Rahul wondered as he got into the military jeep, why did he join the Indian army. He was never patriotic. All that he wanted was to earn heavy and enjoy life. Even if it meant less salary, he wanted to enjoy life.
Life never proceeds as expected. Life is just another game of gambling where luck just throws itself to someone. Rahul was very sure that luck never knew who or where Rahul was. But misery for sure knew him. It followed him wherever he went like a loyal dog following its master.
Right from school days, he was always considered as a bad omen by his parents. He was bullied by his classmates, hated by his friends, failed by his teachers. Nobody cared if he came to class. The goddess of knowledge also forsook him. Girls in his class never knew if there was such a boy in class.
College appeared to be the worst of everything. Inspite of his sincerity, he was always unappreciated and underestimated. People never cared for him. He always felt like a torn paper by the roadside, kicked by everyone, flown in all directions, placed amongst the dirt and dust. The irony was that, not even the dust or the dirt cared to even speak with him.
He had to as a result, live in his own world of imagination. May it be Madonna or Elvis Presley, all were his friends, his imaginary friends. He was often spotted and pitied upon for talking to himself. Maybe if he had known the art of writing, or even a better writing, he would have won the Booker! Anyway, he was his own center of attraction surrounded by hundreds of friends and thousands of imaginary friends.
Unfortunately or fortunately, his father died and that was the beginning of a new chapter in his life. He had to drop out of college due to lack of financial assistance. He had to roam in the streets to earn a day's wages. It was then he learnt what life was. He learnt the power of patience. The art of smiling even in the midst of poverty. To lend a strong shoulder to the needy. Above all, he studied that misery never leaves a man alone. The humane values with which man ought to live.
With all these superior thoughts, he might have become a great thinker like Hegel. But unseen walls bounded him. He
worked hard whether it was to bend the rods or to break the stones.
At last, the genie (that was what he thought of the general) arrived in his dieseled magic carpet. It was not an open door for him, but for his poverty striken family. He was hired to fight against the bad villains and guard the princess(the country, of course!) He was provided a magical wand the killed whoever he wanted.
But wait! He did not want that. He wanted money! Real money! Well, they promised him that too including a life term pension.
The first day of job is always said to be the most worst day of work(unless you have an art studio!) His turned out to be the living hell. He was deprived of all his fundamental rights to sleep, eat, drink and lifestyle. He was just another one in a million serving the country. Just another fellow soldier who worth of life didn't not cost even one-hundredth of his general's life.
The military made him to hate life. All the workouts, the severe and rigorous training made him more like a automated machine. The entire lot of soldiers were like people with a brain, like machines without power.
The growl of the general brought him back to the earth. He wondered about him. A man of late forties, whose face showed the stubborn wrinkles that reflected his inner soul. Time and surrounding had changed the once good man. Military sucked out even the last drop of compassion from his heart. Rahul wondered if he had any family. Maybe his family was brutally murdered he thought. Rahul would have been much happier if he had no family. But the bitter truth was, he had one and he had to support it.
The general shouted and blabbered something about a bomb blast in Kashmir. Rahul never cared. According to him, it was just another blast. Indulged once again in self-pity, Rahul got into the truck. All he could think at present was of the letter his mother sent him the day before. It said that Rahul's orphan cousin was ready to marry him. (It is common in India to marry cousins). Rahul thought of various reasons that he could tell to put off the marriage with the ''ugly'' cousin. As his thought proceeded, so did the truck.
The truck stopped at last. It seemed to Rahul that he had landed in the world war 2. The Kashmir, the target of both natural and manmade disasters. Be it landslide or cloudburst or terrorist bombing, it was an area of major target. The recent floods had destroyed almost the entire city of Al Kilfhiri. The houses were roofless and almost all the walls were missing, the roads were as if a giant walked over it. People were begging for food. Parents lost their children, and children their parents. Tears rolled unconsciously. It was as if somebody broke a dam over an anthill.
Their job was now to rescue the people caught in debris. As work proceeded, Rahul found a small child caught in the debris. It was in an unconscious state. He rushed it to his general, who in turn took it to the paramedics. With great effort, the paramedics brought back its conciousness. Upon further excavation, he found the corpses of its parents. After days of enquiry, they could not find anyone related to the baby.
Rahul after thinking for days, came forward to father the child. No TV channel was going to document it, nor is he going get a Nobel prize, but for sure disapprovalfrom his family and his ugly bride to be. In spite of all these Rahul took the child and lifted it in his arms and whispered ''my daughter''.
