What were your parents doing at your age?
Those who have seen my father at a younger age, like in his early twenties, said I look a lot like him. When I finally came across a portrait photograph of my father from that age, I found some similarities, but the person in the photograph was in much better physical health and also looked a lot more determined to do a lot in his life than I did. He was successful in it; he left us with a very comfortable life before he ended his story in the coronavirus pandemic. But more importantly he left me with realisations of many realities of life.
The people who adore the love and warmth of family might feel a bit of envy when they look at the photograph of my mother in her early twenties, surrounded by a very loving maternal and paternal family. Each photograph contains smiles and laughter and the happiness radiating from them. Although the photograph may never show the creative hard worker within, the rest of the life had the story to portray them.
So, what exactly were my parents doing at the exact age I am in right now? At this age, I was already there in this world. We were living in another state, the one I am in right now. I had started going to playschool and my mother had decided to become a housewife for a while with the purpose of looking after me.
We used to live in an apartment provided to us by the airlines in which my father worked as an engineer. Life was beautiful, it was a beautiful apartment, although it has been demolished today, due to negligence in maintenance after the airlines sold it away.
When we were there, the atmosphere was homely, with friendly neighbours, a life slowly blooming into something beautiful. My friends from back then have all grown up into boring adults like me.
Sometimes I look back and wonder, ‘Why did it all have to change?’ Probably for the best some would say, but sincerely I doubt that since one can never know where a strand of life left would have eventually led to.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 