It's been over a week since I returned from Kashmir, and I can still not get over the wonderful 15 days I was there. That's my hometown. I was born there. My relatives are there. So you can imagine what it meant to me to be going to that place after 6 long years.
The stay at our ancestral place in our village left me with bittersweet memories. On one hand it was wonderful being at a place where my roots are. Every bit of the house seemed like wanting to narrate tales to me. Tales it has embraced over the ages for the generations to come. I loved being there and exploring the treasure trove that my grandad and dad created. The sad part is there is no longer any generation to listen to those tales anymore. Just like my brother and I who have moved out for studies and later work, many families are facing similar crisis where the coming generations are finding themselves incapable of taking care of the massive land and chores there. Adding to the woes is the suffocating environment due to terrorism that makes it impossible to breathe freely, let alone think of managing the land and agricultural businesses.
My Dad is so attached to the place , naturally so, being born and brought up all his life in that soil. I've heard countless tales of how he lost his father when he was 2, and so had to take charge of his family-being the eldest son-at a very young age, watch his mother remarry for her own good and give birth to more siblings, take charge of all of them, raise them up, get them educated and marry, take charge of all the land and orchards, dedicate his entire time for the family's welfare ....all this when they were going through extreme penury and exploitation at the hands of cunning uncles.. It's incredible how he brought his huge family of 8 out of all that, all of who are doing extremely well for themselves and living good lives. I can never be less proud and in awe of my father and his relentless determination and perseverance.
What pains us now to see is how at this stage in life is he being paid back for all that he sacrificed for his family and siblings. All the property and assets that he built with his own hands are in a state of near dilapidation and breakdown. The house is almost in shambles, despite his own real brother living in the ground floor, the land is not take care of, the orchards are left open to local villagers and cattle to trample upon. What hurts most is how my own uncle is scheming and plotting against Dad to grab everything and compelling Dad to leave all to him.
I have only seen and heard of such cases in movies, which seem too filmi to be true. Now I know afterall films are somewhere a reflection of the society itself. Never in my life have I seen such a horrible characterless person sabotage his own family's reputation and self-respect for his petty selfish gains. Never in the world have I heard of a brother making it hard for his own elder brother to enter and stay in his own house.
And I don't understand why Papa still has to be so soft towards him! It angers my brother and I to extremes to see him cheat and ruin our father's life's earnings and my father let him do that! I mean how patient can one be! He believes he will keep performing his duty as his elder brother, and not hold any malice in his heart. He feels my uncle can poach away as much as he wants and satisfy his greed, to which there would be and end one day, out of guilt or shame or realization or whatever! But he just does't seem to stop ! His greed and evil intentions keep shooting up.. What is the point in entertaining such a person in your life who has been a constant source of pain in your life! For my Dad it's hard for him to disassociate from his brother, nor does he have the heart to let all his hard work slip from his hands.
He feels he'll realize his stupidity one day and his guilt will get the better of him. We say if he hasn't in 60 years, there's no way he will now and Papa is being stupid for expecting him to realize. He insists we respect him and greet him and his family, irrespective of how badly he treats ours.
Out of respect and affection for our father and his family, and the values that our parents have imbibed in us, do we treat him with all our best selves. But if I had my way, I'd wish for his karma to sting him in the worst possible manner and make him go through hell for all the bad deeds he's done towards my dad and grandmom or anybody else. They say what goes around really does come around. I wish for his entire life to come around a full circle to him some say so he'd know what exactly happens when you set out to destroy your own roots and people.
I wish there was some way I could fix it all up for Dad and make him happy where it matters to him the most. Because in my heart I know, no amount of world trips and fancy cars and mansions and confort of any place will replace the amount of joy and peace it gives him when he is at his own place..
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