(My first and so far only attempt at a short story..)
Seema was fuming.
Seema was fuming.
“Look at what your sister has given me!”, she yelled at her
mother, “A Plastic lunchbox with just 2 compartments!! This is what I get for
helping out with serving food and clearing up the dishes during the function!
She has done this to insult me!”.
Rajam was wondering what had gotten into her daughter. “It
is a return gift. Mythili has always been that way – giving away cheap
presents. Why do you make such a big fuss? If you don’t like it, give it to
someone else.”.
“She gave all the others stainless steel lunchboxes. Your
sisters hate us and our family. She has done this out of spite. I know what
made her do this. Her good-for-nothing daughter is moving to London in a few
months. She knows my husband’s job is in trouble and wants to mock me.”.
“I am sure it is nothing like that”, said Rajam. “But wait,
you said her daughter is moving to London?”.
“That is what I said. Your sister’s son-in-law is not even
an engineer and his wife is just a degree holder and look at where they are
now! No wonder your sister feels entitled to act in any manner she thinks is
right!”.
Now Rajam was getting worked up too. Coming to think of it,
her sister, who used to be a nobody in the family, did seem to be acting
arrogant these days. She picked up the
phone to dial Mythili’s number, when the phone rang.
“Hello Akka, I called to thank Seema and Manju for all their
help. There was no current supply that day and I was so overwhelmed with work –
I don’t know what I could have done without their help.”, said Mythili.
Rajam recovered quickly. “You have given Seema a plastic
lunchbox! After all my daughters did for you, is this how you repay them?”.
“A plastic lunchbox? There must have been some mix-up. I had
kept that aside to give it to my sister-in-law. She has young kids and I
thought she would find it useful. If someone is coming this way, ask Seema to
send the lunchbox back. I will give her the stainless steel one I had kept
aside for her” said Mythili. She still sounded nonplussed.
“It seems Renu’s husband has already moved to London. Renu
wanted to keep this news a secret till things were confirmed.”, said Rajam as
she replaced the telephone handset.
“Your sister was already full of pride after her other 2
children got jobs abroad. Now her behavior is going to be worse.”, said Seema.
She was still unconvinced with Mythili’s explanation on the mix-up.
A tiny part of her brain seemed to be telling her that she
was probably over-reacting – that she was responding to the unexpected news
about her cousin than about an actual insult. She quickly shut the voice up.
Life seemed unfair. She was born to rich parents, was
brought up with a sense of entitlement and never had to work even a single day.
Things changed after her marriage. Her husband wasn’t poor, but then he wasn’t
rich either. He was the worst kind of person an ambitious woman could have
married – an honest government servant. And so, while Seema watched with
disbelief and later mounting resentment, people who she considered beneath her,
grew in status. Every action and
non-action by these traitors seemed offensive, calculated to insult her.
Seema wasn’t ready to let go of Mythili so easily. This
deliberate insult had to be avenged. She was going to punish her aunt by
ignoring her in public. Her first chance came when Mythili called her to invite
her for her grandchild’s naming ceremony. She gave short and curt responses to
Mythili’s questions and refused to attend the ceremony.
Mythili did not seem to notice. What is an insult, if it is
not taken as one by the person who it is intended for? This vexed Seema
further. The next opportunity presented itself soon. When Mythili went to visit
her sister to invite her for her son’s wedding, Seema, who lived next door,
slammed the door hoping Mythili noticed. Rajam, who was used to her daughter’s
tantrums, asked Mythili to invite Seema personally for the wedding. But Mythili
was in a hurry – she had left her daughter- the new mother and her grandchild
home and had to rush back.
Rajam and Manju were beyond themselves. The family’s
favourite was being insulted by a bloody nouveau riche. They decided to hit
back by not attending the wedding. The
other siblings and their spouses were warned of consequences if any of them
dared to attend the wedding.
Months went by – more attempts at reconciliation were
ignored. Childhood friendships were broken. A personal misunderstanding
gradually morphed into a family feud. More weddings and family functions were
avoided. Slowly the invitations for the family functions stopped coming.
Once in a while, Rajam thought about her sister and about
the good times they had shared. In these rare instances, she openly blamed her
daughter for the state of things. But when Seem and Manju yelled at her for
taking her sister’s side, she was forced to shut up. This love and sympathy for
her sister lasted only till she saw Mythili in other functions. Mythili did not
seem to be suffering enough for the hurt she had caused. In fact she seemed to
be doing much better than before and Rajam was forced.
Mythili was initially surprised and even found the reaction
of her niece funny. By the time she realized that she had inadvertently caused
a full-blown war, she had already hardened inside. She was now armed with the
kind of strength that money gives to those who have lived a large part of their
lives without it and who have come to terms with slights and insults meted out
by the relatives.
“I am sorry about the loss of a sister and a friend –
nothing else.”, she told someone months later.
Years went by. The relatives had by now stopped any attempts
to reconcile the families. By this time irritation had been replaced by disgust
and hatred and later by complete indifference. And time went on..
Gautam and Ashwini were looking at an old album.
“Who is this standing next to Kollu paati*?”, asked Ashwini.
“I don’t know. I have never seen these pictures myself.
Paati might know.”, said Gautam.
“Paati, who is this standing next to Kollu paati? Your
grandson does not seem to know.”, asked Ashwini.
Seema, who had just finished her daily dose of medicines and
TV soaps, was thinking about taking a quick nap, when her newly married
grandson’s young wife came in holding an album in her hand.
“Get me those glasses. I can hardly see without them”, said
Seema. “This is my aunt – my mother’s sister”.
“Is she alive? Was she there for our wedding?”, asked
Ashwini.
“I think she is alive. She wasn’t invited for the wedding
though.”, said Seema.
“Why?” asked Ashwini.
“Our families have not spoken to each other for many years
now”, said Seema.
“Sounds like there is a juicy story here. Tell me the story
behind it”, said Ashwini.
“I don’t remember very well. I think it was about a plastic
lunchbox” said Seema.
And as she said it out aloud for the first time in years,
the stupidity of it all and all the years spent in hatred flashed in front of
her. And she stood there wondering what had gone wrong all those years ago.
