Just like a Kite

Life is full of surprises, at one point it will be nothing and the other it will become everything, the journey from nothing to everything is full of something, and that something is what we call as a – Lightbulb Moment.

Sarah was a college drop-out, the lockdown forced her to pack her bags and leave the country along with her father and siblings, the financial crisis led the repatriation of this immigrant family to their own country –India.

‘But, I don’t want to go, dad, what’s there in that rural country, anyway?’ Sarah asked.

‘Much more than here, whatever we have left, I cannot provide you or your siblings a good life here, at least India will offer us a decent life comparatively’, dad replied.

There were table talks, the only difference was that there were no talks, rather it was a constant debate and fight, and the final decision rested in the hands of the father, who was both a participant and the judge.

Sarah lived with her two siblings and fathers but unlike other young adults, she wasn’t allowed to leave home in the search of her new life, rather her father made sure she followed Indian traditions and respect her roots, but this forceful imposition by her father made her hate India even more, though, she had never visited it.

‘But, what about my studies? The education system is too different and I cannot adjust in a conservative country, my life will be ruined’, Sarah said.

‘And if you stay here, it is already on ruins, it will be ruined completely, learn from your younger siblings, they respect their father, learn to obey me, like them’, father replied.

‘They don’t obey you, rather they fear you dad, they fear you!!’

Sarah despised her father and his unnecessary restrictions, but all her resisting went down the drain and soon they left for the country his father once left to find new opportunities.

‘India was nothing like what Sarah thought yet everything what Sarah despised’.

It was indeed a country of culture, heritage and what not, but at the same time it was far less developed from America, people here were more worried about feeding gods, rather than feeding poor.

Adjusting lives in the narrow lanes of Lucknow was difficult, the privacy was non-existent, especially of girls, she lived in a joint family, a concept alien to foreign land, being surrounded by relatives, their kids, Sarah was hating this place, even more.

The only thing that kept her company, her way to escape from this world to another, was her journal. Her stories were reflective of what she desired, her greatest fears became her greatest achievements and her fantasy world became a place to find solace in solitude.

Since the lockdown was still in operation, she spent most of her time in the room, from the windows of her room, she could spot the dome of Jama Masjid, an old yet magnificent mosque, on lowering her gaze she could see the streets filled with shops, shops of dresses, Kurtis, Chikankari Suits, pottery, etc. On the sideways, she could spot children flying Kite in the sky, higher than a kid’s drone. If one was to look a little more beyond what the window had to offer, one could also see a Haveli.

This was the view that was offered by the window each day, yet this was Sarah’s favorite place to sit as it offered a view to a different life. Months went by, Sarah became somewhat adjusted to her life in Lucknow, she compromised with her free life yet this life wasn’t suiting her, as most of her relatives still found the introvert nature of Sarah irritating and provoking, she wasn’t well received by the aunties of the house and neighborhood because of her dressing style which was immodest in their view.

Still, the kids of the house found Sarah an interesting character as she had a lot more to offer on America’s culture and lives than her younger siblings.

Life was going on, things were setting in place, some things were taking more time to adjust than others while some got mixed up effortlessly, yet amidst all this, Sarah never stopped writing, but her thoughts were feeling caged, she couldn’t write about happy places, she couldn’t write properly, her last writings were just scribbles, she wasn’t happy from within, and this was reflective in her journal.

‘Sarah di, come with us, today we have a kite flying match in neighborhood, let’s go to the terrace, it will be fun’, her nephew said.

Sarah wanted to say no, but she didn’t, God knows why, but it turned out, that was for the best.

In these three months, she never had been on terrace, but as soon as she stepped her foot there, she felt wind gushing through her face, all the terraces in the neighborhood were connected, all the houses were one!

The view terrace offered was not just a view, it was a picturesque, the streets look smaller, but longer, the dome looked magnificent than ever, the sparkle of Chikankari Kurtis gleamed her eyes, the kites flying high in the sky like a free bird filled her heart with happiness, and the greatest thing was yet to come to her notice- The Haveli.

The Haveli, which was just few meters away from their home, was like a gigantic house and when she asked her nephew, what is that, to her surprise it actually came out to be a house!

‘What’s a Haveli, who lives there? What a beautiful place it is yet why is it in shambles?’ Sarah asked her nephew.

Her nephew, who was just a teenager laughed on the ignorance of Sarah who he thought to be so wise and intelligent.

‘Di, Haveli is a mansion of Nawabs (the richest and the most respected person of the city having political influence) who used to live here a long time ago, Freedom fighters took shelter in Haveli against Britishers, then after Partition, everything changed, from the status of Nawabs in society to the condition of these havelis.’, nephew replied giggling.

‘What a rich culture this city has, yet no one knows about it’, Sarah said to herself.

From the kite flying, preserving of art, to providing shelter during struggle for independence times, this city has so much to offer for the world to know, this is like a dreamland that exist here only and nowhere else, wouldn’t be it just great if all this can be penned down and reach overseas?

This sudden realization naturally brought a smile of contentment on Sarah’s face, she is feeling like her thoughts have broken the cage and are ready to fly high, just like the kite in the sky, higher and higher.