1 minute read
Vikrant Singh Kushwaha
“Socha tha, kisan ka beta hoon, kisaan hi banunga. But my parents dreamt otherwise, ‘Humara beta bada sarkari officer banega!’ They moved us to Kanpur from our village for better education.
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There, Papa started working as a laborer and Mummy took up odd jobs like candle making and stitching to get by… But a few years in, Papa lost his job. It was a difficult time — we didn’t even know where our next meal would come from. We started helping Mummy then — we made candles, garlands, and sold chai in melas. We pulled through.
While Papa found a new job, I had a new dream — I wanted to do something big for my family. I put my all into studies and after my graduation, I began preparing for the SSC CGL exam.
It took over 3 years, 2 failed attempts, and countless sleepless nights. But I got selected. We were all huddled in front of my laptop screen, waiting for my results. When we found out that I was selected, Mummy couldn’t stop crying. And Nani proudly started calling up the whole family. It felt like a dream.
After I joined the Ministry of Defense, our life changed. I started spoiling my parents with every happiness. This year, I surprised Mummy and Papa with a car on their anniversary and moved our family of 8 to a new, bigger house.
And last year, we took our first flight together to Nainital. While planning a vacation, it struck me, ‘Iss baar plane me jayenge!’ I surprised everyone with tickets and they couldn’t contain themselves — my parents were bursting with childlike excitement. And once on the plane, Mummy tightly clutched onto my hand, scared and excited. Nothing could describe the moment when we saw the clouds for the first time. Mummy said, ‘The clouds looked like cotton balls.’ We were in heaven.
And Papa kept saying, ‘Mera beta bada aadmi ban gaya!’ But the truth is, I’m just getting started. It’s my dream now to fill their lives with all the happiness they deserve… and more. After all, it was their dream that taught me to dream, it was their dream that has brought me so far!”
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