Pic Courtesy :Google

Mayank entered the class and as usual sat on the last bench. Class XI A was known to be the most notorious section of the four other sections and Mayank was the stud of the class.

He was an average student but was very fickle minded. Hence he was the only one who used to get regular punishment in every class. Being the second child in Mr. Patel’s household, it was tough for him as he was constantly compared with his extra brilliant siblings who were famous for their achievements. The dinner table discussions were as if the most difficult phase for Mayank. Every time his parents never leave a single chance to look down upon him. The discussion would start from how Mayank is lagging behind everything to how many prizes have the other two achieved in that perticular year. The more the discussion, the more careless Mayank would become. He was completely different from his brothers and hardly gave any thought to what his parents or teachers said.

But that day was different. It was a beautiful day and Richa was a new joinee. Mayank couldn’t take his eyes off her. She had a long pony tail and was tall and extremely beautiful with dimples which made her appear very cute. Unlike others who were judgemental about Mayank, she was different. She befriended every one in the class in a very few time. Mayank felt a need to impress her every single day.

He wanted to study better, play better and draw better. Only thing was he did not know how. Being the stud that he was, he had a big group of friends some of whom belonged to his school and some were his colony friends. Age was not a bar. Even elder ones were equally close to Mayank. The moment Mayank shared what he felt for Richa, every one shared their expert advise. But Rishi was always closest to Mayank who every time gave Mayank quite unique solutions. He was elder to Mayank and had a saloon. As per him girls just don’t like guys who score high marks in theory. It was easier to woo them if one was good in physical exercises. Mayank could become the champion in the annual sports and attract Richa.Mayank liked the idea as it was better than mugging up his lessons. Mayank was not good at sports and there was very less time left for the sports event. Mayank looked perplexed. Rishi drew out a packet from his bag and gave it to Mayank saying this was the secret ingredient that can be of immense help.

Mayank was ready to do anything. He sealed the deal that at the cost of paying up a hefty amount to Rishi, Mayank would buy the secret powder.

The D Day came and mayank gave all his pocket money to Rishi and got the packet. He took a tiny pinch and placed it on his tongue tip. When the race began, Mayank’s entire body was on fire. He ran like a bullet. Everyone in the audience were shocked to see Mayank actually fly past his competitors. But just before completing the last lap, Mayank collapsed on the ground. He was soon admitted in the hospital where it was found that he had taken drugs. His parents could not believe this. He was sent to a corrective home and Rishi was arrested. During the counselling session, when his parents asked that what was Mayank’s motivation for doing this, the doctor blamed them saying that they lacked the motivation to understand their own blood. The pressure to perform was so high that Mayank chose the easiest way irrespective of the fact whether it was good or bad. His parents had no words to say this time.

Many parents want their children to have the right motivation to run the so called rat race but it is actually the lack of motivation that they go through to understand that each child has his own individuality and just scoring marks is not an yardstick to measure their wards talent.