Story of Sathya

A great Indian – struggle or despair?

Shared by my friend Chaitanya Tengshe, so thought of posting it here!

A young farmer 34 year old was sleeping on a barren land with an innocent smile that exhibited a disparity from his real life. As he enters his dream of a land, filled with green grass, cows and buffaloes all around him, and wheat fields are swaying with the breeze and flowers blooming facing the sun. He dreamt on and on about a lifestyle as grand as a rich farmer can afford to have. And than as he turned around in his sleep a thorn pricked his shoulders and the dream was shattered in a second and he saw acres and acres of barren land filled with dead grass that said “pick me up and throw me out”. He than slowly walks into his house made of same dead grass and sees his son suffering with a disease and wife trying to cure him with certain amount of fake hope.

The farmer then moves on with his wretched life and for next few years he tries his heart out in search of new hope on a barren land, but all his efforts were in vain. The curse of money lenders increasing and the cost of managing children going up with their rising health problems, the farmer was now into the motion of depression. And now even as he slept on the same old barren land the naive smile has extinguished like the dream itself. The thorns that pricked didn’t matter much, because the moment he wakes up he knows that he will feel the sadness all around him. Then came the day when he thought that he would shift to a new place, a new land ,a new dream, a new hope and like many others he decided to be in the milieu of urban lifestyle , thus he would be able to relive a new dream. But no sooner did he think of this, he saw the image of the moneylender in front of his eyes. Even if he sells all the gold he has, it wasn’t enough. But still he decided he would leave the village at night and go to the city with a fresh hope and in search of a new opportunity.
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The curious old farmer enters the city with age against him and unhealthy children not old enough to earn their bread. As usual he stays in slums like many other of his colleagues. And than searching a new job, trying to find a school for children and trying to make his wife culturally able to live in the city were just few problems or challenges he now faced, but he believed that this was the safer way to live a life. Finally he saw his belief after many years was turning into reality and again he dreamt as he slept now on land right next to gutters which now smelled to him like a lake filled with lotus, but now he could dream again thinking of moving ahead. The job that he did was of a plumber started with a colleague and later was capable to do it on his own. Children went to Municipality School, found new friends, also could afford good medical facilities and life was flowing again and it seemed like the river will now reach its destination, but than came a block. The block of the Government itself, and on a bright beautiful afternoon he lost his dream house which was ideally located next to a lake filled with lotus. And now he was at crossroads, where to carry his family. The village was filled with money lenders, searching his whereabouts and the city has just hit him in the face.

I am sure this is not a true story of a particular person. But this is a story of thousand and thousands of Indians trying to find a solution to live a peaceful life. They just want a land of 100 sq.ft not much. But now where will this fellow citizens go, for some the struggle will end for some it will began whether to call it a struggle or despair is something I live to the readers.
The Solitary Writer
Step right up, it's Ste's show! Join me on my writing journey where I dish out witty tales, thought-provoking poems, and quirky musings on life. I'm a social justice warrior who sneaks in some humor wherever I can. Book, movie, and cultural critiques included. Buckle up, it's gonna be a wild ride!