A captivating story by Purba Nandi, Class 7, Epic Public School. where a simple wish for an iPad turns into an unexpected journey filled with family tensions, and a mysterious encounter.
As I was walking through the forest behind our backyard. I thought I heard a whisper, but there was no one in sight.
A few hours earlier…
I left my house, a black bag behind, you know the ones you carry when you travel long distances, and all this because I had a terrible misunderstanding with my parents, and believe me it was not a small one.
It so happened that I was speaking to my mother, you know just the normal family matters, when I casually said, “Amma, I want an iPad.”
“I-Pad? No way,” Can you believe it, my mother denied it.
“Amma, I am already a working person and I do so much for you and Achan, so why can I not get an iPad?” I asked, quite annoyed at their denial.
“What did you do? Please tell me.” Amma said with a tone as loud as the truck’s horn stuck in a traffic jam.
“Oh really, now my vlogs are useless is it?” I expressed with the tone of a person who has failed in his board exams.
“Since you earn now, you think your stupid vlogs pay you enough for I-Pad?”
“You know that I earn a bit less now, but I am working on it, and moreover an iPad will help in editing and in return will fetch more money you see?” I tried to explain.
“Ah, but your long vlogs are so boring, what will an iPod do?”
“I-PAD! Amma, I-PAD…not I-Pod.”
“Whatever, talk to your Achan about all this. Now come for lunch, I guess you will not use your iPod as a plate. Anyways I made Appam for lunch..” Amma said before slamming the door. For my mother, an iPad will remain a pea-pod, I thought to myself as I shut down my laptop, mind you it is not even a Macbook.
“So your beloved son wants a pea-pod now.” My father remarked in a teasing tone.
“Yes, he thinks it will help him to earn more.” My mom added.
“An iPod, I mean iPad will even help me to study Achan,” I tried to justify my demands.
“You think the job owner is your father-in-law right?” my mother said like those gossip aunties while serving the appam.
“Ah Maya, let him talk to me,” My father intervened supporting me.
“Achan, I promise I shall make you proud by getting a perfect job,” I said, finding some support, while serving myself a spoon of sambar.
“At the age of 26 who will give you a job?” my mother interrupted.
“I will prepare for UPSC, Amma and soon I will leave vlogs. I know 300K subscribers is not a joke but still for I-Pad…”
“See, Kasish, I think your Mom is right, no need to buy an iPad for now, I will give you a new phone for studies and also the physics books, fine?” Achan said with a sparkle in his eyes.
“Listen, Kashish, this is Kerala, and I know your generation is quite busy with phones and all, yet we gave you an iPhone 12.” My mother added.
“That I bought with my own money,” I protested, “and not just that I even bought you and Achan phones as well. So if you give me just seventy thousand it will help me a lot.”
“That’s enough arguing Kashish, you have crossed all limits,” my mother stopped me, “you think 70k is a joke?” My mother’s tone and her fingers which were pointed towards me clearly showed her anger and I realized my arguments were leading to no results.
“Maya, he is just a child, leave him.” My father intervened realizing the tension in the room.
“Okay, don’t have to give me, I will buy an iPad with my own money, but till that day I shall not enter this house,” I said, quite annoyed by this time.
“Kashish, listen to me, your mother is like that only, do not take her seriously.” My father tried to stop me.
“Oh is it so?” my mother’s anger shifted to my father, “so now your child is more important than your wife?” Let him go, he will come back soon. Where will he go, he cannot survive even one day.”
That was enough insult for me. I went straight to my room, picked up the black bag that I purchased some days back with a discount, packed it, and went out to my backyard.
“Oh so you will stay in the backyard?” my mother mocked, “good for me I will serve you appam and banana papadam.”
“Don’t be so sure, I will go even further to the forest and who knows will be lost somewhere where you won’t be bothered by a simple iPad anymore.” I tried to sound quite serious.
“Fine, but come back before evening,” Amma said while walking towards the door.
I started to walk while taking out my phone from my pocket and saw three missed calls from Parnika.
Parnika and I met in college, she is a tomboy, and she never refuses to accompany me or speak to me in our free time. I usually do not speak to girls in my college, but Parnika is different, we are very good friends.
I dialled her number with some difficulty as my phone was slightly broken.
“Hello, did your parents agree?” she asked after receiving my phone.
“Agree to what?” I asked.
“About the iPad, Kashish.” She said in a tone that sounded like a typical Indian mother.
I was surprised, I asked, “How do you know about the iPad?”
“Oh come on, you only messaged me that you will ask your parents about iPad and all.” She said in a tone of anger.
“Oh, yes, I’m sorry I am a bit disturbed.” I apologized, “Yes I tried convincing them, but there seems to be a misunderstanding and my dreams for an iPad are on hold as of now. Okay listen, I don’t feel like talking as of now can I….”
“Yeah, but you only called me, didn’t you, it is fine.” Parnika interrupted me and she sounded a bit annoyed. “By the way I and Vidhya are going for some coffee and bites, you can join us if you want.”
I was in no mood for coffee, I disconnected the call and started walking towards the forest. It was then I realized that I had never visited the forest ever since childhood. Not that I wanted to, but somehow that day I felt that the forest could be a good place for some YouTube content.
Thinking of YouTube I went into a brown study, I recalled how I started my own channel, despite my parents vehemently raising their objections. How I thought of so many names for my channel and finally decided to call it ‘Iyer Family’. Then how I rehearsed my opening line before my first shoot, and mastered it as ‘Hello folks, my name is Kashish Sunynathan Iyer…’
I was not very aware of YouTube as a kid, but it was during my teenage when I was introduced to the vast world of social media. My father is Suryanathan Muttyaswami Iyer. He is a pharmacist in Kochi. As his name is quite big, it has become a topic of gossip. But my grandmother is quite proud of my father’s name. She gets really annoyed if anyone jokes about his name.
I was told that when I was born, my grandmother wanted to name me ‘Yabhnaswami’ but thankfully my mother Shreemayashree Gokhale refused to name me such. She used to be a nurse before she quit her job when I was born. She is now a homemaker. She and my father met when they were in their third semester. Soon cupid struck and they fell in love. But when they showed their interest in marriage, my mother’s family objected as my father is from Kerala, while they were from Maharashtra. But my parents were determined. They got married against all odds.
As far as my YouTube channel is concerned, well I make a bit from it, not much though. But honestly, it is enough for me and I can manage with the funds I get. Future plans? Well not as yet, I am not much interested to get married, well at least not as of now. I started recalling so many stories from my childhood, but let that be for other day.
Coming back to this story, as I looked around I found myself in the middle of the forest. I wondered what am I doing here as I am not much of a nature lover. As I mentioned earlier, I never entered the forest even in my young age, in fact I was forbidden to enter as a child, for reasons unknown to me even today.
I checked my phone and found a message from my father, it read ‘Come home my son, I think your mother is regretting.’ I smiled and felt that I should not have been so rude to my parents, but I just wanted an iPad desperately that I misbehaved perhaps….
The present times…
As I was walking through the forest behind our backyard. I thought I heard a whisper, but there was no one in sight. I looked around again, this time more observant, but no, no one was there for sure. I followed the sound and started moving towards it. After a while, and to my surprise I saw a woman.
I kept looking at her and saw that she had brown cat eyes, her hair, though messy was tied up in a beautiful bun, and she wore a pink printed saree. Her hands were covered in mud and she was carrying a mud pitcher in her waste. I could not take my eyes off her. She was simply a beauty.
As I told you earlier, I do not indulge in conversations with girls, but I know not what was wrong, I kept on moving towards her. I found a bolder where I parked myself there. She looked at me with her shining eyes but it was not a reciprocation but rather an annoyed look. It is natural as no one would give a stranger a happy look, I thought.
She went to a small hut and closed the door?” r. I was rather disappointed. But after some time, to my delight, she appeared again, this time coming closer to me, in fact, she came so close that I could see her pink lips and big eyelashes. Perhaps this is what is called ‘hopelessly in love’.
“Oye, nee enthaa evide?” she asked what am I doing there in Malayalam.
“Nothing, just roaming.” I tried to sound as normal as possible, but her close proximity had somehow increased my heartbeat.
“Roaming, Bombing I don’t know,” she said laughing at my situation, “anyways I have never seen you around here.”
“The bungalow right outside the forest is mine,” I said with an attitude.
“Oh! That is yours? Nice, Nice.” She sounded truly impressed.
But then a young boy wearing a torn shirt appeared from the hut and asked, “Akka, no work or what? And who is this?”
“No one, okay listen,” she replied, “I have already fetched the water, you go a collect the pebbles.”
“Okay, but remember Ammu told us not to speak to strangers, don’t you remember?” the boy warned while walking towards the pond.
“Well, he is not a stranger.” She said looking at me with the cutest smile I have ever seen.
I was surprised at what she said. I was just a stranger to her, but she made me…she made me a friend?
“Why have you come here?” she asked breaking the chain of my thoughts.
“Well, I got kicked out of my house by my parents….” I went on and narrated the entire incident with the ipad.
“Ha ha ha, go Ji go, don’t share this thing with us,” she said laughing at me.
“Why don’t you fight with your parents?” I asked a bit angry at her mockery.
“For us time is precious, and moreover we are not so privileged, our Ammu and Abbu died a long time back.” She informed me, but what I noticed was that she was still smiling, perhaps the need for survival had taken out her emotions, I thought.
“Brother wait for me, I am coming,” she called out to the young boy, “Okay Ji nice meeting you, do come again.”
I wanted to ask her what her name was, but what I said instead was “Yes I will visit again” and I saw her going away. I sat there for some time, and after a while, I stood up, cleaned my pants, and started to walk back home.
“I am home Amma” I rushed and hugged my mother.
“Okay, okay so much of emotions huh?” my mother started patting my head.
“I am sorry Amma.”
Later at the dinner table, I told my parents, “I am sorry for my behavior, and I will not ask for an iPad anymore, you can get me the books on physics.”
My parents looked at each other, quite surprised at my behavior. Finally, my father asked, “Where have you been?”
“Nowhere, deep inside the forest.”
Perhaps I will never know her name, but that girl will remain in my mind always, she was the one who showed me how lucky I was to have my parents by my side. She showed me the real meaning of life and gave me a lesson, a lesson that will remain in my heart always.
