Page 68 - Love Story of a Commando

Not picking up the phone is registered as highly offensive and an
immoral sin in that little protocol book of parenthood. It is a mandatory rule
for every child around the globe to take their parents’ calls even if they call
fifty times a day. No matter if the kids are conquering Mount Everest,
negotiating with ISIS heads or playing cricket in a stadium like they showed
in an ad with Sehwag—a call from mom cannot be missed.
And I had just missed it fifteen times! She even counted it! It was
already a bad start.
‘Accha choro isse! You tell me when are you coming back? We are
eagerly waiting for you to come and then we will organize a DJ party here
like Mrs Randhawa organized at our apartment base when her son returned
from US after one year. I have even taken that DJ wala’s number. The best
part is he plays the remixes of Kishore da and Rajesh Khanna hits so that we
elders can enjoy the lyrics and you youngsters can dance. I tell you he is
brilliant.’ She sounded so happy that my heart sank and guilt filled my
being.
Suddenly, I regretted my decision. Damn!
I gathered the courage and sprang it on her.
‘Mom! Actually! You see! I have got another job offer and I am
going to take it,’ I said nonchalantly.
‘What job? I don’t understand you one bit. You leave job, you pick
job. What are you up to? What job is this now?’ she demanded.
‘It’s…actually…it’s a government job. I will be an instructor at a
computer facility.’
God! How difficult was this going to be. Save me, please!
‘Instructor? What? Last time you were an engineer. Which company
is this?’ How wrong I was to think that I could dodge from the woman who
had me inside her womb for nine months!
Time to face the apocalypse!
‘Teacher, mom! I’m going to be a teacher! I will teach computers in a
kid’s school in Kashmir.’ I said it all at once.
There was at least two minutes’ silence on the phone and then there
was heavy breathing on the other side, and I suddenly heard my father’s
voice.
Damn!
‘Kashmir??’ His voice boomed.
What is this now? Do they talk to me on speaker phone? It had not
even been a second since I told my mom about it.
‘Dad, it is a golden opportunity for me. It will help me pursue a PhD
from a foreign university! It is very difficult to get admission into these
world-class foreign universities and all of them ask for some humanitarian