Day 2 – "Comparison ka bojh"
Subah ke 6:45 baj rahe the.
Aaj alarm bajne se pehle hi Sakshi ki aankh khul gayi. Aisa usually tab hota hai jab dimag already heavy ho.
Usne seedha phone uthaya.
WhatsApp – 37 messages.
Class group active tha.
Usne dheere se chat open ki.
"Mujhe 94 aaye 😭"
"Bro 91… expected tha"
"Maths mein 96 💀🔥"
Sakshi ne phone turant band kar diya.
"Yeh sab itne ache kaise laate hain…?" usne dheere se bola.
Breakfast Table
Mummy ne poocha, "Aaj itni jaldi uth gayi?"
"Neend nahi aa rahi thi…"
Papa newspaper padh rahe the.
"Kal Sharma ji ke bete ke 95 aaye hain," papa ne casually bola.
Sakshi ne kuch nahi kaha.
Yeh "Sharma ji ka beta" uske life ka permanent character tha—jo hamesha usse better hota tha.
School ka Atmosphere
Aaj school ka vibe different tha.
Kal tak sab tension mein the, aaj sab comparison mode mein the.
"Tu kitna laayi?"
"Usse zyada mere aaye"
"Topper kaun bana?"
Sakshi chup chaap apni seat pe baith gayi.
Riya aayi.
"Tu group chat dekh rahi thi?" usne poocha.
"Thoda…"
"Mat dekh yaar. Sab flex kar rahe hain."
Class Discussion
Teacher aayi aur boli,
"Marks important hain, par sab kuch nahi hote."
Class mein kisi ne seriously nahi liya.
Sab bas ek dusre ke numbers compare kar rahe the.
Ek ladki ne Sakshi se poocha,
"Tu topper thi na pehle? Is baar kya hua?"
Sakshi bas halka sa smile karke reh gayi.
Par andar se…
"Kya main gir rahi hoon?"
Break Time
Sakshi aur Riya canteen mein baithe the.
"Tu itni chup kyun hai?" Riya ne poocha.
"Bas… lagta hai sab aage badh rahe hain aur main wahi hoon."
Riya ne uski taraf dekha.
"Sabka pace alag hota hai. Tu race mein nahi hai, samjhi?"
Sakshi ne sir hilaya… par uska dimag maan nahi raha tha.
Ek Chhota Moment
Jab wo corridor se ja rahi thi, usne notice kiya ek ladka bench pe akela baitha tha—Aman.
Wo class ka average student tha, zyada kisi se baat nahi karta.
Uske haath mein bhi report card tha.
Aur uske face pe bhi wahi expression tha…
Confusion + disappointment
Ek second ke liye Sakshi ruk gayi.
"Sirf main hi nahi hoon…"
Par wo kuch bole bina aage badh gayi.
Ghar wapas
Aaj ghar aake usne seedha room band kar liya.
Phone uthaya… phir wapas rakh diya.
Usne mirror mein khud ko dekha.
"Tu itni weak kab se ho gayi?"
Usne apne aap se poocha.
Raat – Diary Time
Aaj usne diary thodi jaldi kholi.
Aur likha:
"Day 2:
Sab log ek race mein hain… aur mujhe lag raha hai main peeche reh gayi hoon.
Shayad problem marks nahi hai…
Shayad problem yeh hai ki main khud ko dusron se compare kar rahi hoon."
Usne pen rok diya.
Thoda socha.
Phir last line add ki:
"Kal se… main try karungi ki main khud se compete karun."
Light off.
Aaj bhi sleep easy nahi aayi.
Par ek thought clear tha—
Comparison hi sabse bada pressure hai.
To be continued…