Saturday, November 28, 2009

Irony


The below story was selected as one of BlogAdda's Tangy Tuesday pick. Recognition in any form feels great, and this one along with the fellow blogger's comments has been the sweetest of them all.

Lying on the hospital bed, he looked at his injured leg. It had been ten days but a hint of pain still lingered.
He looked around the room, that was filled with low vibrating noise coming from an old air cooler. There was a plastic cover with fruits in it, some tablets and bottles lay scattered on the side table near his bed. The room looked clean, he was quite happy with the job the hospital maid did every morning.
He let his head fall back on the pillow. All his thoughts were with his pregnant wife going through labor at that very moment, in the same hospital. There was small a prayer in his heart to Goddess Laxmi, asking her for blessings of wealth and health to his family.
The door opened and in came his mother and the nurse. The nurse held a needle, he had always been afraid of the needles. His mother sensing his fear still alive, walked to his side and held his hand like she had for the last thirty years. He felt safe each time she held his hand. There was certain warmth to it, and a reassurance of support for a lifetime.
The nurse smiled and rubbed his arm with cotton, after the injection. Over the past ten days, he wondered how he could thank the nurse for all the care, all the affection she had showered him. The nurse walked out, telling his mom, she could give him lunch.
His mother ran out of the room and came back with his younger sister holding a lunch box. His sister walked up to him, and rubbed his forehead. She tried to fix his messy hair with her hand, but felt it was not enough. She pulled out a comb from the drawer and spent the next fifteen minutes, making him look handsome. He enjoyed his sister's attention, he could never think of a world without her.
His mother helped him get up and sit back on the bed. She opened the lunch box. There was a smile on his face, when he saw some of his favorite dishes filled up the lunch box. His sister had toiled in the kitchen to prepare all his favorites.
His pregnant wife had cooked all his favorites for the past nine days, and his sister had taken over the morning his wife went into labor.
His mother fed him small pieces of chapatti. His sister filled a glass with fruit juice for him.
Both his sister's and his mother's tired eyes had affection in them for him and kindness in their touch.
From birth to the present day, his mother had been taking care of all his needs, his demands, and not a day could he remember, when he felt not cared for or ignored.
The nurse came running in and his face immediately was filled with dejection and sadness, when she said

"Your wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Congratulations!"

16 comments:

Nikki said...

I really like the way you have presented your story, the way you have written about our society's reaction to a girl child.... Call me bias but I really like anything that stands for a womans cause.

Anonymous said...

I always like when someone raises voice (be it in any way) against gender bias, so its thumbs up for you by my side. :)

shilpa

Harsha Chittar said...

Thank you both of you for giving it a read, do keep visiting

BK Chowla, said...

Super post and very positive approach.
Well written.

aativas said...

Nice post.. highlighting people's reaction to arrival of girl child

aayanman said...

his mother had taking care of all his needs....

needs to be corrected.either introduce been or taken...


It s a lovely post.

It is sad and true that even today I know of very well-to-do literate families who continue to think that way.Wonder when will we ever mature as a society.?

Roshmi Sinha said...

Hi! Hopped here from BlogAdda...

A nice read and conveys the message very well. Following you...

PS: Congratulations on the tangy pick!

Shilpa Garg said...

Truly ironical!
A nice tale you have weaved! Very captivating and poignant too!
Congratulations for the Tangy Pick! :)

Unknown said...

Wonderfully subtle story. You've put your point across without hammering it in. Very impressive.

MADHU RAO | (INDImag.COM) said...

Ironic indeed. What I loved about the narration is that it delivers without trying too hard. Good one..

kesh said...

dude simply touching....

Harsha Chittar said...

Thank you all, all your support has been a strong motivation to write more :)

Nethra said...

It was a nice read. :)
Nowadays there isn't much of gender bias in the society. Men and women are not equal. They have there own level of importance that can not be compared with eachother.

Tall Guy said...

Nice template!!

pawan said...

Oh!
A straight hit on the face, Im speechless!

You are very good with expressing your emotions and that's a god sign :)

Cheers!

grace said...

Absolutely fantastic!! Kudos to you.
You brought out the best and the worst of being human with immense sensitivity and care.
I am short of words.
Simply wonderful!