Autobiography of a Medal

I am round, and I bulge at the centre. And when everyone take me in their hands, they say I am heavy. I never know if they mean it in a good or a bad way…since today is the era of being slim. Nevertheless, I ignore the comment by reflecting off people’s faces on my shiny surface. I am smooth, I am gold. I have 4 brothers too, who were born with me. But their naming ceremony has not taken place. They are not labeled. They are smooth and plain. My face has been engraved on both sides. On one side, there are nine squares, embossed, still making a square. Below that, it reads “THE CHARLES CORREA GOLD MEDAL”. However, that is not embossed, but engraved. On the other side, it says “ANUJ DAGA 2008”. I wonder who are these two people, and why would I be named after them?

I am lying safe in my home, on my soft bed. They never take me out, and since I have been made, there are always mumblings I hear from a person who says, “It has come, I don’t know when it will be given to you!” For a long time I did not hear anything after that, perhaps it was about 6 months I was lying in my house. I was bored. Then suddenly, an old man took me and started shouting:

“Why is this 2008, no one knows anything, we gave the award in 2009...what is this? Who got this done? Call the manager…there is no system in place…”

I was scared…I wondered if they have only kept my name, why are they now regretting it? Will they scratch my smoothness again…? Will they deface me? Later I don’t know what happened, they closed me in the box for 2 weeks and suddenly, I felt like an earthquake one fine day, when I was sleeping quietly…they were taking me somewhere…in a car, I could feel the gravity in my round bulgy belly. It was a ride, exciting. I was safe, since I had a lot of cushions with me. I padded myself in them! They finally exposed me to light…the same old hands again took me…I could feel them…big hands. And they wondered about where was my ribbon! Did they want to tie me up somewhere? they were puzzled, and they just closed me in my comfortable space and sent back in the car, after which I was again opened in a house…and again some old hands held me. She was a lady, soft and tender. She added a blue satin ribbon to my ring. It was beautiful. I liked it. It furled around and tickled me. And it was shiny too…

I was finally closed in my box, and was locked tight.

The next time I was opened, was today. As soon as the lid opened, I heard applause. There were so many people. The old hands took me, and hung me to another person…I was swinging…it felt nice. This was the first time I experienced freedom. I felt weightless, though I was bulky. When I touched the person through whom I was swinging, I could feel a thumping heart, an excited motion. May be I made someone happy.

And later, many people touched me, felt me…my smooth body, they repeated a name “ANUJ DAGA”…I wondered why are they taking my name…may be I was famous. This young boy took my picture too. I smiled back at him, with a shiny smile. I think he likes me. Now you tell me how I look in the picture he has taken, so that I am assured I will be happy with him all my life!