Swapnika and her husband had a discussion on drastic changes in lifestyles. They wondered that inflation was growing and growing. They envisaged many more changes in the ages to come and the people in the coming generations to have different lifestyles that are beyond human imagination today. She felt delighted, imagining as a woman, born in the twenty-seventh century to enjoy the superbly prevailing lifestyles. After having sumptuous dinner, she and her husband, Vastav went to bed. It was very pleasant for her to have a dream that night.
Dreams are common but sweet dreams are rare. Swapnika wanted to get a sweet dream and had it. In her dream, she was born as an ultra baby in a rich family in the twenty-seventh century. There was her naming ceremony, celebrated in a grand manner. Robots presented music programmes. It was full of gaiety. Everything was super. Guests came by helicopters. All of them alighted on the wide terrace of the magnificent building built by her father, Mr. Laser. He was extremely happy to have guests. It was robots to receive the guests. They served everything to them as per their choice. The women were listening to the lullabies while dancing gracefully. The dolls were also dancing along with them. They were trying to catch the dolls, as they wanted to present them to the baby. They were not able to catch them by their hands. The women were listening to the songs, but they did not know where the songs were coming from. Dolls were singing melodious songs.
Mr. Laser named the baby Pearl, as it appeared a pearl, found at the bottom of the ocea. His happiness knew no bounds as she was smiling, trying to lisp some words and sing some rhymes in the ultra super swing, made of gold, and decked with several scintillating jewels. She was swinging while feeling superior to the babies of many other parents. He had his house sprawling in two acres with a widespread garden all around. There were beautiful flowers of hybrid variety to shine in multifarious colours of myriad hues to feast her eyes. It all seemed like heaven on earth. He was feeling on top of the world. In two months, she started to catch the flying ball.
Pearl grew to be a school-going girl in one year, that was in just twelve months. Laser, her father wanted to admit her into a school. They flew in one of his helicopters and alighted on the school terrace. A robot was the pilot in the helicopter. The school had a robot to receive them and take them to the principal. There was some echoing sweet voice, ‘Hearty Welcome to You’ heard at the entrance of the principal’s chamber. They sat on cushioned sofas, and they were in seconds in the chamber of the principal. She and her parents wished him, ‘Good Morning’.
‘Very Good Morning…The baby has come for her admission…I hope you had registered in advance for the admission of the baby,’ said the principal.
‘Yes... When I got married, I did it…,’ said Pearl’s father, Mr. Laser.
‘Mr. Robot… Refer to the list of registrations in the computer…Tell me the vacancy position…,’ said the principal.
‘Yes… Mr. Laser had registered for an admission…Only one seat is there for you in the class-1,’ said Mr. Robot in a fantastic musical tone by bowing his head in a humble manner.
The principal received the vacancy information in a slip that flew on to his table... Laser was able to understand that there were a few seats at least one seat for his baby, by seeing the positive body language in Mr. Robot’s face.
‘Luckily there is a seat for you under the Super Convener quota. You've to pay one crore for her admission. If it's under the Convener quota, you've to pay two crores. You're lucky... If we give a seat under the management quota, you're to pay five crores. You're fortunate to have a seat under the Super Convener quota… Congrats…, said the principal.
‘Thank you …,’ said Laser.
‘Pearl, I hope you know the English alphabet and the spellings of basic words,' said the principal to Pearl.
‘Yes, I know all the letters and the spellings of primary words…I learnt half of them in the womb itself,’ said Pearl.
‘Mr. Robot, please ask some questions,’ said the principal.
Mr. Robot asked questions and Pearl answered very easily. All were very easy for her to answer.
‘Sir, all her answers are excellently correct…correctly excellent.... Hearty congratulations to you, Pearl…’ said Mr. Robot after listening to Pearl’s answers.
‘Good…Your age is just one year… If you exceed the age of one year, you don't get admission,’ said the principal.
‘Just one year… She wanted to join the school early… but I didn't want to...,' said Crescent, the wife of Laser.
'If your daughter gets the best rank, she can attend school in the Satellite School on the moon...There is a chance offered to her for her extraordinary brilliance... She'll get a seat on the moon,' said the principal.
'Thank you very much for your wishes', said Mrs Crescent.
‘Let's hope for the best...Now, she can study on earth...Later she can study on the moon...Now you can pay one crore rupees towards admission fees. You've to pay five lakh rupees every month towards tuition fees and ten lakhs towards examination fees…The robot, Kubera, led Laser to a counter for his submission of a cheque.’
Then Kubera led Mr. Laser back to the principal.
Laser thanked the principal for giving the admission to his daughter, Pearl. The principal clicked on the class-1 in the computer. The robot called Sputnick came and took the baby to the class.
Like that, there were different robots for all classes to direct students to their respective classes. Finally, the Principal congratulated Mr. Laser on his daughter's admission to the school and clicked the computer for coffee. Then two cups of coffee rolled and rolled to settle before them on the table. There was a rich flavour inviting them to have the coffee without waiting a second. They had coffee relishing while it was flavouring excellently.
There were many robots to teach their respective subjects and a few people were there to instruct robots whenever necessary for framing the Timetable. There were many digital labs for all subjects. Every school had a stadium, an auditorium, and a planetarium.
Pearl was happy to attend her classes. She was feeling on top of the world. When the class work was over, another robot came to send off Laser, Crescent and Pearl and led to the terrace for the return flight to their house by helicopter.
In the evening, the school helicopter dropped Pearl on to the terrace of Laser’s house as Laser sent his helicopter back for his personal manager's flight on an important work.
Pearl told her parents many things that she had learnt on that day in school. She felt everything very… very wonderful.
On Sunday, Pearl wanted to watch a movie outside though she had a beautiful theatre inside her house. She called the in-charge on the mobile to know about the movie released. From the mobile piece, a tiny doll came out of the main window and informed that the movie was running. Soon after it had given information, the tiny doll went inside the mobile piece through the window. The voice of the doll was very sonorous. Its appearance to speak to its owner was very spectacular.
They flew to the very big theatre by helicopter. It was very, very spacious…very, very wonderful…Two eyes were not enough to watch its beauties and wonders…The robots at the counter issued tickets at the rate of ten lakhs per ticket. They led them inside to their seats. The seats were shining with their respective ticket numbers wishing them ‘Welcome’. Light music was going on, welcoming all the audience. They sat in their respective seats. The seats were comfortably soft and gracefully swinging to move in different directions, but they were able to enjoy watching the movie run on the very big silver screen. All the characters appeared to speak to the audience, coming closer and closer. It was very hilarious for Pearl, for she saw it for the first time at a theatre after birth.
Mr. Laser and his family, Mrs Crescent along with their daughter, Pearl flew to the Swargatulya, a thousand-star hotel of their choice after the movie. They alighted on the terrace of the widespread hotel. They were at the entrance of the hotel. There was some voice to welcome them by its sweet tone, ‘Good Evening…Good Evening… Welcome…Welcome…’ They saw none to wish so but a doll to do like that in a musical tone. It was very pleasant on their part.
A boy in decent suit at the entrance sprinkled scent on them and showed the way to enter the hotel. Meanwhile Robot Mr. Swagath directed them to a table well furnished… They, sitting in the cushioned swinging seats, ordered three plates of goodlis that were like idlis in the twenty-first century. They also ordered three cups of super coffee… Within no time, there were three plates of goodlis, the most delicious food item of the times. They found the food item very relishing and had it happily. Then there were three cups of coffee. The flavour was very good. They had coffee. Meanwhile the bill of three lakhs fell on to the table from the above.
Mr. Laser paid the bill to the robot Mr. Varthak at the table. Meanwhile Robot Shubham directed them to the exit... They gave a tip of one fifty thousand rupees to the boy who had sprinkled scent on them, and left the hotel…
Then they were in the sky in their helicopter. Pearl had a nice parley with her father, Mr. Laser:
‘Dad… You spend a lot of money…You're very lavish…,’ said Pearl.
‘No… No…I'm spending reasonably…,’ said Laser.
‘No…You …spend two hundred times more than you are supposed to spend…,’ said Pearl with smile on her lips.
‘No…never…,’ said Laser.
‘What I say is true…,’ said Pearl.
‘It all seems that you were to be born in the twenty-first century…What you say is related to the twenty-first century. I, at the same time, think that the old is gold...old is only gold,’ said Laser.
‘Maybe… my dear father…,’ said Pearl.
‘What's your salary, my dear father…?' said Pearl.
‘Ten crores… There will be a hike the next year…The hike will be in one or two crores…Perhaps my total salary will be eleven or twelve crores. Government is very considerate in hiking everybody’s salary…,’ said Laser.
‘Crores? Crores!’ said Pearl.
‘It seems you have the memories of your past life in the present…,’ said Laser.
‘Maybe…,’ said Pearl.
‘See downwards… The houses are with a hundred and odd floors…,’ said Laser from the helicopter.
‘Very true…,' said Pearl.
'There is a rising tide of population…Man is helpless… You can see man caught up in the helpless condition. They're to buy drinking water paying a lakh of rupees. They buy oxygen at higher rates. See…People are inhaling oxygen through tubes. Its pipes supply it for the inhabitants in every house. Once upon a time, water and oxygen were free goods. Now they buy them at higher rates. Water was also not free in the twenty-first century as per the knowledge I got from the history books,’ said Laser.
‘It must be true…,’ said Pearl.
‘There is ecological imbalance. There are changes in nature against man’s wish. He's struggling for his safe existence…,’ said Laser.
‘It shouldn't be like this…,’ said Pearl.
‘We're helpless…See…We're coming closer to our house. We're alighting on the terrace…,’ said Laser.
The helicopter was about to land and they stopped the parley between them. It landed on the terrace of their house. Pearl was smiling as she enjoyed herself all through the trip. She for a moment felt sorry for ecological imbalance.
Pearl was able to complete all her studies by the time she was eighteen. Her brilliance made her very successful. She felt sorry for the students then never used their brains. They used mobiles for simple calculations and simple spellings. She posed many barefaced questions:
‘Writers wrote many books by their hands. Why do we not write by hand? How do we know our handwriting when we do not write? Why do we send messages and mails when we have mouths to speak cordially and hands to write beautifully? Why don’t we walk even a little distance?' asked Pearl.
Mr. Laser was not able to answer many of her questions. He always expressed his opinion that she was to be born in the twenty-first century or earlier.
Pearl joined as an officer with the salary of eight crores. Then Mr. Laser planned to perform her marriage. He expressed his proposal to Pearl. She said that she had fallen in love with one of her boyfriends as per her choice. Then her father tested her love towards her lover. He felt satisfied by the responses given by her. He celebrated her marriage as per her wish.
Marriage was going on in a super-grand way. Robots were to serve all food items…It was the confluence of men and machines, women, and robots. There were many more robots and very few people to serve the guests in the marriage function. Varied lutes and flutes, drums and trumpets in the latest fashion were going on for the joys of all the guests. They heard an infinite variety of supersonic sounds all over. The trees around were dancing to the melodies played. When Laser with his wife sent off his daughter, he did not feel sorry, but Pearl was shedding tears, embracing her parents before her leaving.
Later Mr. Laser said to his wife, Mrs. Crescent watching Pearl fly with her life-partner leaving them like the nestlings to leave the nest with strong wings grown to fly:
‘Pearl was to be born in the twenty-first century…By mistake she was born in the age of the twenty-seventh century…She's kind-hearted and open-minded. She has loving care and concern, abundant love and affection for us all… I miss her…my dear daughter. She's flying in the helicopter presented by me. Pearl… You're in the heart of my heart… See… Your mother is also shedding tears on your leaving us,’ said Laser with feelings in his face.
Within a year, Pearl was blessed with twins. By the time the twins completed their studies, she became very old. Her father Laser and mother Crescent became very, very old. She felt very much sorry, for the change in her appearance… She started to cry hoarsely for her becoming very old and her hair was turning grey.
Pearl was crying hoarsely for turning older and older while Swapnika was crying very loudly in her dream during her sleep in bed and her husband Vastav listened to it beside her.
Vastav woke up suddenly from his deep sleep while Swapnika was hoarsely crying in her sleep. He learnt that she had a bad dream. He felt disturbed by her crying in sleep, as she was a dreamer and used to dream. He woke up her, saying:
‘What happened to you…? You were grumbling… crying… shrieking… What made you grumble…cry…shriek…? Your mouth was making this sound...that sound... and what not…? You were okay when you came to bed last night…,’ said Vastav to his wife, Swapnika.
‘I became very old…very old…My hair...turned grey…very grey,’ said Swapnika.
‘Where're you…? Cine-heroines are nothing before you. You're like Anushka…You're more beautiful than Tamannah...You're very beautiful with a long black hair-braid that I love to see it rocking like the cradle with me in it,’ said Vastav.
‘I had a dream…First, it was sweet and wonderful…Later it was against my wishes…I cried …When I was just forty, my beautiful bee-black hair turned grey,’ said Swapnika.
‘O! You dreamed…,’ said Vastav with a sigh.
Literary Vibes - Edition CXLI (31-May-2024)
https://positivevibes.today/article/newsview/543#RAJA
