Golden life

I vividly remember the time, sitting on the red soil ground of my high school during independence day or republic day(wearing white short and shirt) i would listen to the chief guest of the program deliver his speech. Most of the time the chief guest who came to our school were it's alumni. Although i dont remember every thing they said, there was one common thing no one ever missed to tell us kids, "Student life is a golden life". Sometimes the sentence  seemed hackneyed but i thought that there has to be a reason for everyone who comes has this one common thing to say. Its been more than 8 years since i got out of high school, one year since graduation and i fully realize the meaning and the gravity of those words.

The only future we had to worry about was tomorrow, the only headache - the monthly test, the only nightmare - the annual exams, when i woke up hot milk would be ready,by the time i had bath breakfast would be ready, by the time i finished breakfast school would have come to take us,  when we said bi to our friends it was only till the next day when we see them again, horlicks/complan were the only drinks, with a 2 rupee coin we used to look at ourselves as though we owned the world, Weekend meant sunday morning chitrahaar, followed by alif laila. we were happy with three pairs of new clothes a year, vehicles meant bicycle, sitting on dad's bikes and making zooming noise ourselves would give us the pleasure of 250 kmph.

Times have changed beyond expectation, with me atleast. The already nuclear family of mine seem to have been passed in the hadron collider and split into its constituent particles owing to life's speed at which is accelerating all of us. I stay 300km away from my parents. These days, i wake up cursing myself for not having kept the milk coupon last night( there goes the milk...). Read all the sad things happening to the country in the first two pages itself afte that i cant stand it anymore. Now it is time for breakfast i take full 15 mins to decide what to prepare. I choose the one which requires least efforts. Chitranna(color rice) or  mosaranna(curd rice) or puliyogare(i dont know what do they call it in inglis). After having bath i look at my cupboard and look for the least dirty shirt for the day( becasue i niether have the luxury of keeping a maid to wash my clothe nor the will to wash them myself or the means to buy a washing machine - by this you can estimate how much i get paid, you are right, peanuts(kaDle kayi)!!!). Before leaving the house i have to double check if the gas in off, geyser is off, all the switches are off( a job which my dad would do). Go to the office(do i really need to tell - not that it is something bad, but i guess most of us know how one feels, you are right again - like crap!!!!)

I come back to an empty house( now dont tell me to get married- iam better off) which has a big ass TV which i dont use but still paying for. Sit and Brainstorm as to what to eat for supper. Worry about what is happening to life, where is it going, who all went for their higher studies, who all got hikes, who all bought so called cool stuff, lauch a personal tirade against myself asking "what am i doing with my life?". In the mean time I muster enough energy to cook something, eat and sleep.

But there are some good days too. Food prepared tastes 10 times better than what it was the day before. Try out something by the help of recipe administered over phone by mom. Speaking to some chick looking girl from college whom i never spoke to when in college and knowing that she is still searching for a job. Last day of the month is the most satisfying. Paying the bills myselves. Knowing that most of us are in the same boat(full on devilish pleasure). Feeling resposible for my own life. Rides, bike repairs, tyre puncture at middle of the ring road. Friends coming over for the weekend. Drunk calls. Having a long chat with the room mates of pu or engg or someone from high school. Doing a coverage on who got hitched and who got ditched. Finally cocking up to write a blog atlast.

But coming to think of it, this is the phase of life which we all(me and my parents) incessently prepared for, for the last 20 years. Here is the time to put to use all the good things we learnt in the past. To be grateful for the our parents' and teachers'(who have taught how to teach and how not to teach) efforts (remember, we are mostly living their dream). Realizing that life is not a sprint(100m race) but a marathon(the long race where only ethiopians seem to win) but definitely not a morning walk too!!!

May be, this is a golden life too.