WHY?

Rajat is in police lock up because of an accident he had. He is not willing to apply for bail or for that matter even engage a lawyer to defend him. His mother forced him to sign for a lawyer to plead his case. Let us see the background to this.

He is the only son of his parents. His father, a senior government officer, passed away when he had just joined service after his MBA. He had been a bright student and secured first division always. He also had been good in sports and other extra curricular activities. He had been provided the best of everything but without being pampered. Good values were also inculcated in him by his parents as well as grandparents who used to stay with them till they left this world. He was well liked by one and all for his gentle nature.

His hard work paid off and he climbed to the post of manager in very short time. He had befriended a girl and was keen to marry her. There was no objection from his mother but her father felt he was below their status. So he left it to his mother to find suitable match. She selected some girls and asked him to meet them to finalise. He got married to Sheetal, a girl from almost similar social background. Before marriage he was very honest to tell her about himself and his wish that his mother, though in receipt of pension, would continue staying with them. She had willingly agreed to this. She too was working in a good organization. They both used to be busy in their office routine and his mother took care of home. He used to enjoy a couple of CHHOTA drinks on return from office before having dinner. She used to give company at time with a glass of wine or so. On week ends they used to go out but his mother never agreed to accompany them saying that she would rather stay home to catch up with pending chores. Things were fine though they had normal adjustment problems. His mother always remained neutral and let them sort out their difference at their own. She rather sided with Sheetal if she found Rajat to be even a little unreasonable. There were some instances of interference from her mother at times but he ignored it with feeling that over time his wife will get over asking her mother for advice. They were blessed with a son in second year of marriage. By the time son was a year old, things seemed to change.

Sheetal started making issues of small happenings. She started nagging him a lot. Though she did not have any fights with his mother but started remaining aloof. There was hardly any interaction between her and mother in law. On return from office she used to take her son to her room and close the door. She even went off few times to stay with her parents for longish periods. Rajat was quite unhappy but continued making efforts to make things normal. She refused to communicate as to why was she behaving like this or what was on her mind. She started objecting to his drinking no matter how little it was. She would not stop him if he gave company to her father for drinking. This seemed very unreasonable to him. He tried to reason it out with her but she did not relent. So for the sake of peaceful life, he did not drink at home. However at times he used to have it on way back from office at some pub or the other and she never realized it. He was very unhappy with the way life was going on. He even indicated to her that this may drive him to leave the house and go away. She instead of understanding the gravity of such remarks became even more adamant on her ways. His mother though did not say anything but was sad at the turn of events. Her mother started making frequent visits and they would lock themselves up in her room.

Two days ago he poured a drink and Sheetal threw tantrum. She picked up his glass and threw it away. He lost temper and stormed out of house without saying anything to her. He went over to some pub and had more than he should have had. On way back while driving he momentarily lost consciousness and hit a cyclist. The cyclist was injured and his cycle was smashed. He was taken to police station. The cyclist was hospitalized and fortunately there were only superficial injuries from which he is expected to recover within few days. Rajat was very upset and said that he would rather stay in jail than to return home to all the bickering. Sheetal instead of showing any remorse put the blame on him and went off to her parents place. It is learnt that the cyclist is willing to compromise if he is given a new cycle and hospital bills paid off. His uncle has spoken to police who stated that they have no objection if compromise is reached.

I only hope and pray that it ends on a happy note. It will be so sad to see a good youngman going waste. It does make me wonder why we do not see positive side of life and live happily instead of creating disharmony.


PS : This is based on a true happening with very little additions from my side.