Chapter 7

Rakesh is my distant cousin and is a fine prototype of those kinds of people who were almost rendered destroyed by love before they were pulled back from the edge of the abyss. A year ago Rakesh was madly in love with a Menakhsi, the dream girl of Mahrauli, who sadly belonged to a different caste and thus was decidedly objectionable to my distant uncle (who happens to be his father). After winning a prolonged battle against many talented contenders in wooing Menakhsi, Rakesh was immediately tangled in an even longer one against his father and his traditional ideology. Poor impatient fool hadn’t taken even a momentary hiatus to get pleasure from his conquest of Menakhsi, and notified his father of his yearning to marry her. Uncle as expected reacted callously to this unscheduled notification and presaged “If you marry her it’s either you or me in my house” Even after knowing that eventually it will be he who has to vacate Sarada Niwas, howsoever hard Sarada devi, his mother, tried to keep him in, Rakesh dared to go ahead with his plans. He foolishly dreamed of starting a fresh life with his Menakhsi, but sadly the dream girl Menakhsi had a realistic approach to life and thus she refused to be a part of his imprudent dream, and decided to break the relationship discovering his injudicious side (as she put it). She said she won’t marry him anymore because he was crazy and he surely was crazy because he still wanted to marry her. Thus the dream of commencing a fresh life shattered the present anyhow existing life of Rakesh the warrior-fool. Thus Rakesh was pulled back from the edge of the abyss by his own imprudence, which helped him turn to the faithless part of his venetian blind love. But anyway once a fool always a fool; Rakesh like many of his kinds tried to commit suicide too. Once when Uncle and sharada aunty were busy shouting to each other, in an attempt to make him listen from behind the close doors and realize how wise for him their harsh decision had proved to be, the warrior-fool Rakesh entered the arena and asked Sarada “Keep quiet for the time being and once I am gone yell as much as you… ” and was knocked down to ground vomiting white foams before even completing his request. The lion hearted warrior-fool had swallowed a rat killing concoction. He was instantaneously rushed to a hospital where the life reviving drugs overcame the concoction permanently, and after returning home with time his good sense overcame his foolishness…..for the time being.

The day when finally Menakhsi, the dream girl of Mahrauli, was knotted to a NRI each and all bachelor of Mahrauli wept invisible tears except Rakesh. No don’t think otherwise, as I told once a fool always a fool; Rakesh lived to his name, his tears were blatant. An indifferent parting Menakhsi, as people say, was an epitome of stately cheerfulness each time she cried. When the dream girl was parting cheerfully flanked by invisible fond tears, blatant unreciprocated tears and howling feminine tears my uncle was eventful offering sweets to lord Hanuman at Sankat Mochan, thanking the monkey God for insuring his reputation by taking Menakhsi overseas, far away from Mahrauli.