Bravish walked around the room, to the study table. He picked up a 1 litre bottle of water and drank it, like he needed it to help him make his mind work. He drank almost the whole of the bottle and kept it beside a bottle he had emptied before.
“I don’t even know what to say about this,” said Bravish and he turned to look at his cousin Grishm sitting quietly on a chair. Grishm occasionally looked at Bravish and then at his smartphone, then continued to look at his own palms.
“I had told this to your mother, I have a job here, I cannot look after a boy in his high school. I knew this wasn’t a good idea,” said Bravish and he sat down on the single bed.
Grishm’s mother thought she was sending her son to the big city where he would get good education and exposure that would ascertain a better future. But a few months in, Grishm made a group of friends in school who had a big common interest, online smartphone gaming.
That’s how Grishm began to spend most of his time. Bravish did not pay much attention thinking ‘there is a lot that could go wrong with boys that age, surely gaming on smartphones wouldn’t be the worst of it.’
A lot did go wrong when Grishm had to repeat 11th grade.
“Who cannot clear 11th grade? I have never heard it happen; it is that rare,” Bravish had reacted, he wanted to say more but his aunt had insisted not to go too hard on her boy.
Bravish became a little concerned by this time and on a public holiday he observed the long gaming routine that had formed behind his back, and restrictions were added to usage of smartphone. Every evening Grishm was made to go out with suggestions like meet a friend, take a walk or even play with others your age who play different sports during that time.
It worked at first, the grades slightly improved, Grishm did not fail at any subject. He willingly went out, he even confessed he had made a girlfriend. Bravish was happy with his own effort at giving the boy a potentially better future.
One fine day Bravish discovered crushed cheat sheets in the dustbin and the next evening when he went out with a suspicion in the evening, he found Grishm sitting at the farthest bench of a park and playing in his smartphone, he even had a power bank to charge the smartphone, courtesy of his mother.
Bravish realised he needed to have another serious talk with his aunt, one that would end with ‘I cannot guarantee his future.’
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 