A Child's angst.

Bystander decided to revisit his old haunt and took a seat on a vacant bench in the park.  Searching around for a familiar face or two, he spotted the child, with a far-off look and a bulging school bag keeping company, in solitude. He was unable to place the child in the twilight zone of 'tweens or a teenager. Conflicting thoughts out of curiosity and concern taking a whirlwind tour in the mind, for the child disturbed him. At this point he could not decide whether to approach the child and talk it out or allow the child’s own thinking to run its course.

He managed to get a glimpse of the face and it was devoid of any telltale sign revealing the child’s inner turmoil. A little later the child left the park, leaving Bystander thinking, “Here goes out my anticipated serenity”. With a sigh, Bystander got up and left thinking about the face that would keep haunting him till the issue and a solution get worked out. No doubt, this could take many attempts to bring the child on to a friendship platform.

Not to spare any effort, he visited the park, Monday to Friday, to watch and be seen by the child. He reflected on many scenarios to decide on the best approach with the child and reason out without raising any alarm. Slowly a plan gelled in his mind. Unwilling to prolong the impasse, much longer, he decided to get into action. During the next visit, he moved over and sat on the vacant seat, beside the child. Taken aback by this sudden intrusion, confusion and consternation took the center stage on the child’s face. 

Bystander sat quietly, sporting an endearing smile, admiring the facial expressions on display. He thought, if empathy cannot break the ice, what else could do it? Unable to hold it any longer, the bottled-up emotions of the child gushed out in a torrent of anguish, breaching the mental barriers. “The alarm never fails to do its thankless job of announcing yet another morning, opening a flood gate of parental instructions. From 'get up to hurry up or you will be late', they spew instructions and reminders like a machine gun. Don't they ever get tired of repeating the same things every day? Instead, why not tack few stick-it-up notes on the fridge door, to save vocal energy? Whom shall I blame, obviously not the alarm?

A different set of instructions and reminders are delivered in the classrooms - read chapter 3 and do the sums under 3.2.1; draw parts of a flower and label them; complete the project work on ‘The flower and honeybee ’prepare a chart on ‘Agents of environmental pollution’; note down homeworks for the week.... The saving grace is PT periods, provided the coach is not on leave or does not loan it to another teacher for completing pending lessons. Is there fun in my academic life?

Back at home, the grandparents take over, for change with conciliatory tones- change your dress; finish your snacks and homework; keep school bag ready for tomorrow; keep your I D handy and shine your shoes, etc. - the morning ritual gets repeated in another chaotic order. When both the grandparents are present one plays cool and the other blows hot. Somehow, they alternate their roles and leave me guessing which one would support me on that particular day. Both have been schooled by their parents and have schooled their children. Why can’t they give the grandchildren some space? 

A little T V play, and time eases the stressed-out mind into relative calmness. But like a good run coming to an end, parents come home with their pending works and unspent irritations from workspaces. They take turns to bombard me with questions and happenings. Can they not wait till the end of programme.? They don’t tolerate interruptions, yet they do not mind doing it, why? When heated exchanges start, the grandparents perform a vanishing act, choosing to go for a walk in the park! I can also ‘chat back’ and if this happens will it be pleasant to hear? 

A moment of introspection will show them the mirror – the parents of my grandparents would not have goaded them like this; the parents of my parents would not have driven them on in this scale. And why now they all gang up and pressurise me? If any of them are really concerned about my mental health, they should go easy and allow me to have a good night’s rest everyday” 

At last, the monologue came to an end. Bystander understood the peer pressure and regimental approach as the root cause for the child’s anguish and agitation. The moving narrative made him feel like a witness watching an extra-long goods train hurtling through a sleepy town. He could well imagine this child being the guard on the train, unable to do anything but to wait for the arrival at a marshalling yard.

A child’s mind can take only so much and no more of the same, day in and day out. And has its consequence - like the paper, on which a word is repeatedly underlined, finally ends up torn. The constant reminders and exhortations from parents, teachers, and grandparents left his mind wondering, "Is childhood so painful; a student’s life devoid of fun and individuality?” The scales the parents, teachers, and grandparents use to compare are outdated and nonstandard.  Why do they not want to recalibrate them? Is it fair the grownups conveniently ignore the mismatch, in the guise of experience? Delicate matters like this should it not be handled like a bomb squad trying to deactivate an explosive device? 

Bystander’s felt helpless. He was stunned by the way the child expressed anguish and frustration, the manner and language belying age. The child appeared intelligent and full of vitality and this disillusionment troubled him deeply. Careful thinking gave him an idea. Selecting an approach that would easily appeal to the child, he decided to address all the points, instead of rushing with advice or pep talk. "Elder's advice /reminders are like good things that come attached with some strings. The strings are not to tie you in knots but to guide. The teachers have no other mission other than to impart education with the sole aim is to prepare you to step into the world and manage on your own! They are only discharging that duty, though you might feel otherwise. 

Ask yourself this question, "What are they gaining in this process"? Parents exert themselves to feed, clothe and shelter everyone in the house. It is their anxiety and missed opportunities that make them repeat the list of do’s and don'ts and nothing else. Like you, they too must want a good night's sleep. 

Think about It! Grandparents are doing the same, by volunteering to take over monitoring duties and make you to feel at home after school hours. Is it not helping you and your parents? Is it right to say that they go away from the scene as you mentioned earlier. In reality, are they not trying to help your parents to have alone time with you? Just think like this. You are determined and have the will to do everything they keep on reminding you with. 

A little bit of understanding from you will be the key. You will be surprised and will find it so easy to make everyone pleased. In the end all of you will benefit from a good night's sleep!”

At the end Bystander asked, “Think about this. Would a novelist abandon a principal character midway through the narrative?”

Brahma stunned

Whenever Chitragupta appeared in person, alarm bells definitely started to ring with bad vibes. And as the Creator, he is the defacto receiver of bad tidings. 

Brahma could not believe any of his eight ears. All were hearing the same unbelievable news just delivered by Chitragupta. The cryptic message was about servers in Dev Lok crashing frequently. Chitragupta hinted that the source of the trouble lay centered in the " Portal of Boons" a highly recommended and vigorously popularized gateway to send appeals seeking clemency, boons or a little luck.

He mentally commended Chitragupta for understanding the import of the message and choosing to directly whisper it into his ears. Brahma hoped and believed that Chitragupta did not harbour any evil design to bite off his earlobes and sat still till transmission was completed. He pitied Chitragupta. The poor fellow had to do it eight times to ensure total secrecy. When Chitragupta withdrew to a safe distance, he heaved a sigh of relief, after ascertaining the health of his earlobes.  

One’s misery is another’s opportunity. The Earthlings, never to miss out on a chance to bring home a cash cow, took to this heavenly gateway like fish to water. The enterprising ones started dedicated e-way cafes to exploit the boom. The fickle and feeble minded public willingly became fodder for the cash cows. As a result, the terabytes traffic jumped all the way to yottabytes, heavily overloading the system. The Dev Lok servers simply quit and went kaput. After deciphering Chitragupta’s cryptic message, Brahma could only agree with this assessment.

At this point a messenger from the Grand Council rushed in to inform Brahma about the volcanic eruption currently spewing out in the meeting hall, requiring urgent presence. Now with the ticking bomb shoved into his ears and the messenger's battleground update, he let his mind race to work out the best way to deal with the message of the 'far reached' consequence. 

He wanted to hit the roof in anger but the gentle smile on the face of Chitragupta brought home the truth that he will be endangering not one but four of his own heads in one go. Who else but the devoted Chitragupta would be suitable to get to the root of the problem? As if reading his thoughts Chitragupta silently handed over a bunch of documents into his hands. 

Then he started to worry about ways to convince the Grand Council of gods? Again, Chitragupta pulled out another dossier with hints for managing the current crisis and quietly withdrew from the scene. Brahma hurried down the corridors, all the while churning out and rejecting the opening remarks that will sit well with the Grand Council.

He recollected, with misgivings, a past incidence when the Council Members became so agitated and vented their frustrations on decorative artifacts. He mused, when humans could have godly nature why not the gods show some of human nature? He only hoped that a better decorum would prevail when confronted with this current crisis.

He never had to fight for a seat; it was kept reserved for him. Other Council Members envied it as a perk, but Brahma knew it as a peril. His quick glance revealed long faces of seated Council Members staring at him, presenting a ghostly sight. 

Brahma had already decided to go on offensive and blame the Council Members, one by one, for inviting the elephants and camels into the room. His question, hit all of them where he intended it to? He followed it up with a sharp comment - for what else but to project your individual image as clear-all, close-all and be-all beings to double the pain of hurt.

Then he proceeded to distribute a compilation of cause and effect specific to each Council Member. Those who have been used only for exposure to limelight, suddenly found themselves under intense scrutiny of searchlight. He watched their already ghostly faces turning more ghostlier with understanding.  In the meanwhile, he glanced through the second dossier noting the bullet points:

1 Embed circuitous routes to access and log in the appeal.

2.At the end before activating SEND button, make the applicant to fill the displayed format a number of times (applicant or the cafe' operator will lose patience and quit).

3.Infest with a bug that routinely reverts the appeal, a few times, back to the originating system itself.

4.Install a wicket gate, as another bug, for the portal to filter out repeated appeals from the same person or cafe' as rejects.

5. Shut down the Portal on New Moon, Full Moon, Solar and Lunar eclipse.

6.If all else fails, announce a moratorium and prescribe that boons should be granted by gods only after rigorous due diligence.

At the end of reading, he had nothing but admiration for Chitragupta’s grasp and clarity. Second time within a short interval, he mentally thanked Chitragupta, for this explosive idea, outlined in the dossier. But a feeling of unease crept in as he perused the dossier, whether Chitragupta would outsmart him one day. 

Nothing of that sort of thinking lingering in his mind, Chitragupta fervently hoped that his Boss would hammer home these action points. He did not pause to think whether these suggestions will be considered and any of them will be accepted and hoped that these action points, if taken together, would lead to a permanent solution. Piloting these action points, from now on, will be Brahma’s headache.

For once, Brahma had the Council Members squirming in their seats. Moments coalesced and grew and kept on growing. The Council Members, struggling to bury their egos and hatchets, silently exchanged glances gathering support for whatever solution Brahma proposed. Sensing imminent unanimity, Brahma seized the opportunity and navigated them through these action points. He was not surprised when he heard a chorus of affirmative shouts. 

If Chitragupta brought forward a problem, he had solutions to deal with it unlike Yamadharmaraj who was synonymous with only problems. He had no qualms in giving Chitragupta a little leeway as long as it did not embolden him to become loose cannon.  Though it would be a third mental thanks, in a short time, he felt Chitragupta's acumen and foresight deserved it.