Little Ram

Today, i realized that one of arjun's classmate's dad actually drives the auto rikshaw that he brings his son in. I was at once both happy and sad. Happy because we put him in this school and not in any of the other fancy international ones for precisely this reason - that a classroom should be truly representative of the society that it exists in, as opposed to a classroom that caters to just a particular class of people.

I was also sad because now when i think of that little boy, i see not just him but all those hopes and dreams riding on his little shoulders and i wonder if they will give him wings or god forbid, weigh him down.

I have not struggled. For anything. My parents have and my grandparents may have, but my sister and i were brought up not lacking anything. We honestly dont know what it means to have to sacrifice something. There was absolutely no pressure on us to do a particular course or try for a particular subject. We did what we wanted and what we liked and i know that not many people have that much of freedom.

But it nags me. Are we lesser in some way because we have got it easy? Or are the challenges we face today just less basic and more complex? I just heard arjun boasting to the kid next door about our new tv and i could not help but cringe and try to shush him. I wonder if little ram whose dad drives the autorikshaw will be impressed by our new tv? Arjun has not really done anything to deserve all that we buy him but then, did we?

My heart goes out to the poor for sure. But it really feels for those who are not poor. Who cannot and will not beg. Who try to make ends meet. Who try to put their children in the best schools possible so that atleast the next generation will make it to the next level.

After twenty years, it is highly possible that like all telugu kids, little ram will find his way to america and rake in the dollars while arjun might be a struggling artist or something because we are going to encourage him to do what he loves best. Whatever the future holds for both these kids, i hope they find happiness and contentment. I also hope that we as parents, dont have any regrets about the way we did things.

I sure as hell hope my parents dont!!