ONE EXTRA BEDROOM FLAT, WAS IT WORTH IT - 59
Random Musings on Today s Reality
As with the dreams of most parents in India, i had acquired a degree in Engineering and joined a company based in the USA , it was as if a dream had come true.
Here at last was i at a place where i had always wanted to be . I decided that i would be staying in this country for about 5 years during which time i would have saved enough money to settle down in India .
My father back in India was a Governament Employee and after his retirement the only asset he had was a decent one bedroom apartment .
I wanted to do something more than him . I started feeling homesick and lonely as the days and months passed by . I used to call my parents almost every weekend on cheap International Call Cards . Two years quickly passed by . These two years , i managed with the Burgers at the McDonalds or the Pizza s at the discos .
Finally , i decided to get married . Told my parents that i had only 10 days of holidays and that everything must be got over within this period . I got my tickets booked by the cheapest available flight and was very eager to meet friends and relatives back home .
The bride selection and marriage went off pretty fast and it was almost time to get back to the US for both of us .
After giving some money to my parents and requesting the neighbors to look after my parents , we were on our way to the US .
My wife enjoyed the stay in this country for 2 months after which she started feeling lonely and started missing everything Indian . The frequency of calling India started increasing from once a month to almost everyday . Our savings started diminishing .
After 2 years , we had 2 lovely kids , a boy and a girl . Every time i spoke to my parents , they would ask us to come to India and show us their grand kids .
Every year try as i might , the visit to India never happened due to official and monetary reasons . Then suddenly one day i got a message that both my parents were seriously sick . I tried but could not get a holidays and was thus unable to go to India . The next message was of my parents passing away and that the society members had done all the necessary things as both , the mother and father passing away was within almost 2 hours of each other . I was totally depressed . My parents had passed away without even seeing their grand children .
After a couple of years , much to my childrens dislike and joy of my wife , we returned to India to settle down . I started to look for a suitable property , but to my utter dismay my savings were short and property prices had skyrocketted in Chennai . I had no other go but to return to the US .
My wife refused to come back with me and my children refused to stay in India . My 2 children and i returned to the USA after promising my wife that i would be back after 2 years .
Time passed by , my daughter decided to marry an American and my son was happy living in America . I decided that i had had enough and wound up everything and returned to India . I had by now saved enough money to buy a decent 2 bedroom flat in a well developed locality .
I am now 65 + and the only time i go out is for the routine visit to the nearby temple . My faithful wife has also become afflicted with age related issues which we have to cope up with .
Sometimes i wonder if all this was worth the trouble ?
MY FATHER , EVEN AFTER STAYING IN INDIA ,
HAD A HOUSE TO HIS NAME AND I TOO HAVE THE SAME NOTHING MORE
I LOST MY PARENTS AND MY CHILDREN FOR JUST ONE EXTRA
BEDROOM
Looking out of the window , i see a lot of children dancing , I regret the depths to which our culture has been demeaned . I get occasional cards from my children asking about my health and welfare . They atleast seem to remember me .
Now when our time comes , it will again be some kind hearted neighbor who will perform the last rites , just as it was done for my parents because a SON valued an extra BEDROOM more than eveything else in life .
BUT THE QUESTION STILL REMAINS , WAS IT REALLY WORTH IT ?
LIFE IS BEYOND THIS. ,
START LIVING YOUR LIFE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE AND NOT WHAT YOU THINK YOU AUGHT TO HAVE HAD .
My father back in India was a Governament Employee and after his retirement the only asset he had was a decent one bedroom apartment .
I wanted to do something more than him . I started feeling homesick and lonely as the days and months passed by . I used to call my parents almost every weekend on cheap International Call Cards . Two years quickly passed by . These two years , i managed with the Burgers at the McDonalds or the Pizza s at the discos .
Finally , i decided to get married . Told my parents that i had only 10 days of holidays and that everything must be got over within this period . I got my tickets booked by the cheapest available flight and was very eager to meet friends and relatives back home .
The bride selection and marriage went off pretty fast and it was almost time to get back to the US for both of us .
After giving some money to my parents and requesting the neighbors to look after my parents , we were on our way to the US .
My wife enjoyed the stay in this country for 2 months after which she started feeling lonely and started missing everything Indian . The frequency of calling India started increasing from once a month to almost everyday . Our savings started diminishing .
After 2 years , we had 2 lovely kids , a boy and a girl . Every time i spoke to my parents , they would ask us to come to India and show us their grand kids .
Every year try as i might , the visit to India never happened due to official and monetary reasons . Then suddenly one day i got a message that both my parents were seriously sick . I tried but could not get a holidays and was thus unable to go to India . The next message was of my parents passing away and that the society members had done all the necessary things as both , the mother and father passing away was within almost 2 hours of each other . I was totally depressed . My parents had passed away without even seeing their grand children .
After a couple of years , much to my childrens dislike and joy of my wife , we returned to India to settle down . I started to look for a suitable property , but to my utter dismay my savings were short and property prices had skyrocketted in Chennai . I had no other go but to return to the US .
My wife refused to come back with me and my children refused to stay in India . My 2 children and i returned to the USA after promising my wife that i would be back after 2 years .
Time passed by , my daughter decided to marry an American and my son was happy living in America . I decided that i had had enough and wound up everything and returned to India . I had by now saved enough money to buy a decent 2 bedroom flat in a well developed locality .
I am now 65 + and the only time i go out is for the routine visit to the nearby temple . My faithful wife has also become afflicted with age related issues which we have to cope up with .
Sometimes i wonder if all this was worth the trouble ?
MY FATHER , EVEN AFTER STAYING IN INDIA ,
HAD A HOUSE TO HIS NAME AND I TOO HAVE THE SAME NOTHING MORE
I LOST MY PARENTS AND MY CHILDREN FOR JUST ONE EXTRA
BEDROOM
Looking out of the window , i see a lot of children dancing , I regret the depths to which our culture has been demeaned . I get occasional cards from my children asking about my health and welfare . They atleast seem to remember me .
Now when our time comes , it will again be some kind hearted neighbor who will perform the last rites , just as it was done for my parents because a SON valued an extra BEDROOM more than eveything else in life .
BUT THE QUESTION STILL REMAINS , WAS IT REALLY WORTH IT ?
LIFE IS BEYOND THIS. ,
START LIVING YOUR LIFE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE AND NOT WHAT YOU THINK YOU AUGHT TO HAVE HAD .
A thought which every child who goes abroad with aspirations should ask oneself. This is happening in every other family. Only difference is that you voiced it out. God bless
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