It's never too late!

     Sachin nervously looked at the person in front of him.  He was asking him ‘awkward’ questions. He was facing an interview panel of 3 persons from a firm where he had applied for a job.

     Dressed in a sky-blue formal shirt and black trousers, his lean face emanated a confidence, he didn’t quite feel!  To regain his composure after one particularly discomfiting question, he looked down at his well-polished black shoes and brief-case sitting near his chair.  He was acutely aware of 3 pairs of inquisitive eyes on him.  They were awaiting his answer.  He knew that they would be thinking that he was pondering over his best answer!  Far from that, he was wondering about why he had appeared for this interview; this uncomfortable inquisition, at all!

     The question which had caught him totally off-guard was “Why haven’t you worked all these years, after graduation?”

     What could he say?  That he didn’t get any job or hadn’t ever applied for any?  Yes, he had never really attempted to get any job.  It reflected his lack of sincerity and lack of efforts!  He had always taken it very easy.  After all, his Dad held a Govt. job and he had an elder brother who was also jobless, foot-loose and fancy free!

     When his parents would goad him to apply for jobs enlisted in the daily newspapers or recommend places where he could apply, on being notified accordingly, by friends and well-wishers; he would just shrug them off, saying that he wasn’t yet ready for the responsibility of holding a full time job.

     As they would look at him in amazement, he would casually turn his attention towards his Facebook account or TV; effectively signaling an end to their ‘torture,’ as he termed it.  Why couldn’t they just leave him alone?  At 23, he was still young and had all the time in the world to land a good job.  He was in no hurry!  So was his elder brother Sagar!

     Sagar was 27 and thought that he was born to party and loaf around with his good-for-nothing friends.  He ensured that his mother gave him adequate pocket-money to watch all the latest movies and for his regular outings.  Their parents had given up on him a few years ago and pinned their hopes on their younger son.

     But alas, he seemed equally determined to follow in his elder brother’s ‘illustrious’ footsteps!  Both Sachin and Sagar had taken it for granted that their father would earn and fend for them life-long!  They failed to appreciate his hard-work and refused to bear the burden of running the house.  Their mother, a home-maker had devoted her life towards raising them and providing them with hot meals and a comfortable existence in a clean and well-maintained, rented house.  She even tried to supplement their family’s income by knitting woolen garments and selling them through word-of-mouth publicity.  Her earnings however, often went towards providing ‘pocket-money’ to her grown-up sons!

     They thought that no job was worthy enough for them to do, hence were content to idle and laze around, without a care in the world.  They would scornfully retort at those who dared to pinpoint their worthlessness by saying “Mind your own business!” brusquely.  Slowly, but surely everybody did just that, including their parents.

     Their father especially knew that they would reform and realize the “aate-dal ka bhav” only after his death, when they would have to perforce earn a living if they wanted to have the same lavish lifestyle that they had grown so accustomed to!  Their mother worried endlessly but gave in to their unreasonable demands, due to misplaced motherly love and concern.

     She didn’t realize that she was spoiling them by indulging them and making them even more incapable of doing things for themselves.

     Often, she thought about how they would get married, without having decent jobs.  She wanted to see their marriages and play with her grand-children.  But she feared that it would just be a pipe-dream, given that they showed no signs of relenting and reforming their ways.

     One day, her husband returned tired as usual, and asked for a glass of water, even as he lay down on the cot, for some rest, as usual.  When she brought the glass of water and tried to rouse him from his apparent slumber, his head just slumped to the other side.  She knew that he was no more.  Stunned, she immediately called the family physician.  He came, checked her husband’s vital parameters and declared him to be no more. 

     He pitied the widow with worthless, jobless sons.  He wondered about what fate had in store for her now.  Would her sons improve or carry on regardless of their poor, over-worked Dad’s death? As usual, they weren’t home then.  Probably, loafing around, he mused wryly.

     She called them up and informed them about their Dad’s demise.  They came after an hour, appearing suitably contrite and solicitously inquired about her well-being and after borrowing small sums from relatives, performed the last rites.  But after the mandatory 13 days of rituals, both the brothers were back to ‘normal’.

      They thought nothing of asking for and squandering their mother’s measly family pension of Rs.6000.  With great difficulty, she managed the household after pandering to their unreasonable demands; by secretly borrowing from close friends. Later, they too washed their hands off her.  After all, how long could they keep giving her unsecured personal loans which were guaranteed to remain unpaid for a lifetime?

          After 5 years of misery and drudgery, pining for a good married life for her good-for-nothing wastrel sons, she too breathed her last, leaving them to their fate.

     Now the entire neighborhood and all their relatives shunned them.  Both the brothers, left all alone and virtually penniless took to selling off the house-hold items like utensils, etc. to fund their vices of smoking and drinking.

     Sagar suddenly left for foreign shores with the help of a close friend and wasn’t heard of ever since!  Now Sachin who was 30, faced with hunger and penury, had no option, but to opt for a job.  And here he was, in borrowed clothes and belongings, facing an interview panel, for the first time in his adult life. 

     Again, the interviewer repeated his question.  “It is seven years since you got your commerce degree.  Didn’t you work anywhere at all?  Didn’t you ever attempt to find a job?”

     Uneasily, Sachin faced him.  He appeared abashed and rueful.  He kept mum.

     “I’m sorry, but without any experience, we can’t appoint you, lad” the interviewer said, even as the other 2 on the panel, nodded in assent.

     Wordlessly, he gathered his belongings of the file containing resume and reference letters from his family physician and a sympathetic businessman; and his brief-case which contained nothing but some papers stuffed in to appear bulky.  He had brought it along to impress the interviewers.   Foolishly, he had assumed that external appearance only mattered to the interviewers and not his real experience and worthiness for the job applied for!

     After that fiasco, Sachin could never muster enough courage to apply for a job.  He was once bitten, twice shy!  After racking his brains for some weeks and lots of soul-searching, he reached a decision.  Raring to go, he contacted that kindly businessman who had given him a reference, after taking pity on him. 

     “Sir, I request you to lend me some money to start a small business.  I’ll repay the same with interest in monthly installments and even pay penalty if I default on any of my EMIs.”

     The businessman, Ratan Shah looked at him warily and asked “But what are you planning to do?  Which business?”

      “Sir, I’ll open a small general store, more like a convenience store and stock on some everyday essentials like bread, eggs, milk, stationery items, packaged food items, etc.”

      “Fine, but do you have space for the same?” inquired the businessman.

      “I was about to ask for that too, from you Sir!”

      Flabbergasted Ratan Shah stared at the young lad in front of him.  Wasn’t he too audacious, expecting him to fund his business from scratch and even offer him a space for business?  But when he saw the determined and sincere look on his face, he pressed further.

      “What about your numerous friends?  Can’t anyone of them help you in cash or kind?”

     Bitterly Sachin said, “They were all fair-weather friends, Sir.  Unfortunately I realized it too late.  Now I’ve come to my senses and know that I have no one in this world except myself to shoulder my responsibility.  As you are aware, my brother has also deserted me and doesn’t bother to even keep in touch!”

     Reluctantly Ratan Shah said, “But I have heard about your vices.  I doubt if you’ll be able to prudently conduct the business.  I can’t afford to write-off my money at any cost!”

     Readily, Sachin firmly stated “You’ve my word of honor, Sir.  You can get my statement or Promissory Note on a Stamp Paper and take legal action against me in the case of any eventuality.  I have taken an oath on my deceased parents’ memory that I’ll never smoke or drink again.  I owe that much to them.  I want to make their souls proud of me.  At least they’ll rest in peace in Heaven, knowing that I have reformed!”

     After that impassioned statement, Ratan Shah was convinced about his honorable intentions and relented.  “O.K. son, it’s never too late!  All the best.”

     Within 5 years, with lots of hard work and persistence, Sachin was able to make his business prosper and repay Ratan Shah’s money as agreed. 

      The businessman was happy that he had been instrumental in getting Sachin’s life back on the right track.

                                                                    The End

This story has been published in the September 1st issue of Woman's Era magazine. Some paras have been deleted by WE's erroneous editing. In my opinion, editing shouldn't make the story appear disjointed! I have got feedback regarding the same, hence am posting the entire story here, to make things clear. The paras highlighted in blue, were edited (Read chopped off!) by WE.

The copyright remains to be assigned by me, in favor of Woman's Era. WE was in a tearing hurry to publish it! Thanks anyway, WE!