Soil Affinity

There was a South Indian family from Karla state. The master of the family was on the job and spent most of his lifetime in Maharashtra state during his service period. Out of sight, soon out of mind. He had some parental assets at his native place. His relatives would care for his property for some period. He didn’t sell his property as there was a deeply rooted plan in his mind that he would go back after his retirement. His wife was also from the same state. Both belonged to the same community. Hence their thoughts about property were uniform as great minds think alike. The couple had also an attachment to their soil. He thought that his parental property would bind him with his soil and relatives. Once he sold his property, then he would be detached from them forever. He didn’t want to break bonding between them. So, he would to go his homeland either once a year or at some special function of his family whenever he was invited by them a long absence, soon forgotten. This practice would continue for so many years to maintain his relation with the people of the soil.

He had a lovely daughter. She completely grew up with the local culture. Her mother had the same local surroundings. The whole family completely mixed with the local soil. They would forget their own culture with time and adapt to local culture. As the time passed, his relatives had complete control over his parental property. Possessions are nine-tenth of the law. It was impossible for him to take it back from them. He himself surrendered in this matter as a bird in hand is worth two birds in the bushes. He made up his mind that at least they would maintain blood relation with his family and coming offspring as half a loaf is better than none. His lovely daughter completed her graduation. She had a special interest not only in Hindi but also in the local language. She could only speak her mother tongue to some extent with her parent. Her educational medium was also Hindi. when in Roman, do as Romans do. After graduation, she completed some typing and shorthand courses. She was appointed as a Hindi translator in a big central government organization. There was a massive drive for the propagation of Hindi in all central government offices and undertakings in the country. She was also taking various schemes for the dissemination of Hindi in the regional office and its sub-offices as per central guidelines. Start weaving, God will give you the thread. Though Hindi wasn’t her mother tongue, she would give her optimum services for the propagation of Hindi as per her ability, capacity, and knowledge. Looking at her sincere efforts, staff and officers would also cooperate with her with the same spirit.

She was respected in the office as well as in the organization due to her sincere contributions. God helps those who help themselves. Fortunately, she got married to a man from their home state and the same community. He was a professor at a college, teaching English language to his students. But he didn't grow up in the local culture as she did. He had an attachment to his culture and soil. Unfortunately, his parents passed away just a few years after his marriage. The newly married couple had a strong bond with each other and the local community. She would celebrate all local festivals and religious customs in place of her own with mutual consent. Be slow in choosing, but slower in changing. Her husband would say that he had married a Maharashtrian girl. He also slowly but steadily adopted the local culture as they were in the same boat. They had a handsome, brilliant son who was also brought up with the local culture. Her husband had an affinity for his soil, just like her parents. He also had the same plan to go back after retirement, like his father-in-law. The parallel situation took place with him regarding his parental property, like his father-in-law.

Her father retired from his job after reaching the age of superannuation. Her parents were senior citizens of India. They grew very old. Their son-in-law also retired from his job. His wife had left her job as there was a vast age difference between them at the time of marriage. Her parents would stay with them as she was the sole caretaker for them. She had total responsibility for her parents, as there was nobody else to take care of them. But her parents were very disciplined and punctual about time. She would take care of all their daily needs and attend the office on time. She was an ideal employee for others.

There were many regional as well as national level programs for the propagation of Hindi in the department. She had to attend them without any excuse. She would hire a caretaker to look after her parents in her absence. A man proposes, and God disposes. They purchased a very large flat for their residency in the city when their son was about to complete his engineering education. They thought that he would serve in the country in the same location. No sooner had he completed his post-graduation than he got a job in a multinational company. Unfortunately, he had to go abroad for his livelihood. It was a shocking event for the couple. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. They allowed their son to go, making their hearts even bigger and controlling their emotions for his future. The history repeated itself with a slight deviation as they were away from their homeland within the country, and their son was abroad. They just thought for a while, that if they hadn't migrated from their homeland, their son wouldn't have gone abroad. It's not a bad thing to go abroad to gain knowledge for some time, but they should come back to provide their expertise to their homeland. The brain drain from the homeland to another country for which the homeland invested millions of rupees. They should realize that their existence in this world comes from their parents and their homeland. They should repay the value of their contributions. If this trend continues, the brain drain will continue to go abroad, and their parents will be deprived of the natural justice of receiving services from them in their old age.

The couple allowed their son to go abroad for his career, to make hay while the sun was shining. But they were suspicious about his return, as the saying goes, "out of sight, out of mind." It was a big question mark for the family. When they started to reflect on their past, they wondered how the family's journey began by leaving their homeland from one generation to another for their own welfare. The stage reached a climax when the offspring of the family left the homeland. The couple served their parents till their last breath, who were detached from their homeland. Would this couple be lucky enough to enjoy the shelter of their son in the future? Would their son have love for his parents as well as for the country? Would the bond with the homeland disappear from the coming generations forever?