| from fatima.n82@gmail.com
JABALPUR TO DELHI
25, working as a PRO, independent….Everything about Ms.S sounds like an advertisement about the so called New Age woman. A not exactly “jhola udake”, but rather a “suitcase udake” journey from Jabalpur to Delhi has finally paid its dividends.
But not everything at planet success is hunky dory. There is a small hitch.
“10 lakhs, that is all that the parents of the guy have asked”, that is Mom on phone. “Jawan Ladki” is a big deal for a typical middle class family living in Jabalpur.
It doesn’t matter that she is not at home in the clinical sense of the term. “For 10 lakhs I could get Brad Pitt for a night”, Ms.S muses to fellow traveler (read 26, wannabe filmmaker, Trivandrum to Delhi, yours truly!) and room mate. After working out the details of if Brad Pitt will exactly consent for a sum of 10 lakhs (won’t it be measly, when you convert it into dollars?) the matter is put to rest for the time being.
But, nothing can match the resolve of Indian parents once they decide to get “THE DAUGHTER” [25, Oh God! Will soon be 26 and then 27!] married.
So there lands the worth 10 lakh material, with the topping of an IIT degree -metallurgy or some other orgy, but still IIT. Looks wise the material is all pits and no Brad. But, as per parental instruction, Ms.S decides to look beyond “superficial exterior”.
After all, standing the company of a strange buffoon can at times be better than having constant moralizing and emotional blackmailing about “thanklessness for all we have done for you” over the phone. PS for Telecom ministry: STD rates should be drastically increased.
Soon, the social circle of Ms.S runs for cover. Comprising mainly of “I’m experimenting”, “Don’t know what is gonna happen” and “Who cares” crowd, the circle
certainly can’t stand “The Material”. After reminiscing about the fickleness of so called friends, Ms.S decides to grin and bear the desertion. But, soon The Material starts playing his aces. “It is 9.30 at night, where are you?”, “Just called to check if you are at YOUR place”, “You should stop roaming around with odd men, my parents (in Jabalpur)will not like it”- these were some of the gems.
Room mate sits down for a crisis analysis and wonders “How can he spend 4-5 years in Delhi and still be like this”. But, soon this line of thought is dismissed after considering the Delhi records of anything related to women.
The limits of Ms.S’ patience and “wanting to be a good daughter” emotions break down when The Material starts behaving like a geostationary satellite around her. The realization of what is in store within the confines of Holy matrimony serves as an eye opener.
To cut a long story short, The Material is flushed out of Ms.S’ life and she has a new mobile number.Even social life is looking normal after infinite apologies to every one who received 1am calls from The Material to find out where Ms.S is. Of course, parental reactions were good enough to impress a medium size volcano. And, these days Ms.S is looking for a visa. Sometimes, a journey from Jabalpur to Delhi is not enough.
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