Arre, Kargil war ki yaad aati hai na, mere papa ne bataya tha uss time Hum log Surat mein the, aur gali mein har koi TV ke aage chai peeke baitha tha, jaise aaj kal bachche reels dekhte hain. Mera cousin bhai, jo ab Dubai mein driver hai, tab usne bole the "maa, main fauj mein bharti honga" — par maa ne uske haath se pensil chheen li thi, haa na? Life mein kuch rishtedar bachche apni deal pakdi rakhne ke liye bade bade sapne dekh lete hain, par akhir mein loan utarna aur roti jalane se matlab hai, na ki un sapno mein ulajhne se.

Na, I saw my cousin brother waste two lakhs on a “pro gaming setup” — new monitor, mechanical keyboard, even RGB strips. He said he’d go pro in CS. Six months later, setup is collecting dust and he’s asking mama for loan to start a pani-puri stall. Meanwhile, my aunty’s son from the next lane plays on a five-year-old laptop with frayed wire mouse — and he’s top fragging in local LANs, winning cash prizes every Sunday. All these grand theories about “Indian CS revival” sound nice, but I’ve seen too many RGB dreams fizzle out like cheap hair spray. The one who survives is the one who shows up with chai stains on their keyboard, haa na?