When I get older
I will be stronger
They will call me freedom
Just like a waving flag.
Simple 4 stanzas from the Fifa World cup theme song, those describe the irony of life.
How many times, we have found ourselves thinking that in future, life will be different, better. I think Mota will remember this; we had to wear half pants till class 5th. In class 5th we kept waiting for the year to get over, because full pants seemed cooler. Once we reached class 6th pants were least of the concern. We had become juniors, yet again.
From that time, the last 2 years of school looked the best. We again found ourselves waiting to be older, free from basic rules like doing homework on time and bringing notebooks for all subjects. And slowly we reached class 11th. We had always seen our seniors bunking classes, having a ball, bullying others. We had no intention, of being anything different. But once we reached 11th we came to know the truth. 11th, 12th came as a disappointment to our expectation. There was too much to study for, and too less time. Not that it stopped us from partying, but it always ended up creating a guilt factor.
We entered college, Freedom at last. Freedom from wearing a uniform. Freedom from subjects we didn't need.(It is now that i realize we never need any subject to do the work i am doing right now.)Freedom from being continously told what to do.Freedom from returning home after a fixed time. But from day 1 school seemed so much better. Probably it was because of initial ragging.Freedom was yet another illusion. Dress code existed as formals 24/7. Not only we ended up taking care of things like cleaning room and doing work for ourselves, but we were doing the same for the rest of the hostel. From the start of ragging people kept waiting for the day it would end and we would be free from all troubles. Well once it ended, for some of us it still remains, the most memorable time of our college.
The 2nd Year, the much awaited time to rag came .Freedom from doing our own work. We were finally seniors. But ragging brought along its own set of problems. And it ended up rather painfully. “The bat incident”. All the risky times, when guards showed up. The complain. We had to be careful,cautious.General reminders everyday from home not to be involved in any such activity. And we always had our seniors, monitoring our ways of ragging. Though it was fun, we couldn’t do exactly as we pleased. Freedom always had a line of control, which was not supposed to be treaded past. 2k5 will remember , the objection 2k4 had when we assigned 'Guard duty' to 2k6. Or how Yasir didn't want us to call of ragging.
We waited for reaching the final year. When there would be no one to question us. We would be the authority. But freedom yet walked away from us. It started with Tension of placements (yet another hope of bringing freedom).Followed by a world of problems.(The only freedom i got was when it was decided to free him from my room, and it wasn't pleasent) . Soon we found ourselves waiting for the day, when we would no longer have to get up to go for attending lectures.
As the end of college drew closer, the freedom didn’t seem as pretty as it had looked before. We had almost achieved the freedom we wanted. We were not attending classes. Spending all the time, together. Vellagiri had reached its max. But such a thing was not meant to last. College got over. We separated.
Most got their wish. Joining came. We were placed. Independent from home (Poor Niyati). Somehow the older we grew, the further the freedom went. As of now the cost to meet friends is minimum 6k. For saving that 6k, we work 48 hours a week. Cut down expenditures. It would have been much better to stay back in college meet the same people for free and attend lectures with them , partying all the time, rather than being in the place where most of us are right now. Atleast at that time we had the freedom to bunk if we didn’t like a lecture.
We constantly find ourselves hoping as the future changes, as we grow old, things will get better. We will be more independent. But more we traverse in future, the better past seems. If only we had realised the value of present during that time, rather then putting high hopes on future.
By growing older, we are supposed to be independent, but independence brings responsibility which in turns obstructs freedom. The more independent we get, lesser time we get to cherish and enjoy life.
Maybe it's time we stop singing...
When I get older
I will be stronger
They will call me freedom
Just like a waving flag.
