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I found my son's arguments reasonable. I thought that it was right. Anyway, I have no strength left in my body. My body has become weak. I don't have the courage to work! And if the situation remains like this, it will become difficult to run the house. Then how can one be free from responsibilities? Now the hopes are only on my son. He is satisfied with his work
No, this is the age to earn. Then why not accept the son? What should be started tomorrow, why not start it today?
There was a time when Arab countries were the means of employment. Punjabi people used to earn some money after five-seven years. As the times changed, inflation also increased and Arabs became heartbroken. And the inclination of Punjabis towards these countries started decreasing. It is not that the movement there has completely stopped. No-no! Even now come and stay but those who cannot go to Western countries. Educationally. In terms of salary. Go and fight again.
Punjab is a progressive province in terms of education. But unemployment has dashed the hopes of the educated class. Employment is decreasing day by day. There is no ray of hope anywhere in the near future. Only darkness is visible. Due to this, educated boys and girls are running towards foreign countries. The houses of Punjab are becoming empty. The charm of the streets and localities is decreasing. Only old people are seen in big houses, bungalows etc. After them, these properties remain unclaimed. These loots then become a center of attraction for robbers and encroachers.
The time has come for the last son to leave. We took him in our arms and started crying bitterly. The elders of the neighbourhood also came and sat there. Their eyes also became wet on seeing us. They consoled us and said, 'Enough! Don't do this!! Give your son a happy holiday. It is difficult to remove the stains of the heart from the eyes, but what to do, we have to keep stones on the heart. You see, the heart has to be strengthened. Congratulations to the cell phone people who invented it. We used to get to see their faces in between. We used to talk face to face. We would know their happiness. The mind would be satisfied by listening to everyone's goodness.'
I wanted to tell my son to wait a little longer. Even if it was for a few minutes. He could not reach the arch. But time did not allow this. The driver was repeatedly forcing him to go faster. He was saying that it is better to go four-five hours earlier. A lot of time is wasted in traffic jams.
The son looked around while sitting in the car. Then he looked towards his house very reluctantly. It seemed as if he was thinking in his mind that he did not know when he would get the good fortune of coming to this house. The driver put on the seat belt while sitting on the seat. He put his hands on the steering wheel and slowly moved the car forward. The son once again took a panoramic view of the house. Then he folded his hands and remembered his deity and sat straight.
By now the car and the chokha had decided the itinerary. As the train was moving towards Delhi, my son was getting away from us. Something or the other was going on in all of our minds. There was silence in the car. There was a feeling of separation along with the happiness on hearing the news of my son going abroad.
My mind was forced to think about five-six decades back. There was a time when it was common for a married couple to have five or six children. Then the entire household was run by the income of one member of the family. Now all the members earn, but do not live equally. With the advent of the machine age, the cost increased. And unemployment increased. We ourselves are also responsible for this. The western rush has taken us in its embrace. We are eager to fly to reach there directly or indirectly.
Expensive cars, luxurious houses and expensive furniture in these houses, coolers, fans, ACs; precious and valuable clothes, became the hobbies of Punjabis. Such hobbies spoiled the household budget and people started getting troubled with problems like debt. The money of the borrowers and the peace of day and sleep of the night became useless for the borrowers.
Today's children have increased their arbitrariness and the elders have reduced their respect. Number of rooms in the house. Expensive mobile phones in everyone's hands. Everyone has their own privacy. In such a situation, the total income became dwarf and they were forced to flee abroad.
The story does not end here. As migration from other states to Punjab started, Punjabis started facing humiliation. Those who came to Punjab started working at relatively lower rates than Punjabis. Punjabis were happy that we started getting workers at lower rates. But did they not know that the low rate policy would prove fatal for us? They even started entering government and non-government jobs. Especially in factories, their numbers doubled day and night.
Punjab is a prosperous state in itself. Punjabis have inherited wealth. And wealth makes a man lazy, slacker, idle and a drunkard. Whereas poverty makes a man enterprising, industrious and profitable. These immigrants proved to be more stubborn, industrious and hardworking. Every small and big business came into their hands and Punjabis became unemployed. However, under the contractual and human resource system in factories, everyone from the working class to the high-ranking officials are paid such low wages that it has become a proverbial leech in the mouth of a snake for them. They should neither take the job nor leave it. Punjabis in particular are not satisfied with this policy. They work in such places only till they find a suitable alternative to their training and desire.
As soon as the driver turned the car and stopped, I came back to myself. I looked around. It was a luxurious restaurant with a very large parking space. By now it was night. The glare of the lights was presenting a very captivating scene. The driver unbuckled the belt and said, “Now we have free time. Freshen up well here. Eat and drink to your satisfaction. Get rid of the fatigue of roaming around. After moving ahead from here, the train will stop directly at the airport.
The grief of losing my son was of three kinds inside me. I did not feel like eating or drinking anything. But the rest of the family members could not be kept hungry, right? So I supported everyone equally.' Due to the cold and the fatigue of the journey, the hot tea was affecting our bodies.
My son was sitting on the chair to my left. His face was filled with sadness. He said softly, “Father, you need not worry. Am I going away from you happily? Please consider it my compulsion. You have spent your entire life's earnings in our upbringing and education. How many more lives will you keep wasting? Now is your age to relax and not take risks. I will look for work as soon as I come back. I have a large circle of friends there. There will be no problem in finding work. I will work hard day and night and keep sending money generously. You will not have to suffer. One should not worry for even a moment about the marriage of the sister, improvement of the house and repayment of the loan.” Hearing this from my son, my heart was filled with emotion and tears came to my eyes. I hugged him, put him on my shoulder and realized how much worry was in my son's mind. It is said that intelligent sons have spring, and daughters have parties, overall, they want the happiness of the parents.
We had finished eating and drinking. Now we were waiting for the driver. He came after freshening up, then he opened the lock of the car from a distance and signaled us to sit inside. He habitually saw us and took the car away.
I expressed my concern to the driver, “It is already midnight. Entry is at four o’clock. Should we…?” He turned back and said, “Don’t worry. This is our daily routine. Reaching there early is a loss-making deal. The taxi stand fare is very high.”
I was lying on the vehicle on the four-lane road going to Delhi. The lights of the vehicles coming and going were presenting a supernatural sight. In this dark night, the lights of the nearby villages and towns looked like a starry sky. It seemed as if the universe full of stars including the Milky Way had come to earth. I don't know when I fell asleep while watching such a soul-stirring sight.
As soon as the car stopped due to the speed breaker, we woke up and the driver alerted us by saying, “Wake up! Wake up!! We have reached the airport.”
Now my son stood between us for a few minutes. As soon as the thought of his separation came to our mind, we became emotional and took him in our arms. He also hugged us. On this occasion tears rolled down our eyes. The driver also became emotional after seeing us. He said with a heavy heart “Look! Don't do this!! Have fun young men. You are lucky. Thank God. After so much effort such an opportunity will come. Saying this he separated my son from our arms and patted his back very lovingly and made him stand in the entry line.
When his turn came, the son kept looking at us again and again. After passing through the entrance, he stopped for a moment and looked at us. The sorrow of separation was clearly visible on his face. Finally, he wiped his tears with a white handkerchief and disappeared from our sight.