Road“The Road Not Taken“, by Robert Frost indeed has many dimensions and interpretations to it as far as I can see. One interpretation which I could make is the fact all those things which have been invented or discovered would not have been if people had not dared to tread the way generally referred as useless by many. As more and more people now are driven with the idea of doing something different from the rest, they are compelled to follow the nomadic culture of roaming around the world for their respective goals and aspirations. One of the many concepts, which have been on vogue from the time immemorial, is studying abroad.

Many of the things which these guys miss once they go away from home are the things, which never get their due attention when they were easily or readily available. Many small things, which never looked that important, seem to be the most important things in life. It can be a washing machine, any equipment to cook food, or sometimes a small talk with their families which could mean so much to their coming weeks. It’s like having a pep talk to improve your behaviour towards everything you. Most of the time all these things do tend to take a back seat as they are taken for granted. Their importance is felt only when the right time comes. It is as though all these ’small’ things wait for their turn to hit back in a big way.

Things which were categorised as extra curricular activities during the school days become a part of life here and most of the time become the only source to gain extra points on the academic front. It can be painting or projects of different kinds etc. These things become so much so a part of life that I wonder if we wasted all the money during the summer holidays when we were anyway going to learn them like this. It’s another issue that the money spent this time would be hundred times more than what we paid at that time. Things like cell phone conversations for long hours, outings to all the best places without a concern for the amount of money spent, movies and so on are all missed very dearly. By the word movie, I am reminded of the fact that once these guys are away from their home for a long time, they tend to get very sentimental and have every chance of crying at each and every emotional scene in a movie. Like my friend Vineeth puts it,” You get too much into it. It’s a different intimation all together”. More so, when the scene involves a father or a mother. it may appear funny to the onlooker but believe me, it is never easy to be away from your parents and more so for those guys who have been brought up in a country like India where relationships are given utmost importance. Now after reading this do I see anyone laughing at those who get emotional and cry???

When it comes to money it is both exciting to earn the first salary and also difficult to save it. The fact that they have to work hard both to earn and save it makes the experience even more fruitful. Teaching, lab assistant, pizza delivery, petrol bunk etc are few of those jobs, which are generally taken up to. Quite an interesting list though these would be looked down upon as undignified jobs when we are staying with our parents. A scene of a family going out does certainly freshens up their memories what with these guys finding themselves or relating themselves with all those families. They can go to such an extent that they see their father in some, mother in some or a sister in some. Given the situation, I don’t think we can actually blame them for that. So from my side, this case does not need a laughter punishment but from humanitarian grounds will be seen as one of those phases of human life when philosophy and sentiments take over their rather violent suggestive moods.

In a country like India, which is known for its diversity of cultures and traditions, it is very normal that each and every month of the year becomes a host for more than a couple of festivals. It is no wonder that once you get accustomed to the general way of preparing for a festival two days in advance or even more than that, the feeling of not able to celebrate these festivals, even for a year, does makes the day real boring and sick. There probably isn’t much fanfare when it comes to celebrating the festivals, for these guys, as either the goras are accustomed to celebrating more silently or their rules regarding the celebrations might be strict. The hungama, the excitement, the hum-drum sounds of people getting anxious, music, drums, hymns, chanting, the decoration of house, people visiting each others’ houses and finally going to a temple to celebrate, are all missed and there is no feeling worse than formally celebrating a festival just for the sake of doing it

If we take a country like America for example, then we find Indian diaspora forming their own communities to help each other. ” Apparently, you get to know what India is, once you get to America. You find people of all the states at one place and you get to see what the whole of India celebrates all through the year”, is what Vineeth has to say. I can’t disagree more as all you have over there is a bunch of guys of same nationality and either out of compulsion or mere friendly nature, all of them come close.

Yours Always,