Infatuation in dreamland (Part- 3) …

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(Recap – In previous episodes, I narrated about my childhood chum “Rajoo,” his cheerful disposition and his intense desire to marry  some beautiful girl. Partially luck favored him, but eventually something went wrong with him.)

Even it took some long time to me to endure the aftershocks of Rajoo’s tragedy, after all he was my one of best chums. I could easily understood his grievance, but his undergoing to lunacy badly agonized me. On my next visit to the village, I visited his parents. That was an old time and such kind of untoward happenings with any family were taken as “image spoiling incidence.” It was akin to, as if, some one stripped off  publically. To them, I too was  a child like their son Rajoo. Even after, I noticed one thing,  they avoided looking directly at me, they averted the eye-contact.

                              Commiserating the parents

I tried to console them as a family member, as much as I could afford. After a while,  they came at ease. Not going into the detail of “eloping of girl with paramour,” I inquired about the ” well- being’ of Rajoo only. This brought a gloom on their face. His father said, ” Son, it seems he has lost his mind’s control. The sordid misdoing of the girl has put him into a worse position. Now he has confined himself to his room only. Even he is not worried about his appetite. It’s his mother only, whom he recognizes and permits her to enter into his room. She fetches him the food provisions. The sad aspect of his condition is, he has not taken even a single bath since the day he isolated himself into his room.”

I offered them a suggestion, if I can try to see him. But father refuted fearfully. He said, ” in that case, he feels more and more humiliated and becomes violent. It’s better not to disturb him, even he didn’t concede to visit the Doctor. Though, we consulted some medical expert, he too advised not to disturb him. He suggested that time is the great remedy, in this kind of cases.” Knowing all this was quite distressing to me, but I could do nothing on my part. I took leave of them and retreated.

                                     Elapsing of time

In this banal world, every one is given to remain engaged in his own diurnal business. Time has got it’s own momentum, it ever keeps on going on and on. The same thing happened with Rajoo. But, I always came to one conclusion, when Rajoo confined to his room, he was correct on his part. When this incidence occurred with him, that was an old time. At that period of time, there in the village, too many people were there and specifically youth, who on coming to know that “prospective bride” of Rajoo was so beautiful, became jealous of him. Probably, Rajoo too knew this fact of jealously. It’s the psyche of every society, be it Urban or Rustic, people by disposition are envious to the happiness of others.

                       Mocking attitude of villagers

Even, when I talked some people in acquaintance back in the village about the sorry plight of Rajoo, they too not reacted in a sagacious manner. It seemed to me, they all envied the good luck of Rajoo on finding him a beautiful bride. Apparently, all they displayed the concern in a sad way, but also added, ” On the first instance, Rajoo should have considered the fact, how and why such a beautiful girl gave consent to marry him. After all, Rajoo was not an attractive and good looking boy. A short height man he was. He should have smelled a rat there.” This kind of tendency to mock at every defeated person prevails greatly in our village side, I knew that already and in all probability Rajoo was aware of this.

                          Changes in Rajoos’s demeanor

Time kept on pacing, but I kept myself in touch about the well- being of Rajoo. Later on, I came to know, a slight change there began to be noticed in his behaviour. Now, he had begun to step out from his room confinement to the parental house yard only. The next change, after some years he made, so that, he began to install himself on the front of his house on the main road upon some chair and blankly watched the passersby. This took five years to come to this position.But in these five years, he didn’t talk a single word with any one, except his mother.

Again some years passed on. In between, some bits of good news filtered into my ears. Now, he had begun to talk with passersby, but that all was incoherent. He still was not able to connect himself with his past. Though, during all these all years he was not violent with outsiders. Up till now, I too had been settled entirely in city and my daily busy schedule too had mitigated my intermittent visits back in the village. After some years, it filtered out that now Rajoo was regaining his memory back and began to identify his old acquaintances. This information soothed me. ( End of the part-3,, contn’d)… Penned by — Vinay Pharasi …..