grandmas was greeted with louder screams.  What could have prompted the boy to insist thatha's presence instead of his mother? I could not yet figure out the child's mind

At home, these days we are not hearing the loud calls from the bathroom for help. The boy started doing the things by himself. No more assistance in cleaning him after he attended the nature's call. No need to bathe him and then dress him up. Feeding the breakfast or tying the shoe lace have faded into history. He is independent now.Then what do his parents do? We enjoyed doing all his needs. As a little kid, he wetted the bed quiet often. woke up in the mid night and screamed at his throat's capacity. Made our life miserable in several nights.

We took every care to give him the best. Best food, best clothes, best toys and best entertainment. Our own needs and necessities were of secondary priority. In addition to this, his grandparents were always on standby. In fact, more than us, they took care of him all the time. We sacrificed everything for his comfort. All outings, good sleep in the night and even watching the TV were on hold. But still, spending time with the little kid could fetch much more happiness than all other material comforts. We enjoyed bathing him, cleaning his excreta and urine from the bed and floor, feeding him and tying the shoe laces. We did it all for our own pleasure rather than doing a great favour to the kid

But now he does not need that extra care. Parents were knocked out of their job!! But is it really so?No way. Now the parents have a bigger role to play. Pry on all his activities. Watch him while he spends his time with the modern gizmos like smart phone and Tab. Restrict him from playing. Confine him to the four walls of the study room and press him hard to byheart whatever is told by the teacher. A++. Nothing less than this would satiate our quest for making his future secure. 

I don't own a car, a smart phone nor an  i phone. I do not embark on any expensive foreign tours with family. The worst thing is I do not work in United States of America. I could not even visit that place once. Moksha is not possible in this birth. I do not want this fate befall on my kid. Sadly, he was not born in the USA. He speaks Malayalam, not the American accented English 

We will force him burn the mid night oil. When my colleagues or friends or my neighbours and relatives ask what do my kid do, I must be able to proudly list out my kid's achievements. I must proudly proclaim through the social media that my kid achieved A+ in the 10th exam and then in the 12th, the performance was astounding. What if we spoiled his childhood? What could he have achieved if he ran after the butterflies and dragonflies?  It could probably cost him a seat in the IIT or a top Medical college. The choice is between the dragonfly and a flashy life in the future. We made the choice for him. 

All that we did and are doing are for our own satisfaction. Like in a pet show, whatever the pet accomplishes, the credit goes to the master. He/she flaunts the trophy to the public. The child sacrifices a golden opportunity to enjoy a  carefree and innocent childhood for the benefit of the parents. Still, at the end of the game, the parents claim they did a lot of sacrifices to bring him up and make him a big man- well, I mean a rich man. 

Sitting in the empty nest, the old couple shall make no bones about the young one that just flew away. Take heart. He has been lightening up our life. Imagine a life without that young bird. It could have been nothing but a big zero. Never count on the sacrifices made but just sit back and relish the blissful time spent with the kid. Simply sink in to the reality that the wheel has taken a full circle...