Bunty cried whole night thinking of his plight. For days, he drenched his bed with tears thinking about his Papa. Having an understanding mother was his lone strength. She was his support structure.
“I’m still waiting for the day when I can be proud of my son. I don’t see that day coming anytime soon.” His Papa’s words flashed on his mind. That couldn’t let him sleep for days. He was clearly demotivated.
Years passed and he was in 12th Class now. It was an important phase of life for many students in India. Papa and Bunty were not in talking terms. This hurt Bunty immensely.
Tired of life, he even tried committing suicides several time. But every time he thought of that, his twitter, facebook, snap chat and his mobile phone flashed in front of his eyes. One day while he was taking rest on his bed, he saw a tiny spider trying to reach the ceiling.
That day he got reminded of a story that his grandmother told him when he was young. It was about a Scottish King named Robert Bruce who derived inspiration from a tiny spider trying to reach its cobweb at the roof. Shattered and Hopeless, he tried of running away, but this spider motivated him for a new beginning and it taught a great lesson to the King. Bunty’s situation presently was no different than the King. He saw the tiny spider on his wall trying to reach the ceiling.
Curious, he saw the tiny spider moving slowly and gently. He used a magnifying glass to study its behaviour. The tiny spider caught the attention of Bunty and tried talking to him through telepathy. Bunty was amazed at first. “Oh Fuck! That’s a talking Spider.” Bunty freaked out.
“Hey Spider, inspire me please!” Bunty said.
The tiny spider showed Bunty its middle finger and said, “Enjoy your life. Don’t be serious. It’s a trap. Don’t pay heed to your Papa, Bunty!”
The tiny Spider seem to have been exhibiting its thug side very well. The tiny spider gave up when it couldn’t reach the ceiling and left.
Even the tiny Spider could not inspire Bunty. Even a spider behaves like a thug, Bunty thought!
Shattered, Bunty switched on the TV to his favourite music channel.
He lay on his bed and was immersed in his own train of thoughts.
Han yehi rasta hai tera, tune yeh jaana hai,
Haan yeh Sapna hai tera, tune pehchana hai,
Tujhe abh yeh dikhana hai,
Roke tujhko aandhiya, ya zameen aur aasman
Paayega jo Lakshya hai tera
Lakshya ko har haal mei paana hai
The lyrics of that song from the movie Lakshya , travelled deep into his veins and arteries. He got super motivated. He jumped from the bed and opened his books. Bunty and his books were like the worst enemies. He touched his book only during his exams. If his books could speak, even it would have abused him badly for not touching it every day.
He took his Science Book and started with chapter 1 . He read the answers carefully and tried to understand the concept. This went on for days. Maa would give him Bournivita every night and Horlicks every morning. He religiously visited temples, churches, mosques and gurudwara’s in his locality every day. He studied for 4 hours every night. Now his sole intention was to get one mark more than Sharma ji ki beti, Shalini Sharma. He wanted to win back his Papa’s trust.
One Night at 3 AM, when Papa went to the washroom to attend nature’s call, he realized that Bunty’s room had its light on. He peeped in through the window and saw Bunty studying. He couldn’t believe his eyes at first. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers and pinched himself to confirm if it was Bunty or someone else. Yes, it was his son Bunty! He smiled and left for his room. Days passed and Bunty started studying for 6 to 8 hours every day. Every time his eyes closed, Shalini Sharma would appear in front of his eyes.
Bunty’s board Exam days neared. He now started studying every day for 18 hours and slept only for 4 hours. He stayed away from social media and everything that could distract him. Finally, he gave his exams. All his papers went well sans Mathematics. Every day after exams, he used to look at Shalini Sharma and watch her reaction. She had Eureka moment every day. According to her friends, it seemed could get 100 marks in all her papers.
He almost gave up. Seeing her confidence of getting the first rank dimmed his hopes of impressing his Papa. He was clearly disappointed.
His holidays flew so fast just like the monsoons in Delhi. Bunty’s Maa had immense faith in him. Finally, the result day had arrived. He logged into his laptop and launched the board exam results website.
The server was busy. After refreshing the website 150 times, the moment arrived.
“98.8% marks.Congratulations!!” The message read.
Bunty’s mother almost jumped from the seat. “I’m so proud of you, beta,” she said,ruffling Bunty’s hair.
His nervousness hiked. He started sweating profusely. It was Shalini Sharma’s marks. He hadn’t scored more than 65% in his entire school life. If he had to win his Papa’s trust, then he should score more than 98.8%. He believed in Give your best, God will do the rest.
His current situation was like that of an Indian Athlete trying to defeat Usain Bolt in the 100 metres race at the Olympics.
“Maa, that’s not my marks. That’s Sharma ji ki Beti’s score,” he told his mother.
“What about yours?” She asked curiously.
He entered his seat number in the text field and hit the submit button. The site was overloaded with too many requests. It was still loading and after 15 minutes, it got opened. Bunty and his mother joined their hands and remembered all the Gods from all religions.
Bunty opened his eyes and cried.
“Papa, I let you down again,” he screeched.
He was sad for not scoring more than Shalini Sharma. She had secured the 1st rank in his school.
“97.5% Congratulations! ” He read the message again. Bunty stood 2nd in his school but he was upset that he couldn’t make his Papa happy.
He wasn’t happy for his own achievements.
“Maa, I got 97.5%!” he said, upset.
His Maa hugged him tight and said,” All your hard work paid off!”
“But Papa won’t be happy!” He cried.
Papa had come home early that day. Maa offered him a glass of Chaas.
Bunty went close to his Papa and sat next to him.
“Papa..” he said.
Papa was busy reading the newspaper.
They both never talked much all these days.
“Papa…” he said again.
Papa looked at Bunty and asked, “Did you call me?”
“Papa, my 12th Std results are declared.” Bunty said.
“Okay! Great! ” Papa said.
“I scored 97.5% ,Papa!” Bunty said to his Papa.
“I am sorry , Papa!” Tears welled in Bunty’s eyes.
Papa looked at him. There was deafening silence for a moment.
“Come, here beta,” he said.
Bunty obediently went close to his dad.
Whenever his Papa called him, Bunty got beaten terribly. He expected something similar.
“SLAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP”
Bunty realized it was a dream. Papa had not slapped him.
Papa hugged him tight. “You’ve made me proud, Bunty!” Papa said and asked , “Mithai Nahi doge Papa ko?”
“But Papa, I’m sorry!” Bunty said.
“Why?” Papa asked.
“Sharma ji ki beti scored more than me,” he said.
“It’s okay!”he said and replied,” Scoring 97.5% is a very big thing in life.”
“You have proved me that you are the best.” Papa was visibly happy.
“Sharma ji ki beti may have got more marks than you but you have given me extreme happiness today,” Papa said.
“Mera Bunty Zarur Engineer Banega!” Papa announced.
Bunty looked at him helplessly and gave an animated smile, concealing all his dreams and ambitions within.
