Unusually Usual

No one could have imagined my pleasure when after a long time(To be precise it was around 11 months and 10 days) when my manager nodded approvingly to my leave application.To add to that pleasure my roommate who hails from the same place also got his leave approved.So it was kind of a great happiness that we both started for Orissa via Chennai.But as the train slowly moved towards our station, a confusion was raised by my friend who asked me " Arey yaar what you are going to do in village for 14 days???" That was a question for which I didn't have a correct answer."What should I do??? Let me think..... I will visit my relatives. Then I will meet some of my city friends.Thats all". I said as a matter of factly. Then why are you staying for so long in the village."He asked me amusingly.I was confused totally.Where does my village come in to the scheme of things now.Is it that only my parents are staying there, that is why I am going there????

To be very frank I don't feel my village as my own after staying away from it since when I was ten years old only. Don't know how fast times leapt by & I became man of 28 years old from that shy kid of 10 years. I remember the day when father received the formal communication from Sainik School Bhubaneswar informing him that his son has qualified for the prestigious school.I don't know how he felt when he came to know that his son belongs to that elite group of 100 something students who have successfully able to clear the hurdle(which I feel was quite tough considering the fact that I was from an oriya medium school from a small and unknown village).

Ayway I still remember the joy in his voice when in that small room in our thatched house which we(Me and my sister) shared with our parents after dinner when he showed that communication to my mother.Though bou (We call our mother in that name in Oriya family generally) was not comfortable reading that letter she could make out from her knowledge of English that his son has got through the final exam.. You could see that sense of pride in both of their faces.I guess if human skin would have been able to generate power which is directly proportional to the happiness he or she gets then on that day our whole village would have got the supply from our house :).

Though I was unaware of it's importance to my parents, I was glad that I have cracked something & being a kid who deos not like to take failure in any venture especially in studies, I was more than satisfied with the attempt & the result.After that as far as I remember for 15 days there was no school for me as my transfer was in process.Father being the headmaster of the school, where I was having my primary education, there was no problem in getting a TC(Transfer Certificate).Then came the painful day of bidding farewell to my mother. I still remember her face on that day,though grief stricken she did not let me know that she was revolting in side to let her only son go to a boarding school about which he heard a lot(Like getting up early in the morning, doing physical exercises, harsh punishments etc. etc.. It came to such a point that someone told her that once she lets her son go to that school he is bound to join army).

But my father a great pillar of strength, confidence, optimism(even now also he has not lost any of these ) was very firm on that day.Since I was bit closure to my mother , she used to sometimes let me know how badly we are faring financially & what problems father had faced to arrange the money.The list of things to arrange for the admission was quite a lengthy one I would say.6 sando banyans(don't ask me what that means,even no one in our family including father had a clue what that means for which we had a good word from the hostel suptdt when we marched in to the hostel. Anyway I will later tell what happened in my hostel), 6 briefs( I still wonder was it necesary ????:-\ Father ironed my clothes(you can imagine the love I got), folded them properly & put it in a trunk. Though it was written, in the list of things to be brought while coming to join that, we have to take a black trunk, we didn't have time to paint the trunk.Then one big mattress was folded up nicely which father had specially ordered with extra cotton to make it bit more thick so that his dear son can have a nice sleep.We folded everything. For the first time in my life I wore a black pair shoes with full trousers.Had a small meal as I was not in a mood to eat anything as the pain of leaving my dear village was creating a sense of revulsion inside me.
One air bag which father used to carry his things was arranged for me.With all the things at their place, me and father started for the bus stop. Bou came till the stand to see me off. Her eyes were red out of crying. I could not hold my tears back.I was thinking can't I stop here. Can't father change his decision to send me & ask me to go back to home.

I still vivdly remember those few lines which father said at that moment."Life is very short, son.Now 7 years may seem to be a long period. But when you will pass out of the school with something to preserve and cherish for your life, those period will look very small in comparison to the memoery you will have.Today you may feel bad, but later you will feel that this was the most appropriate decision that we have taken."

I can't imagine anyone can be so true. My school helped me to eveolve as an individual, geve me the friendships those I even cherish nowdays,gave me so many beautiful incidents which I treasure close to my heart.The person I am today, the profession I profess today is due to the outlook I got from my school. But in turn what I have given back to my village, village friends,my parents???? I guess father missed out that on that day thinking that it would be upto me to decide how much I will give back to my dear village & my dear family.

Nowdays I feel it unusual for people to pee beside the roadside,unusual for people to shout at the top of their voices even if it a celebration time,people to crib when they feel injustice has been done to them by any elder..The sophiosticated way of living has installed in me a sense of looking at society from an unantural frame of reference.

Nowdays when I go to my village I want every one to have a disciplined way of life.Every one should obey the rules set by elders(Though I am opposed to it, but the seven years of strong discpline refuses to die) & everyone is bound to pay respect to the elders even when they say or do something wrong.My village friends no longer behave with me in antural way.No one now calls me to go to the village pala or nacha ( Folk dance) in night. No one asks me to join with them for a game of card play.Every one looks at me from that perspective in which Indian freedom fighters looked at the British rulers.Why such a schism??? Nowdays even my family feels as if I am cut off from their world.The unnatural way of treating me as someone special continues at every relative's place.Can't say what is it that I missed out while growing up or is it the natural way of treating someone who has lost his soul but to show off that he or she is still alive adorns beautiful clothes. Isn't it unusual or we have made it a habit of treating unusual in an usual way as if they have existed, they are existing & they will exist.