In the PUBG game, his hunter’s eyes were killing the enemies with great vigour. After about half an hour of effort, he shouted loudly.
“Hurray, hurray, hip hip hurray.”
Finally, he crossed the 30th level of the game after an hour and a half of struggle. He was celebrating this victory.
“Hurray, hurray, hip hip hurray.”
For the past two hours, his hands had been frozen on the mobile continuously. Success was achieved after hard work. He went to the balcony in his flat and started looking at the cars coming and going. One car, then another, then a third one, the fourth. Like a pigeon coming out of its nest, he started watching pigeons flying high in the sky.
His face was dominated by a sign of victory. His ego was ignited in the chest, but there was no means to project it. Whom to share his joy of celebration with? He himself was the player, the winner, the loser, the spectator and the game itself. Still, there was one option available for him.
When he was winning digitally, the expression of victory was also digital. After updating the status of his win on WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, he took out a coke and a pizza from the fridge (the refrigerator) and started eating it. His friends’ comments and digital sweets started flooding on WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. He, too, started answering them with digital emoji.
The doorbell rang in a while. He went and opened the door. Math’s teacher was in front. He got annoyed. He murmured, “Shit man. Sir had to come this moment only.” He shrugged his shoulder and went inside his study room with his Math teacher, carrying a 10 kg school bag.
It was five in the evening. Mumukshu was watching his son Satyakam go to the study room with the math teacher. His son Satyakam studied at a renowned international school in a metropolitan city. His daily routine would start at about 6.30 in the morning. Mumukshu’s wife tries to raise her son from 6.30 in the morning. He would go on asking for 5-5 minutes more. At about 7.15, he would leave the bed. Then, in a hurry, he takes his bath, wears clothes, takes a pizza, burger or French fries, carries his 10-kg bag and reaches school with his father Mumukshu by 8 am.
Mumukshu did not have time to teach Satyakam. Nobody could have banked upon the school study. Similar was the case with Mumukshu. Therefore, home tuition was kept. Satyakam returns from school at around 2.30 pm daily. That was his time for launch and a few moments for relaxation.
Math teachers used to come for 1 hour at 4 PM in the evening. Would have returned by 5 o’clock. Then half an hour break. Then the time for the science teacher was from 6 to 7 o’clock. Then half an hour break. Satyakam’s beloved Doraemon’s cartoon used to appear at 7 pm on TV. Watching Doraemon on TV, he used to eat dinner. Then from 8 to 9.30 pm, it was time for the teacher to do the homework.
Around this time, Mumukshu used to come home from the office. After completing the homework, Satyakam would then go to mobile for 1 hour. And after drinking the milk, Satyakaam would go to sleep at about 11 o’clock and then be ready to go to school in the morning.
Tonight’s victory on Satyakam was probably overwhelming. Perhaps the joy of victory was overshadowed by the burden of his homework. He rose two or three times in the night and shouted “Hurray, hurray, hip hip hurray.”
Mumukshu started to remember his own childhood. The golden rays of the rising sun in the village, the chirping of the birds, the fragrance of the mustard field. Cuckoo’s sweet call woke him up in the morning. Mumukshu wakes early in the morning, before the rise of the Sun, would go to the field for nature call, then takes bath on well. Once he finishes with Rice, Curd and vegetable, his group of friends would have seen waiting outside the house.
Everyone would iron their shirt with help of a brass plate, which becomes heated in the sunlight. When the brass plate was heated, all the children would reach school barefoot by ironing their sacks, shirts and half paints with it. The slate was kept absolutely clean with beetle leaves. Someone very fortunate wears slippers and was considered special among children. A small peanut of a herb namely Bhatkuian’s was the favourite food of Mumukshu and his friends.
After finishing the first class, Mumukshu would leave for the village garden. The devils’ team used to make a blast on the berries. Like the monkeys, they would dig the lentils and jams of the monkeys by bouncing them. Moreover, in the rainy season, when the water used to accumulate in the school, then the leave of three months would be fixed in the school. Mumukshu remembered his childhood days one by one.
During the school season during the rainy season, he used to play Chill Chillore, Ice Bice, Kabaddi, Cheeka, Gilli Danda, Lattu, Tai etc (unique village games) with his friends. Used to make paper boats and float in rainwater. Chewed the leaves of Sesham and Tarkul (village trees) and would turn their mouth red like betel leaf. They make shrilling sound from mango’s bowls. Children’s teams used to celebrate festivals after sitting in a maize field and taking out radishes, peppers, tomatoes from nearby fields.
In Holi, Mumukshu’s team used to steal all the old wood in the village like a termite for Holika. A few days before Holi, the terror of his devil child group increased so much that even the old beds, chairs would get consumed in the burning of Holika. Singing on Holika Dahan, sitting near a fire in the cold, burning fire, sleeping with many friends on a straw mat, all these things slowly began to appear in the memory of Mumukshu’s one by one.
Right now all cricket matches come live on the mobile of Satyakam. Mumukshu used to play Gadka in the Mahabiri flag, watched puppets dance, visited the city and enjoying the circus.
Mumukshu loved his son and yearning. He remembered that when his elder brother was returning from the city and coming to the village in his childhood, he fell in love with his brother and jumped on the bike and ran on foot because the bicycle was hindering him to meet his brother. Today, Satyakam had to work on Facebook by running hi.
Although Mumukshu got immense love, he was also beaten by his father for his childhood wrong deeds. Mumukshu suddenly remembered his beating of children when he was smoking with his friends by making Peepal’s stalk as bidi. Here Mumukshu could not even think of slapping his son. His wife would come in the middle. Even Satyakam’s mischief was not the same. His school made him very cultured.
Mumukshu remembered his mischief. At that time Black and White T.V. used to be in Village. The whole village used to wait for Ramayana and Mahabharata serial to be telecasted. Whenever there was a wedding around, there was an extra joy as, during the wedding, movies were normally played. If the film was Amitabh Bachchan, then the fun would be different.
On the other hand, when in the village on the night of Mummukshu Amavasya, we saw the procession of fireflies around the banyan tree, it seems that all the stars have come to the ground. In the rainy season, the atmosphere of the frogs and the chimes of the beetles would make the whole environment resonant. Due to the chirping of birds among the bamboo leaves, it seems that someone has pierced the harp.
Jumping into the pool eating the berries, jumping on the paddy straw from the hemp, hiding behind the bamboo tree in order to avoid father’s anguish, eating mango and Peepal buds with salt etc. What were those days? Mumukshu was sympathising with his son Satyakaam.
In his childhood all of his childish games like catching fish in the fields, playing Gilly, flying kites, Shouting at winning and tease friends by hurling “Hurray, hurray, hip hip hurray.” used to be in the group. In his time, the celebration of victory would be together and so was the defeat.
Now everything has changed. Everything is digital as well as single.