Rajshekar - The Young and Asleep - Chapter 7 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

Raj opened his eyes after nine days of being in a coma. His appendix had burst almost immediately as they had cut him open. The doctors told him later about what a mess it had created on the operating table. They also realised that Raj's life had been saved by a ridiculously fine margin. Even after the operation Raj was in a really critical condition. The school had contacted his local guardian, his uncle and a telegram was sent immediately to his family back in Mumbai.

Raj's dad Ramchandra had managed to take leave and was sitting by the bed when Raj surfaced from the coma. Raj saw that Daddy looked worried and relieved at the same time. Raj looked weaker than ever. He closed his eyes again as he was already exhausted and fell into a deep sleep. Daddy knew that Raj would need to rest for at least two weeks before he was hopefully fit again. 

As he sat there Daddy felt upset and a little guilty looking down at his son and thinking of how the little boy had had to face all this alone. He felt his chest tighten at these thoughts and noticed he was clenching his jaw. He remembered an old prayer that his mother used to sing and found himself relaxing as he remembered her voice. But years of having to make several big decisions for his entire family involving his widowed mother, the education and lives of his seven siblings and even the family land and livestock had meant that Daddy knew the decision he would have to make even as his son was still recovering. 

Ramchandra battled with the idea of taking his son back to Mumbai for a month due to his sickness and the fear that Raj would probably never want to go back to school here in Bangalore. He then calmed himself again and reminded himself of the long journey through life that he had managed to face all on his own. He would be able to convince his son after his convalescence. Raj was a really good boy and Ramchandra knew he'd never question his parents' decisions. Deep down he also knew that he could never have been able to provide his son with as good an environment for learning and growth as that which was available in the school. He also had a great deal of faith both in God and his own abilities to convince his son.

He drew his fingers through Raj's hair and rubbed his head gently. Softly he started to sing his mother's prayer aloud for Raj to hear.

#oldestson #boardingschoollife #boardingschool #hostellife

Like this story 

Read the other chapters here 
 

Rajshekar - The Young and Brave - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Clever - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and

Rajshekar - The Young and Lucky - Chapter 3 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Diplomatic - Chapter 4 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Understanding - Chapter 5 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Fragile - Chapter 6 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

Rajshekar - The Young and Fragile - Chapter 6 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

Raj was back to boarding school in Bangalore for the second year. He had had a good vacation at home but he hadn't managed to convince his parents to let him return to Mumbai and stay with them for good. 

Many of the other children in his hostel also came from financially challenged backgrounds and they seemed to find solace in each other's companies. However Raj had a strange accent that remained stuck to him from his years in London where his father was earlier posted. Sometimes that seemed to form a barrier between him and his friends.

He sometimes found more friendship in the books in the library. One afternoon as he was sitting and reading a thick, hard-covered science journal, he felt a sudden strong pain in his tummy. It was so acute that immediately he was sweating all over and he felt nauseous. He knew he needed help so walked to the main corridor in the huge library. He turned right to look at the librarian sitting at his desk but in the meantime, he felt the ground under him give way. Before he knew it he had fainted.

Water was quickly sprinkled on his face. This woke him up from the unconscious state and he saw the librarian and his assistant looming over him. He realised he was lying on the floor in the big corridor in the library. 

The pain was now less acute but the librarian and assistant supported him as they helped him to the boarding school health clinic that was also in the huge compound of the Indian Military School. 

As the young doctor in the clinic saw them arriving carrying Raj he immediately tended to him. The librarian and assistant left and the doctor told Raj that he was to take the day off from school and any physical activities. He added that Raj was to tell his House Master that he needed to go to the hospital that was just within the compound and get a full check up done.

Raj felt much better now and the pain has subsided thanks to the medicine that the doctor had given him. He reached his room and lay down, falling asleep immediately. The moment he woke up it was already the end of the day. He went and spoke to the matron in the hostel as the school was now closed and he couldn't meet the House Master. She had just come in for her shift and hadn't been informed about Raj's condition. She was rushed and didn't take the time to listen carefully to the 10 year old boy. She told him to go back to his room and wait for dinner time. He could speak to the House Master in the morning.

Raj went back to his room. He spent a quiet evening and didn't show much interest in the food in the cafeteria. He fell asleep exhausted and pulled himself out of bed the next morning. He'd never gotten any negative points for being late at assembly or for breakfast, so he really did what he could to be present on time. He hoped to meet Mr Sethi, the House Master who was responsible for his well being in school. But, at assembly Raj started feeling unwell again. He rested against a small wall that surrounded the main assembly ground. No one had noticed him, he thought. At that very moment the doctor from the day before spotted him sitting there. He was shocked to see Raj at the assembly. He ran to his side and took him personally to the hospital that was a few hundred metres away.

The scans showed that Raj needed to be immediately operated on. His appendix was abnormally large and swollen. Immediately young Raj was taken over by the hospital's staff and nurses. He didn't even know when he was prepared for the operation because things were moving so fast. He watched the overhead lights glare at him as he realised  he was falling asleep on the operating table.

#boardingschool #boardingschoollife #oldestson #hostellife

Like this story?

You may like the previous chapters if you missed it

Rajshekar - The Young and Brave - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Clever - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and

Rajshekar - The Young and Lucky - Chapter 3 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Diplomatic - Chapter 4 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Understanding - Chapter 5 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

Rajshekar - The Young and Understanding - Chapter 5 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

 

Raj was back in Bombay for the school vacations. Now that he was home, he found that he didn't want to step out of the house at all. He spent his days hanging around Amma. It seemed like he was building up the quota of time, attention and love exclusive to him and though he didn't know it then, he would use these memories as a balm when he returned to the boarding school.

 

Amma and Daddy were so happy with his exam results and the fact that he had learned swimming and horse riding made them sing high praises about his school. He had tried to tell them that he didn't care for those things and all he wanted was to be with them.

Though he was at home all the time, he realized that there was never time to be able to actually communicate his concerns to his parents. Amma was busy the whole day with housework or taking care of them. Daddy was not at home during the day and most evenings he was out earning extra money selling insurance. Both of them were grateful that Raj was getting a world class education at almost no cost since Daddy was an ex military man. Amma hadn't studied beyond the age of nine and she considered a good education a huge blessing for her first born.Daddy had started working at the age of 14 years himself to look after his widowed mother and his seven siblings, so practicality was more his style. And his responsibilities never seemed to have lightened. Settling down in Mumbai with three children was expensive enough, then there'd sometimes be a relative staying with them who'd also be looking for a job in Mumbai. No matter what, there was always some financial issue that they would have to keep hidden from their children.

But Raj had now grown up overnight. Living away from his family in a hostel had made him street smart and he read all the signs. He knew he was no longer a child and so he couldn't get himself to throw a tantrum and cry his heart out. He just kept everything inside.

All too soon, he found himself back on the train with Daddy for another year at boarding school. He was still hoping that during the train journey over the next two days he would be able to speak up and insist on coming back home during the mid-term vacation break.

#oldestson #thechroniclesoftheyoungestchild #largefamilies #financialdifficulties #boardingschool #boardingschoollife

Like this story?

You will love the previous chapters on Raj, my older brother.

Rajshekar - The Young and Brave - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Clever - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and

Rajshekar - The Young and Lucky - Chapter 3 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Diplomatic - Chapter 4 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

Rajshekar - The Young and Diplomatic - Chapter 4 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

 

It was the moment Raj was waiting for all week. The final exams were over and very soon he would have two months of vacation. He and his friends were excited as it was the time they would all go back to their homes.

Raj read through his father's letter again. "I shall come on Thursday the 19th of March to pick you up if I reach in time and we shall take the train back to Bombay on the 21st. If the train is late and I can't reach the boarding school hostel before the gates shut, don't worry, I shall come by nine on Friday morning. We shall stay with Ammava and then go back to Bombay! Everyone is very eager to see you again. Latha and Venu are very excited and Amma and I haven't stopped talking about your return."

Raj folded the letter and put it away in a drawer where he kept all the letters he received. He tried to remember all the places he wanted to go and play around their building in Bombay. It was a bit difficult as so many months had passed since he came to school and he hadn't been home throughout the academic year. 

He tried to think of a way to get his parents to agree that he stay back in Bombay, not just for the vacations. True he liked the school and his friends but his heart kept longing for home. He predicted with sadness that they would refuse and then tried to think up a Plan B where he could convince them to at least let him visit during the 3-week-long mid-term vacations.

He went back to the speech that he was writing for the Final week celebrations. Through the year he had participated in many elocution competitions and had realised that he was very good at putting his thoughts on paper. 

He had been noticed by the teachers and one of them had suggested that he participate in the celebrations with a speech about how his first year at boarding school had been and why he was looking forward to the next year. He wrote down some paragraphs and read them again.

 He smirked at how false they sounded. He thought of erasing them and starting over again but he knew that this speech that sounded upbeat would be appreciated more than a sob story. He continued writing without hesitation.

Like this story?

Read the three previous chapters if you missed them here

Rajshekar - The Young and Brave - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Clever - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and

Rajshekar - The Young and Lucky - Chapter 3 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Understanding - Chapter 5 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

or something close to my heart here

Safe, under her wings - nothing beats a mother's love for her child

Rajshekar - The Young and Lucky - Chapter 3 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

 

It was now the Lord Ganesha festival and the school would be closed for a week. However, Raj was too far away from Mumbai to be able to travel back home. Daddy had written in a letter that he would try to come visit if his leave was approved. 

Daddy however had added that Raj's cousin in Bangalore, Lakshmi would also be free in the same week and that her father Neel, who had agreed to be Raj's local guardian, would come and pick him up on the weekend. He was invited to stay with them for the week if he liked the idea.

Raj had gone to Lakshmi's house the day he had arrived in Bangalore. Daddy and he had stayed two nights there. The house was a very big and independent standing one with a huge garden and lots of trees. Lakshmi even had a badminton net hanging in the garden. The house itself, having two floors, was much bigger than any house he'd seen in Mumbai.

Raj was of course happy to go to Lakshmi's house and imagined playing badminton with her. She seemed very small though and he wondered if he'd actually have any fun there.

The peon of the boarding school hostel came to call him. Uncle had made a phone call to the Principal's office. He had wanted to speak to Raj. Raj followed the peon to the office. He'd only been in that room once on his arrival. The wood in the room was very dark and there was a heady scent that hung in the air. Everything seemed very serious anyway as the Principal pointed to the phone, the receiver was lying on the table. 

Raj picked up the phone's receiver and uttered "Hello". " Ah, kiddo! I shall come to pick you up tomorrow afternoon, is that okay? Prepare your suitcase for 2 pm". 

"Ok, Ammava (Uncle)," replied Raj. 

Raj placed the receiver back where he'd picked it up from. The Principal picked it up and muttered something into the phone  while Raj left the room. He went back to his room where five other boys had gathered. These were the boys in his class, who like him would be staying back at the boarding school because their homes were too far away to go visit.

They asked him what he'd been called for. Once they knew the reason, one of them, Ravi rolled his eyes and rolled on the bed, "You're so lucky." Raj indeed felt better than when he had seen the other kids of his class pack and leave in cars and on bikes the day before. He guessed he was indeed lucky.

#Bangaloremilitaryschool #growingupinthe70s #thechroniclesoftheyoungestchild #oldestchild

 #olderbrother #largefamilies #olderparents 

#boardingschool #boardingschoollife #oldestson #eighties

Like this story?

Read the two previous chapters

Rajshekar - The Young and Brave - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and 

Rajshekar - The Young and Clever - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and the next chapter 

Rajshekar - The Young and Diplomatic - Chapter 4 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

and

Rajshekar - The Young and Understanding - Chapter 5 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

or a story I love 

Safe, under her wings - nothing beats a mother's love for her child

Early Spring Vibes - Brussels - Belgium - poetry and photo album

 

When in constant abundance we see,
sometimes sparingly,
The things that count the most.

The trees rejoicing,
the bees still thriving,
The Sun not abandoning it's post.

Spring brings us joy,
And then some more
leaving the darkness behind.

Let's not forget that
what we see right now,
proves that Nature's our forever host.

#spring2026 #poetryislove #magnolia #springineurope

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Life in Belgium as a foreigner - No More Secrets!

or a beautiful photo album of Sintra, Portugal 

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