WOW: 38 missed calls in 10 mins!

Yay!!!

WOW: 38 missed calls in 10 mins! He wondered what was going on'

“I am not getting what your problem is? Does he beat you, Slap you?” asked the mother quite irritatingly.

“No mummy, but please talk to him and his family.” the daughter replied

“Then? What will we talk about?”

“But I am sick! I live in a jail, literally. He checks up on me every half an hour or so, sometimes even every fifteen minutes.’ The daughter replied with teary eyes.

“Does slapping only amount to cruelty? He had guts to record my line-phone conversations. He enquired with the neighbors about me mamma!” she added

“And how did you get to know all this?” asked the mother

“Singh aunty told me that. I found the recorder under the table. Sometimes, he locks himself up in the room and refuses to come out for hours. It is too much papa” said the daughter as she switched her cell phone off and threw it away in disgust.

“Beta, it happens. He loves you. Every boy shows his love in a different manner.” The mother tried to pacify her.

“By being so obsessive? Is this love papa? He does not allow me to work even. I left my job under his pressure” she again looked sadly at her father.

“Beta, he is well settled and do not forget that you are enjoying the comforts you only dreamt of.” The mother tried to throw in some positives.

“So? Is freedom not a thing? Mummy, diamonds have blinded you to my deep agony. A foreign honeymoon is not a surety of a good marriage. He avoids taking me out on social occasions even. If he does not trust me, it is better to go our own ways” the daughter said firmly.

“I agree beta, he is a bit possessive but he is handsome and well settled too. And you are making a scene out of a minor thing” The mother said as she paced up and down the room.

“A bit? You call this a bit! The small dreams that a girl harbors and the ambitions she nurtures over the years always fade behind the glittery wedding to the rich groom. They lay like dead under the flowery aisle that often leads to a golden prison. He comes home for lunch usually unannounced and gives me strange stares that match the shades of an internal agony and helpless doubt of a juvenile.” The daughter said as she looked her mother in the eye.

“See, we do not want your philosophy. We have one more daughter to marry, can’t you see girl! If you cannot help in finding a suitable match, at least do not create troubles.” The mother heaped on the chair avoiding the eye contact.

“Mummy, I cannot live with a psycho like this. Firstly, you did everything in such a hurry that I could not get time to interact properly with him. I got to know his rotten mind only after marriage. I am repenting your mistake mummy. Look papa, are you listening?” said the daughter as she wiped another tear.

“I think you should stop this nonsense now and focus on your personal life. What will you do if he gets interested in another woman? Where will you go then? Hold your life girl; hold him fast before he slips away. After all who finds such a prince so easily! The mother said as if trying to push her outside the house.

“Alright, there is no hope I can see here. I am going back to that dark hole”. She said, switching on her mobile.

“My God! Look at this papa! Do you need more proof now? I switched it off for just 10 minutes!” the daughter said as she gaped at the screen in awe and irritation.

“Beta, probably you are right. I think it is time to talk to him and his parents seriously and if required, seek medical help.” The father said and stood up when he saw 38 missed calls in 10 mins! He wondered what was going on.

PS: Mental troubles and deviated behavior are not taken seriously in our country. Instead, marriage is considered to be a panacea of all such issues. Visiting a psychiatrist or a councilor is still a taboo. There are so many girls who are stuck with such abnormal spouses. It is necessary to seek help in such cases; it can save bigger troubles in future. 

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. We give out creative writing prompts each weekend for Indian bloggers.

Images from http://z6.co.uk/fea3d2b8 and Blogadda.com 

Jai Ho!!! - But Kiski ??

Well I am feeling stuffed, tensed and choked again. As I opened the TV, it was flooded with the news of 8 Oscars the movie Slumdog Millionaire has won. My God! The whole country has gone crazy!!...People have proved that there are only two religions in India– movies and cricket. By the way, except for AR Rehman’s and Pookutty's awards, what exactly do we have for celebration? Their awards are for their own technical skill apart from the story. Only these can be called the ones truly bagged by Indians. Otherwise, what are we so excited that we are celebrating... for the parade of our country’s black side to the rest of the world? What are we so proud of? Should we really do so?

But my point is, making money and popularity by showcasing our penury is definitely not digestible. This movie has shown all the poverty and distress in details to outside world giving the ‘real’ picture of India. Agreed, we have slums, we are still juggling with penury and hunger, but then does even the USA not have its own slums, its dens of crime? There are a lot many countries worse off than India. And India has brighter faces as well.

Similar is the case with 2008 Man Booker Prize winning book ‘The White Tiger’ by Arvind Adiga. The very concept is strange prima facie; the protagonist, a slum urchin rises all the way through all possible means including robbery and murder to become a white collar entrepreneur. Then he writes to the Chinese Premier giving graphic details of his ‘successful rise’ as well as of the countryside’s dark life. It might seem interesting for the foreigners, but for us the stark realities of slums are everyday sights. And other countries don’t have better or no slums. We don’t need entire (and so depressing) book to understand it.

Slumdog Millionaire is not Indian but a British movie shot in India and was released here later. Lovleen Tondon, the assistant director was roped in to get the local flavor. Even the lead actor Dev Patel is out and out an NRI.

Also, an amazing movie like Tare Zameen Pe (TZP) was packed home. I feel TZP showed how cinema can be used as a powerful medium to the benefit of the society and changed the way every parent, teacher and even our sleepy government looked at the school children. The government actually made amendments in the existing rules to give dyslexic kids half an hour extra in Boards.

We have a mental block that ‘west’ means ‘best’ and crave for its approval for our best. I strongly feel Oscars are over hyped. We need to shun chasing them and maintain our self confidence. Though India has gained independence long back, we still continue to be mental slaves to the white skin.