To be happy!!!

Ramu often don’t understand himself. He is supposed to be happy, with the VRS purse multiplying in safe havens, and all his close relations are fine. His dearest niece joined medical college with flying colors. The other nice snatched brilliant marks in school exams. His loving elder sister’s stature in teaching profession is rising. Then his about-to-retire brother-in-law switched to a posh spacious flat at the heart of metro, while the younger brother-in-law managed to stay in Kolkata that he never loves to miss.

Everything is fine in family front. Varsha, his sweet spouse everyday returns from school with truck load of who-did-what stories, and wait for him in the evening. She often tells that teaching is the best occupation for house-wives to meet both ends meet – the household duty and the task of breeding future citizens of the nation. He often don’t understand himself. He is supposed to be happy, but his life goes on like a river flows – no misadventures to unknown territories – same morning routines of untimely wake up from an unfinished dream to assist his kid as he dresses up for the school – with a heavy load of books in a bag, placed nicely on Shiva's weak shoulder,  half-bent kid would run down the stairs to catch the Chidren’s Van down in the street. A black shadow of tension often passes through Ramu's mind’s rear window - the unreasonable fear of Islamic fanatic doing something strange to the morning VAN just for revenge! Fears are often unreasonable, but his mind never stops at bad thoughts; his other mind would cheer him up – come on boy! Don’t worry – it will never happen to you. But his other half could hardly reconcile at the thoughts – did those innocent travellers in the Mubmai locals ever thought that their lives would be cut short. He remembers, whenever he traveled to Mumbai, he never missed a ride in Mumbai local in any visit to Mumbai. Mumbai Local trains are like beautiful snake charmers encircling the city with so much love, affection and whenever he put his foot on one of those platforms, he would feel like he is in a place of pilgrimage –feeling the hot breathe of the giant charmer snake encircling the city life-lines. Ramu often don’t understand himself. He is supposed to be happy.



Varsha is happy and everyday they together add one more thread to their knitting dream surrounding Shiva – their only son – he is growing and in a few years will cross Ramu's height and declare adulthood. But do they hear the rumbling of a fallen home – the castles they are so fond of making in the air. That thought often shake Ramu out of blind love, often traumatizes him. Varsha and Ramu discuss, they would have to take the harshest truth boldly – that though today they are the best of Shiva's friend, but in a strange change in flow of testotoren and change in chemicsl balance in his body, he will soon drift away from mamma’s boy and daddy’s apple of eye - and an unknown girl from some unknown family would be his only love - and as he would grow older he would have lesser and lesser time to be with his parents. Oh! It’s like a bad dream ….Its so horrible! Is there anything worse on earth than losing the love of Shiva – whom they are bringing up with so much sweat and dream. Ramu often don’t understand himself. He is supposed to be happy.



Ramu stares at his aged mummy's wrinkled face, sitting in the drawing room and watching one of her favorite regional channel on the TV. He knows her pains – first pain of missing Ramu's dad early in life, and the second pain of living away from Bengal where her two daughters are living. She lives two lives – one Ramu can see and feel. The other - a continuous telepathy with her daughters, she would never say that but Rabu could feel she is walking and living in Kolkata. This shelter is like a prison to her. She wants to breathe the fresh air and reflect on the past life left behind at Kolkata. Last week Ramu bought her ticket for Kolkata journey. Ramu is very happy, at last mother would reach her first home and would have heart full of chats with her daughters – she is now busy here buying new clothes for her grandchildren to carry with her as gifts. Ramu often don’t understand himself. He is supposed to be happy. But his spouse’s face has turned pale as she has started the search for a crèche to put Shiva for a few months - the time his mummy would  be away. That means expenditure. He wonder which one should he choose, one’s happiness or another’s purse. He often don’t understand himself. He is supposed to be happy.!!!