The Gardener Page #12

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l didn't ever expect

such a tremendous response

Response? The first edition has

sold like hot cakes

The second one is in press.

And this is all yours

What's this...?

- Just keep collecting it

''There's no saying how much more

''Baghban'' will make''

We're holding a function next week

in your honour

Do please attend. And bring

your family along too

Over there?

''Ladies and gentlemen,

''Baghban'' needs no introduction''

That its author has been honoured

with the Bookers' Prize...

speaks volume for its success

''Before l ask Mr Malhotra to

throw some light on ''Baghban''...''

l would like his son to say

a few words about his father

l therefore request to the stage...

Mr Alok Raj

Alok-ji...

You must've often heard people

saying that no one has seen God

''That it's a matter of devotion,

faith and one's belief''

But l can tell you

that l have seen God

''ln flesh and blood,

smiling and laughing...''

''in every joy, in every sorrow,

in every test and every situation''

lt's none else...

than my father

l was an orphan. l had

never seen my parents

Neither did l ever

have their love

''But l can tell you with confidence,

that had they been here today...''

they couldn't have given me

so much of love and affection...

as l got from my father

l have got so much from my father...

that l can't ask him

for anything more

But of God l seek one thing

''ln His world, he must continue to

make people like my father''

That's it. l have

nothing more to say

''Please come here, father''

Ladies and gentlemen...

l hope you won't believe all that

you heard about me just now

Alok praises me so much only because

he loves me very much

And he doesn't love me because

l'm a very good human being...

or because l have several virtues.

He loves me because...

he himself is a very nice boy

''Actually, l am not a writer''

Writers are those that plunge deep

into the oceans of knowledge...

and come up with rare gems

of literature

l have only written

what life has taught me

''Baghban'' is not about me

or any other individual''

lt's a book of the conflict

arising between the days gone by...

and the days to come

lt's a book about the broken

relations between two generations

lt's a book about

the drooping shoulders...

on which some children had once sat

to see the world

lt's a book about the

trembling hands...

''that once had held the hands of their

children, as they taught them to walk''

lt's a book about the parched lips...

that once sang lullabies

But which have now been silenced

Times have changed

Life has changed

lf people of my generation

will recall...

we were always caught up ties and

in relations that yielded nothing

Our father was God

At our mother's feet

lay our heaven

And now...

now people have become

very sensible

The new generation is very

clever and practical

''For them, every relation

is like a ladder...''

on which they will step

to rise further in life

But when they have no use

for the ladder anymore...

with the rest of the broken

furniture in the house...

''old vessels, old clothes

and newspapers...''

they are dumped in the attic

''However, life does not

take you up like a ladder''

Life grows like a tree

Parents are not the steps

on a ladder

Parents are the soul

of one's life

''However big the tree is,

however green and filled it is...''

''it can't stand on its own,

once its roots are hacked''

''With all humility and respect,

l ask today...''

the children for whose happiness...

a father spends every penny of his

hard earned money with a smile...

''those very children, when the

father's eye-sight weakens...''

why do they hesitate in

giving them light ?

lf a father can help his son to

take the first step in his life...

why can't the son...

give his father support when he's

taking the last few steps of his life?

What crime is it of the parents

who have devoted all their lives...

''to their children, that they are

given tears and loneliness?''

lf they can't give us

any love...

who gives them the right to

snatch our love from us?

What do these children think?

The parents God has united in love...

can they separate and force them to

lead a life of misery and despair?

ls it for a day like this

that man seeks children?

Children perhaps forget...

''what is our present today,

will be their present tomorrow''

''lf we are old today,

they will also grow old someday''

''The questions we ask today,

they will ask tomorrow''

As for me...

please don't worry about me

Because if l am capable of

bringing up my children...

helping them become able

and independent...

l am capable of taking

care of myself too

l feel no need to expect

anything from anyone

Because l am very fortunate

l am fortunate...

because life has given me

a companion...

walking with whom has

made my path easier

Walking with whom my hardships

were always blown away

And that companion is my wife

People often fall in love.

However...

they don't express it

as often as they should

l wouldn't want to

make a mistake like that

Pooja...

l love you very much

Very much

''Because you are, l am''

And there's everything

if we are together

''Else, there's nothing.

Nothing''

That's all l had to say

Sorry... please forgive us

''Please forgive us, dad''

''Sir, how would you react had ''Baghban''

''been your personal experience?''

''Those children,

who don't love their parents...''

who don't give them shelter...

who don't respect them...

l'd never forgive them

l'd rather punish them

l'd disown them

A mother always forgives her children

Won't you forgive us?

''Yes, as a mother l may

perhaps forgive you''

But as a wife...

l cannot forget the

tears my husband has shed

And all of you are the ones

who made them shed tears

l can't say anything about.

But l have nothing to give you today

Not even forgiveness

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