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Tuesday, 20 August 2019

Solitary Confinement


Dear God
निकलना खुल्द से आदम का सुनते आए हैं लेकिन
बहुत बेआबरू होकर तेरे कूचे से हम निकले।
Sample this:
The sound of shattered glass filled the silent night and to my utter horror I saw the window glass of his car break into pieces. No one would believe that what happened was unintentional. I just threw something without caring for where it was landing. It unfortunately landed inside his car and I had to ask him to retrieve it. Needless to say; he was furious. He still is.
But you know what? He deserved it.
I don’t know if this is the last straw. I don’t know if we can overcome this ever. I don’t know if what I did was right or wrong. I don’t know if I we would ever be able to forgive each other. All I know is we have once again drifted apart.
Everything which happened last night is still afresh in my mind. The day was after all extraordinary! In a surprise move of solidarity, I decided to extend the olive branch to my archenemy. I just thought of the long and difficult time I had to spend alone and decided she need not do the same. All was well till the time I decided to honor her invitation and go to her home in the evening. Big mistake!!
I went in good faith and I have come back with a wound so deep, it will never heal. I will never forget the humiliation meted out to me and the way things turned out. I went to show some support and assure her that she is never alone in her struggles. But what I got in return is unexpected and unimaginable cruelty.
I would have silently endured the derogatory and humiliating treatment meted out to me. I would have walked out quietly and once again shed some silent tears in the privacy of my house. Instead I ended up confronting the person in question. My defiance had surfaced, I refused to be treated like this for no fault of mine.
For the first time in my life, I said a loud and clear “No” to something. I raised my voice and had talked back. I fought tooth and nail against the shabby treatment I was being subjected to. I was hurting like hell on the inside and then this happened. I know she enjoyed the show! 
PS: So much for friendship, eh. I was better off alone.








Thursday, 8 August 2019

So much for chivalry!


Dear God

Sample this:

A group of us were recently returning from a short official trip and my house was the farthest. The one who got off last simply asked me to drive to my home and let him know once I reached. Neat arrangement? God, everything was ok with this arrangement except for the fact that it was 2:30 in the night.

As I dropped him home and started braving my journey home, I was having mixed feelings. On one hand I was well aware of the fact that he had driven for more than 200 kms. and was now visibly tired to continue further. On the other, the prospect of hitting the streets alone in the dead of the night for the first time was haunting me. I am a liberated, free thinking person and believe firmly in gender equality. Yet when I chose to drive those last few kms. at that hour, my hands were shaking and prayers were constantly coming out of my lips.

I was really expecting him to call me back and insist to accompany me home. Yet I was feeling bad for him as he would have to double back home when he had already exerted so much. With these mixed feelings I drove on and by Your Grace I reached home. 

I am still confused about whether he did the right thing. He later offered to accompany me on my ride back home but I did not have the heart to say yes. The next time when I confronted him, he said he was only kidding when he asked me to drive home. The joke was on me though. Free thinking women like me are fools God. I risked my life and safety that day.  

To this day I can’t forgive myself for being so stupid. At the same time, I can’t help thinking the men in and around our lives deserve a break. However, with all these issues about women’s safety, I could not help but think “If it was his sister or mother in my place, would he let them do what I did for him?” I already know the answer God. Just because I was not a family member, my security was not a concern for him. One thing is clear in all this dilemma. I have no one but myself to depend and lean on in times of need.

PS: Welcome to Club Expendables…