“Big”, I believe, is a very subjective word. Our definition of it changes over time. Something that we considered big as a child might not seem as big as we grow older. While this is true there are, however, certain occasions in all of our lives which are big irrespective of our distinctions. One such occasion is when we move into our own house. The sense of belonging, the pride of possession and the overarching peace that it brings are feelings not everyone is fortunate enough to experience. Being born in a lower middle-income group household, I had the unique opportunity of experiencing these feelings first-hand.
For the first thirteen years of my life, we lived in a rented apartment. Although I grew up calling that place “home”, there still were invisible boundaries within that place that we weren’t allowed to cross. A constant sense of stifling and restraint which is uncharacteristic of a home. These apprehensions of mine were confirmed every time I saw my father. From the earliest time that I can remember, I had only seen him toil- day in and day out. At first, it didn’t make sense to me. Until I realized what he was working towards. He wanted to build a place which he could call his “home”.
It took him a better part of his life but he did manage to gather up enough resources to finally see his dream put into motion. His part, however, was not over yet. Because building a house is an investment, not a transaction that can be undone. He had to make sure that the place in which he plans to spend the rest of his life was formidable enough to withstand the ravages of time and nature. It was at this crucial juncture that he decided to put his trust in one of the most recognizable and reliable business houses in India (and the world), the Aditya Birla Group. He chose to build his greatest accomplishment with Ultratech Cement and he could not have made a better choice. It took exactly 15 months and 23 days for our “home” to be ready. And then we moved in. To this day, I cannot find the exact words to describe the array of emotions that I experienced then. However, there’s one thing that I very vividly remember from that day, my father’s smiling face.
As I had stated earlier, “big” is a very subjective word. And the subjectivity of it also lies in the context in which we are using it. The event mentioned above is an example of a “big occasion” – which automatically has a positive connotation to it. The event mentioned below changes the context, it talks about a “big person”, his struggles and how he eventually overcame them.
Being born and brought up in a typical Bengali household, there were two things that I experienced from a very young age, first was the unmitigated love for food that Bengalis have and second was their unparalleled sincerity towards academics. Naturally, I picked up on those traits and developed a rather monumental fondness for books and sweets. As a result of which, during the majority of my childhood and teenage years, I was borderline overweight. And I was too fixated on my academics to actually devote some time to physical exercise. Growing up as a chubby kid was not easy- with the constant fat-shaming and ridicule. It took a toll on my self-esteem. I was fortunate enough to have a few close friends who valued me for the person that I was and not on the basis of my volume. Eventually, I made my peace with it – believing that this was how things would be for me. As it turned out, however, life had different plans for me.
In the month of May 2016, I was diagnosed with obesity and hypertension. My weight was over a hundred kilograms and was blood pressure was 160 over 100. Even the doctor had to go over the reports twice to believe that I was actually that ill. I would be lying to myself if I said that I didn’t see this coming. However, the situation was aggravated considerably by the unhealthy food habits that I had picked up during the first year of my college.
For the first time in my life, I was faced with a reality wherein I couldn’t be comfortable with my own body. More importantly, I realized that my lifestyle and activities that led up to this weren’t sustainable. It took me some time to fully grasp the magnitude and consequences of my health situation. And I realized that radical changes were necessary and with immediate effect. I joined a gym the same month- it wasn’t easy to begin with. I felt awkward and embarrassed by my own body, especially with all the fitness freaks around me- constantly expressing their concerns about my state. However, I ignored all of that as much as I could and persisted. In a few weeks, I started exercising regularly despite my college and tuitions. I also overhauled my eating habits in their entirety. By the month of January 2017, I had lost almost 20 kilograms and had managed to lower my blood pressure and keep it under control without the usage of any medication.
This was one of the biggest achievements of my life. This journey not only transformed me physically but it also empowered me psychologically. Now, I am not embarrassed to share my story anymore. In fact, I share it as much as I can because I know for a fact that there are more people like me- who know that they need to change their lifestyles but are inhibited by how others will react to them. I share it with them to make them realize that their fears are real but that should not stop them from doing something good for themselves.