‘D’ for Divorce

Aditya returned home in a nervous mood. Looking at his gloomy face, Ahana, his younger sister, got to know what had happened. While having dinner, their Mom asked Aditya how his job interview went off, but Ahana interrupted her saying, “Mom, he is not in a good mood today; let’s talk to him tomorrow.”

“Ahana, I want clarity on everything today. This is the fifth job interview during the last few days he has not been able to crack. I want to know what his problem is, when he has the necessary qualification and knowledge. Why is he not able to make it and why does he return home with a gloomy face every time?” said the mom.

“You want to hear why I fail in job interviews each time, Mom? Because I am low in confidence. I am fine technically, but the interviewers can read the frustrated past and a bullied childhood on my face which result in I getting rejected. The law firms don’t just want a knowledgeable and sincere guy; they want a confident and smart guy to work for them,” Aditya said.

“Stop linking everything to your bullied past, Adi,” said his mom.

“That’s the reality, mom; and that man is responsible for all this. When he divorced you leaving you with a three years old son and a six months old daughter to be with his newly found lust, he thought he did his duty of a parent by throwing a few millions at your face and giving an apartment for you to live as alimony. Little did he know how much struggle was written in destiny of all three of us, how you had to toil throughout your youthful years to keep our stove burning and educate two of us,” said Aditya.

“I know that Adi, but I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life blaming your destiny and cursing your father,” said his mom.

Aditya had completed his Law Degree and was looking for a job with reputed law firms in the city. However, he was not getting selected as he couldn’t crack any of the job interviews he faced. Ahana, his younger sister, was pursuing the fashion designing course.

A few days later, Aditya got a call on his handphone from Manav, one of his classmates in his law course. Manav asked him if he would be interested in working for a reputed company in its Legal department.

“You mean a corporate lawyer? I never thought of being one. I’ve always tried for a job with a law firm,” Aditya said.

“Look Adi, I feel your things are not working out with any of the law firms. Why don’t you give a shot for a job in corporate world?” Manav said.

Aditya informed him about his phobia with interviews. However, Manav asked him not to worry as profile of the work was more knowledge-centric than showing superficial aggression. Also, Manav knew one of the interviewers and had briefed him about Aditya, including his difficulty with interviews.

Aditya got ready to go for the interview. He reached the interview venue at the given time and entered the interview hall.

Initially, he started faltering as usual, but the interviewers were supportive and made him comfortable after which, he could put forth his responses and exhibit his knowledge before them. There was going to be another round of interview after a few days. This was a remarkable achievement for Aditya as he had never cleared the first round of interview till then.

Aditya outperformed everyone’s expectations in the second round of interview, maybe because he was already acquainted with the interviewers and the place he had visited before. He was selected by the company and given an offer letter. Aditya accepted the offer and joined the company as a corporate lawyer.

An overjoyed Aditya came home to tell his mom and sister about this. Both of them were delighted to know about Aditya’s new job. They decided to celebrate the joyous news by having dinner in a plush restaurant in the locality. The same time, Aditya’s mom was watching the TV where news of the famous movie director Chandra Kumar having received a Filmfare award for his latest movie was displayed. A blissful smile spread on her face unknowingly.

Aditya got annoyed at this and said, “do you still get delighted by such irrelevant news more than that of your son having landed a decent job?” and he turned the TV off abruptly upon which, they all proceeded for a dinner-outing.

Days were passing. Aditya was settling in his new job by learning nitty-gritties of various functions he needed to perform and also knowing about overall working of his department. Simultaneously, Ahana, his sister, also completed her fashion designing course and joined a reputed fashion designing brand known as ‘Fashionista’ as an employee. Aditya’s mom started feeling as if her phase of struggles in life was over and a phase of bliss and comfort had arrived.

Aditya not only found his long eluding success back, but also found his lost confidence. Marks of his childhood bullying started to fade away from his personality and he became more and more fluent in conversing with strangers.

After initial phase of learning and settling in the job passed, Aditya won confidence of his superiors in the job with his knowledge, learning ability and performance. They were specifically impressed by his acumen to precisely spot weak areas in any document and making constructive suggestions for improvement. Soon, he was promoted to the position of Manager in the company. Ahana too, was doing great in her job.

In due course, Aditya was elevated to the position of Vice President in the company. This was not merely a position. It entailed tremendous responsibility of heading and overseeing functioning of the Legal Department, ensuring all contracts the company entered into were in favorable terms, litigating in the court of law wherever necessary and reporting to the Board of Directors. His mom was ecstatic with this development. Aditya purchased a luxurious apartment for his family to live, in an upmarket locality in the city.

Once there was an annual gathering organized by Aditya’s company in a renowned auditorium. Performances were to be followed by felicitation of achievers of the year at the hands of Chief Guest invited for the function. One of these achievers was Aditya, as he was elevated to the post of Vice President within a span of four years from joining the company.

The company had invited famous movie director Chandra Kumar as the Chief Guest for the annual function. This is where Aditya had a problem. He contacted organizers of the function and informed them that he would not be able to attend the annual function and would like to collect his award from the organizers later. Organizers tried to convince him to attend the function, but Aditya did not want to accept his award from Chandra Kumar.

He informed his mom about this and also informed his decision not to accept the award at the annual function.

“Adi, you should go there and accept the award. It will be a prestigious moment and you will feel proud of yourself when you look at your photo accepting it later,” said his mom.

“I can’t accept it from Chandra Kumar, mom. You know how much I abhor him,” said Aditya.

Finally, his mom could convince him to accept the award at the annual function. However, this was with the condition that his mom would also attend the function and accompany him on the dais while accepting the award.

Aditya informed organizers of the event that he intended to attend the event with his mother who would also accompany him on the dais while accepting the award. The organizers agreed to this.

At the annual function, after the entertainment performances were over, award distribution started. The Chief Guest came on the dais and started giving away the awards one by one.

After Aditya’s name was announced, he ascended the dais, taking his mom along with him. Before Chandra Kumar would hand over the trophy to him, Aditya said loudly that he would accept the award only at the hands of his mother and no one else. Chandra Kumar was stunned to see his ex-wife on the dais with their son.

Aditya’s mom took the trophy from Chandra Kumar and handed it to Aditya. Everyone clapped at this.

“Pooja,” Chandra Kumar called Aditya’s mom softly; but Aditya hurriedly took his mom back to her seat, giving her no opportunity to respond to Chandra Kumar.

The annual function was over and everyone went back to their homes after that.

The next day, Aditya was summoned by Head of Humar Resources (HR) Department for his irresponsible behavior at the award function and insulting the Chief Guest. He was served with a ‘Show Cause Notice’ as to why his award should not be rescinded and why he should not be downgraded to his previous position of a ‘Senior Manager’.

“You have been personally called by Chandra Kumar to meet him along with your mom. The reason for this is obviously not good. You have turned an accolade into a disgrace, Aditya,” said Head of HR department, “now just do a favor to your company – take this opportunity to apologize him and close the matter so that a movie director as big as Chandra Kumar does not sue our company for his insult.”

Aditya went to Chandra Kumar’s office to meet him, but he did not take his mom along though asked by Chandra Kumar to do so.

“Welcome my son,” Chandra Kumar spread his arms to hug Aditya, but Aditya chose to ignore his warmth and stayed away.

“Where is your mom? I had told you to bring her along with you,” Chandra Kumar said.

“Why; you didn’t remember your ex-wife for so many years and why has your love for her erupted all of a sudden now?” asked Aditya.

“I’m sure, she would most willingly come to meet me anytime,” said Chandra Kumar.

“Certainly so; she very much wanted to be with you when you divorced her twenty-four years ago,” Aditya said.

“Well, my son, I want to know why you didn’t accept the award from me the other day,” asked Chandra Kumar.

“You know, Sir,” said Aditya…

“Call me dad, my son,” said Chandra Kumar.

“Let me continue the flow of my speech please,” said Aditya, “I would have been about four and a half; Ahana was a two years old baby. She had a high fever and it was not getting normal despite taking medicines for two days. At the third night, her fever rose to hundred and five degrees and our mom started fearing that we might lose her if she didn’t get the proper treatment. That night, she had a tough time calling an ambulance and taking two of us with her to a hospital. Fortunately, the doctor started treatment promptly and she got cured soon thereafter. All this while, you were having pleasure with your new wife and the daughter you had with her.”

“I’m sorry, my son, for whatever you had to go through,” said Chandra Kumar.

“Really? Do you feel sorry? Then listen to what I tell you now. We were living in the apartment you gave my mom at the time of divorce. There was a group of rowdy boys in our society who knew that I live without my father. They would often catch me when I was alone and fight with me over trivial matters. They would mock and ridicule me initially. When I started opposing them, they started beating me physically. These physical fights would happen every alternate day. I couldn’t take on them alone as they were four – five of them. This bullying rotted my childhood so much that I not only lost confidence but started to develop a negative outlook toward the entire life. How do you feel the idea that you are the main perpetrator of this destruction of my personality?” Aditya said.

“Oh, that’s terrible. But did your mom not try to intervene and stop those bullies from harassing you? She could at least have looked for an alternate accommodation for all of you,” Chandra Kumar said.

“Yes, she tried both, change our residence and reprimand the bullying boys. But you have to accept that she had to struggle to keep our family running and she alone couldn’t control behavior of those bullies. She found it tough to get another place to live as each place searched by her had some or the other problem. Also, we needed to live in that house as Ahana would be unwell quite often those days and her pediatrist was located nearby from there. By the time we could shift to a new house, I had already endured this bullying for about four years,” Aditya replied.

Chandra Kumar kept staring at Aditya as he was not able to react to his account.

“That’s why I am saying, it’s we, three of us who had to pass through this entire journey full of struggle and hardships. You were nowhere involved in this and now your love for your deserted past family has aroused all of a sudden,” said Aditya, “I know, you sent Manushi, your daughter to Los Angeles to pursue a course in film-making…”

“She is your sister, half-sister, though,” Chandra Kumar intervened in between.

“I don’t consider you as my father in the first place; so there is no way I will want to recognize any relations with your second family,” said Aditya, “it’s Ahana and I who had the right to everything you gave your daughter from the second marriage, but we grew up as fatherless children. Instead of being sent to Los Angeles, I had to find a local college to complete my education. All this because you divorced my mom, when it was no fault of her.”

“I have no words to express my regret, my son. Just try to understand my position as well,” Chandra Kumar said.

“What was your position? You got physically attracted to a good-looking female when you were already married and had a family. You creative people have the most destructive mindsets. You have no value for any social norms, any moral standards, because you are celebrities. These social norms are for mediocre people. You have a birthright to devastate someone’s world the moment lust for someone else flashes in your mind. You celebrities have made divorce a handy tool to serve your ever-changing desires,” Aditya said.

“Hang on, Aditya. I can’t believe a lawyer like you is saying this. Are you saying that divorces are evil in all cases and must be avoided even if the relationship turns abusive and harmful to one of the partners? If that was the case, why on the earth would law permit anyone to take divorce? And mind well, I’ve done nothing illegal. Law of our country permits me to divorce my wife and marry a woman of my choice,” said Chandra Kumar.

“I never said you illegally deserted my mom. And why would you, when you can twist the law so well to serve your fancies? I’m not saying divorce is evil by itself. If marital relationship turns abusive or impractical to pull on, then divorce is the only option to rid yourself of such situation. That’s what the intention of law is. But I don’t believe you faced any such abuse or deadlock in marriage with my mom, such that you would be forced to divorce her” Aditya said.

“Your mom was not abusive; not at all. Her problem was that she was over-committed to her marital life and family. She was so grounded that she could neither understand nuances of filmmaking, nor my aspirations. As years passed, I could feel the growing gap in the frequency of her thoughts and feelings and those of mine. She knew Chandra Kumar as a person, as a husband; not as a filmmaker. She couldn’t cope with growth of Chandra Kumar as a movie director. She couldn’t inspire me to grow as a filmmaker and didn’t want to step out of shoes of a loving wife and a caring mother. I found that inspiration in Kavya, a renowned actress of that time who was to be my wife after I divorced your mom,” said Chandra Kumar.

“It’s inhuman to expect everything from one relationship. Then why do we have other relationships in life, such as parent-child, siblings, friends, etc.? The moment someone starts inspiring you, should she qualify to be your spouse, replacing your wife? Is there no value to what a wife does for you and your family? If your sister inspires you tomorrow, will you marry your sister? How absurd that will be!” Aditya said, “That’s why I say, you film-stars can never be role models. You are mere entertainers and who knows how many lives you destroy in your creation of movies. How easy it is for you to abandon your wife and children you had with her just to go after your ‘inspiration’! Never had I imagined creativity could be so horrifying. I thank God that I became a lawyer, not a filmmaker,” Aditya said.

“You will find divorces happening in all spheres of life and not just in the glamour world. Mind well, you are saying this because you are still not married. You never know how you will behave in future,” Chandra Kumar said, “I understand that you are sour at me. I will even excuse you for turning me down at the award function of your company. Just tell me, can we start our relations again? I will come to meet you maybe once in a … fortnight and you all can meet me whenever you want to.”

“As about excusing me, I haven’t done anything wrong at the award function, nor have I apologized to you, so you better keep your excuse with yourself. As about starting relations with you again, I’m sorry, none of us will be interested in it. Our life paths have been set now and please don’t try to change them,” Aditya said.

“You may say this, but I’m sure, Pooja still loves me and will like to meet me frequently,” Chandra Kumar said about Aditya’s mom.

“Do you feel so? Can you do one thing, if you are so keen about restarting relations with us and care so much about my mom’s feelings for you?” asked Aditya.

“What’s that?” Chandra Kumar asked.

“Can you marry my mom again and start living with us, leaving your second family? I am not saying you take us to your mansion to live. We can live in the new apartment I bought recently; it is decent enough,” Aditya said.

“How’s that possible? My wife is still alive and I can’t divorce her to marry your mom. Do you think it’s a joke?” said Chandra Kumar.

“Didn’t it look like a joke to you twenty four years ago? Leave it, I knew how shallow your talks were. Please allow me to leave now,” Aditya said.

“Aditya, before leaving, just call me ‘dad’ once,” Chandra Kumar said.

“Thanks for your time. Good bye,” said Aditya and left from there.

“Why did you need to open the topic of your dad marrying me again, Adi? Why? It’s between your dad and me. Who gave you the authority to speak on my behalf? You’re my son, not my lawyer and don’t interfere in my life unless I ask you to do so; do you understand?” Aditya’s mom was talking to him after he returned home finishing meeting with Chandra Kumar.

Aditya tried to justify himself, saying that it was Chandra Kumar who wanted to start the relations again, but his mom was not convinced with his justification.

“Look Adi, every relation has its limit. You can’t deny that he is your father and you crossed your limit by making such audacious proposal to him on my behalf without my permission. I have spent some of the best moments of my life with him and if I want to connect with him now, I don’t need to be married to him. It’s entirely my lookout,” said Aditya’s mom, “and one more thing; I know, this is your house. But if your dad comes here to meet any of us, please don’t create a scene. Allow him to do that,” said his mom.

“Sure, mom. I’m sorry to have hurt you,” Aditya said.

“Aditya, Chandra Kumar has appreciated you and mentioned that he liked your approach, disposition, and attitude very much. Tell me, how did you manage to impress a big celebrity like him? Give us a few tips on this, dude,” Head of HR department was talking to Aditya two – three days after Aditya met Chandra Kumar.

“Nothing, there could just be a deeper connection between us,” Aditya replied.

Consequent to the positive feedback from Chandra Kumar, Aditya’s promotion to the post of Vice President was not reversed and the ‘Show Cause Notice’ issued to him was revoked by his company.

A few days later, Aditya returned home from his office in the evening.

“Adi, look who’s come our home,” Ahana said as he entered inside.

He noticed Chandra Kumar, his dad with Kavya, Chadra Kumar’s second wife seated inside.

“Oh, the famous and great movie director Chandra Kumar with his wife and the famous actress Mrs. Kavya Kumar at the house of a middle-class family? What’s so special that we have a privilege to meet you today?” Aditya asked.

“No, my son! Not a movie director. A defeated father has come to the doorstep of his valiant children and loving and dutiful ex-wife,” Chandra Kumar said.

“Aditya, I know, how much you and Ahana despise me because I came to be the reason for whatever all three of you had to pass through during last twenty-four years. The other day Chandra narrated me everything you told him. It struck me like a lightning. I played with lives of all three of you. Pooja, how do I apologize to you?” Kavya said to Aditya’s mom.

“I can’t give you back those twenty-four years, Pooja, Adi and Ahana, but Kavya and I can take a penance for whatever we did to you,” Chandra Kumar said.

“What do you mean? What have you decided to do?” asked Aditya’s mom.

“I have decided to transfer ownership of my mansion in your name, Pooja, so that three of you can live there. I will shift with Kavya to my apartment in the city. Just allow us a week’s time to pack our luggage and shift. You can start living in the mansion anytime thereafter,” said Chandra Kumar.

“Wait a minute, please. How did you decide on our behalf that we will live in your mansion? We never asked you for it. What do I do with this apartment I purchased quite recently? We are not going to accept such unilateral decisions forced on us,” Aditya said.

“I am not asking you to live in my mansion, Adi. I am relinquishing my ownership in the mansion and transferring it to your mom. The punishment for two of us is that we have no right to that house any longer. We can simply visit you as guests. If you want to live there, you can rent out this apartment or you can continue to live here, depending on your choice. But we have no right to that mansion after we shift to my new apartment after a week,” said Chandra Kumar.

Aditya looked at his mom at this. She seemed to have been sunk in her thoughts.

“There is one more thing I want to do, Adi,” said Chandra Kumar.

“What’s that?” Aditya asked.

“I am going to execute a Gift Deed by which, I am transferring seventy percent of my company’s shares in your name. I am keeping the remaining thirty percent which will go to your half-sister Manushi after my death. So, movies produced under my banner after the transfer of shares will officially have your name as the producer. You can still perform the job of a lawyer, but not for your livelihood. It will be for your professional fulfilment,” Chandra Kumar said.

“My name as the producer? But I’ve never been part of any filmmaking process. I don’t know anything about it,” Aditya said.

“You needn’t know about it. I have a team of experts who work under my supervision. They will look after everything. And once Manushi is back from Los Angeles, she will handle helm of the company; don’t worry,” Chandra Kumar said.

“That’s fine. But it’s not just me who had to suffer all these years. Ahana too, has suffered equally due to your divorce. What have you planned for her?” asked Aditya.

“Well, let me first appreciate the caring and sound upbringing that Pooja gave two of you despite all the hardships she had to face. That is what made both of you such capable human beings. I know, Ahana works for ‘Fashionista’, which is a leading fashion brand in the country. I am in talks with its promoters to buy fifty percent stake in the company. This should most likely be completed in next two months after which, Ahana will be promoted as a Vice President in the company. I will like to see her ascend to a directorial position in next five years,” replied Chandra Kumar, “and yes, my stake in ‘Fashionista’ gets entirely transferred to Ahana after my death.”

“Chandra, these kids have been through a lot during last so many years. Do you think their wounds can heal so easily with your offers?” said Aditya’s mom.

Chandra Kumar and Kavya looked at each other at this.

“No, Pooja. I don’t want to demean the struggle and hardships you all had to face. Kavya and I were responsible for all this trouble to you. I think I must disclose to you the most important decision we have taken,” said Chandra Kumar.

“What’s that?” asked Aditya’s mom.

“We have just filed a divorce petition in the court before coming here to meet all of you. That’s how we want to get free of the guilt of so many years. Look, this is the receipt we got after submitting our divorce petition,” said Chandra Kumar showing the receipt to Aditya’s mom.

“Are you out of mind, Chandra? Go back, withdraw your divorce petition and live with your wife happily. We are doing absolutely fine here. We don’t need any of your offers to rid you of your guilt,” said Aditya’s mom, “and how are you going to live in the same apartment after your divorce?”

“I didn’t inform you, but only Kavya will live in that apartment. I have one more apartment in the city where I plan to shift,” Chandra Kumar said.

“Don’t turn us down, Pooja. We are doing all this not for your sake. I always had the guilt deep inside my mind that I built my world after devastating yours. The talks between Aditya and Chandra the other day awakened this guilt once again. I’ve had a pleasant marital life with Chandra so far and our daughter is also grown up now. I don’t want to die with this guilt. Even Chandra feels the same way. Whatever he has offered you, Aditya and Ahana, is for our sake. Please accept this,” said Kavya with her hands folded.

Aditya’s mom looked at both of her children and said, “alright, Kavya; but I have a condition for you. You will withdraw your divorce petition filed with the court and continue your marital life together. We are agreeable to all other offers given by you and Chandra.”

Chandra Kumar and Kavya looked at each other with a delightful smile.

Chandra Kumar said, “fine, Pooja. We will not divorce each other and thanks for accepting whatever we had to give you. You are so nice and I was the most stupid to have divorced you back then. But believe me, Kavya too, proved to be a wonderful wife and a tremendous mom. Now I have only one request to Adi and Ahana. Please call me ‘dad’ and give me a hug.”

Both, Aditya and Ahana looked at their mom. She said, “go my children, hug your dad. Don’t starve him of your love anymore.”

Aditya and Ahana hugged Chandra Kumar. Chandra Kumar couldn’t control his tears at this. He kissed their heads and said, “I’m so sorry, my darlings, I failed in my role of a father.”

“No, dad. You have already repented enough about it. Let’s be together now,” said Aditya. Ahana too, echoed her brother.

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