I miss being with my family

A page from the personal diary of Yash Tonk I remember my days in Campus School in Haryana. Those were certainly the best days of my life. The school was beautiful and had all the modern facilities which you still don’t find at big schools in cities. I was into sports then and kept pulling my friends out of their homes to play cricket. In school someone owned a set of wickets and someone had a cricket bat or a ball. While playing if someone got angry he would run away with his bat, wickets or ball and the game would end then and there. My childhood friend Sukhbir and me still stay in touch and when meet we share all our childhood memories. When I came to Mumbai from Haryana to become an actor I used to stay as a paying guest. One day my roommate told me to audition for a shampoo commercial. I was initially reluctant kyunki mere baal kafi halke fulke hain. Nonetheless I went for it and later I got a call from the agency and they started negotiating the remuneration with me. The moment they uttered ek lakh rupiya, I said mujhe sab manzoor hain, I will do the commercial. I immediately called a friend of mine who was selling his car and offered to buy it. This is how I earned my first big income. Life has moved on and today and when I contemplate I think the journey has been good. Though there has been a lot of struggle it is all a part of the entire learning experience. Today kids from Haryana call me saying Yash bhaiya hero bana hain. Today these young fellows can see only stars and their glamour quotient. I ask them baap ke pass kitna paisa hain? Tabhi Mumbai aao if you are prepared for the struggle and the kharcha. People will have to understand that it’s not only about becoming stars but understanding the process of film making and how the industry works. When I think of my family I feel I am extremely lucky. My wife Gauri is a Maharashtrian and ours was a love-cum-arranged marriage. I liked her, our parents met and then we got married. Then our daughter Pari came into our life. She will soon turn eight and she is a bundle of joy for us. Yes, there are times when for 8-9 days I am not at home and I crave to be with my family. But I have learned to live with it. Bachpan mein family choda tha so I know how to deal with separation. One has to be strong to achieve goals. I just want to tell my fans that life is beautiful and enjoy every bit of it. Have dreams but don’t die for them. Enjoy and be happy.