Once upon a time – (Chapter 7)Falling back to normalcy.

Continued from the previous chapter, Remembered after all.

“I still remember the day when you first taught me how to swim in the public swimming pool. I was so scared I would drown that I almost never let go of you that day.”, said Kiran. “Yes, that was a very funny incident. But you have taught me much in life too.”, Aditya replied. Kiran called up to his office and told his secretary to cancel all his appointments for the rest of the day. They both just wanted to talk and talk until they ran out of topics. Kiran’s wife put their son to sleep and she was busy knitting something.

Now that they were free, Aditya and Kiran wanted to go to their favourite haunt. They went in and sat down at a table and ordered a couple of sundaes and started talking. “I can’t believe that our city has changed so much”, said Aditya. “Many things have changed since you moved, Chinnu.”, replied Kiran. Aditya was very euphoric when he was addressed using his childhood nickname. “So what do you do nowadays?”, asked Aditya.

“Well, I studied engineering and got a very good percentage. But sadly, only that was not enough for me to find a job that I liked. They told me I lacked practical implementation skills. I was literally devasted when they told that to me. I was thinking only of you. After a couple of months, my father suggested that I take over his business. I did not want to, but I had no choice. Some months later, I was married to his friend’s daughter. Thankfully for me, she has been a good wife to me and a good mother to my son.”, replied Kiran.

Aditya just sat there open-mouthed, just listening to all the things Kiran told him. He wanted to say so many things. But somehow, he could not find the words to say it. After a long chat, both the friends thought of going back to Kiran’s house. The rest of the evening, Aditya told Kiran how he fell in love and how he settled down in life. Kiran, listening to this felt that he had missed his friend too much.

As the time drew nearer for Aditya to leave, he made it a point to visit Kiran’s house again with both his wife and daughter. Aditya bid goodbye to Kiran’s wife and son and got into Kiran’s car. The drive to the bus-stand was very difficult on both of them as they did not want to be separated again. But with the promise of the next visit, Aditya got into the bus reluctantly. Slowly, things were falling back to normalcy.

He did not sleep even a wink through the entire journey. He was just thinking about his day with his childhood friend and the days he spent with him as a child. Before he knew it, he had arrived at his destination and it was time for him to dismount from the bus. As soon as he got home, the first thing he did was to mention the name Kiran to his wife. He had told her very much about Kiran. She was happy for him. Then and there, they started planning for meeting up with him. Their plan would not have to wait for too long to be implemented. New year was just around the corner.

I know the story is dragging a little bit. But that is what I have planned. I have thought of an ending and this is how I wish to present it. Last chapter to be out soon.

Once upon a time – (Chapter 6)Remembered after all.

Continued from the previous chapter, Vivid memories of childhood.

“Hello sir, how are you?”, Aditya asked his boss. It was just a formality. He did not like his boss and neither did his boss like Aditya. Both of them knew it, but did not display it openly. His boss just smiled at Aditya and just went to his office leaving the question unanswered. Aditya was not particularly annoyed. He was used to the cold shoulder attitude his boss showed towards him. This was mainly because Aditya was the most popular person in his office. His behavior had not changed much from his childhood.

As was the usual, Aditya had to go on a business trip every month. And as was the usual, he would hate it when it turned up just after the weekend. This trip was however, not a very long one. He had to attend one meeting and do a presentation. After that, he had the full day to himself. What was even more special about this trip was that it was to his hometown. He wanted to visit his old neighborhood where he lived when he was young.

After all the work at his office was finished, Aditya went straight home and had dinner with his charming wife. They were like the perfect pair. When asked how Aditya made that perfect choice, he always said, “I never made the choice. And nothing is perfect. The reason why our relationship ‘just works’ is because we have a good understanding of each other. To achieve that, there must be proper communication. Once you have both of these, you also have a successful relationship. Of course, you also need a partner to enter into a relationship.” At this, everyone used to laugh out loud.

As Aditya settled into his seat at the front row of the luxury bus, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep. He was dreaming of his childhood days for the past couple of days. This was not eerie because he was very excited about this business trip. Not because of the career opportunities it would later offer, but because it was the place where he had spent most of his childhood. Many things had changed in the years that had gone by. His memories however, did not change.

As he left the office building the next day after finishing his work, he headed to his favorite childhood haunt. The ice cream shop near the end of the road where he used to live. Once there, he stood back for a minute and scanned the whole area. It was like modernization had chewed up and digested the whole place. The shop now had glass doors and elegant counters where one could place an order. It also had much more than what it did when he he last saw it.

He did not want to enter it just yet. He went to his house and saw that someone else had now rented it. He still remembered the days when his family used to live there. It was hard for him to let go when his father got transferred to another city. He took a deep breath and moved towards another of his most liked places. He hoped that he would still be remembered and knocked on the door.

A small boy, almost the age of his daughter opened the door. Aditya opened his mouth to speak when a familiar face met him at the door. The person asked, “Yes? What can I do for you?”. Aditya felt a surge of joy when he saw the man standing in front of him and his son. “My name is Aditya.”, he said. That was all was required to bring tears to the man standing at the door. Kiran remembered him after all.

Aditya was very thankful that Kiran’s parents owned that house. He would have felt devastated if he was to come there and find that he had moved out. Kiran led Aditya into the house and the three of them were seated at the plush sofa in the living room. Kiran introduced Aditya to his wife and told her to prepare lunch.

As Aditya reveled in the situation, his mind whirred back to old memories again. But now, he had Kiran next to him. He was happy and sad at the same time. Happy because he had the feeling he had finally found something he was searching for all his life. Sad because he was supposed leave the following night itself. As both of them chatted off fervently while Kiran’s wife listened patiently, they ate their lunch more happily than other days.

There you have it guys. I could not stay away any longer. I will post the remaining of this story and complete it so that you and me can sleep peacefully at night again. Its good to be back. Signing off, Anniyan a.k.a Pavan.

Once upon a time – (Chapter 2)One more day in the fish market!

Continued from the previous chapter, The two poles of a magnet.

As the bus was nearing another stop, both of their minds thought the same thing. “Are we there already?”. Hurriedly making their way through the tightly packed bus, they finally manage to get down at the intended bus stop. Looking at each other’s faces, they smile sheepishly wondering whether the other saw the dazed look each one was wearing throughout the journey. “I guess he didn’t see me.” thought each one and started their usual bus stop to school chatter.

That reminded Aditya that he had forgotten his homework again. He was beginning to think that the teachers were getting bored of giving him punishment. Well, he was partly right. The teachers were bored of punishing him. They needed to change the punishment in the hopes that he will someday learn.

Kiran noticed that Aditya hadn’t done his homework again. He never usually did. He said – “Why don’t you do your homework Chinnu? Aren’t you tired of getting punished over and over everyday?”. Aditya looked blank. He didn’t have any particular reason. He said – “Look Kiran, I know everyone wants me to do my work properly so that I will get good marks and come up in life. But I am not able to set my mind to it. Something about it makes me feel weird.”.

To this Kiran replied – “I think you lack concentration. My grandpa always used to tell me that studying or doing anything related to studying is to be done in the early morning hours.” Aditya was confused. He always was when it came to studies. But Mathematics was one subject in which he excelled. He even liked Physics, Chemistry and Biology. They were full of very interesting concepts and theories. He studied each and every theory and the working of different machines that were mentioned in the text book.

But he also hated the subject as much as he loved it for one single reason. His teacher insisted on learning all of it by heart. He even fought with his science teacher arguing that the concepts are more important than the words. But she wouldn’t listen. All of them would just say – “Kiran, make your friend understand the subject properly child.”

Kiran was as annoyed at this as Aditya himself. He too thought the concepts mattered most. But somehow he could not understand the concepts that clearly. Though he excelled in remembering things very well. He learnt each subject by heart. He was number 1 in his school when it came to studies.

Seeing the gate to their school wide open and children fighting to get there in time like a flock of sheep being herded by a German Shepherd. They looked at each others faces one more time and said in unison – “One more day in the fish market!” That was how they pictured their school. A fish market where everyone had to wear uniforms.

Making their way to their class, they stopped their chatting and started walking earnestly. They then assembled with the whole school for the daily assembly where the whole school would recite prayers. Not only this school, but all of the schools stressed on this part of the daily routine. Though each school prayed only to the god the chairman belonged to. To which religion the children belonged to was not even a matter. There, in the young children’s minds the seeds of racism and castism are planted.

Finishing the assembly, all the children feverishly headed to their respective classrooms. Seated and awaiting for their teacher to arrive, the children started to talk and shout and do many other things expected of children their age. Silence fell as soon as the teacher arrived. A pin dropped by mistake could be heard from a good distance. This marked the start of another day at school.

Hi guys. Sorry I could not post earlier. I have many things to attend to. However, I will be posting at least once in three days. Waiting for your feedback.

Once upon a time – (Chapter 1) The two poles of a magnet.

After almost 2 weeks since my last post, I had a wonderful idea for a story. I will be writing it part by part as I have not yet planned out the whole story. But first, a sorry to all my fellow bloggers for missing out on their new posts. Now starting with the story.

Once upon a time…

Darkness all around. He thought to himself – “Have I woken up early today?”. That was a nice change to waking up at around 8:30 AM and going to school late by 5 or 10 minutes. They should start schools at 10:00 AM, he thought to himself again. But now that he was awake, there was nothing else to do other than get out of bed. He lazily streched his body and tried to get rid of all the laziness. That done, he made his way dazedly to the wash room and squeezed his toothpaste onto his brush.

Not too far away, in a similar neighborhood, another boy of the same age has a little different schedule. He has a book in his hands and is ranting away as he tries to learn the book by heart. Oh yes, he was the topper in his class too. He believed that studying that early in the morning really helps in remembering things. He was right. He proved himself again and again by maintaining his distinction.

It was now 5:30 AM. Both of them go to the kitchen for a bit of tea. But there is a change in each one’s approach. The first was dearly called Chinnu. His official name was however, Aditya. He went to the kitchen and saw his mother already washing the utensils that were left unwashed the previous night. He wondered for a short moment how she could sleep so late and yet, wake up early. He went to his mother and asked for a cup of tea while he sat on the kitchen counter.The second boy’s name was Kiran, He went to the stove and lit it up. He put the tea pot on it and started to preapare tea for himself and his mother who was busy on the excercise machine.

Both these boys were of the same age. They were, in fact in the same classroom as well. And friends they were too. While one was the class topper, the other was an average student. It was not because he did not study. He could remember every concept that was taught in class. But he could not put it on paper the way the examiners wanted. This was new to both of them. This is not new to many of us too. There is at least one person in each of our lives that follows one of the aforementioned categories.

The 10th standard was taking a toll on each of their minds as it was a public examination and there were many chances that one would not get the exact marks they expected.

Coming to the behaviour and description of these two boys, one could easily say they were the opposite poles of a magnet. They were that different from each other.

Aditya – the class celebrity was average in studies, good in communication and sports. Everyone enjoyed his presence and missed having him around in his absence. Such was his jovial and social nature. He was the teacher’s favorite target for punishments. He never used to complete his homework or any of his classwork. The nuisance caused in class by him was also another reason for the punishments. This being the case, his parents were always nagging him to study properly and come to a good position in life. His parents were hard working and very loving towards their child. He wanted nothing more in his life.

Kiran – the teacher’s pet. One would get the idea of how this boy was when the phrase Teacher’s pet was mentioned. He was a good hearted boy who never spoke to anyone properly. One exception was Aditya. The boys were the thickest of friends in their time. Kiran’s parents were very rich and snobbish. They were very satisfied with their son and thought he did not need any attention to be guided properly. This senseless idea was the reason Kiran longed for his parents’ affection.

The time was 8:30 AM and both the boys left their respective homes to reach their common destination – school. They met at the bus stop everyday and exchanged friendly gestures. As the crowded public bus arrived, they got ready to squeeze in between the gaps of the people that were standing. Each boy’s thought is about the day at school. They are squeezed in the bus while they ponder over it unaffected by the crowd and noise.

That finishes the first part of the story “Once upon a Time”. Looking forward to your feedback.