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

Like this post?

You may like these too

Life in Belgium as a foreigner - No More Secrets!

or a beautiful photo album of Sintra, Portugal 

The Portuguese Connection- Sintra

Rajshekar - The Young and Clever - Chapter 2 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

 

Raj was now in boarding school and was doing what he knew best. Studies and books were what fuelled his hunger to know more about the world. However big the book he found in the Military school's library, he managed to read it in a few days.

The librarian spoke to the teachers about Raj coming in every few days and going through all the sections of the library. He loved science and history and would read mostly books in those sections. He was also very good in English and so many of the novels and poetry books also appealed to him.

He missed his family back in Mumbai a lot, but he tried to immerse himself in these words and stories and poems to be able to travel in his mind's eye. He also realised that being too clever was not good for his popularity amongst the other boys. He needed to downplay how he knew several answers in class when the teachers asked.

Unknown to him, one of the school's bullies had been trying to target Raj. Raj had managed to outrun Sanjay a couple of times, but finally was once caught during the school recess. Sanjay was a year older but Raj was nearly as tall as him. Looking him in the eye, Sanjay asked Raj " You think you're very smart, eh?" Raj saw a teacher in eyeshot not very far from where he was standing. Sanjay had his back towards the teacher. That gave Raj some confidence. 

"I think it’s you who thinks I'm smart, in fact I'm sure you do!", said Raj. Sanjay visibly didn't like this answer. His jaw looked clenched and he took a step towards Raj. "If you didn't think I was smart, you wouldn't be asking me this question, would you?" Raj continued. Sanjay who wasn't used to his prey speaking to him like this lifted his hand menacingly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mrs. Ramanath is standing just behind you." 

Sanjay dropped his hand and turned around and spotted the teacher closing in on them. He looked back at Raj. Raj now had a smirk on his face. Not mocking, but just a small hint of a teasing smile. Unknown to Raj, Sanjay felt a huge relief that he had not landed the shot. He had already been warned about his bullying and he knew he would be expelled if caught. He knew if he was sent back home, his older brothers and his Dad, bullies in their own right, would be on him in a second. Even his mother wouldn't be able to help him then.

He just made a 'hhhh' sound and walked away from Raj. Raj looked at his teacher and smiled his most charming smile, his eyes lighting up and dimple deepening. There was satisfaction written all over his face as he dusted off the incident and walked back to the library.

#thechroniclesoftheyoungestchild #olderbrother #largefamilies #olderparents 

#boardingschool #boardingschoollife #oldestson #eighties

Like this story?

You can read the first chapter here

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

or 

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

or 

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 the stories I wrote on my mother here 

Ammini Amma - Chapter 1 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

or 

Ammini Amma - Chapter 2 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

or

Ammini Amma - Chapter 3 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

 

or

Ammini Amma - Chapter 4 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

or

Ammini Amma - Chapter 5 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

or

Ammini Amma - Chapter 6 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child