ONE BEDROOM FLAT... WRITTEN BY AN INDIAN SOFTWARE
ENGINEER..
A
Bitter Reality ... As the dream of most parents I had
acquired a degree in
Software Engineering and joined a
company based in USA, the
land of braves and opportunity. When I
arrived in the USA, it was as if a dream had come true. Here at last I was in the place where I
want to be. I decided I
would be staying in this country for about
Five years in which
time I would have earned enough money
to settle down in India. My father was a government employee
and after his retirement,
the only asset he could acquire was a
decent one bedroom flat. I wanted to do some thing more than him.
I started feeling
homesick and lonely as the time passed. I
used to call home and
speak to my parents every week using
cheap international phone cards. Two years passed, two years of
Burgers at McDonald's and
pizzas and discos and 2 years watching the
foreign exchange
rate getting happy whenever the Rupee
value went down. Finally I decided to get married. Told my
parents that I have
only 10 days of holidays and everything
must be done within
these 10 days. I got my ticket booked in
the cheapest flight. Was jubilant and was actually enjoying
hopping for gifts for
all my friends back home. If I miss anyone
then there will be
talks. After reaching home I spent home
one week going through all the photographs of girls and as the time
was getting
shorter I was forced to select one
candidate. In-laws told me, to my surprise, that I
would have to get
married in 2-3 days, as I will not get
anymore holidays. After
the marriage, it was time to return to USA,
after giving some money to my parents and telling the
neighbors to look after
them, we returned to USA. My wife enjoyed this country for about
two months and then she
started feeling lonely. The frequency of
calling India
increased to twice in a week sometimes 3
times a week. Our savings started diminishing. After two more years we started to
have kids. Two lovely kids, a boy and a
girl, were gifted to us
by the almighty. Every time I spoke to my
parents, they asked
me to come to India so that they can see their grand-children. Every year I decide to go to India... But
part work part
monetary conditions prevented it. Years
went by and visiting
India was a distant dream. Then suddenly
one day I got a message that my parents were seriously
sick. I tried but I
couldn't get any holidays and thus could
not go to India ... The
next message I got was my parents had
passed away and as there was no one to do the last rights the society
members had done
whatever they could. I was depressed. My
parents had passed
away without seeing their grand children. After couple more years passed away,
much to my children's
dislike and my wife's joy we returned to
India to settle down.
I started to look for a suitable property,
but to my dismay my savings were short and the property prices
had gone up during
all these years. I had to return to the USA... My wife refused to come back with me
and my children refused to
stay in India... My 2 children and I returned
to USA after
promising my wife I would be back for
good after two years. Time passed by, my daughter decided to
get married to an
American and my son was happy living in
USA... I decided that
had enough and wound-up every thing and
returned to India... I had just enough money to buy a decent 02
bedroom flat in a
well-developed locality. Now I am 60 years old and the only time I
go out of the flat is
for the routine visit to the nearby temple.
My faithful wife
has also left me and gone to the holy
abode. Sometimes I wondered was it worth all this? My father, even after staying in India, Had a house to his name and I too have
the same nothing more. I lost my parents and children for just ONE
EXTRA BEDROOM. Looking out from the window I see a lot of
children dancing.
This damned cable TV has spoiled our new
generation and these
children are losing their values and culture
because of it. I get occasional cards from my children
asking I am alright. Well
at least they remember me. Now perhaps after I die it will be the
neighbors again who will
be performing my last rights, God Bless
them. But the question
still
remains 'was all this worth it?' I am still searching for an
answer.................!!! START THINKING IS IT JUST FOR ONE EXTRA BEDROOM??? LIFE IS BEYOND THIS .....DON'T JUST LEAVE
YOUR LIFE & PARENTS ........
START LIVING IT .......
LIVE IT AS YOU WANT IT TO BE ....... BCZ LIFE
IS PRECIOUS!!!!