Bitter Steps to better life

Chapter 1 - Summer Holidays

It was 5 in the morning when my dad started waking me up. I woke up as soon as I heard that we were going to the village. I freshened myself and was excited to start my journey. Everyone must be thinking that I love to visit my village, and yes, I do. But the best thing is traveling on the train with all the new people and seeing new faces. What's even more exciting is seeing little kids with innocence in their eyes. My dad was performing his rituals of pooja, and he ordered me to go and wake up Gopal uncle. Gopal uncle is a taxi driver who always drops us off at the station when we go to the village. It was a little cold and dark, so I took my dad's phone and turned on the torch. I went to Gopal uncle's house and kept knocking on his door until he opened it. As soon as he woke up, he told me that he would arrive soon with his vehicle.
All our bags were packed, and the taxi arrived. It was dark, insects were making some weird sounds, and the fresh breeze made my face glow more than usual. Within half an hour, we reached the station. My dad went to buy tickets while we were waiting near the counter. Thoughts were flowing in my mind about further journey. There was an announcement going on about the train number and the timing of its arrival. Canteens were spreading the aroma of different snacks and foods, which would lead my stomach to purr. Boards were displaying details about different train arrivals. My dad arrived, and he told us to hurry up. I carried a small bag so I could help my parents. We entered our train, and my dad was searching for a seat for us. The worst of General Block is that we have to always adjust, and it is too congested. This didn't even worry me because I was sent to the upper part of the seat to sleep, but I hated it sometimes; it didn't allow me to watch the beautiful view of farms, waterfalls, and scenes of villages and cities. This time, I wanted to sit down near my dad. I always slept on my dad's lap most of the time. There was still some time left for the train's departure. When it was timed up, one lady announced to the speaker some numbers and details. I always wonder where the lady might be sitting because I never saw someone announcing.
Slowly, the train started departing. I felt something was taking me back; this was the only feeling I enjoyed the most. I tried to stare outside the window, looking at passersby. I don't know who those two boys were; they were waving me goodbye. My father told me to wave them back, but when I picked up my hand to say goodbye, the train fastened its speed. Still, I tried to raise my hand out of the window and wave them back. I was always confused about whether I was going away from people or if they were away from us. I took my hand inside, but I had different feelings for those two boys. I felt as if they were my siblings. I was missing both of my brothers; they used to always be part of this journey with me, but this time they were not. At every station, I asked, Dad, which is this station?" He told me the names of certain stations. I only knew that after Hubli, our station would come. After several hours, we finally reached our village. We started walking towards the autorickshaw stand, where there were autorichshaws and tangas. Sometimes we used to go by walking to the bus stand, by tangas, or maybe by autorickshaw. We reached Bustand, and dad took me somewhere inside the market, passing through some lanes, where we entered one of the house, which was a little dark and old, but there were tables to have our lunch. An old man appeared, and Dad gave the order. I found people eating rotis made of jowar. It was one of the specific hotels that were specially made for homemade food for 60 rupees. I stared inside and saw a woman making fresh jowar rotis. I was small, so I would eat from my dad's plate. I loved that Jowar rotis. It always watered my mouth whenever I saw them because in Goa I wouldn't get this. After finishing, we went to our aunt's (mother's sister's) house. I was enjoying my holidays with my cousins; Hindi was a new language for them, and they would like to listen to my conversation whenever I talked to my brother on the phone.
Unfortunately, one day I got the news that my dad had admitted me to one of the school that was nearby my aunt's place. It was an English-medium school, but one thing I didn't like about it was that there was one compulsory subject, which was Kannada. We had to learn it no matter how much we paid for it because it was the official language of the state. My cousin sister told me, "Once you start school, you will have to stay in some relative's house, which is much closer to school." I didn't know why she was excited to find the house of a relative where I was going to stay. The next day, when my mom and aunty were sleeping, I and my cousin went out on a mission in search of that relative's house. I never saw that relative, nor did I speak to them. Sometimes it's so terrible that we have lots of relatives whom we don't even know but they know us. My cousin asked everyone the address of that house by mentioning their names, and when we reached that house, we saw one woman who suddenly arrived outside to throw some water. My cousin held my hands and told me to run. We both ran as fast as we could and after some time, we stopped and laughed breathlessly, looking behind us to see where we had reached.

Soon I went to my relative's house, where I had to stay throughout the secondary level of school. I was worried about the new school, where I was feel fish out of water. The next day was my first day of school, so my cousin brother dropped me near the school gate. I waved him goodbye and entered the school premises. I went to class and sat quietly. Some girls came near me and started asking about me. I answered their questions specifically. Later, they settled within their peer groups. Soon the bell rang for the classes to begin. The first two periods were free. No one entered our class. In the 3rd period, one of the sir entered our class. He gave us a lecture on discipline, mostly speaking in Kannada and a little bit of English. I was used to the English system of education, so I was feeling bored in this place. After he left our class, students were making lots of noise with gossip and whispers. Suddenly, one of the sir entered our class and told us to stand on a bench. I was confused as to why he was telling everyone to do that. I told him I didn't even speak a word, but he didn't listen to me. He went on hitting everyone on both legs with a wooden stick, which led to red marks on my legs. When school was over, I decided that I would never return to this school. Anger was burning inside me because it wasn't my fault, but still, he punished me. When I returned home, my parents requested that I rejoin the school, but I didn't. Soon, after two days, my dad called and told me to pack my bag. I packed my bags. One of my uncle(Father's cousin brother) came to take me. First, he took me to Daddy's village, then we went to Goa the very next day. That day, the train arrived late at the station, and like every time, the platform was changed at the last moment. We ran as fast as we could and caught the train while running. It was fully crowded. My uncle kept me near a stranger and told me that he would return soon after searching for the general block. I waited for him so much, but he didn't return. That stranger was also worried about me. Later, after some time, my uncle returned out of bloom. My heart sank, and I got some relief when he returned. He thought that he had lost me, and that day will never be forgettable for him. Due to our tense minds, we didn't even eat anything or speak to each other. As per my concern, he told me to eat something, but I ignored his statement. The moment he stepped into our house, he told my father that next time he would never come to Goa alone. This situation led him into madness.