Learning from My Experiences

I was born in an Indian Bengali joint family in Kolkata. Our family consisted of three generations. Not only our immediate grandparents used to live with us, but also my father's old spinster aunt and old bachelor uncle were a part of our family. Not entering into the complications of relationships, I can say that it was a family of 17 members which included 7 children.

By God's grace, the family business did well and we had a decent life. But with the passage of time, the members of the family failed to enjoy the wonderful gifts of a joint family. Rather, they were only busy finding out the inconvenience of it. They were attracted by nuclear families which were very prominent all around. Thus, the small differences of opinion started taking bigger shapes and petty issues were blown out of proportion.

Just at that juncture, a villain had to come to protect the family. When I travel down my memory lane and reach that era, I always remember Milton's Old Repair Man who has a hidden agenda behind all His movements which we can hardly understand. A fraud had crept into the family business in the guise of a friend and had taken away every single saving of the entire family. It was the most difficult time that had clouded the family. Everyone was anxious, tensed and heartbroken.

The second eldest in the family, a lady of 75 years advised all the members that there could be two ways to react in such a situation. The first one which apparently looked to be the easiest was to forget everyone and try to go and make a fortune; the second one was to hold each other tighter than before and cross the hardship adoring the art of love, care, and share. The Almighty guided the members the right way and they took hold of the second option. Thus, the way out of the crisis was a smooth sail and was actually easier than the first option. Although many people died due to old age and hence, the older generation vanished, the family is still a joint one in its true sense. The new generation who has later joined the family still admires the essence of love, care and share.

Difficult times are the times when we actually know the people around us and our own selves. But these difficult times like good times don't last forever. They are our teachers; they come to our life to make us stronger, better and wiser.

At this intricate phase, when the whole globe is threatened with the menace of Corona Covid 19, we should support each other by staying indoors and adore the art of love, care, and share. Only that can give us a smooth sail.