Ageing is not an end

Everyone in the world including animals, birds, insects and plants enters into the process of ageing from birth itself. It’s a natural process. And it can’t be stopped too. But as the generation thrives and technology strikes peak point, we try to convey our emotions and feelings through smilies, video calls, emojis and bitmojis. This kills the beauty of presence and feelings. You may think why I’m talking about presence and feelings. Before hearing the purpose of talking, read this small story-

I usually prefer the bus to travel from the city to home rather than getting stuck in those busy traffic. One day I got onto a city bus where the route was about 8km journey. As I didn’t get a seat on the bus, I was standing near a pole. There were successive stops in the middle and some people were getting in and out of the bus. I saw many types of people over there like couples, children, babies and especially the busy ticket collector. Do you know why I called him busy, because he was fed up with extracting coins from passengers. A couple was quarreling on the bus too. Do you know quarreling is a healthy sign of good-going love.

After so many fights with my co-passengers, I finally got a seat with an old grandfather who was around 75years. That too after completing 4km of the bus journey. He was wearing a white full-arm shirt with black trousers. And to my surprise, he was wearing a black jacket on that sunny morning. Why he was wearing that jacket I too didn’t know.

Suddenly grandpa took out his mobile, I thought there was a call for him. But he simply took out his mobile and he was just tapping the screen. According to me, it was actually an android phone. In spite of this, he was tapping all around the screen. And surprisingly there was no function at all. Adding to it, current technology mobiles will not function if it is dropped from a certain height. I thought this could have happened. But it wasn’t the scenario. His mobile display looked like a brand new one. This brand-new mobile increased my curiosity more and more. Then I decided to have a word with him.

“Good Morning Sir, may I know your good name?” I asked

Joining his two hands with a smile he said-

“Good Morning dear, my name is Thimmiah”

“Where are you going sir” I questioned.

“Last stop,” he said and again started tapping that non-functioned screen.

“Is everything OK with your mobile?” I asked.

“No, it’s not working since morning. And also by miss, it was dropped from the table today morning. From the time of drop it’s not working at all” he said.

“Give that, let me check…” I said and he gave his mobile to me.

I saw its back and it was superbly matt-finished. And I saw its front too there was no damage to its display at all. When I pressed the power button, the screen didn't glow at all. I tried all the functions with volume buttons and special functions with those three buttons, but it didn't Power ON at all. A thought came to my mind that it could be a showpiece but to confirm that I questioned him in another way

“Was it working yesterday i.e before dropping down?”

He said “No it wasn’t working since my son brought it to me”

This confirmed that it was a showpiece and that too it was brought by his own son in spite of the new one. This increased my angriness and aggressiveness. Inner ME was saying to hit his son’s face. Rather than giving a showpiece, he could have given nothing. Feelings with non-functional things will always be zero or nothing and what is the use of it if it’s there or not?

Then I continued my conversation with him-

“Where do you work now?” I asked.

“I work as a security guard in a private company,” he said

“Which is the company…” I asked but he interrupted by saying

“Does this mobile work if it gets repaired?”

“Nope, it can’t be repaired…” I said by shaking my head.

Oh, then I should say it to my son that it’s not working…he said to himself.

I thought “He could buy another showpiece” in my mind.

By the way “Where is your home?” I asked.

“I live alone in my home,” he said.

“Then where is your sons’ house?” I threw a question quickly.

“He lives in an apartment with his wife and beautiful daughter.”

Then “Why are you leaving alone?” I again pitched a question

“One day his wife called me secretly to her room and said please leave our home and it's getting very hard to cook separate diet food for you. Also, you are not getting adjusted to this apartment life and moreover, there is no sufficient place for you to sleep here. Most importantly we can’t bare your medical expenses with our daughter's educational expenses and apartment loan. So please go away from us and I’ll give you some money.”

His words ruined my total day and I came to a point that his daughter-in-law was also not good. And then he continued-

“I didn’t ask for the best and tastiest food, I just asked a bit of what they eat daily. I didn’t ask for a large bed to sleep in like a king. As a father, don’t I have the right to sleep in my son’s house? my son is earning today because I invested my money for his studies that too lakhs together and can’t he bare my medical expenses at this age? And do you know one thing I love apartment life but I didn’t say it to anyone else and I was happy that my son took a flat in one of those huge buildings. On that day what she said, I did the same.” he said and he just woke up from his seat and got down from the bus.

Actually, I too got emotional by hearing his story. And then I reached my stop. But the story was roaming around my mind…

And it’s not only his story, but the whole world experiences the same scenario. According to a survey, 30–40% of people leave their parents in orphanages or they will be given separate homes for a living.

Why? Is ageing that bad…

This Day YOU are away from your parents and one day your children will keep you away and their children will do the same and this continues. Hey, this kills the beauty of relationships and the bond between parents and their children. Some of them have sacrificed their whole life to invest in their children's education by paying huge fees. They have cared for you and don’t you feel bad if you won’t take care of them now? YOU couldn’t know the value of a person when he/she is beside you, but when they are NO MORE, you will suffer and you will be completely lost. So think…think…think…

And finally, I would like to say Ageing is not at all an end and it happens to all.

Gnanendra Prasad