Life is a string of incessant struggles, struggles which originate with an instinctive ardor for achieving something unique. In my view it’s very natural to follow our instincts and go for unparalleled success and motivation with passion. However the basic nature of the quest for success can be very personal and relative. As in for an athlete, the sheer acknowledgement of his sportsman spirit will be in true sense his real life accomplishment whereas for a mother, it is a striking and delightful smile on her daughter’s face. But what makes these dreams similar in nature is the universal perception of course which we all go through before we achieve it. The process which sometime seems unending and impossible can make us rethink about our attempts but what keeps us moving is the thought of joy and success which we hope to receive at the end. I firmly believe that it’s not an easy task to carry on with our dreams in this world where some people don’t hold the respect for others passion and they, instead of letting them move ahead, try to put obstacles in their way. But as somebody has said “Lehro ke sath to sabhi chal lete hai, par asli insane wahi hai jo viprit lehro ko cheer kar aage badhta hai.”(Anyone can swim along the waves but the real person is the one who can swim against waves with the same zeal).
Here I would like to share a small piece of dreams and struggle, an inspiring story of Ramkishen and his small family. Before taking up farming, Ramkishen was a small time weaver in a village called Charanpur. The advent of well furnished clothes from big textile industries hampered his income as a weaver, as a result he found himself unsuccessful to earn living for his family. In order to improve his condition, he asked the landlord to lend him money to buy a small piece of land. The landlord instead of giving him money agreed to lend him his land for farming. In return he asked Ramkishen to give him half of his income from farming. Ramkishen couldn’t have asked for more and he immediately agreed to it. Deep down his heart he was very excited and why shouldn’t he be. He had all the reasons to be happy because his days of adversity and pain were going to set behind the horizon of faith. Now he could give his wife a beautiful life and his kids a good education. From next day morning he started to work day and night in his land. But god had something else planned for him. As he had left weaving for farming, his community (weaver community) outcasted him and hence no one gave him water for irrigation. He tried his best to convince them that he had no choice left but his words couldn’t reach their heart. He felt betrayed. He was deeply hurt by the fact that his own people deserted him when he needed them most. But he didn’t want to lose his heart and the dream of good life for his family. So despite adverse conditions he managed to raise some crops however it went in vain as villagers denied to buy his crops. Even the landlord disagreed to his plead and instead of helping him asked him to pay half of his income in one months time. The dreams were shattered; everything looked awful and dull for Ramkishen, not even the smile of his kids made him happy.
Next day, his kids discovered that the banana tree in his backyard was going to fruit in coming few days. It made his kids happy and excited. For us this may sound little odd and trivial, but for somebody like Ramkishen who was all down and sad, it symbolized the ray of hope. The smiling faces of his kids, which he always dreamt of, once again colored him with enthusiasm and passion to succeed. He decided to go to the city to sell his crops. Early morning he left for the city with whatever money he had. It was a big risk to take but he didn’t have any choice left. When he reached the city, it was very difficult for him to find the right person who could pay him the correct price for the crops. Eventually he got hold of a person, named Keshav Ram, who was later found to be his distant relative. Keshav Ram promised him to pay the right price. Ramkishen was not happy this time because he was too scared of another failure. By that time it was night and Keshav offered Ramkishen to spend the night at his place. As Ramkishen didn’t have enough money to rent dharmshala, he kindly accepted his hospitality. Next day morning when he got up, he was surprised to find that Keshav had already left with the crop. He immediately searched his money bag and to his utter disbelief he found that he was again betrayed by his own people. Once again he seemed like losing the battle, sitting at the end of barrel with no hope of light. Whose fault was it? Why was god so unfair to him? His heart was getting torn by innumerable questions about faith, betrayal, and commitment.
He walked all over the city looking for some way to earn enough money to go back home. But he was scared to face his wife and kids. How would he console them? Finally after working as a coolie, he had enough money to buy the tickets for home. Later that evening he reached home. The kids were very excited to see him back and showed him the banana fruit. But Ramkishen couldn’t hide his pain from his wife. For the first time in his entire life, he was losing faith in himself and life in general. He was worn-out of trying without any result. His wife consoled him and told him that one day things would change, his efforts and hard work would pay off and their kids would have good education. Almost a month was over and he was expecting the landlord to come any day. Next morning he saw his kids watering the banana tree and telling him how they are eagerly waiting to split the fruit among themselves, naturally it meant a lot to the kids. He kept staring at them, enjoying and playing around the tree. At that moment he was the happiest man on the earth watching their smiling faces. As expected, he saw the landlord coming towards his home. Ramkishen was not sure what he was going to tell the landlord. He brought a chair for the landlord and asked his wife to get some water. Landlord was furious to know that Ramkishen didn’t have money to repay his debts. Ramkishen literally begged and asked him to give him some more time. But landlord didn’t listen to him. He came with the intention that he wouldn’t leave without getting his money. While talking to Ramkishen he was looking around and suddenly his eyes spotted the kids, playing around the banana tree. Suddenly, he had a mean idea flashing across his mind. He stopped Ramkishen and agreed to give him some more time but in return he asked him to give him something before he left. Ramkishen found some peace but he said that he didn’t have anything to offer him. On that the landlord pointed his fingers on the banana fruit. Ramkishen was dumbfound at landlord's request and conveyed his inability to give him the fruit as it would be like taking away the smiles from kid’s faces, and that the fruits meant a lot to his kids. This made the landlord very angry and he told Ramkishen that if he couldn’t do it then he would wreck his house and family. Under this sudden outburst, Ramkrishen had no choice but to allowe him to take away the fruit. While they were cutting the fruit, the sad faces of his kids shattered his heart. He was helpless and at that time his whole life seemed worthless.
What is the point of living a life when he couldn’t even give his kids the happiness they deserve? This marked the end of his faith and trust. The night looked endless. His emotions and sentiments looked so vulnerable. It seemed as if his whole life is going to fade in the darkness of night. He had no strength left to continue with his aspirations. The next day, the chirping of the birds opened his eyes. Ramkishen heard the unhindered giggles of his kids. He followed the chortle and when he reached there, he saw the kids running around the banana tree with tremendous joy. And to his surprise, there was another fruit flourishing on the banana tree. He looked up in the sky and thanked god for bringing back the smile on their faces. He was once again full of fervor and enthusiasm to retain those smiles on the kid’s faces.
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