Helmsman
“Hey god, please give me another grand-daughter.” Shoba’s mother in law was trying to give her a message through god.
“Mummy, what will you do with so many grandkids? Will I be just stuck in this? Why don’t you think of my health? You already have a grandson. Your family line is taken care of.”
“Have one more child, my daughter-in-law. We are doing fine and can take care of the kid. We can get the child educated and give a good citizen to the country.”
“Sorry Mummy. Please forgive me. One child is enough. I have to live my life. I cannot live a life of hardship like you.” Saying this, Shobha took her car and got ready to go to the club.
As the car stopped at the traffic junction, a beggar woman with two children following her and another innocent kid in her arms, pleaded with Shobha to open the window of her air-conditioned car. Lowering the car’s window, Shobha asked the beggar “Why did you have these many children if you have to beg to make your ends meet?”
“Who gives alms to any woman here? A new child is our only way to earn some money.”
Shobha tossed a two rupee coin towards the woman and rolled up the window of her car while glancing the country’s helmsman growing in the woman’s womb.
Falling Water Table
On getting to know that his grandfather had fallen ill, Vinay who was settled in America started his journey to India along with his wife and daughter. In the plane, he began narrating tales to his wife and daughter about the time he had spent with his grandfather and in his village. “You know Kathy! People in my village may be poor. But they are very affectionate towards each other. They help each other in times of need. There are green fields all around the village. We used to spend most of our time in the fields.”
On reaching the airport in his home country, he was startled to see a modern and new airport and looked at his wife with pride. However, he had to abandon the plan of staying in a hotel in the city and going to his village after eating something because he got to know that his grandfather had passed away. He hired a taxi at the airport to go to his village.
The three of them hadn’t eaten anything for some time. Kathy was worried that their daughter was hungry. When someone dies in the village, the kitchen in that house is not used for that day. But, other members of the village take care of food for that family.
The taxi had rapidly reached the road towards the village. On seeing good roads instead of the old mud roads, he began to feel happy even in those moments of despair. He told Kathy that they should be able to see the green fields very soon.
But he felt devastated on seeing the fields. Plastic bags were strewn all over the abandoned fields. Kathy’s look at Vinay was full of questions.
The mud houses in the village were replaced with modern houses. Expensive cars were parked in front of many houses. Vinay was again happy to see these changes in the village. As soon as Vinay arrived, they left for the funeral. At the funeral, most of the youth were busy with their mobiles as if all of them had come to count something. Some of them talked to him but they were more interested in the latest features in Vinay’s mobile. After the funeral, most of them went away. The kids were wailing with hunger. Vinay’s uncle asked him to go the nearest town and get some poori and curry packed.”
‘Uncle, neither there are green fields in the village nor people take care of the family when someone passes away. The situation has changed a lot.”
“My son! Here, Level of water table and moral of people is lowering day by day here.”
Kathy was listening to this conversation. Vinay’s eyes were looking down.
