Translated from the Original Hindi by
Kanwar Dinesh Singh
The car was running at the speed of one hundred kilometres per hour. He kept his eyes on the road ahead, his face taut with concentration. Reena was continuously shouting, “Sometimes, you overreact…When you lose your temper, you don’t even think before you speak; you keep saying anything! You were very rude to him! It happens; sometimes a person’s brain won’t work. Nobody would intentionally spoil his exam; you know that! Our son is turning 18. He is young, hot-blooded. God forbid that he should make a rash decision….” Reena couldn’t say anything further; tears were dripping from her eyes. She got upset with the fear of something untoward happening. Like a movie, the headlines of the newspapers were flashing one after the other on the screen of her mind—‘A boy hangs himself due to failure in examination,’ ‘Troubled by his father’s scolding, a teenager commits suicide by jumping into the river,’ ‘The dejected youth ended his life by drowning’…She was shivering, but she was sweating in panic even in the cold weather.
She again called Rinku, but his cell phone was still switched off. Keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead, Ravi said, “Try calling his friends.”
“I have already called them up. Everyone is saying that he was visible till noon, but they don’t know where he went after that,” Reena said in a restless tone. “I don’t know what happened, where my son would be! Oh God! Protect my child!” Reena babbled while wiping her tears.
“Now, stop crying, please!” Ravi got annoyed. “Nothing will happen to him. He must be busy with his friends; they are all the same—careless boys!” He got angry with himself too. He unnecessarily rebuked Rinku this morning.
“But even Rinku should understand if he has to be something in life. He’ll have to shun laziness and comfort. These present-day children talk very loudly but do not want to work hard at all. If parents say something to them, they immediately feel bad about it. They do not hesitate to take even the extreme step—this generation is amazing! They’ve neither patience nor tolerance!”
-0-Dr. Kanwar Dinesh Singh ,Poet, Storyteller, Critic & Associate Professor of English
# 3, Cecil Quarters, Chaura Maidan, Shimla: 171004 H.P. India
Email: kanwardineshsingh@gmail.com Mobile: +919418626090