And thus

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.