God! Am I excited! A whole new world beckons me. Studying law has been my dream and I can’t believe it’s coming true. Oh! I forgot! I am Rohini Kharkar. And guess what? I’m heading for National Law School in Bangalore!

Mom and Dad, too, were so proud when I ranked second in the city in ISC, Commerce, with 97.25 per cent. I passed out from Loyola School. My dad, Hemant Kharkar, is the chief of Tata Steel’s cold rolling mill. My mother, Pradnya Kharkar is a housewife. My brother, Ritwik, is not here today.

Funny, but none of us have still discussed the prospect of me leaving. All in time, I guess. Anyway, it’s a lovely Sunday evening. Come on, join us for a chat.

Mom: “Children of this generation are a lot more confident than we used to be. It is the wide exposure they get, I suppose, that makes them so self-assured. Kids these days sure know their minds.”

Dad: “They have better access to information these days.” (Dad. Always agreeing with Mom. And both of them making positive comments about today’s youths. Amazing!)

Me: “You can’t but like us, you see. We are so loveable.” (Wink. Wink.)

Mom: “Listen, when I say you children are confident, I also mean you are headstrong. Don’t get so smug. You kids can be really arrogant. Obedience is a lost value for your generation.” (Oops! Wisecrack misfire.)

Dad: “I completely agree.” (Come on Dad!)

Me: “It isn’t really our fault that we are like this. That is the way we have been brought up. That is the trend.”

Mom: “It is appaling that kids today do not appreciate the value of money. But, perhaps you are right — we parents are responsible to an extent. Upbringing matters, after all.” (See, that was easy!)

Me: “Of course, it does. Why do you think you turned out to be so ‘good’ and ‘obedient’ and ‘appreciative about the value of money’? Because you were brought up that way!” (That was a little on the sarcastic side, wasn’t it? Time for damage control.)

Me: “But you know Mom, it is only because of the space that you have given us that we have grown into mature individuals.”

Mom: “I know. But we grew up in metropolitan cities, too. We, too, had space and independence. The problem is today’s generation wants too much space. For instance, when we set deadlines for you to come home, you have to crib and get it extended. You are never satisfied.”

Me: “Oh, come on Mom! That’s not true. In fact, as I grew up you were the one who kept extending my deadlines and I have had no complaints ever since.” (She has been really considerate on this, actually.)

Mom: “And you never listen to me about tidying up and fussing over food.”

Me: “What difference does it make anyway? You always have your way, eventually. You wake me up early even on Saturday mornings and get me to clean my room. And as for food, I find it boring. Period.”

Mom: “And do you have to watch so much TV? If you were watching something informative, I wouldn’t say anything. But you stay glued to MTV and Channel V.” (Aaaaaaah!)

Me: “Mom, after studying for hours at a stretch, I need to unwind. The last thing I want to watch at that time is Discovery Channel.”

Mom: “But Ritwik watches Discovery and sports channels…” (Not that again!)

Me: “Mom, that is because he loves sports and I don’t!”

Mom: “Nothing to get so worked up about, dear. Whatever it is, you have always made us proud.” (Phew!)

Me: “And you have always supported me every step of the way. I have a confession to make — now that it is time for me to leave, I am a little nervous about leaving home.” (I really am. I am going to miss everyone so much…)

(As Rohini would have put it)

Sweta Dutta