Online… and Offline Forever
(This short story brings to light a hidden aspect of the changing online way of life, where relationships formed through false identities can sometimes bring a person close to realities they themselves may never have imagined.)
Usuf Mir
“Shanu… Shanu, my son… will you please put that phone away now? I don’t know what kind of magnet you’ve got in that thing. The moment it rings, you stick to it. You have only twenty minutes before college. Hurry up, your breakfast is ready.”
Shanu’s mother, Razia, was red with anger.
She had called her only son four times already to come and eat, but he remained completely absorbed in a casual conversation with someone on his phone. It was as though his mother’s voice had never reached his ears.
Razia called her beloved only son once again, but this time there was no affection in her voice. There was intensity.
Shanu, a second-year B.A. student, entered the dining hall. His mother looked at him with a silent, questioning expression, wanting to ask whom he had been talking to for so long. But Shanu was in such a mood that, before she could say anything, she began to tremble.
She divided her portion of food into two equal parts.
She placed one portion neatly on a plate on the dining table and put the other into a container resembling a tiffin, then carried it out towards the veranda.
Shanu, with his strangely modern temperament, was eating quite comfortably with a knife and fork. He saw his mother going outside, but paid no attention to her.
He thought his mother had probably taken the food to “Kalu”. Kalu had been brought home by his father, Khan Amjad, during his lifetime to guard the house.
When Razia returned to the room, Shanu had already left for college.
In the afternoon, when Shanu returned home, he went straight to his room and lay down on his bed without even informing his mother that he was back.
Razia was extremely angry at the change in her son’s behaviour.
She kicked the door open and stormed at Shanu.
It was the first time Shanu had seen his mother so furious. He became worried, wondering what had happened.
A few days later, Shanu was again absorbed in his phone. This time it was not college-going time, but bedtime.
Shanu was upstairs in his room. Razia also went upstairs to close the windows of the guest room. She sensed that Shanu was still awake and talking to someone.
She tried to listen to his conversation from outside the door, but she could not understand a single word. She waited silently outside for more than half an hour, but failed to discover what she wanted to know.
She did not want to waste any more time. Without knocking, she entered Shanu’s room and, gathering all her courage, asked him, “Today, you will have to reveal your secret. Who is it that you have formed such a bond of conversation with? Have you forgotten all your other relationships… your mother and father… your brothers and sisters… your own people and strangers and everyone… your pen… your books… What is it that you really want?”
“I am a human being too… your mother. In our time, a mother’s worth and dignity were held in the highest regard. A mother’s word was considered final. But I am worried about what a mother’s place has become in today’s world. It is true that modern times have provided today’s children with countless comforts and conveniences, but that does not mean that children should deceive their mothers and do things that could become a stain upon their mother’s honour.”
Shanu easily sensed the change in his mother. He immediately changed his manner of speaking. Abandoning his serious mood, he decided to try the medicine of affection. He put both his arms around his mother’s shoulders and, in a childish, lisping voice, said, “Oh, Mother! You worry for no reason. Am I still a little child? Could anyone mislead me and make me lose my way? I am online…”
Tears appeared in his mother’s eyes. Kissing her son’s forehead, she said, “Well done, my son, well done… I have complete faith in you. After all, whose blood runs in your veins? Your father made us proud. He joined the police as a constable and rose to become an officer.”
Shanu had succeeded completely in calming his mother’s anger. He was quietly delighted with himself. He opened his real internet account and began looking at photographs of his late father.
Razia drifted into a world of memories. After looking at one photograph, she insisted that Shanu click on another. Thus, she went through all the treasured photographs of her husband, from his childhood to his final journey. Tears streamed down her eyes.
Meanwhile, Shanu began to turn the situation completely to his advantage. Comforting his mother, he encouraged her to learn how to use the internet so that she could look at her husband’s photographs whenever she wished.
Shanu brought his mother online and won all her sympathy for himself.
A complete change came over the atmosphere of the house. Razia no longer felt lonely even after Shanu went out. She remained online throughout the day. Along with looking at her husband’s treasured photographs, she became busy chatting with several people through fake accounts.
Shanu no longer felt troubled at home. He could use his time exactly as he pleased. The mother who had once constantly questioned him was now too occupied with her own world. The colours of the new age had dyed her in their own colours and completely absorbed her.
There was now a complete transformation in the atmosphere of the house. The change was not limited to the atmosphere alone; even the timings of their meals had changed. Many times, both mother and son would leave their respective rooms at the same time and arrive at the dining table together for their meals.
Yet Shanu became increasingly concerned about his mother’s mental change. He felt that his mother had begun to hold back when it came to showing him affection.
It was the month of May. The weather was exceptionally pleasant and beautiful. It was Sunday, the twenty-first. Shanu dressed up smartly and left the house without asking his mother.
Razia, too, was getting ready. She also had plans to go out that Sunday. She called Shanu and told him to return home immediately because she had already made plans to go out for some important work. But Shanu, too, had a plan that had already been made and which he could not put off.
Believing that at least one person should remain at home on a Sunday, Razia postponed her plan. Shanu, too, cancelled his own plan and returned home halfway.
The following week, Razia was already dressed and had left home early in the morning. But she had to turn back when Shanu called and asked her to return because he needed to go to the city for some important work.
Razia returned, but two or three hours later she became furious when Shanu came back saying that his programme had been postponed.
The following week, mother and son once again made plans to go out together, but… this plan, too, fell victim to confusion.
The repeated coincidence of their plans to go out being made and then cancelled began to occupy Shanu’s mind. Questions began to rise within him, and continued to rise…
Until he came online… and then… went offline forever.
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