Chintu Said...

“I am happy for you Chintu” said Rohit, his manager, as the most hardworking perSon of the team stepped down from the stage receiving the highest award of the company from the Company’s CEO.

Everyone was still applauding and the sound of applause echoed all over the hall. He was happier than ever. Walking straight to the row where his parents were seated, he handed over the award to his Mom and smiled at her. Happier than him were his parents who hugged him with the same love and sat back in their seats, their head high up, with the proud their Son had brought them.

His teammates had already planned a celebration. They started dancing when he joined their group after the ceremony ended. The celebration went on. He seemed happy the whole weekend. Singing, jumping, appreciating his Mom’s skill at preparing his favorite sweet, discussing the state politics with his Dad, he spent his weekend.

The next day, Monday, when he walked to his seat, he received another round of applause from his teammates. He was now a star in his team, winning awards since three years and this time grabbing the most prestigious award!

He was his manager’s favorite choice for anything that came up. His juniors followed him, even tried to get his suggestions and as he was, Chintu always helped them. He was the jewel among his peers! Always jumping from his seat to help others, always extending his office hours and staying late to finish off the work, always providing the solution his client looked for, always giving out better ideas, always ready to login anytime he was needed. In short, his professional life was on a roll.

Out of the office, his personnel life was rocking too. He spent the evening with his parents, watched serials with them in the time he got while he was not working. During weekends, he used to hang out with friends.

His life went on following the same routine. Slowly the work load started increasing; he started putting in more hard work. He started spending more time on his work but still had enough of time for his personal life. As the load increased, his commitment increased. He was on a skate board without a break. Nothing could ever stop him.

“Chintu, come out lets have dinner” his Mom called him.

Chintu said, “Mom you please finish your dinner, I am still working. I will have later.”

“Chintu, you should first take care of your health Son. Have dinner and then work.”

Chintu said, “Mom please. This is very important. I will finish this and then I can freely eat all the Chapati’s you prepared today.”

His parents went ahead with their dinner and ever committed Chintu finished his work and had his dinner watching a movie on his laptop.

He even started missing his favorite shows on TV. Whenever his Dad called him to watch the show together, Chintu said, “Sorry Dad, you watch it today, I will join you tomorrow”

As his work went on, such scenes repeated. His work slowly started eating off his personal time.

It was Sunday and Chintu was busy with his work when his mobile rang.

“Hey Chandan how are you dude?”

“I am fine Chintu. How are you?”

“I am fine too. What’s special today?”

“Hey dude, we are planning for a movie. I am booking online now and calling everyone to confirm. 3 in, 2 to go.”

“Oh. I am really sorry Chandan. I can’t make it today.”

“What the hell? Why aren’t you coming?”

“I have some work Chandan”

“Oh don’t tell me. We are six and all of us are in the same damn software life. Come on lets enjoy Sunday. Do it over night.”

Chintu said, “No Chandan. I have taken up a new project recently and really cannot miss the deadlines. I am afraid of the deliveries and I just want to make sure I am not running behind.”

“Dude but you have the whole evening”

Chintu said, “Dude. I am sorry. I really cannot risk it”

He got back to his work and after a week, he was reading an Appreciation Mail from his client. He ran back home, took the remote and switched off the TV. His parents were looking at him in surprise while he logged in to his laptop and showed them his another achievement. That night his Mom again prepared his favorite dish.

As the days went on, Chintu still seemed happy. His career was rolling; his personal life was also rocking. But he was now spending more time on his work than with his personal life.

His Dad had noticed that Chintu had stopped discussing about the news and even reduced his reading time. He saw Chintu’s mind occupied with work all the time, even while he watched his favorite show, irregularly though. But he chose silence because he knew; Chintu was capable of rewinding the times. Chintu would return back to normal. He wanted Chintu to know where he was heading. He wanted Chintu to learn from experience rather than advises. He was like all other Dads, who always want their Son to be stronger than them.

Even his friends noticed Chintu had stopped hanging out with them and rarely joined them for parties and movies. He was always in a hurry, not much open out to the things happening around.

Slowly, he started becoming obsessed with work. He got addicted to the work. He started enjoying the work like a new life. Work replaced his hobbies to an extent where he logged in as soon as he reached home and spent his whole evening in front of his laptop. He started looking for more and more of his work. In short, work, which was a part of his life, now became his life.

It was a festival day and he had spent all of the morning in front of his laptop, few times interrupted by calls from his Dad for the Puja. Finally when his Mom called him for lunch, he came out of his room, hungry, and sat down at the table. He seemed happy when his Mom served him his favorite dish. As he was eating, silently, his Dad spoke, “Chintu, when you know what’s happening why are you letting it happen Son? We are happy with your achievements but not if it’s gobbling up your life. Look at your Mom, she is waiting.”

Chintu said, “Mom is waiting for what Dad?”

“Son, this is the first time you haven’t smiled at her appreciating how well she prepares your favorite sweet.”

Dads are the best builders in the world. They very well know when the structure is losing strength or when and which part of the structure needs a repair. Chintu’s Dad, who had let Chintu to rebuild himself, had now decided it was the time when Chintu had walked past the days where he would strengthen and correct himself.

Chintu silently looked at his plate and broke a piece of the sweet again. He slowly looked at it and put it in his mouth. As soon as he ate, the sweet, prepared with pure ghee, melted in his mouth. His eyes closed by themselves and he chewed it slowly, enjoying every single bit of that piece. He saw a rainbow in the sky, with his eyes closed, the sweet that was filling his appetite few seconds back was now mesmerizing all his senses. He enjoyed the taste, the smell of ghee, the way it melted as he chewed.

He quietly opened his eyes and looked at his mother. She was still waiting for his feedback. He smiled looking into her peaceful eyes and said, “Mom you are the best cook in the world. This is so nice. I am loving it Mom.”

She smiled serving him more sweet and started her lunch. Chintu tried his best but could not beat the tear that rolled out quickly from the corner of his eyes, as he realized his mother was waiting for him to start her own food. He turned at his Dad, who simply smiled and nodded his head. Chintu’s Dad was happy for he knew, now, the structure he built was now back with the original strength!

Chintu finished his lunch, ran into his room, and typed a mail to his manager with all the updates on his work. Then he took a couple of minutes to calculate the whole work he had and the time he still had in his hands to beat the deadline. He winked at his calculation and quickly typed another mail to his manager telling him of his absence for two days till the weekend.

He came back running into the dining hall where his parents were still busy cleaning up the table and asked them to get ready. With a surprised look on their face, they asked if they were going to any temple or was it a movie plan. He said “It’s a surprise; just pack your luggage for four days.”

Chintu had been driving the whole night from Bangalore. He had turned down his Dad to take the wheels whenever his Dad asked him to let him drive for a while. It was 6 AM when his Mom woke up and asked his Dad, “Where have we reached?”

“We are near Shimoga. We will be climbing the Ghats now amidst the forest.”

Hearing the word “Ghat” she suddenly opened her eyes widely and sat up straight. She started advising Chintu regularly monitoring the speedometer until he consoled her and promised her he wouldn’t cross the speed limit and he is still wide awake and can drive.

The next thought that came to her mind was why were they here and where were they headed.

“But Chintu, where are we going? At least now tell us the surprise”

“Yes Son. Tell us the place we are going” his Dad added.

“Mom, do you remember last month, you said you wanted to visit the temple near Shimoga and perform a Puja to the Lord Ganesha? I had turned down saying I was busy. Now your Son is free”

“But what about your work?” his Dad asked instantly

“Dad, don’t worry. I have done enough work and will keep doing. I had work then, I have work now. The only reason why I am free now is I learnt how to handle it.”

His Dad turned to his left looking out of the window, his head again with proud and smiled at the trees staring at their car.

His Mother smiled and could not stop herself from moving ahead and hitting Chintu’s head with love. She then turned to her husband and said, “See, our Son is the best. We love you Chintu!”

Chintu tried his best, again, to stop a tear from flowing out of his eyes but, ’Nothing can stop a flowing river and a rolling tear and its best to let them free!’

His Dad continued, “Congrats Chintu, you bagged another award!”

Chintu chose silence to enjoy the moment and rolled down the window pane. The cool air that blew in on his face freshened him. He heard the birds chirping, probably the early risers who had just started flying out of their nests. He saw the trees and their leaves oscillating with the wind. The air carried the purest of the Oxygen with a blend of the smell of wet mud. The roads were still wet with a rain few hours back. With each ray of sun forcing its way between the dense cover of leaves and breaking down the walls of a romantic fog, a lovely dawn walked in.

As Chintu took a turn at a curve, he noticed a small tent with a thin smoke rising up into the air. He saw the bench in front of the tent occupied by an old man sipping tea, lost in himself. Another man was busy preparing more tea, praying for more travelers to stop by his shop. Chintu slowed down his car and stopped it in front of the shop. Turning back to his parents he asked them for tea.

They both agreed with him and stepped out happily for a cup of tea. All three of them walked towards the shop. As they both sat on an empty bench facing the man, Chintu went to the man preparing tea and got three cups of hot tea. He walked back with the tea and handed the cups to his parents.

He then took a nice look around him. It was a dense forest and the greenery surrounded him everywhere his eyes could focus. The tall tress smiled at him as he smiled back at them. Every leaf of every tree wished him a good morning. The slowly but continuously blowing cool breeze kissed his cheeks every time it blew past him. The shining Sun rays stroke his eyes as he tried to beat them by staring at them, but he had to blink. While his parents looked at his game of blinking, they looked at each other, smiled, and said, “Chintu is still the same. Playing with the Sun rays”

Chintu, lost in his own world, now looked at the nearest leaf on the tree next to him. It was clear enough, as the fog had by now turned thinner. He noticed a small drop of water playing on that leaf. It shone as a pearl, when a ray hit it. The drop moved to the left when the wind blew and back to its original position when the wind stopped. This game continued until the wind paused for a minute and drop finally came back to its original position and shone again. The leaf was now bending down and the earth’s gravity was pulling the drop towards it. The brightly shining pearl now reached the end of the leaf and started falling down. Something held it up attached to the leaf edge but earths try continued. It still shone but was now tangling by the leaf edge and was being oscillated by the wind with a thin fog in its background. Finally earth won, with the drop leaving the leaf and dropping down onto the earth kissing it.

Chintu smiled childishly and sipped the hot tea from his cup. He smelled the tea and then the earth and feeling the pure air closed his eyes. Raising his head up, still smelling the pure air and enjoying the sunrays hitting his eye lids, he let the cool morning breeze blow against his face.

Chintu was happy!

Opening his eyes, after a moment, he turned to his parents who were looking happily at him and asked them if he could tell them something.

“Yes Son, please go ahead” they replied in unison.

Chintu said, “Mom, Dad, Life is Beautiful! I love you both for giving me this wonderful life!”

Vishal…

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