Friday, December 10, 2010

Two Sides of the Same Coin


Ajay happily married with two lovable children was working as a Project Manager in a leading software company.

He had come up the hard way  right from his young days.  Swamy, his father was a farmer, always in debt ,but went to great lengths to ensure that his son got good education, even if it meant depriving himself  of even bare necessities.  After finishing creditably his schooling, he was able to secure  with the able guidance of the village master,a scholarship to pursue engineering. Engineering done, he secured a good job. As a  dutiful father    he saw to it that his kids got the best in everything..

But Ajay never forgot the path that he had traversed,  always remembering  the hardships he had undergone,the lack of comforts and was ever grateful to his father and village master.  Now with a good   job on hand coupled with ample money , he decided it was time to contribute his bit to improve his village. With this in my mind, he set off to his village.

On his way to the village, he reminisced about his younger days,  the school he went his home, his antics and the unfailing support from his parents..Suddenly his thoughts were disturbed , when a young boy  who was  selling lemon drop candy, pleaded with him to buy some candies.  As a young boy this was one of Ajay’s favourites, and on an impulse he bought the whole lot bringing  a grateful smile on the boy’s face.  The boy thanked  him profusely, for the kind  act that  helped him earn some money to fund his studies.  Ajay relished some candies  bringing back old memories and gave away the remaining to the kids around keeping a few for his own children .

Work done, when he entered  home, his son came running to Ajay, and asked with eager expectancy “ What have you brought for me Dad?”
An excited Ajay  gave him the small packet of candies .As soon as the boy opened the packet he said with a frown in his face “ What is this, cheap candies? I  was expecting you to bring  a large quantity of Cadbury’s chocolates .I don’t want this ”  and threw the packet awayAjay was stunned, by this behaviour as he  thought of his younger days in poverty and  of the boy who sold the candy in the hot sun to find money for his studies.






4 comments:

  1. The story has subtly conveyed the message that children ought to be taught the value of money and that expensive things are not easy to come by for many. There are are many struggling in life even to get the basic needs.
    I liked the way it has been narrated

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  2. Lovely piece. Showing the change of time and value.Definitely Ajay can't understand the value of hard earned money as he has not gone under any hardships. very nice write-up. Kudos to U.

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  3. Its the changing world. Our kids are used to a different taste of things. They have a perception of what is good and what is cheap. What for Ajay was good in his childhood, is cheap in the current context. The generation change to a new world. Its difficult to make kids understand this, for they have not seen the other side of the world. May be with time the kids will get the view and change their thoughts. Its difficult situation for parents, whether to expose kids so early to the pains and other side of life. Nice way to bring out this practical fact. I appreciate this post.

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  4. Good story with a lovely moral. Regarding thepla, its not necessary to set aside for some time.

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