This one is dedicated to a girl-woman I have known for the last decade. Like every other girl-next-door, even she had dreams and aspirations; dreams in-line with her circumstances.And I have seen her work really hard to achieve them. She was a practical gal, so she did not wish for a Switzerland trip, or Mercs and Bentleys the only thing she wished for was a happy marriage.She started her day at 6 in morn and worked till eve to save money for the grand day and when the time came her only demand was for that of a non-alcoholic husband, a wish rare in her strata of society.Over the years, she did not budge from this one demand, rejected the prospective grooms her poverty struck parents threw at her, earned the mocking glares of her relatives for her ego (a word equivalent to havoc in her society) but she was adamant and I admired her. She had every right to demand given the hardships life had thrown at her.
And then the day finally arrived,there were no compromises as she happily informed us all that finally she had found her match. Her happiness was infectious and away she went... only to return some years later with a baby, an unexplainable disease that clubbed her feet and numerous scars on her fragile frame that narrated the abuse her alcoholic husband inflicted on her.
She smiled as she blamed her fate as there was no single person she could blame. Not her parents coz they just wanted to finish their responsibility by marrying her off. Not her husband because he did not even know how important it was for her and for him it was the way wives were to be treated and she fought as long as she could. But now the glint in her eyes is gone as she has given up her fight against her luck.
"Maybe I demanded too much, Did I?" she asked me the other day.
I had no answer. I wanted to assure her that her one wish was justified. That she did not deserve what she got, She had the right for that one thing when she was ready to compromise on everything else. But her condition made me shut up, as I realised that given my comforts and luxuries I can only give her false assurances, long stupid lectures on women rights, philosphical passages bootlegged from books she could never read but I can never be her and face the heat. I am shamed by her strength. My only regret is the unfairness of it all.
She damn well had every right to her wish, a practical, fair, logical one that would have assured her life-long happiness. But then how many of us really get that? The repurcussions are maybe not that grotesque but we do compromise, even if we claim to hate that word, we do just that.The journey through the real world begins with a compromise as we let go of certain long held principles to embrace the happiness life throws at us.
Its simple, life in fiction, in thoughts is easy, where we live by our own rules. The moment you step in the real world, the first project we are given checks our Rigidity and then its upto us to break or bend.
After seeing my broken idol,I am learning to bend. Is it worth it though?
Only time will tell.
And then the day finally arrived,there were no compromises as she happily informed us all that finally she had found her match. Her happiness was infectious and away she went... only to return some years later with a baby, an unexplainable disease that clubbed her feet and numerous scars on her fragile frame that narrated the abuse her alcoholic husband inflicted on her.
She smiled as she blamed her fate as there was no single person she could blame. Not her parents coz they just wanted to finish their responsibility by marrying her off. Not her husband because he did not even know how important it was for her and for him it was the way wives were to be treated and she fought as long as she could. But now the glint in her eyes is gone as she has given up her fight against her luck.
"Maybe I demanded too much, Did I?" she asked me the other day.
I had no answer. I wanted to assure her that her one wish was justified. That she did not deserve what she got, She had the right for that one thing when she was ready to compromise on everything else. But her condition made me shut up, as I realised that given my comforts and luxuries I can only give her false assurances, long stupid lectures on women rights, philosphical passages bootlegged from books she could never read but I can never be her and face the heat. I am shamed by her strength. My only regret is the unfairness of it all.
She damn well had every right to her wish, a practical, fair, logical one that would have assured her life-long happiness. But then how many of us really get that? The repurcussions are maybe not that grotesque but we do compromise, even if we claim to hate that word, we do just that.The journey through the real world begins with a compromise as we let go of certain long held principles to embrace the happiness life throws at us.
Its simple, life in fiction, in thoughts is easy, where we live by our own rules. The moment you step in the real world, the first project we are given checks our Rigidity and then its upto us to break or bend.
After seeing my broken idol,I am learning to bend. Is it worth it though?
Only time will tell.
1 comment:
niceee...
Post a Comment