THE LIFE BEHIND THE BARS

It was a dark night when the memories of past triggered my mind. People gathered around meto stop me follow those memories of past, but I was determined to meet her and bring her back. I step foot and the entire force appeared in my eyes; I was not afraid but I was in anger. The night was the night, that shall change my life and I ran, fought my own beloved people to meet my love. Two people hit me on back and brought me back to my house. I shared various slang words in anger, which I never tried. I was surrounded by my friends on my bed so that I could not repeatthe act. Next day I woke up with a message that some strangers have arrived to take me to meet my love. I did not miss a single second and dressed myselfand followed their path. They took me to an unknown place that I never visited and I wish to never visit again in my life. I saw a house with few strangers walking with a look at me with curiosity. I was taken to a room and told that my beloved shall arrive soon and they put an injection on my earthly body. I lost my consciousness and slept 2 nights. Neither I could walk nor I could talk but just lie on the bed for few nights. I was tied on bed and warned not to repeat such act. They told me that I am in rehabilitation center. The word that I never heard and I never want too anymore. The word broke my hopes and energy I had in me to meet my love. There were various people with various reasons that led them there. Some are addicted to drugs, some into alcohol and some into mental problems. I could see diversity in the place too. I hated the people so much that I did not talk to even one and I assumedthem to be mocking me all the time and making fun of me. Days passed and I got new friends there, my best friend was a Muslim boy, whom I never recognized a Muslim boy but as my friend. So, the Muslim boy turned to be my best friend and we spent most of the time together there sharing each other’s ideas and stories. One important thing I learned in rehabilitation center is that nothing is permanent and everything is temporary in this world, even me. One evening, I could find myself in anger again remembering my past and I was playing carrom. One unknown boy interrupted me and criticized me, I lost my anger and hit him hard till he bleeds and later I felt regret of what is did. But that boy turned to be my best friend after the Muslim boy got released from the rehabilitation center. I still remember when the Muslim boy left the rehabilitation center, I had tears in my eyes. That’s the bonding that we create with a human within a short period of time. Who was he to me till I visited the place? None but when he left, he became someone for me. I still miss him but I have never seen or met him after I saw him last. Let`s move to the second part, that is crazy part in rehabilitation center. After the Muslim boy left, I had friendship with the boy I hit during playing carrom and we started petrol addiction in the center itself, stealing the petrol from bike of an employee in the rehabilitation center. It was the first time I had petrol addiction and I don`t want to express the experience and influence anyone to try it. One day we were caught red handed and we were warned not to repeat it. On the other hand, we did lots of crazy things to keep ourself busy such as disturbing a mentally ill person to stealing chicken from kitchen. Everything we did, everythingwe tried, we were caught red handed for sure. The owner and doctor of the rehabilitation center gifted me a note bookand a pen, and asked me to continue my poetry writing and I continued. My parents never visited to meet me there with fear to revive me those memories back but I called them secretly stealing the phone of employees there. We used to watch IPL every evening in the rehabilitation center and that united us under a roof. I could observe that my Muslim friend never did yoga that we are asked to every evening. According to him Yoga is for Hindus but I have a question if yoga means Hindu, then relativity will definitely mean Christian. The people have made various assumptions after I was sent to rehabilitation center. The people also claimed that I was into drugs or I am a mad and many more statements. But today those people don`t raise their heads when I pass by. Living in the Rehabilitation Center is a process that you undergo in life and it was the last hope of my parents to get be back. I never want any people to undergo the process until they need to but those centersare saving the mankind and giving specially the youths a new direction. I know the numbers of Rehabilitation center needs to be increased in the society and the fear of the process you undergo there has to be present so that the people never take the place casually. I found people of various ages in the rehabilitation center from 15-70. I could see people coming in center with anger and frustration, but the people are sending them with lots of hope. I could see the love of the parents of the people living there and deeply the parents love them just like my parents to me. I could relate my sleepless nights in Rehabilitation center with the sleepless nights of my parents at home.The time heals everything only if we nurture it. I waited the entire day for the evening snack with red tea. I have chosen my note book and pen as my friend too in the rehabilitation center, because there is none to hear you after everyone sleeps in the darkness of the world.I have learned various types of addiction there even it is an addiction free place; we talk about addiction and how it affects our physical and mental health. The days I missed my mom and dad most was the Diwali and Durga Puja since we used to celebrate the festival together. As a reader you might have been imagining my pain but just take few secondsand imagine the pain of my mom and dad. Nobody`s parents want to keep their child in rehabilitation center. But it was me who forced them to do it. The people near my home-made fun of me and criticized me with various statements, that my mom and dad heard and beard. It was an early morning; I could see a car arriving and it was not lateto realize that it was our car. My mom and dad got down from the car and came inside the rehabilitation center. I could not control my tears and I was asked to pack up my belongings to go home. It was one of the happiest moments of my life with some tearson my eyes. I hugged my mom and dad, took their blessings and another journey starts away from my hometown. Each morning I woke up the sun risethrough the window gives me new hope and life. Every night I used to take around 5 different tablets and so others. There are some boys who used to spit the tablets later. The employees used to check if we have consumed the tablets or spitted it and many times the boys got caught. Every evening I used to attend the yoga class there and I fall in love with the yoga. One evening my favorite school teacher visited to meet me at rehabilitation center, he asked me to attend yoga camp in Kanyakumari and later when I got released from the rehabilitation center, I went Kanyakumari to attend 1 month yoga camp organized by Vivekananda Kendra trust. I met various great personalities there and learned the very basis of my existence from yoga. Later I was posted in Orrisa as a Parvasi Karyakarta of Vivekananda Kendra where I met another people who inspired me a lot. Life may not flow the way you want but you can sail your boat with the flow as the way you want.