Mukund was extremely distressed. He slumped on the easy chair in the verandah as Aravind continued to pack his clothes and his belongings.
\” So you have made up your mind. But as a father it is my duty to warn you that you have made a wrong choice. If you listen to me I can still get you an MBA seat in our city. You will have a very bright future.. this guitar will not help you earn your living, it can just be a hobby..\”
\”Appa, do you know how many people listen to me on YouTube? I have got an offer of work from top music composer. And you want me to throw away this opportunity for your MBA? And what will I do after that? Land up a job in some MNC and slog day and night or be prepared to get thrown out? Naveen Anna and Mrudula akka have listened to you throughout their lives; look at what has happened to them! Do you think they are happy? Let me at least try something on my own… Even if I fail, I will have the satisfaction of having tried.. Please don\’t stop me Appa\”, Aravind stormed out of the living room into his room and shut the door.
\”Vani, did you listen to your son speak? How dare he speaks to me like that? It is all the fault of your upbringing; you always supported him in his irrational decisions. He will bear the consequences of his stupidity in future; then don\’t come to me crying. It will be too late to help him in anyway…\” Mukund fumed at his wife by habit.
The usually quiet and submissive Vani was in no mood to listen to her husband today. She and her first two children had already borne the brunt of his dominating ways and she didn\’t want Aravind too, to walk down that path. And she was determined to do anything in her capacity to support him whole heartedly in his endeavours. She was already regretting not have spoken in support of her two elder children when they needed her. Mukund had taken advantage of her silence to force his will on the kids. Decades of conditioning that good wives always support their husbands was finally wearing off.. after spending many sleepless nights worrying about her children, she had finally decided to speak up. If it required opposing Mukund, she was willing to do it. And she sensed that now was the right time, before it was too late. She got up and went to face him..
\” Let Aravind go, Mukund. Let him lead his life on his own terms..\”
Mukund was taken aback by her reply.
He stared at her in anger as she continued speaking…
\” Naveen has always obeyed your commands. His passion was literature but he took up Engineering unwillingly just to fulfill your dreams. But look at where he is today; unable to do a job that he never liked but not having enough courage to pursue his dream career in literature, he finally resigned two months back. Now he is struggling to find another job and your constant nagging is making him less confident by the day. Mrudula on the other hand was so interested in Engineering but you never let her choose it. Citing the reason that girls choosing competitive professions don\’t have proper family life, you made her take up a degree in homescience. As soon as she completed her degree you got her married to an NRI without even properly inquiring about the guy or his family. And then what happened? That shameless husband of hers who was already having an affair tortured her for a year and finally threw her out of the house with no money or passport. Even you know what state she was in when we finally went to US and got her back. If you had let her have a career of her own, she would at least be financially independent right now. And you are behind Aravind now. Leave him on his own…\” Vani choked up on the last sentence.
\” But Vani, I made all the right choices to the best of my capabilities in my children\’s lives. I spent huge amount of time, money and efforts in that direction and chose every step carefully. As a father I did my best to choose the correct path for them, so what wrong did I do? Why are you blaming me for the things that went wrong as they were not in our hands? It\’s unfair…\”
\” What you did is unfair, Mukund\” she cut him mid-sentence, as words failed him.
\” Just because they are your children you cannot steal away their basic rights from them. They have a right to live their lives in their own terms; to make mistakes and learn from them. If you always hold their hand lest they stumble and fall, how will they learn to walk on their own? You cannot take away their right to choose… It is their life after all, is it not?\”
Mukund was stunned by this sudden rebellion from his wife of thirty years. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Vani again.
\” I am not done yet, Mukund. In the last thirty years there have been many occasions where you have taken so many decisions without even consulting me once, especially in our children\’s lives. Why? Am I not a parent too? Don\’t I have the say in their lives? So many times I have kept quiet inspite of realising the sadness behind their fake smiles, a sense of helplessness lurking behind their cheerful demeanor. They have stopped reaching out to me for help these days because they don\’t trust me anymore to support them in any way. My parents told me to always support you blindly without ever questioning you but they forgot to tell me what to do when you made wrong choices. I grew up thinking that was the only way in any marriage but now, after all these years I have realized that I have a choice. I always did but it took me so many years to realise this truth. It took me many more to muster up courage to act on it. But now as I stand before you, I no longer feel the need to bow down before your blind authority and neither will my children after today. I have chosen to unconditionally support all three of them. More than that I will give them the freedom that you have taken away from them. The freedom to choose; to live their lives the way they always wanted to; and you too have a choice. To support us wholeheartedly or…..
I hope you will choose wisely\” her tone had a ring of finality to it that surprised him.
As Vani walked away from him, Mukund sat on his easy chair staring at the wall; as he reflected on all that had happened for the first time in his life, he felt drained and exhausted, almost unsure of himself. But he didn\’t have a choice and for the first time he felt and understood how helpless that made him….