Where Is The Freedom?

Ramya, born in a middle-class family, did her schooling from a nearby local public school, but she nonetheless managed to pass with distinction. All the things she could not experience socially being an introvert, she compensated for that with her studies.

Ramya was raised in an orthodox Brahmin family and had her fair share of restrictions and limitations. She was never allowed to stay out late in the night, and that was just the start though the most painful one for her as she was quite adventurous from within. However bad the rule of getting home early, the setting was good for her health, it made sleep early and rise early. She took bath twice a day even during winter and brushed her teeth twice before and after food. She was conscious and self-aware that way.

Ramya always thought she would not make her children go through the same amount of restrictions that she struggled with being a kid. After her education, Ramya got into an MNC in a managerial position, and hence, she could not get time to spend on her personal life.

Her parents started having concerns regarding her. Now that she had an upper hand both in terms of age, money, and position, speaking matters directly to her was not an easy task, as they feared that it might hurt her, though Ramya had kept them in high regards.

Things were not the same anymore. Ramya was now totally independent and self-dependent, and this meant she could come home at her preferred time, and of course she always had a reason now - that she was in a top position and that she could not afford to come back home soon while others were still in the office. Since her parents were all alone at home, Ramya decided to keep them under her watch.

She installed CCTV camera in her home and got her laptop connected to the network. Now she kept watching her parents during intervals. Though they were happy that her daughter was taking care of them, there was another notion attached to it.

Ramya got married soon after and had a baby girl and a boy within three years time. As they grew up, she installed apps on their gadgets to monitor their movements. I guess by now surveillance had become an indispensable habit for her. However, she made sure never to interfere in their personal life/activity. The kids had their fair amount of privacy and personal space but were still bound within a circle of an invisible protective fence that their mother had laid for their safety.

Although she had vowed to provide the level of freedom and independence to her kids, that which she was deprived of, she nonetheless contradicted herself by controlling and surveying their movements.

During her time, there weren’t any gadgets, so her parents had to monitor  her physically, but now Ramya could do that with just the touch of a button. Ramya had realized the difference: the convenience she had to control her kids.