Kadapa & Factionalism

Hey! You are from which place? He asked me in the corridor.

Kadapa. I said and filled my water bottle. So, have you bought bombs here? He asked me.

I don't know how to respond to this type of question. 

No. I said and laughed.

In this whole campus, such type of questions was repeated many times.

After a month home, sick leaves were given. It is common practice to give homesick holidays in these corporate colleges.

Till the 10th standard, I have studied in my hometown in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. 

It is overwhelming for me to attend a college in Hyderabad for the Intermediate.

Coming back home, dad asked me how is your Hyderabad college? 

Good, I replied. Why people are fearing by listening to the name Kadapa? I expressed my frustration to dad.

What they are fearing? Dad asked in a peaceful tone.

They asked me about bombs, factions and Political murders.

Dad laughed. It's true. We all were affected by factions, political murders in this area. Even I know how to make a bomb. We all used to store them too. He took an abrupt pause.

Dad, all these people are murderers? There is sweat on my head.

No. Not all people are deliberately done these things. Our previous generation predicted there is no future with this factionalism, violence. They decided to make us study. 

You were not aware of these things because we all chosen education over violence. But. 

He looked at the wall which had my Grandma's photo.

See, son in pictures some scenes were glorified. Of course, murders were happened because of money, pride and faction.

It was shown on the celluloid and given us an impression for a lifetime.

Do you know your Grandma likes education like anything? She used to sell vegetables to get one rupee. She saves that rupee to send me to school on a bus.

I used to walk ten kilometres a day to attend school and to save one rupee bus ticket. This generation doesn't know and they can't digest it. There is no glorification to this side of our lives.

Our morals, hard words, sacrifice all are tagged behind the factionalism tag.

I never expected Dad can say this many things at a time.

What can we do to remove the tag? I asked with a stupid mind.

No. It won't go easily. All we have to do is to surpass the negative comments and move on.

Now also that kind of things might happen in some scenarios.

It takes many generations of time. We should not lose hope. We should focus on positive things on this land. Read, write and share the richest culture we have. He said and went outside.

I began to think about my ancestors.