This is a story that visualizes life through a different pair of color lenses.
Vikasitha, my heroine is a girl who thrives hard to be a topper in her school and college and she is also rewarded for her perseverance. She successfully finishes her academics and joins a job where she again longs for a better position among her peers, and works like a dog, day in and out for nearly 12 hours a day with the problem solving she ought to do.
In all these while, she never had a chance to enjoy the love game that most of the girls of her age enjoy through. Also, she belonged to a very conservative family and defined her own ethics about life and had 'No Entry' board to those who came with love at their heart toward this sweet innocent brilliant girl.
Awesome character of our heroine was that she advised those who proposed to her in a way that they realized more about life and understood the depth of love, life, expectations of parents and society. Her advises to those 'poor love crossed guys' made them to trigger their love for her further, but this time it was towards her intellectual maturity and PR qualities she possessed her, rather than on her cheeks and lips and eyes.
Days, months, years passed on and the day for her life also came. Her parents started the “Guy hunt” for this girl, Vikasitha – As the name says, she was an all time energetic and blossoming girl.
Her parents were so conservative and wished to get a guy for their only daughter from the same sub caste with great knowledge to be compatible to her in all walks of life. They searched for more than a year, but they did not get the right guy for her. They met many astrologers and analyzed her horoscope with them and asked for the appropriate time to give her in marriage.
After many months of searching and registering in all the matrimonial sites, they finally got a guy whose profile impressed them a lot. Yes, he belonged to the same sub caste and his family was more similar to theirs and he was working in an MNC after a doctoral degree from a US university. The parents checked for horoscope match with a renowned astrologer in the town and met the guy’s parents on an auspicious day and spoke about their interest. Also his parents were quite impressed to see the girl’s photo, her academics and their family background. The “groom’s” family agreed to visit the “bride’s” place formally on the coming Friday.
That day evening, during the dinner time, Vikasitha’s parents shared the guy’s profile with their daughter and introduced him as “Vaibhav, working as Senior Manager at Apple, Inc”. She was quite astonished to hear that name and was giving an acceptance smile to her parents. Later she went to her room and was thinking about those moments in which she has seen him and admired him a lot.
Vikasitha met Vaibhav at a restaurant when she has gone for a “team dinner”, yeah the world of IT industry dwells with all team lunches, team dinners, monthly team outing, team movie watch. Vaibhav has come there too for a business meeting with one of his client for a contract negotiation. Vikasitha and he shared a fast glance to each unknowingly for the first time. But for the whole 2 hours time, for which they were there, they were trying to make a second eye-to-eye contact with each other and failed in that exercise. Later, she met him again at a friend’s party. He had also come there for the party. It was that party in which Vikasitha sang for her friend. When her eyes met with Vaibhav, she was struck and was unable to proceed the song. There he continued the song and they completed it together with lots of applause from the crowd in the party. As days passed by they both shared few words about each other’s interests and were quite impressed. They both developed a sweet corner in their heart for the other. But never took the pain of expressing it to the opponent. For Vikasitha it was her ego, which did not allow her to express the love she had for Vaibhav. In the case of Vaibhav, it was his stubborn passion to the ethical background through which he was brought up and hence did not express the loving heart to Vikasitha. Slowly, both of them started to avoid each other to hide their weaknesses.
All these flashed through Vaibhav’s mind as well, when his parents told him about Vikasitha and her family, while asking for his interest. They never uttered about their meetings to their parents. The two families agreed upon and arranged for the engagement function. It was on that day; they both met each other again and shared their hidden thoughts and feelings of love during their time to talk. Everyone was happy with the alliance and the wedding was conducted in a very grand scale as both were the soul child of the family.
Soon after the wedding, Vaibhav got a chance to go to New York for a requirement at his office. He, along with Vikasitha came to New York and was working here. She too joined a B-School and started doing her studies, for which she aspired so long. Years passed by, Vikasitha completed her studies and got a 6 figure job in the New York area itself. So she too started to work. Both came to the US, 5 years back, with an intention that they will be here for some time and enjoy their honeymoon life and return back to the garden city, Bangalore sooner. Both of their parents had the family business running, Vikasitha’s were running a dealership in cooking gas agency and Vaibhav’s had a renowned sweet stall of the city. Hence the parents could not come to the US to spend time with their children due to the family business running there in India.
As years passed by, Vikasitha and Vaibhav got their green cards and settled in the US itself with their twins – Nandhitha and Nikhil. The old parents were still at India wishing for their children and grand children return back to them and to their motherland. But never did that day come and they too passed away with age. Nandhitha and Nikhil seldom had the tinch of ‘Indianism’ in them and their culture was totally westernized, which disturbed the parents – Vikasitha and Vaibhav. Their children knew lot about sex-life in their teenage itself. Then came the night in which Vikasitha and Vaibhav spoke these – “We never told our parents that we are in love with each other, nor did we express that to the other, But our parents did what we desired, even without knowing it from our mouth. They understood our hearts and also, we were organized with the ethical values taught by them in our childhood. But we failed to go back to India, even after repeated calling by them. We have wounded them a lot, by staying away from them and the mother country. Now when our kids go in the wrong path in front of our eyes, we watch them silently with folded hands and closed lips. I think we missed our identity somewhere in our country and our kids are completely ignorant of those precious values which were taught to us. ”
Come on, It's high time to think about these things, folks!
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Thanks pearl.
~PRK
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a very practical and true story that is seen now a days..
very nicely written...
regards,
pearl
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Thanks. Me too wishing for the same.
~PRK
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Thanks!
At times we ought to express our views on issues like this.
~PRK
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Hi Q,
Thanks. That was an awesome comment!
Though certain things are not attainable over night,we can give a try by bringing the values to light once again.
Cheers,
PRK
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Hi Indu,
Thanks for the comment.
Ya as u said there are many reasons due to which ppl dont come back to their own country. But I thought the young minds should think abt it.
B/w my name is Jayashree. Parvatharajakumari is the name that I liked so much from skandapuranam n hence using it as a pseudonym.
Cheers,
PRK
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Your story has a very important message, PRK...I wish all those who live rootless lives abroad would read this.
Regards,
Srinath Girish
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Then came the night in which Vikasitha and Vaibhav spoke these – “We never told our parents that we are in love with each other, nor did we express that to the other, But our parents did what we desired, even without knowing it from our mouth. They understood our hearts and also, we were organized with the ethical values taught by them in our childhood. But we failed to go back to India, even after repeated calling by them. We have wounded them a lot, by staying away from them and the mother country. Now when our kids go in the wrong path in front of our eyes, we watch them silently with folded hands and closed lips. I think we missed our identity somewhere in our country and our kids are completely ignorant of those precious values which were taught to us. ”
Really inspiring and hair-raising words these.
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dear PRK,
returning to roots is no solution..its more like a strategem to change the battlefield,and,hope for victory.
This problem,is something that everyone faces today..be it NRI or RI ..
what is needed is a conscious and daily effort to imbibe certain values..those of decency,honesty,ethics ,no shame about who you are,not keeping up with the Joneses and most importantly explaining these to the kids by stories ,fables and later on by direct answer to their questions.
And you know what..it may still not work..
Q
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Hi parvatharajakumari
This is the problem being face by many NRI Parents .
Those people can not come back to India for various reasons of their own,
And it is but natural for the kids to adopt the culture in which they live .
Nice write up.
Indu
PS By the way I was having a class mate in my school days with your name. As soon as I saw your name I have remembered her.
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