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Young World
Life in the country
PAVITHRA SRINIVASAN
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Ajith resented having to leave the city. How would be manage living in the suburbs, he wondered.
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Well, I hate it, and I’m not coming!”That had been Ajith’s refrain for weeks now, ever since his parents broke the news that they would be moving house — from within the crowded city to a less congested suburb — and it had not changed all through the complicated shiftin
g process, as Ajith’s mother wrestled with packing boxes and his father with paying off last-minute dues. They were at their wit’s end about how to pacify him — but Ajith remained adamant all through the long ride to their new home.
Just a game
He hated it even more, on sight. The house was a sprawling duplex apartment, with two floors — while their old home had been a small, compact flat. Not a single one of Ajith’s friends lived nearby.
He would have to change two buses to see them. Not to mention the fact that his school was now really far away. He would have to go by van, instead of riding his trusty cycle.
And finally, here they were, at their new home. As the days sped by, his parents unpacked, paid electricity and telephone bills, arranged for the milk and newspapers, while Ajith wandered about morosely.
That evening, as the sun shone bright, he was walking by a small park he saw a group of boys playing football. He stopped to watch them. As one of the boys kicked the ball high in the air, it bounced and whizzed toward him. Ajith made a sudden leap and head-butted the ball. It flew through the air and landed in the goalpost.
There was silence for a while, and then a burst of clapping. Despite himself, Ajith was pleased. One of the boys came over. “Hi, I’m Bala. And you are?”
Ajith stammered his name, and after a round of introductions, it was decided that he would be a part of their games too.
A week later, playing football, Ajith found his hair being whipped apart by the tearing wind. Inside the city, the wind was never this fierce. The sun made his skin sweat and glow, and there was a bounce in his step. Walking had never been this easy – and cycling, without all the smog-choked traffic, was a joy, as he’d actually formed a club with his new-found friends. Going to school was an adventure instead of a chore: he now had an hour’s travel as against the few minutes within city.
Two months later, when was chosen for the basketball team because he’d grown taller, he knew that healthy exercise and clean surroundings had been the cause.
“So do you still hate coming here?” asked Bala, as they fished in the nearby pond.
“No,” grinned Ajith. “Because I’ve gained more than what I lost!”
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