A Song never Sung

Tshering Karma Tobden was eleven years old when he got into his pre-primary class. This incidence is not unusual. We may have a child who gets admission even later than that. How can a child from destitute and broken family, alcoholic parents and a place where there is no school in the vicinity possibly dream of getting admission in schools before that age? We hear of some incidences, especially of alcoholic parents who refuse to admit their child in school even if someone volunteers for expenditure. But, his case was different.

He had his parents, affluent, energetic and who loved being respected. They were living in a palatial building of their own. When people around grumbled of the soaring house rent, they remained unshaken. When other desperate tenants came looking for an apartment, they never spared a room even for a night. No matter how handsomely the tenants promised their monthly rent, the family never got allured. Why should they worry about few thousands when they had many millions in their coffer? His parents used to pride themselves for having blessed by the God of wealth. It is needless to say that they were self-sufficient. His parents almost remained aloof, cut off and like island from neighbors. Thought of necessity of interdependence was never born in their minds. Hence, it remained impractical. They never deemed necessary to maintain line, invisible but inevitable, with other community members.  It was parents’ feeling of pride, ego and shortsightedness that their family wealth would be sufficient for their only son and his family, the issue of Tshering Karma Tobden’s education was drifted apart many times. This explains lucidly why son became late for admission. Had it not for his uncle’s determined, hard gathered power of articulation that lay their son’s future bare in front, that won the almost heated debate over his parents, education at eleven would not have become possible. In fact, education would have remained fruits not tasted to the son. Thanks to his uncle, Mr. Dodo, mother’s elder brother, who literally fought against his introvert nature to outwit his outspoken father to get him to school. 

Tshering Karma Tobden was intelligent. His class teacher, Mrs. Reshma never misunderstood and misjudged this quality. On the first day of his admission, he was asked to introduce to the class. ‘My name is Tshering Karma Tobden. I never dreamt of coming to school but my uncle persuaded my parents to send me here. I love cycling and eating sweet oily cakes. I do not like this place, it is dirty’, introduced Karma. All friends in the class laughed. ‘The pre-primary child, not unnerved and making genuine observation was not ordinary, sure sign of intelligence’, thought and commented by class teacher. Teacher called for huge round of applause uttering ‘we have got intelligent and smart friend in our class’. True to his teacher’s words, he proved himself to be shrewd, apt and fast learner. He shot his grade from pre-primary to ten steadily like an arrow without missing the target.

A tinge of arrogance lay smeared on his behavior and the touch of its cruelty never spared his teachers. Matters related to his disposition reached principal’s notice several times. But, because he was good at studies, little pain inflicted by his ill manners was swallowed by his principal. He was given so many second chances. If the matter was related to his parents, they would, with ease, effortlessly and thoughtlessly, ask school authority to rusticate him from school. To send such brilliant and sharp student back home, like nipping the flower at its bud, was a great loss to teachers’ effort. Everybody in school had this breath. So, he was pardoned.  In the meantime, he passed his tenth grade in distinction. He was the top position holder, became everybody’s pride in his school. Everybody danced and enjoyed his achievement except his parents. The thought of having to send their child to boarding school inflicted unbearable pain and sense of loss in their heart. This pang was almost equivalent to fingernail being removed from skin.

However, the following year, insistence to send him to college to pursue further studies showered upon parents, from principal and teachers of Tshering. So, his parents had to give way, against their wishes, to the teachers’ relentless plea. The parents arranged to reach him to college. When other friends had transportation problem, Tshering’s family had two land cruisers. Perhaps to show their wealth, perhaps not, the family took both vehicles to reach Tshering to his college which was two days’ journey from their hometown. First day, son was with his father and the other day, he was with his mother. Thinking that their only son might be influenced by education and friends to forget his parents and wealth, both father and mother made doubly sure that their son was sufficiently briefed on the family wealth and his urgency to inherit and claim the ownership, even by forgoing his study, if need arise.

Tshering Karma Tobden took advantage of his family’s bountiful wealth. He never forgot the fact that they were wealthy. Without hesitation he mailed home to remit amount, no matter how much and frequency. He collected friends and acted as nucleus to the ones who needed his financial support. He supported them graciously.  His friends Samden Tshering and Nima Khendup had hard time thanking him for his generosity and accommodating heart, ‘Ka Din Chhe, wai. Da re che min, na chi ni lo tshong dai may - something like thanks, if you were not there, two of us would have been in big trouble today’, they would say most of the time sitting in the bar. Tshering Karma Tobden trusted his friends so much. His friends’ words later proved more effective than his lecturers and their actions proved sharper than the sword. His lecturers’ value-laden words entered through one ear and exited through another. It hardly created any impact in him. On the contrary, his friends’ words cut all his humane quality, if he at all had one. He lost interest in studies. He became irregular in class attendance. He lost filial love towards his parents. He treated his parents just as a source of money. He called them only when he was in need of money. It was kind of his parents who never demanded the reasons for his shortage of money. Sometimes he used to receive from both parents even though he had asked from one. He danced. His time at college was just like bathing in the pool of enjoyment, created by his parents’ money, alone or with friends.

Perhaps his dancing steps weren’t appropriate. He might not have placed his foot on the stable surface that resulted into losing balance triggering him to slip off and land on the surface with big thud. We cannot rule out the fact that he would have even stepped onto the feet of other dancers nearby provoking irritation in them. In the later period of his time in college, he became like contagious disease to others. All good persons avoided him. He became drunkard, almost drug addict, chain smoker, ever ready fighter and so on. At that juncture, his close associates too deserted him. He failed twice in his degree course. He spent five years to complete degree course meant for three years. Finally, when he completed it, he could make it with very marginal marks which did not fulfill requisite for jobs in the job fair. His parents convinced him that he need not wreck his mind dreaming of employment. They tried to make him relaxed by splintering his hardships to submerge in their wealth. They said, ‘You’re now legal heir of what we’ve. Son, enjoy yourself in merriment. You needn’t worry about finding employment in government enterprise or private company. All these meant working under them like servant. It is too low a stoop for our family’.

Unfortunately, one fateful day, his parents were driving a car for some unrevealed business trips. While returning, they met with fatal accident which triggered their car to plunge into the highly swollen monsoon river making it impossible for the son to retrieve even a piece of their flesh to place on a funeral pyre. It was a tragedy. The son’s condition became wretched. He never had an opportunity to listen or have the will of his parents about the secret source of their family wealth. His family pride, the way they remained aloof, bore negative impact against him. He was denied all accesses to neighbors’ generosity. Even while he had serious and useful matters to relate, people denounced it as hoax and disbelieved him. Neighbors ignored his presence and conditions. This inflected pain and sprouted thousand and one mixed thoughts from his mind. He inscribed his feelings in black and white, intended to be posted to his parents, whose whereabouts of course, he could not and never guess: