An original short story! :)

Because I was unable to post in the last few weeks, I'm going to give you a double doze this time! Bear with it, dear readers! ;)
This post deals with a book written by Sudha Murthy; Gently falls the Bakula. As a result of a school assignment, I tried writing an extention to her story. It is just my imagination and holds no resemblance to any person living or dead!

Saving the Bakula

         Shrimati and Shrikant had been married for more than 10 years now. And it had been two years that Shrimati had left Shrikant, who failed to fulfill his duties of a husband. No, she had not given a divorce to Shrikant, for that would’ve spoiled his reputation in the society, she only left. Their marriage had been perfect till then. But, it was the “reputation thing” that spoiled it. Shrikant was so obsessed with having a nice reputation in his wide ocean of IT that their marriage, Shrimati’s dreams, her happiness and everything was secondary for him.

          Shrikant was an IITian and Shrimati had done her Masters in History. She even had a scholarship in one of the most prestigious universities of US waiting for her. But for Shrikant’s sake, she left behind all her aspirations, gave up her career and stood beside him; like an ideal wife. Shrikant loved his wife, but lacked the quality to set priorities in his life. He was so ambitious that he spent day and night working for the firm and Shrimati gradually became only a means of giving him support and being a good hostess for the numerous parties Shrikant threw in honor of his clients.

          Shrikant still remembered the day Shrimati left him. It had been a normal day --- Shrikant was doing an over time at his office. As usual, he had asked his Secretary to inform Shrimati that his traveling bag must be ready, for he had to catch his flight to Germany soon after dinner. It was normal for him to be a busy bee; that searched for nectar in the flowers. In Shrikant’s case, the clients were his nectar and their companies, Shrikant’s flowers!

Sitting in his office right now, Shrikant realized that in his close knit web, there was no space for their marriage, no space for the dreams they saw together, no space for all the promises he had made, no space for family time, no place for Shrimati! But Shrimati was there beside him, in thick and thin; supporting him, treating his guests well and trying to manage her husband’s busy schedule. But now, there was no Shrimati. There was no love, no happiness, and no warm welcomes at home; there was no home! It was just another apartment in the posh Bandra line, so huge and so quiet, that sometimes it scared Shrikant to live their alone. There was nothing to look forward to in life. Shrimati was gone and like a spider that gets entangled in his own web, Shrikant was trapped in the web he created for himself.

Shrikant was the CEO of one of Mumbai’s largest IT companies. He was on the epitome of his career and had everything he ever wanted. But, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Shrikant wanted Shrimati, rather needed Shrimati. With his world falling into pieces, Shrikant was near to depression. It was not like he lacked the presence of a woman in his life. There were maidens out there who were more than willing to have Shrikant. But it was Shrimati’s simplicity, her polite gestures and her never complaining attitude that Shrikant yearned for.

His friends had asked him to give a divorce to Shrimati and get remarried. But Shrikant knew it well; no one could take Shrimati’s place and that he could never love anyone except her. Shrimati still cared for him. She would send him regular e-mails, telling him about her studies, her friends, her new home and the love she got from the people around her. She advised Shrikant to take his medicines on time, to take care of himself and prayed for his good health. But Shrikant had nothing to tell. Unlike Shrimati, Shrikant had nothing but material wealth in his life. With every passing day, Shrikant longed more and more for Shrimati.

          This irresistible longing took shape of an important decision when Shrikant could no longer live without the lady who always gave him nothing but happiness. He decided to quit his job, something that was the most precious thing in his life and choose to go after the true diamond of his life; Shrimati. It was unexpected for people around him. Shrikant was a talented and important person in the company. But Shrikant was adamant and refused to change his decision. He wanted Shrimati now; he wanted Shrimati back, more than anything in his life.

His Boss, who was a good friend of Shrikant, advised him to stay. “It is a stupid thing” he said, “You’re doing so well in your career. You’re going to be promoted soon. You could get any girl you want. Why Shrimati? I can find thousand better girls for you. You don’t have to leave!” But Shrikant was firm as a rock and believed he was taking the best decision of his life. With over flowing emotions in his heart, Shrikant asked his Boss, “Why? Does it take more guts to stand here the rest of my life ringing up a zero? Making nothing out of life? She is the reason I am what I am today. It is Shrimati who had sown the seeds of greatness in me and when it was time for the fruits to ripe, I abandoned her. And what am I doing with life now? Earning, for whom? Living, for what? And contentment... well, I’m nowhere near it!” Shrikant left, with Shrimati on his mind and a smile on his face. He gave a sigh of relief. The door of emotions had finally opened and Shrikant packed his bags of confessions and left to get Shrimati back.  

          It had been 6 hours since Shrikant had arrived in Chicago. The same city where his wife had been dwelling for 2 years now, away from him. The same city that had opened its heart to welcome Shrimati, unlike Shrikant. The same city that loved, cared and treated Shrimati in the right way, again, unlike Shrikant. He took a cab to Shrimati’s place but didn’t know how to approach her. It felt so strange. This was the woman he loved, adored and couldn’t live without. Yet, this was the same woman whom he had hurt, neglected and ignored to such an extent that she chose to leave him.

He was standing outside Shrimati’s apartment now. Seeing a young boy give a bouquet of roses to a girl, he remembered how Shrimati would attach a Bakula flower with her letters when Shrikant was in Mumbai, away from her. And how those flowers, a symbol of their love, would bring a flood of cherished memories in the lonely hostel room. Nostalgia hit Shrikant so hard that he gathered up all his courage and took steps towards love, towards a new life, towards Shrimati, leaving behind promises unfulfilled, dreams unaccomplished and love unattained; pledging to make life better for himself, for Shrimati and for the beautiful future that waited. After all, he had to water the Bakula before it died completely.