I am at my home in Sitamarhi, Bihar, visiting my parents. I was born and studied till class 10th here. It’s like waking to memory lanes and walking across the gallis and fields.
Many things have changed post-COVID, one being I see many houses ending up vacant. The owners have passed away. The kids have no interest in taking care of the property.
I still remember my neighbors and fights in giving land for road construction. I was part of this mohalla when it was barren land.
My father and dozen others worked towards making roads and bringing electricity poles.
We have a road. The houses are there but empty.
Every generation toils lifetime and earns for the next generation instead of living their own. It’s like a mad rush of accumulation of wealth for whom? We are running fast and creating wealth, but for whom? Will our next generation care about it?
We are living for the future instead living now for ourselves. Are we all part of this cycle where one generation creates wealth, and another leaves it and walks away? It saddens me to see the houses, their gardens now turning haunted. The liveliness and cheers are all gone.