A sad and perplexed young man approached me. He was struggling to articulate his gloomy sentiments. But, he reconciled his all strength and asked me, you know the agonizing situation that happens to us? I responded, there are so many. With his distinct smile, he rephrased his question and said, I am talking about the period most of us went through in our life. What are you talking about? I responded because I had no clue what he was talking about; I remained baffled. Finally, he revealed his plight left me to ponder.
On the way back home, I was trying to contemplate what my mate Amit has discussed. I was confused that a successful man like him bear the same pain that I have been gone through. I decided that I will share his story with everyone.
Migration itself is a very hurtful term, and it would be a terrible experience for a small-town person who migrates to big cities. The fact is that this problem came across to every small-town man. However, citizens of big cities are immune to face these circumstances. Thus, they cannot know the grief of leaving home. They cannot recognize the agony of the middle. Amit shared the same thought with me that day. He always thinks that someday he will return to his town, but he forgot that there is no option of return once you settled.
A normal boy of a mediocre household used to live in an unmapped tiny town, which is even hard to find on google. Father worked as a government employee, and his mother was a housemaker, like any other middle-class family of the country. It was the time when government employees earned meager income. Amit happened to be the second child of his parents. Simple, sensitive, but confident, he never involved in any mischievous activity.
He held average in studies, neither topped, but never failed either. He was an average student with the aspiration to accomplish something significant in life. His childhood was similar to his friends. Most of the students in a government school came from poor or middle-class backgrounds. Amit had the zeal that makes him different from his other friends. Frailing financial condition of his family couldn’t put the shackles on his dream. Despite all challenges, he remained focused on his aim.
He worked vigorously, topped his senior secondary exam, and enrolled in a prestigious college in Delhi. After completing his studies, he joined an organization in a metro city, far away from home.
Now, what apprehensions troubles him after fifteen years of working peacefully? What happened that he cannot enjoy his accomplishment? When he came to this city, he was a complete alien. Today, he is successful, but no one is around to share his experiences. This city gave him the success and recognition he always strived for but snatched away his peace and happiness. Amit left his town in faith that he will succeed one day, but he didn’t know the price would be high. This city is still strange to him.
Migration often unavoidable for a small-town person because of the current system designed in such a way that everyone has to go through this tormented route. Millions of young individuals like students, laborers, professionals migrate to metro cities every year to attain their dreams. They not only leave behind abandoned towns and villages, but their roots and identity are also left alone with their ancestors.
Asymmetrical and scattered development of few cities, impoverished education system, and the shortage of employment imposed migration on small-town inhabitants. And, only the uniform growth plan structure can be the answer to this plight. I shared the grief of Amit because I saw the discomfort in his eyes, heard the heartache of his heart. That day, I sensed myself in his anxiety, and his tale not confined to us, but millions of people share the same anguish alike. In search of fruits, we all lost our roots. Every success has its price and, we never think that earlier but realized it later.