Should History Repeat…

A boy in grade fifth, intelligent and fond of studying had a dream of becoming a lawyer one day, but had his dream snatched away from him by his own parents in a blink. Reason… he had to become a priest and work only as a priest throughout his life.

In most orthodox priest’s families, generation upon generation, the family’s livelihood was like a baton, passed on from elders of the family to their next generation's heirs. In fact, some elders of these families went to the extent of discouraging their male heirs from studying anything that was not required to perform their duties as priests. The same was the case with this little boy born in one particular priest family. As he was second in line he was expected to become a priest like his elder brother and be one of the bread-earners of the family. His brother was not keen on studying and in fact, was happy not going to school. He had dreams and his dreams were buried under the family’s expectations and decisions. His parents decided to stop his schooling at a very young age and soon at the age of eleven, he became the youngest priest ever from there his journey began as a priest to help earn for his large joint family. He always wondered, what would have been his life like, if he became a lawyer instead of a priest. But he was never given a choice nor an opportunity to do both. All his earnings as a priest he was expected to give it to the elder in the family namely his mother after his father’s demise, who ran the household. He did not have any savings or any other means of earning. In his joint family apart from his mother, he had an elder brother, a sister-in-law, a younger brother, and a sister with her two children. Will the same situation repeat, if he had any children? Would they too have to sacrifice their dreams, like he did? It was the constant question racing through his mind.

At a very late age, he decided to get married. He had twin girls after a year. But for every little expense, he had to put forward his palm and ask for money from the elder of the house, his mother. Even for pennies for his daughter’s medicines, he had to ask as there was no concept of giving a share on a regular basis. He realized; that his children too would not have any freedom in their lives nor would they be able to fulfil their dreams. One day, he decided to move out of the house with his wife and daughters. He promised his mother, that he would give his service as a priest free to the family till his mother needed him to do so or till his family needed him to do so. Once he moved out, he took up a caretaker job in one of the temple’s premises. Though the salary was minuscule, the job provided him with a house free of rent to live in. His wife was a tutor and she too pitched in helping him to put food on the table. After a gap of three years, they were blessed with a baby boy. He was blessed again with a baby girl, his fourth child after a decade, whom he lovingly called his miracle baby.

As promised, for his mother he religiously every morning at 4:00 am would paddle his cycle and go and give his service as a priest. He and his wife treated all four kids equally, with no difference between a daughter and a son. Both wanted to make sure all their kids got equal and good education even if they had to eat plain lentils day in and out. Though multuple times, his mother and other family members asked him to stop educating his twin girls once they completed high school and marry them off, he was adamant and with the support of his wife, he did not give in. He and his wife made sure both their daughters not only got their graduate degrees but also post-graduated in the field of their choice. For their son, they made sure his schooling was not disrupted. They, along with schooling at home facilitated his priest training too. His son became a priest too, but he ensured his son completed his education and took up the career of choice and only provided service as a priest as and when he had time to do so. The youngest daughter had it easy as both parents had been able to improve their financial status when she started schooling. They ensured she too completed her graduation and stood on her two feet before she married.

For most of his life, he carried this tiny regret with him for those few things he was not able to do for his wife. He may not have been fortunate but he ensured his son and daughters remained fortunate and had ample opportunities to explore their dreams. He and his wife stood like a stone wall between the elders of the family and their children’s future. He never had enough money to buy a diamond in his lifetime for his wife. But his wife would always say this to him with love- “Dear all four children of ours, well-educated and successful in their respective careers are our real diamonds when we already have four real diamonds, you need not worry about buying me one”. Simply, both ensured their values and teachings were carried forward by their children too and history does repeat itself. All his children ensured his grandkids too got to choose their choice of careers. Seeing his children and grandchildren fulfill their dreams, he learned to embrace his regrets along with his satisfaction that history did not repeat itself with his children.

Should history repeat…. Well, some are worth to be repeated again and again while some should never be allowed to repeat.