The Lunchbox

(My first and so far only attempt at a short story..)
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.