Thursday 11 January 2018

Sweet Regrets


: "It's so futile to persuade you sometimes Maa. Fine then! Don't regret for your decision in front of me after someone else seizes your opportunity." - Sudha said to her mother.
She had been trying to convince her mother for almost a week now and not just her, her little brother and even her father have tried, but all in vain. Her mother won't just listen. Sudha came out of the kitchen, a bit annoyed by her mother's obstinacy. "How can one be so stupid to lose as golden an opportunity as this?" She was simply stunned. She had always noticed, how so many chances knocked at her mother's door, but she would never let them in. She would simply refuse and her reason would be, "I don't have that blood and spirit anymore."
: “I will help you in the household work when you’d be busy.” – Mahesh said to his wife on the dining table.
: “Oh really? Do you remember that week I was away in Guwahati for training and the pile of plates on the sink and clothes in the laundry that were waiting for me when I got back?” – Mother taunted.
: "Maa, don't worry about me too, I will do all my stuff by myself. I have grown up." – Her little brother Rishi said.
: "Then is there a ghost who leaves his underwear in the bathroom after bathing, or spills his things all around the room after returning from school." – saying, mother burst into a peal of laughter and the rest three joined her.
 Sudha knew her mother’s qualifications. This would leave her thinking, what could be the reason her mother nowadays kept herself away from things such as jobs and social participations.
In the evening, Rishi’s best friend Ankit and his mother visited them.
Sudha woke up from her nap and heard her mother speaking, "You know Rachna, I had that zest and ambition once. But after my marriage, things became like chalk and cheese for me. Not that my husband didn't support me, he did his best to convince me to do something, but I, I didn’t want to be away working, instead of being near my children, attending to their needs. I did teach in a primary school but after a couple of years I quit. Then I joined a training centre where I had to teach elderly women. It was a bit interesting but that too ran for not more than three years. I needed to quit because Sudha's board exams were approaching. I couldn’t keep myself engaged in other business because my kids are more important for me."
Sudha didn't enter the drawing room.
At night, when all four of them were having dinner, Mahesh asked his wife -
"So is your decision final?"
"Isn’t that apparent enough?"
"You promise you will not regret when someone who is less qualified compared to you becomes the Chairman?"
"I would rather look after my two precious gems than moving around, handshaking politicians." - She said, winking at Sudha.

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