The summer is hot. Hotter than the last year’s. Eleven and
slaying, Mohit, runs through the hot street, chasing kites, playing cricket and
riding his bicycle, with little to basically no care for the world. Just the
last week, he almost broke his knee, yet nothing has stopped him from being the
‘Greatest-All-Rounder-Alive in Ramaji Nagar’. In the last match itself he
scored a dazzling century and took 3 wickets. A man of utmost dedication, he
has his priorities sorted. Mornings are for football, afternoon for comic’s marathon,
evenings for cricket and some mathematics in between unfailingly.
The family slept under the naked moonlight sky. Gazing at
the stars, his fascinated heart beating beneath his bare chest. He would turn
around and poke his elder brother who’d wake up instantly, never getting angry
at his kid brother. Jayant adored his kid brother. But never showed it, of
course.
He spent his days locked in a room preparing for IIT JEE. Be
it Mohit or his mom no one was allowed to disturb him. No one went near the
room however hot it got in the veranda. It was late in the night when he’d
address Mohit’s curious questions. ‘So this you told is Orion constellation’.
‘Hmm-Hmm’. ‘And if I flip the sky, will it be Pegasus over me?’ ’But dada, what
about winters?’’ Shouldn’t the sky be different?’ ’But dada if the moon pulls
the waves in the ocean, why not the Ganga has large waves’ ‘But dada Artemis is
only a fictional place na?’ ‘But dada, isn’t this a Cumulonimbus cloud you
said?’ ‘But dada if water were there on the moon could we live there?’ ‘But
dada, why does only Jupiter has rings’ ‘But dada, there have to be more
galaxies!’ ‘But dada, maybe some creatures live without needing oxygen?’ ‘But
dada, according to theory, this right here should be Venus’ and slowly doze
off.
Time flew. Jayant worked hard and carved a successful career
for himself. Mohit too, is just finishing his MBA. It’s the zero-day of
placement. The processes have begun. Fidgeting nervously, the students wait for
their turns to prove themselves to be worthy enough for the company on campus.
Bigger the package, the stronger the competition. Working late, at odd hours,
for a long time is what they all have been trained for isn’t it? The CVs are
crisp and ready. Every point to emphasize how they are a better option than
their other classmate. Oh, the competition! What sets you apart? A certificate
for being the ‘Cricket Caption or a Musical Maestro?’ Aaargghh! If only they’d
done something besides whiling away their evenings running across those muddy
fields just for the fun of it. Or hadn’t held brainstorming sessions curating pranks
on the watchman. Or hadn’t spent hours to cheer up their heartbroken friend. Or
hadn’t turned, what could have been a simple ‘namaste’ to the nukkad kirana store
uncle, to two hours of setting up his new goods on display. Or simply deciding
rules for the cricket tournament to accommodate the 20 acre field on in a 100m
long open veranda in Sonu’s house, making sure everyone gets to bat. If only
they were given a certificate for being human, they would have had an extra
line to fill up their CV.
Mohit did have something on his CV though. For his love for
the world beyond earth, he founded an astronomy club. And it turned around his luck
that day for the HR too had a particular interest in the same. The interview
turned into a lively chat, about this and that and what and when. Mohit got his dream job. Now he spends 8am to 10pm every day in office in front of his screen.
Life is going quite well. He can’t complain. He bought an
apartment in the city, has a luxury car, a wife, a daughter and often a
conversation to get a dog as well. His parents visit them frequently,
alternating between the two brothers and their old home. Mohit thinks, he
deserves a raise. 5 years of service in the same company is just too much. He
sits down with his CV and decides to brush it up and opens the Wikipedia page
for basic astronomy.
