(youth : - If time has not spared the innocent child of childhood, what will be spared me ?)
Me and my wife Hemlata now lived together. She was 4 years older than me but loved me very much. I had nothing more in my heart than my duty and responsibility for her, knowing that she loves me so much, I cannot give her the love she deserved.We both worked very hard to meet our needs. It had been a year for our married life, but suddenly one day the news of Hemlata's mother's death came. Hemlata was as if lonely, she started crying loudly, then both of us went to her maternal home, I left Hemlata at her maternal home for a few days. And I came to my house and started doing the remaining work in the fields. I could not feel good without Hemlata. I waited for her for a few days but I knew she was needed at that time in her maternal home.After a few days she herself returned from her maternal home, perhaps she was compelled by her responsibility. There were tears in her eyes like sparkling pearls, they seemed so precious to me that I did not want to let them flow. She immediately came to me and hugged me, as if I was very precious to her. My heart started beating faster, there was no stopping of my breath and my sympathy and responsibility towards Hemlata had turned into love.I felt love for Hemlata, I expressed my love for Hemlata, as a result of which a year later my wife gave birth to twin daughters.We named one as Hemwanti and the other as Lajwanti. Now I too had a family in which I had two daughters and I had a lovely wife. I used to fondly call Hemlata Hema.
when I was only 22 years old,I came to the city with my family, we took a room on rent,And I bought an old bicycle with my deposit.I started selling children's toys and cotton candy, the income I earned was only for room rent, but there was nothing left to eat or drink.Then one day Hema decided that she would also like to do some work for money, so Hema got her mother's old sewing machine repaired and started sewing clothes which her mother had once taught her.But running a home in the city was not so easy. We came to know about the importance of our village only by staying in the city.
For a year when we were starving in the city, we took our belongings and went straight to our village.We were enjoying coming home. That river, that forest, that mountain, that field, that barn, and that wind (flowing from east to west) felt like calling me to the village.I also thought that now I have to live in my motherland and also die in my motherland.We resumed all our farm work and Hema continued to sew clothes to earn money.
One day a good news came in the village that the village school has opened till 10th standard and the school needs a peon, luckily I got that job.Three years passed, my salary increased and our income was also increasing.My wife gave birth to another daughter who brought good luck to our house.That year many crops were produced in the fields and it had rained a lot ,And my two eldest daughters, who were 8 years old, also enrolled in the same school where I was promoted from peon to clerk.
It was rainy season, my two daughters and I were coming home from school when suddenly it started raining, there was mud on the way,We were all so used to the rain and mud that what to say, with our daughters, it was as if my childhood had again returned.After coming home, Hema scolded us a lot and asked us to change clothes,and made us hot tea and spicy snacks, It was raining heavily outside and inside our family was eating delicious food sitting by the fire.That day is so ingrained in my eyes that what should I tell.
I did not know when 6 years had passed, I sent both my daughters to the city to study.This time our condition was not the same as it was a few years back, when we came to the city,I got my two daughters admitted in a good college and arranged to stay in a good hostel.It was difficult to live without both the daughters,But we had our third daughter, Saumya, who used to entertain us a lot, who was now in sixth grade.Now our condition had improved a lot and we converted our mud house into a cement house.
It was autumn time, winter was about to come, every year we used to work hard all year round to collect food for winter so that we can spend our days comfortably in winter.There used to be a lot of snow in our village, so we used to collect food for the animals too, for the animals we used to collect the grass left over from the rice crop,and used to arrange a warm place for the animals to live in.We used dried leaves of trees for animals to lie down under and spread old dry grass on their roofs so that they would not get cold.We used to make wool clothes for ourselves.We used to go to collect a lot of wood for the winter, and dry some seasonal vegetables to be useful in winter ,We used to fill our boxes with rice and wheat, and thus every year we made arrangements for the winter.
Winter had come, the surrounding hills were covered with snow, the days became shorter and the nights longer.
In the winter season, there is sadness in the mind.Today I was missed of my both daughters, who had gone to the city for higher education a few years back.That's when I got a letter from the postman to my daughters that read,
"Dear Dad,first of all greetings to you , we are fine here, Hope you all are well too.we have only a few months left for our education," and those months will soon pass and we will return to our village with a good news, Greetings to mother, love to dear Soumya". When I narrated the letter to Hema she was very happy and also when I asked why you have become very emotional, she said "These are my tears of happiness".
Hearing the news of daughters, it was as if my heart came to life.
The cold wave had intensified and the whole village was getting snow.We all used to sit inside the house near the fire all day, coming only for a few hours to sunbathe and feed the animals.If it ever snowed during the day, Soumya and I would go out to play in the snow, and if it was cold, we would sit by the scorching fire.For Soumya and me, Hema used to make dumplings with hot tea and sometimes spicy potatoes with sweet pudding.The three of us used to sit near the earthen stove and talk a lot, not knowing when the whole day would have passed , and used to sleep at the same place at night.Seeing all this, it seemed as if the fatigue of the whole year had to be removed only in winter.
I don't know when winter has passed.
The season of spring brought a new dawn, the weather started getting warmer, new shoots were starting to appear on the trees, new flowers started growing and while walking in the little grass, the grass was tickling in the feet. it was as if the earth had taken a new birth. this lovely time of spring , Our heart was filled with excitement and this beautiful image of nature mesmerized the mind.The three of us made a plan to visit and went to visit a temple 12 km above the village(about 3000 meters above sea level), There were so many beautiful Bugyals that we were mesmerized by the view there.It seemed as if all the beauty of the earth had settled here.After walking in the evening, we were returning home from there, Then we saw a puppy lying there injured, which must have been about 20 or 30 days after it was born.when we saw it we felt pity on it, Soumya picks him up and says "Dad can we take it home"So I said "I don't feel like taking it home but we can't even leave it here in this condition so let's take it home". Soumya was overjoyed and we brought the puppy home.We brought him home, we fed him milk and small pieces of bread. It was night so we kept the puppy in a room where he cried all night. And we could not sleep all night because of the dog's cry.I was not in a good mood in the morning so I left early for school,Soumya was on leave so she did not come to school that day.Staying at home that day, Soumya bathed the puppy well and made it sit in the sun,
Since the puppy was very young, Soumya used to take care of him very carefully.When I came back home from school, I saw that little puppy barking at our door.Seeing such a small dog brought tears to my eyes as he had developed loyalty and love for our home.I immediately picked up that puppy in my lap and saw his innocent face and he also started looking at me.
The puppy was dark black in color and had a short tail, and its eyes were as bright as beautiful black crystals. We started to have a different kind of attachment to that puppy, so for a few days we kept him in the same room where we slept. The puppy cried for a day or two but after that he never cried and lived very peacefully.
Then when the puppy turned about two months old, we built a small house for him on our balcony in which he lived happily.We named him 'Bagghu'. Whenever Soumya and I used to come from school, the puppy used to jump seeing us from a distance and as soon as we went near him, he would hug us.
We had a different attachment to him and we accepted him as the 6th member of our family.
After a few days both my daughters after completing their studies returned to the village with the gift of happiness.
One of my daughters returned as a teacher and the other daughter returned as an accountant. And both brought laurels to my name.I was very proud of both my daughters And on the other hand, my third daughter was Saumya, it was difficult for her to pass the class.
But even though Saumya was weak in studies, she was very humble and was also proficient in all the household chores , and I used to understand Soumya that because I knew that just like bird cannot swim and fish cannot fly but both are good in their work. So I had no complaints against Soumya about her studies.
After living together for a few days, I came to know about the affair of my two daughters, Lajwanti and Hemwanti have chosen a groom for themselves, Hema felt bad but when my daughters told me about those boys and their families, I didn't mind.After a day or two, the parents of those boys came to visit us in our village and proposed to marry both the sons to our daughters.Since he was a big business man in the city and both his sons had very good job as well as good manners, so I immediately said yes to the relationship,And thought that we do not even know when God comes in what form and fills happiness in the lap of man.I never thought that my two virtuous daughters would have a relationship in the house of so many rich and great people.
After a few months they came to our village to engage the children and by the grace of God the engagement ceremony was completed very well, after that we made them tour the whole village and we went to visit many places.they found immense happiness and peace in the atmosphere of the village, Then fixed the wedding day and went to the city.
Baghu was also eight months old. And at the same time he had also become very mischievous. We all loved Bagghu very much and he also loved us very much. I don't know why he was so loyal.
The preparations for the marriage of both my daughters had started.Since the wedding was to take place in the city, we were worried whether to take Bagghu or not, and we decided to leave him in the village,And the next day, our relatives from law's house of my daughters brought their cars to pick us up from the village.They also asked us to bring Baggu along too, we all were overjoyed and immediately went home to pick up the Bagghu.Seeing us, Bagghu immediately came to us and hugged us, And then Baghu also went to the city with us.
Both my daughters got married with great pomp. And we all went to nice places to visit. They took us to visit beautiful places.Since both the daughters got married without any trouble, and we had traveled all over the city, we made preparations to come to the village immediately the next day.
But our fate could not stand our happiness, Perhaps Hema could not bear so much happiness and due to a heart attack, Hema left me forever and went to the hereafter. My mother was taken away from me by a flammable heart attack in my childhood and my wife was taken away from me in my youth.
I was left alone, my heart was hurting more than it hurt to break both legs. I couldn't breathe, felt like I was having a bad dream and prayed to God to come out of this nightmare.My three daughters and relatives gave me lots of assurances but my heart was not understanding.
I could not bear the pain of my daughters, so I asked Saumya to stay with her sisters for a few days so that both my three daughters could forget about the loss of their mother, And thus Baggu and I left for our village.
When we reached home, we saw how our house was crying like a cremation ground. I didn't feel like going inside the house. I somehow went inside the house. It was evening, So I made two Chapatis for Baggu and after eating one Chapati fell asleep myself.
Baggu kept crying all night, so I made him sleep where I myself had slept.I was feeling like Hema would come back in a few days, my mind was going haywire, so I couldn't even sleep the whole night.Throughout the night, Baggu kept crying and my mind was getting restless.
The next morning I came out and saw that the whole village was at my doorstep to congratulate me on my daughter's wedding, Everyone asked me about Hema but I could hardly say anything, I told people that Hema has left this world.Hearing this, everyone became sad and left, assuring me patience.
My green heart had dried up. And my house had become as barren as a crematorium. Hema had taken all the happiness of my life with her. But still I had the responsibility of Saumya, so I somehow explained my heart and gave myself courage in this difficult time of calamity.
For two whole years I could not forget Hema's departure and probably would never have forgotten if Baghu and Saumya were not with me.I realized that maybe God did not give me a son because all the duties of a son were performed very well by my daughter Saumya.These two years were as hard for me as ten years, And maybe today I came out of this shock because today the relationship came for my daughter Saumya.
About eight months later, my daughter Soumya got married to my sons-in-law's cousin. I was very happy because my three daughters had become part of one family, and almost all the responsibility had been taken off my head.
Now only Baghu and I used to live together in the village.One day Bagghu and I went for a walk towards the village. And suddenly I fell into a small pit, I felt that my eyesight had become a little weak. After a few days my knees started to ache a little.Then I realized that I had moved towards old age. And I was also 57 years old, but I was satisfied.The only regret was that My Hema was not going to be with me in the journey of old age, but I had my beloved Baghu with me.
There was a little regret of the end of puberty, but it was comfort that youth gave me only one sorrow, but with every experience of youth, I enjoyed life to the fullest.
"My second candle was about to be extinguished that I lit the last candle with the help of that candle."