Kal, Aaj aur Kal

Year: 1970

Location: Bus Stand in village of Konkan

Dattu Joglekar had come to see off his son, Vishnu. He had nursed him, since the day, Vishnu was born. Today, Vishnu was leaving for Mumbai to join a textile mill in Mumbai. It was Vishnu’s decision and Dattu had supported him completely. Dattu himself had come to this world just a couple of years before Indian independence. His father’s generation had sacrificed their lives, fighting for independence, with the hope that Dattu’s generation will have better future. But things didn’t change much, even after independence. Dattu spent all his life tilling fields and rearing cattle. He worked hard, but financially he was not able to earn much. That’s the reason, he didn’t want Vishnu to follow his footsteps. So when Vishnu told him his decision about migrating to Mumbai to work for textile mill, Dattu readily agreed for it. Mumbai was the city of dreams. Many of his friends had migrated to Mumbai, a decade ago. Those friends used to tell him about stories about Mumbai. The glamour surrounding Mumbai city had enchanted him.

Vishnu touched his father’s feet and said “Baba, you take care of yourself. Every month, I will send a money order. I promise, I will send enough, so that you don’t have to now work on the fields. I always want to see you happy. Also, Mumbai will give me a good opportunity to grow. All our dreams will come true soon. We will pay off our debts. I will send letters every week. I promise, I will come to see you during every Ganpati and Diwali festival”. Dattu felt proud of his son and blessed him. He embraced him and Vishnu got into the bus. Bus went off the dusty road on the way to Mumbai.

Year: 2000

Location: Chatrapati Shivaji International airport, Mumbai

It was late night, but still area around the airport was awake. As such, Mumbai never sleeps, but airport is a place, where mixed feelings can be seen flooded everywhere. Some people are seen anxiously waiting for their relatives and they would love to see “time” flying faster. Some people come to see off their relatives. They want “time” to wait for sometime, so that they can spend some more “time” with their loved ones. Vishnu Joglekar had come to see off his son, Arvind. Many years back, he had come to Mumbai. Initially, he found very difficult to adjust this new environment. It took 6 months to find a house in Mumbai. Finally, he managed to find a small rented place in chawl in Girgaon. More than half of his salary went for paying rent. A small amount of his salary, he sent to his father. Life was very different here. He had to work hard in the textile mill. In order, to earn some extra money, he took a part time job at nearby shop. His family grew, but his earnings remain the same. Couple of times, he was tempted to go for a job opportunity in Middle East, but he postponed that plan further. After many years of hard work, he managed to save some money. He used all that money to buy a 1BHK flat in Borivali, of couse he had to take some loan too. His dream to own a house was accomplished. His son Arvind also didn’t disappointed him either. He was bright student in school and graduated from a reputed college. Last month, Arvind got an opportunity to work for an investment bank in US. Vishnu was very happy. He proudly called up all his friends and relatives, informing them about this good news. He was a proud father. His son was moving to US, a land of million opportunities.

Arvind embraced his father and said “Pappa, you take care of yourself. Every month, I will transfer money in your account. I promise, I will send enough, so that you can retire soon. I always want to see you happy. Also, America has loads of opportunities for me to offer. All our dreams will come true soon. We will pay off our remaining home loan soon. Everyday, we will meet online and chat. I promise, I will come to see you once in couple of years”. Vishnu felt proud of his son and blessed him. Arvind entered the airport lounge, waving his hands. Couple of hours after that, the airplane took off from the airport.

Year: 2040

Location: Kennedy Space Center, Florida

The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every US human space flight since 1968. Arvind was feeling very proud today, he was first time visiting a place. He had read about it in his science books. Neil Armstrong must have boarded his maiden flight from here, he thought. Many years back, he had migrated to America. He was paid in dollars, but life here was equally expensive. He did well in his job and rose to high positions in his company. He recently bought a luxurious penthouse in prime location of New York. But things were not same, as it was earlier in US. Hit by recession and frequent wars, life had become bit insecure here. He could still see 9/11 terrorist attack in his dreams. He was very lucky enough that he had not reached office on time, but still remembers whole structure coming down like pack of cards. Time flew and also technology advanced too with time. Few years back, new planet “N18 Galaxy” was discovered. Humans went there and set up their colonies. To support those colonies, demand for more people increased. People were now able to travel in space seamlessly. A year back, his son Larry told him about his decision to migrate there. He had got a good opportunity to work for on that planet and many of his buddies were moving to that planet too. Arvind couldn’t have ask for anything more. He always wanted his son doing well in his life and “N18 Galaxy” was planet of billion opportunities. Life there was much safer than the earth.

Larry embraced his father and said “Dad, you take care of yourself. Your credit card bills will be taken care of. You can spend as much as you can. I always want to see you happy. Also, “N18 Galaxy” is the future. All our dreams will come true soon. We will talk on satellite phone everyday. I promise, I will come to see you once in five years”. Larry wore his space suit and said “Good bye”, before entering the training facility. Week after that spaceship took off to th new planet.