A mother has four sons. She has played her part in the most effective manner to bring them all up. Even though the circumstances did not permit her to lead a luxuriant lifestyle or to give the best to her sons yet to the extent she could she did everything to bring her sons up, to face the stark realities of life and to survive in the competitive atmosphere. Her sons always complained about the fact that they were deprived of most; they did not get the best and so on. Somehow time passed by… The eldest son now has his own family, earns a little yet is contented with his life which is now nearing an end. The second child has settled abroad, is a CEO in a multi-national and has a high standard of living, which in no way reflects the norms of his cultured family. The third son who has just set foot in his adulthood is a remarkable talent. A promising, bright student, excellent at whatever he does, dreams of following the footsteps of his elder brother. He spends the entire year at hostel and does not even visit his family during holidays due to his ambitious nature. However the youngest is the odd one out. Brought up in the custody of a nanny, from morn to late at night, he prefers the company of his friends; is involved in most of the evils of the society and turns down his mothers say as if she is a servant.
Suddenly the doctor tells the mother that she has entered the last phase of a fatal disease and if her condition doesn’t improve, she has very little time with her…. The mother tries contacting each one of her sons. The youngest, who lives with her is too ignorant to pay much heed. The second one, thinking that it just might be any normal letter from home, never bothers to pick it up as he is too consumed up in his studies, the third is on a holiday with his family and is not expected to return within a month or so. The eldest son himself isn’t really well. He talks to his mother on the phone, cries in his heart, but can do nothing for her, cause of his own sufferings.
Who in such circumstances will answer her call?? Hasn’t she a right to be answered and comforted in times like these? Did she bring her sons up to see this day, that today in the hour of need not one of her young blood is there to support her??
So is the present state of our beloved motherland… Even if we think that it has done nothing for us, at least, it has proved to be a comfortable home. Today in the hour of need, why are we as ignorant as the youngest son, as career-oriented as the second child, as luxuriant as the third child (even though the gap between rich and poor is at its peak) and as weak and dependant as the eldest, wanting to we cannot take an initiative…. Who are we actually waiting for…They say the importance of a thing is only truly realized when you have lost it. Are the sons waiting for their mother to pass away, or are we waiting for a time when we will wake up to find that we too have been auctioned along with the state…. What are we waiting for?? Think….
Expression:
Farhan Bashir
Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
Humkhayal 