Arohan - The Ascent

Destiny Calls

"It is the nature of the world, to mock when a person is down in the dumps ... it does not mean those who mock you are right . It also does not mean they are bad either, they are just doing to you, what has been done to them by this world," said Pandit ji, observing this desolate man."All doors are closed, Pandit ji...." He sided far away and on the verge of a mental collapse. "I am stuck from all sides... I have gone so far out, that there is no path back... May be this is the punishment for all the crimes I have committed in my life.." Said Vicky

There are times when a person is lost and then there are times when a person begins to believe that all is lost. May be there is still some hope in the first case but when you begin to believe that all is lost, that's when the plunge into hopelessness happens. It's a gradual downfall to destruction from then on. And looking at Vicky in that moment, Pandit ji realised that the boy needed hope, something to cling on to, something to help restore a sense of purpose.

"What do you want to do now?" He asked getting Vicky to sit down on a stool and pulling a chair close to him.

Vicky looked up at the man he once despised with all his heart. That the man he always tried to put down, was the one sitting by him, when all had abandoned him, was an irony in itself. Once again, Vicky was reminded of the smallness of his being, the insignificance of all that he thought made him a man. It was all farcical. He was not a man... he was a mockery of a man.

"Why would you do this for me?" He asked unable to fathom, what drove people to the display of such kindness. "Knowing how I was and what I have done, how can you even think of treating me nicely!!!! Don't you feel like smashing one into my face... don't you hate the look of me... like Madam ji?" He asked, honestly baffled.

Pandit ji smiled a warm smile at his question. "When we all saw the villain in you, she saw the potential in you!" He reminded Vicky. She saw through the facade, saw the real you. I didn't think she was right, but now I know she is right. Beneath the vineer of Vicky, lies the keen, discerning, sensitive Vikram. And she now despises you as any woman would , as you attempted to touch her dignity. She would not be a woman worth fighting for, if she did not hate you thus," pointed out Pandit ji.

"All I have are questions without answers. How will I join BSF. How will I redeem myself. All doors are closed... " Vicky continued..

"There may still be one trick left up my sleeve, it will not help you become a constable, but it will help you, get to close to someone, who has spent a lifetime in the service of these men in uniform. The only catch is that you must not let him know, that I have sent you. The minute he finds out that you are my man, he will throw you out!! So, will you do it?" Asked Pandit ji, looking at Vicky with eyes full of possibilities and hope.

"But what exactly am I going to do ? The challenge of Madam ji is for me to join BSF!!" Replied Vicky puzzled. What exactly was Pandit ji suggesting? What exactly was he trying to say. With his criminal record, it was nearly impossible for him to get any position in BSF, be it combat or ancillary. How then would he ever become worthy of madam ji. Vicky's mind was swimming with all these questions and so he looked at Pandit ji with a baffled look on his face.

Pandit ji smiled a cryptic smile and then asked, "why do you want to join the BSF?"