Raju still remembered the day he passed his Madhyamik examination. The certificate felt like a golden ticket to a bright future. His parents smiled proudly, neighbors congratulated him, and relatives said, "Now your life will change."
But life did not change.
Months passed. The certificate that once shone brightly was now folded inside a plastic file. It lay quietly in a wooden drawer, as silent as the dreams that slowly began to fade.
Raju belonged to a small town where everyone knew everyone. In such a place, success was visible and failure was louder. Each morning he woke up early, not because he had work, but because he did not want people to think he was lazy. He helped his father in small household tasks and sometimes assisted in local shops without payment.
Society has a strange way of measuring people. If you earn money, you are respected. If you don't, you are questioned.
"Still no job?"
"What are you doing these days?"
"Why don't you try harder?"
These questions followed him like shadows.