The Gift

'It's wrong' , Rahul yelled at top of his voice.

'What is wrong? and why are you shaking?' , asked his wife Radha.

'It's an incident I had to witness way back in 2004. It still fills me with rage when I think of it' , Rahul said. He was still not stable.

' Please tell me! I want to know' ,said Radha.

' Rohan was a very good friend of mine. He lived with his parents and two elder sisters.

His father was a post man and  a well known person in our area. Everyone respected him.

He was my classmate.One day he looked very sad.I asked him about it.He said, ' My uncle and aunt came to meet us. We were very excited to meet them. While having dinner, my aunt said that my sister is getting older and we must think about her wedding. My father said that still there was some time  left and he would consider the wedding once he thought was right. To this my uncle said that it would be very difficult to find the right boy if my sister gets older and it would bring shame to the entire family.

They left in the morning but their horrible words stayed inside us. Everyone is worried since then'. 

' I am so sorry Rohan but I have one question for you', I said. 

'What?' Rohan said.

' She is your elder sister. She is old enough to decide her way of living. Your parents are supportive and I am sure that they must have planned their future course of actions.It is a very personal matter. Why is your uncle acting  in such a pathetic way?' I asked.

' That is how it is friend.Everyone is more interested in other's house than their own.

Life continued and after nearly 8 months, he invited me. The big occasion was that a boy and his family were coming to meet the girl and her family. I was supposed to help Rohan in taking care of the guests. 

Eight people visited in two cars 🚗.The boy was working at an office in Chennai. His father was a teacher is the government high school.Mother was a house wife. TWO sisters along with their husbands and a kid formed the group of eight. 

Everyone was dressed up really well. The boy and his brother-in-laws wore nice suits. The Women were wearing premium Saris and a lots of gold. The father was in his Kurta and dhoti.

They got down from the car and instructed Rohan to carry all their bags 🎒 in the house. 

I joined him and in 10 minutes every bag was brought inside.

I believe only I found this behavior rude as everyone else acted as if it was an absolute blessing and it was our duty to lift their load.

The group was trying to position themselves in such a way that the boy was always in middle. Soon Rohan 's uncle joined the group and thus there were nine guests in total.

Boy and his family 👪 👨‍👧‍👧 👩‍👧‍👧 hardly spoke to Rohan's family.Most of the talking was done by the uncle. Rohan's family nodded to everything and boy's family maintained their robotic stance.

Uncle showcased the wealth and class of the boy's family and said that the boy was an absolute gem 💎. He completed his engineering and got a job in a private company. The ball went out of the park when he informed that the boy's salary was Rs 19000 per month.

He continued to speak a lot of things but to cut the crap short, I can say that if somehow the marriage took place then it would be an absolute honor and privilege for Rohan's family.

After the lunch, the meeting restarted.It didn't take long to reach the pinnacle point of such meetings.Boy's mother spoke to uncle.He nodded as if a spring was fit in his neck.

He said ,' Congratulations!!! Your girl is indeed lucky that she get to marry such a wonderful boy and be a part of this amazingly wealthy family. Two hundred thousand in cash 💸 and a Car 🚗 along with any other gift 🎁 you want to give to your daughter. Such a small price to pay for a life long of happiness'.

Rohan's parents were visibly shocked but somehow they kept smiling.

Boy's mother spoke for the first time.She said, ' Your girl is pretty.I will personally take care of her.I will ensure that she never faces any problems in her life.I  will gift her an unending happiness. I am sure that you are aware of how the system of gifts work. Give and take I meant'.

Rohan's father spoke, ' Sir! you are a teacher.You have the most noble profession in the world. You must have taught thousands of students that dowry is an evil practice. My daughter is a wonderful human being. she is well educated and will soon have a job. I  have spent my entire earning for the education of my children. I do not have such kind of money to give you. Please reconsider'.

Boy's father stood up from his chair and said, ' You are an old man 👴. Have you not learnt yet that the stupid ideas of books are meant only to pass the exam? How can you even think that they are applicable in real life? I have also taught that casteism is one of the major reason for social backwardness of the country and is a major divisive factor between the people but does that mean I will marry my son to a lower cast girl? Schools and books are only a means to get certificates and should never be practiced in real life. I have spent millions of rupees for his education.That was an investment. Now is my chance to get a return on investment and you are saying me to reconsider. Many people are waiting with cash in their bags for marriage of my Son. I think I made a mistake by giving you the honor of our hospitality. You don't deserve it'.

Rohan's father was shaking. Tears came out of his eyes. He folded his hand but was unable to speak.

uncle spoke and said,' Sir! Please don't cancel.He is an idiot but I will make him understand his mistake and will inform you in a week'.

'One week it is ' , said the boy's father and everyone walked out to their cars.

I stood there thinking about the sequence of events and the paradox in them.I thought that if the entire drama from the beginning was to ensure that the boy's family was way more affluent than the girl's family,how can they ask for  money from them? Its I like I am everything and you are nothing but still I as ask you to give me something. I also thought about the difference of attitude between two family's based of the gender of their child.I wanted to know how the drama unfolds further but I had to wait for a week.