The Freedom that we Inherit

PS: (Pre-Script) – I had posted this a couple of days back in Youth Unite also.

Neeraj and Shruti were recently married. Both were employed with big IT Companies. Their offices were in a huge IT park on the outskirts of a major city in India. They had to commute for hours to reach their office and come back – daily. To add to the distance, there was also a huge traffic in the peak hours which made things worse. Neeraj had been observing some of his colleagues moving into the “Gated Communities” of Apartments which were coming up around his IT park. It had all the amenities required for a world class community. They were even assuring uninterrupted power. It was a self sustained, separate world in itself. Neeraj was contemplating whether they should also buy one of the apartments and move into them. But it was Shruti who spoke first about this to Neeraj.

“Neeraj, why don’t we move into one of the gated community apartments near our office? They have all the facilities, it seems. You know how much time it takes everyday commuting to the office and back”

“Yeah, I was also thinking about that for some time. But what would I tell my father?  He took a lot of pains to construct this house in the middle of the city, and I know what this house means to my father. He is emotionally attached to this house. I still remember those days when we didn’t have so much money, how much efforts my father put into buying the plot and constructing the house. He sacrificed a lot, Shruti. In fact all of us did to build his dream house. He will never leave this house”

“All that is fine Neeraj, but times have changed now and people have their priorities. I am not talking about the comforts there Neeraj, but I am talking about the strain we undergo daily just for commuting”

“Let all of us move, then. We will leave this house on rent”

“I will be more than glad to do that. But will your father accept?”

“I don’t think he will”

“Neeraj, try to understand. It’s not like we are fighting with them and leaving them for ever. We are just looking for a reasonable solution”

“In fact, I was also thinking about talking about this to you, Shruti. Maybe we could come here every weekend and we will not ask for any money from them for purchasing the flat. Well manage the installments ourselves”

“Money is not an issue Neeraj. But I was concerned if they get ill or something, who would take care of them?”

“We are just going to be two hours away Shruti. And we could also appoint a nurse to take care of them, if required. I was thinking, they may become lonely”

“They could always come and stay with us, Neeraj. Right now we may not be able to afford a two bedroom apartment, but we will in a few years. It is only until then. Talk to your father, Neeraj”

Neeraj had already decided to talk to his father on this. He was afraid what Shruti would say. But since she also had similar opinions, he decided that it would be today. He was thinking about all the questions his father might ask and all the options that were available with them at this point. He hadn’t planned how to start the conversation with his father. The words automatically came from his mouth.

“Dad, me and Shruti have decided to buy one of the apartments coming up near our IT park. You know how much time we spend every day traveling. And Of course, we wish that you sell this house and come along with us”  

His father was not the kind of person who lets his emotions overcome his intellect. But this time, his mind was filled with emotions. ‘They have already decided to buy?’, ‘Ill have to sell this house?’, ‘He wishes that we could go along with him?’

His father wanted to ask a hundred questions but one thought prevented him from speaking anything. His memories from thirty years before came haunting at him. He was able to remember the exact conversation he had with his father (Neeraj’s grand father) when he put forward a similar demand. He, like his son, was also newly married then. He told Neeraj, the same thing that his father had told him thirty years earlier.

“It’s your wish son. If you have already decided, there is nothing much I can do about it. I only wish that you develop enough courage to face your son when he says the same thing to you after thirty years”

Destination Infinity

PS (Post Script): “Life is a circle. What goes up in the wheel of life, has to come down”