I wrote this story for a story writing competition. Now I am sharing it on my blog.
DISCLAIMER – All characters in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to those who are living or dead is purely coincidental.
My name is Vijay. Right now, I am doing the most difficult task in this world. That is to feed my 8-year-old son Jayesh so that he can finish his breakfast and go to school. My wife has gone to office.
“Arey beta! Kha le na! Taste toh kareke dekho!” I am telling him.
[TRANSLATION: Hey son! Just eat it! At least taste it!]
“Mujhe yeh achha nahin lagta hai!” Jayesh said in an agitating tone. This sentence made me recall my childhood memory.
[TRANSLATION: I don‘t like this!]
I was 7-years old. My mother had given me lunch comprising of chapatti, dal (pulses) and cooked brinjal. I was saying, “Mujhe yeh achha nahin lagta hai!”
[TRANSLATION: I don‘t like this!]
My mother took it and pushed it in my mouth saying, “Khao isko! Sab achha lagta hai!”
[TRANSLATION: Eat this! You like everything!]
I was angry. During my teen years, I used to recall that incident and laugh a lot.
Today, I know that my mother forced me to eat brinjal because it was good for health. But my little son does not understand that. Not his fault because even I did not understand that when I was of this age. What I do understand right now is that if my son goes to school without breakfast, he would faint during Morning Prayer and fall. Then teachers will call me and scold me for not giving proper breakfast to my son. How can I make him understand?
10 MINUTES LATER:
My son has somehow, finished his breakfast and he is ready to leave for school. But he is crying. He says, “I will not go to school! I will go to office where you go!” I am telling him, “Good boys go to school!”
“I am not a good boy!” He tells me. Now what can I say! Hey! I have a great idea! I tell him, “If you don‘t go to school, then in office, you will have a peon‘s job!”
Now Jayesh asks me, “Who is peon?”
I tell him, “Peon is the man who rings bell in the school!”
Jayesh says, “He is the only good man in the school! Had he been not there, neither madam will allow us to eat tiffin, nor she will allow us to go home! He rings bell to give us freedom!”
Again I am speechless. As a child, I also used to cry when I was being sent to school. My mother used to tell me, “He-Man also used to go to school!” I wanted to be like He-Man. Since that day, I never cried when I went to school.
Now I tell him, “Chhota Bheem also goes to school!” Jayesh said, “I never saw him going school!”
I tell him, “He goes to school when he is not on TV!”
Now, Jayesh realizes that why he does not see him on TV every time. He is ready to go to school.
In order to convince Jayesh do things that are good for him, I need to give him reasons that my mother gave me. Today, he is too young to understand. But years later, when he understands and recalls all this, both of us will laugh on these memories together.
Now kindly excuse me! I have drop Jayesh to school and then I will drive towards my office.
