The heaven that is Home : Blog # 233

The heaven that is Home

            It was the first time that Niranjan was going to stay away from home. He went to one of the better colleges and had landed an offer with a reputed organization. After spending about 2 months at home post his final exams, he was dying to start working. He was beginning to get bored. During the evening tea time, his mother kept on telling him how much he is going to be missed. He consoled her saying he will get back whenever he gets leave.

            When he was about to leave home, he felt different – not sad, but different. Every time he left home, he knew when he was going to be back. This time, he will need to wait till he gets leave from work and he did not really like that idea. Amidst words of concern from dad, a bit of emotion from mom and sister’s banter, he boarded the train.

            Bombay was nothing like what the films portrayed it to be. It was crowded, dirty and unusually fast. Everyone was going somewhere. Unlike his small town, no one was sitting peacefully in front of a shop or waiting for someone. People just moved and all of them had a sense of purpose about them. Company had booked a hotel for him at which he checked in. The room boy ushered him in, kept his luggage in a corner and left. Suddenly, he felt alone! He couldn’t remember a time when he was in the presence of solitude like that. Always, there were people around him – friends, family or at least acquaintances. He looked out of the window and he saw a large mountain in the back drop. He stared at it for some time and called home. Once he talked to his family, he felt better.

            It was first day at office. After the initial rounds of introductions, he went for breakfast with some colleagues. He looked at the menu. There was nothing of his liking. There wasn’t even anything which he usually has for breakfast. It reminded him of his mother who kept on calling him to come and have breakfast when he lazed around in his bed. The day went by fast. There were a couple of sessions at office and he was back at his hotel room. He was tired from the day and slept off fast. A week went by. On Saturday, he went out with colleagues and explored the city. He was beginning to like Bombay. In spite of the crowd and lack of cleanliness, the city had a spirit about itself.

Whenever he hinted at the crowded local trains or fast paced life, people who had made the city home kept on telling him “Ye Bombay hai!” (This is Bombay!). To him, it sounded more like “This is Sparta!” After the training sessions were over, the other rookies who joined with him were sent to different cities. He was to remain in the Bombay office. By now, three weeks had passed and he was missing home and family beyond words. The evenings were unbearable. He kept calling home. He hinted to his dad that he might just get a flight ticket with his first salary. His dad told him not to spend his money. If needed, he will send him the tickets. He felt happy hearing that. He told his mother not to ask him as to when will he come home. Although he told her that asking it again and again will make her sad, the truth was that it was making him sad too.

His colleagues told him that there was a long weekend coming up soon and they were planning to go home. Hearing this, Niranjan also went to his boss asking for 2 days leave so that he can club it with the long weekend and go home. His boss shot it down saying he had just joined. He went back to his apartment despondent.

Niranjan called up his dear friend, Sam. He told him about how home sick he felt. Sam told his friend that he thought he was the only one who felt so. They couldn’t believe how much they longed to go home. At home, they were always in a rush – they were either going out of home or walking in just to leave again. They wondered how little time they used to spend with their family. And now, all they wanted to do was to be at home and talk to their family.

Niranjan woke up the next day to the beep of an sms. It was from his boss. It read “Go Home!”He just got up from the bed, looked out of the window and smiled. It felt as if he were an arid land and the message, a midsummer rain.

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