Shooting Stars

Time has been moving fast in the world. There is change in demography and democracy. There is a wise saying "As time changes, you have to change so as to survive.” But in this story we are going to see about a farmer who values every reason and tries to preserve the old things as he can.

It's middle of the day and scorching sun shows its character. In those conditions, people dared not to travel on the road. But there is a man, an old man with turban on his head with towel in waist riding his single bullock cart in a road after unloading manure in his small farm.

While telling about this septuagenarian, he has small family with his son, daughter in law and grandson. His wife had died back five years back. His dream is that always his farm should be green and pasture.

After riding the cart to his home, the bull was tied in the shelter near by the cow. "Why Dad do you want this in the midday" the words came from his son. His son has been working in a factory few miles from there village. He continued that we can sell this bull and can buy tractor so that we can plough our land also can earn money by placing the tractor inside my factor for contract, when you hear my words. The farmer didn’t tell anything. There was smile on his face, that's it; as he moved, his grandson Vishnu looked at all this conversation from window.

At night there is calm in their house, after finishing the dinner the farmer went outside the home and took rest in rope cot in the outside, soon Vishnu came and sat in the bed. The farmer tried to accommodate his grandchild in the cot. Soon Vishnu starts "why you and dad always fight, better you sell this all and take rest na". The farmer smiled and started to talk that there are certain things you can't explain but without completing he told "look at that cart my son, at the beginning we didn't have much, only few parcel land and big sweet tamarind tree in that, we cut that big tree and made this cart then only our life is sweet as the name of the tree, after that only we bought few agriculture land and moreover "your dad is born in this cart only, not only that but also by this bull’s ancestor we bought from north district, by this only I was reputed and lived like a man somewhat any one can't tell anything wrong in this village about me, as Vishnu heard all this while staring in the sky, meteor was seen when Vishnu saw that he tells "Grandpa! look at the shooting star", his grandpa told "don't look at that your memory power will be reduced", you better sleep.

As his grandfather has slept, Vishnu didn't, there were various thoughts going inside his mind, while thinking about that he slept.

The next day the farmer woke up his grandson, he told "Look your new friend, he was confused and turned around, after sometime he found something moving in their shelter. Cow in the farmer house had given birth to a calf. The calf was quiet active, Vishnu got excited, he named his little friend as Ramu.

As years passed, both Vishnu and Ramu grew up and their bond also. Vishnu studied mechanical course in college. The farmer got old and he always told his grandson that “even after me you should cultivate our land for that you should cultivate the culture to cultivate yourself”. as the farmer got old so as his bull, Vishnu’s father decided to sell it and sold it to the broker, when it was getting transported through the vehicle, both Vishnu and Ramu got emotional and broke down, but Vishnu’s father was busy counting the money.

The farmer was really upset with what was going around him, both his mind and body became restless, his health deteriorated, when the day came, before dying the farmer told his grandson that “Vishnu tell your father that don’t sell atleast this little boy Ramu “. Vishnu promised to his grandfather that he won’t allow”. After the death of farmer, there is silence in room. After the funeral is over, the relatives console Vishnu and his father, then they continued to talk that “Till the end Veeraswamy continued to grow this cattle after that who will grow this, better you people sell this all and live peacefully”.

Hearing all this Vishnu got emotional and told them all that “We may live peacefully, but will Grandpa’s soul? his soul may not rest peacefully”. Hearing this one relative told, you got job in core sector, your father works in factory, then who in your house is there to look at all this cattle? will your mother, even she cannot handle this all work simultaneously”.

Vishnu rose up and told “I will, I will look at all this, I am going to continue what has been left by grandfather legacy, Veeraswamy’s legacy.” Are you mad? exclaimed Vishnu’s father, “not mad, father”, what I try to do is something what our ancestor’s preserved and cherished through their life, you know dad I am going to quit my job and continue farming” initially the father opposed what his son saying but later didn’t tell anything. Vishnu recalled what his grandfather do before in farming then, as others ready to prepare their land for sowing by ploughing their field, he looked at his shelter. there his friend resting by chewing what he eaten, generally Ramu wasn’t used for ploughing, he used to roam here and there, if tired again he took rest, previously when he was trained to plough, he ran away from reigns of farmers hand. It took two days for Ramu to return normally after ache in his body parts for ploughing the field for few meters.

By convincing and even by his fist hand Vishnu controlled Ramu to plough the field, even Ramu was sad by all this thing he used to think that “ we have never trusted this boy, before this he used to roam with me, but now he is trying to do something like a matured one, like come on we have to do Ramu “, I will not work, when thinking that he starts to eat the grass in field and just chewed, but later as he heard some people nearby field told “ without Vishnu this bull would have been sold and somewhere it will be in someone’s plate”, Ramu realised that “only by our friends we are saved, ok come on I am going to help my friend’ let’s move on move on, I am going to plough this field today itself.

Vishnu got encouraged and followed his friend, that year the crop grow well in that field, year after year the crop grown good, as other’s field not much, Vishnu encouraged other to grow cattle in their home and use their manure as fertilizer to the field, so the crop will be good for harvest, as others also follow his footsteps that village turns to be greenfield. In front of the farmer Veeraswamy burial, his grandson planted a mango tree and putted some cow dung as fertilizer, as he stood up and looked at the sky, a shooting star passed through sky. Vishnu thought “who says that when we see shooting stars, we may forget what we have learned, it only reminds one of what one has learned”.