MIRAGE

Promises, however sincere, cannot always be delivered... The person, making the promise, may mean, to keep the promise, from the bottom of the heart... The effort spent in meeting the promise may also be top notch... but still, the promise may never be fulfilled... It always looks like a mirage...

My parents had promised me that if I study hard, then I wont have to struggle for anything in my life... Anything and everything will be available for me at my beck and call...

They said that I can wear the best of clothes, I will be able to afford them... Today, even if I go to the best of the clothing showrooms, the regular US sized clothing does not fit me perfectly, and there are no shops offering any alteration service... Promise fulfilled, yet a mirage...

They said I can afford to have a car, a really big achievement when I was 5-6 yrs old... Today, I have bought a new car, but am worried about the EMI and about the APR charged for the car loan... Promise fulfilled, yet a mirage...

They said I can have a very nice family life... Today I miss my parents for every festival... my wife misses her parents every weekend... we miss those days when mother used to give a nice massage with coconut oil... we miss our special delicacies cooked expertly by her... Even though we can talk to them at the cost of some petty cents every minute and see them live on a webcam, we miss that affectionate touch... Promise fulfilled, yet a mirage...

They said that we can earn nicely and lead a lavish life... There is a good salary... We wont have to do any household chores... Today, my wife and I debate on who will do the dishes and who will vaccum the floor and who will do the laundry... Promise fulfilled, yet a mirage...

They said that we can lead a very healthy life and even if something went wrong, we could hire the best medical help... Today I had to postpone MRI scans for my sore shoulder because the co-pay was a whopping 500$... Promise fulfilled, yet a mirage...

They said that we can have the best cooked meals every time and afford to go any restaurants... but today, we limit our trips to indian restaurants as the only one who offer good food is really far away... the ones nearby serve the same run-of-the-mill menu items day-in and day-out... Promise fulfilled, yet a mirage...

They said that I can go for foreign tours, whenever and wherever I wanted... Today, I cant even plan to go to India to meet my parents, because the visa stamping dates are not available for the next 6 months... Promise fulfilled, yet a mirage...

They said that I can eat as much tea and pakodas as I can... today, my wife makes excellent tea and pakodas, but together we cant even finish 1 plate... so we make it once in a month or even rarer... Promise fulfilled, yet a mirage...
They said that I will be able to see all the possible programmes on TV... Today, my cable service provider does not offer any Indian channels and the nearest Indian movie theater screens a new Indian movie once in 3 months... Promise fulfilled, yet a mirage...

These and many more instances in my daily life dwindle my belief in promises made... My parents' promises were sincere... i put my best effort in my job and in my studies... I cannot say that they broke their promises... but still, today, I yearn for them...

Promise fulfilled, yet a mirage...