The friend ??? (Part-8th) —

(Recap — In the previous part, we came to know, how Tarun ji maneuvered to entice a girl from a well – off family and eventually succeeded getting married with her……)

Dubey ji alias Rishi ji took a  pause and then continued the story, ” Since Tarun had enticed the prospective bride on surreptitious claims. In fact, that was the time when he by himself was trying to get foothold in the field of journalism. And whatever his pomp and show off was, that all was propped on the pillars of sister’s family repute. It was natural, when honeymoon fever was over, his wife, a sagacious lady, at once realized how she had been be-fooled by her man. The “balloon of affluence” of Tarun was destined to get deflated and it got deflated eventually.

At the initial stage of domesticity, Tarun was facilitated by arrangement of two rooms set temporarily by his sister in the same house. But no sooner, the Doctorate degree of Tarun’s wife submitted and she got ensconced as permanent assistant professor, she was allotted a family apartment in the degree college campus. This made Tarun to shift to this new abode. As being friend of Tarun, I can recount, on coming to know the actual financial standing as not “affluent” but a “pauper” one, his respect in the eyes of wife began to descend. Time kept on running and between this period, Tarun fathered two children, one son and one daughter.

His wife too was in dilemma, since she had chosen Tarun at her own will as a paramour, she dared not  disclose about the real financial position of husband before her parental house. Nor she was left with any other option, but some where, deep down in her heart, she felt cheated by Tarun and that thorn ever remained riveted in her heart. That was an old, conventional period of time. Upon being enticed by Tarun, she had entered secretly into ” court marriage” with Tarun and had concealed this fact from her family. Some where her family too was resented by her this activity either and she knew it well. In all, apparently everything looked “normal” but deep down seeds of split been germinated.”

Dubey ji again stopped for a short while and spoke, “Look Prakash, I tell you about one unique feature of woman. Never a woman wishes, her settled domesticity should come to an end and she tries her best to let it go by making all kinds of adjustment and compromise. But as I told about Tarun, basically he was a “fortune hunter.” He was ever harnessed with every kind of risk taking capacity. For paradigm, inside the walls of home, he was given to do all kinds of petty jobs which were considered in the domain of house wife. To say, from preparing early bed tea to breakfast ( in day time, he was bound to remain present at newspaper office,” again at evening, he had to cook the evening meal. Added with to take the care of children, then washing the dirty cloth at the night in the bath room etc. By doing all these menial petty jobs, once again he succeeded in securing some soft corner in the heart of his wife.”

At this spot, Dubey ji gave a ridiculous smile, that simple connoted it was somewhere related to Tarun ji, and continued, ” In fact, it was not his real game of ” fortune hunting.”  The amazing game of his “fortune hunting” you will hear in coming part of this story. Tarun had had a close crony of childhood in Varanasi, a very close friend of his. His friendship with this man was from his infancy. Both had been like a “pair of friends” from basic primary schooling  to Intermediate college and even up to the  degree college’s higher education. Both grew together like brother.  This friend of his, after completion of higher education, some how managed to migrate to USA. There he secured a job.

In that old period of time, the green card issuing policy was lenient in USA and he too succeeded obtaining the green card there. Now he was a National of america. A proudly immigrant Indian he was now. Despite his being settled there, never he dis continued his contact with Tarun. He ever remained in touch with Tarun through postal letters. These postal letters with lengthy contents kept them into a persistent touch of each other. In due course of time, this friend of Tarun managed to buy a house, car and all kinds of amenities there. One thing specific was there. In his letters to Tarun, he always inspired Tarun in every letter with an advice to get migrated to USA.

Ever he wrote to Tarun, “dear friend, any how, if you manage to migrate here, your future will become brighter. Whatever help and efforts needed in this mission, I am opt to help you by all means.” An another significant feature about this friend was, still he was unmarried. In total, he succeeded to sow the seeds of to migrate to USA, in the mind of Tarun. And subsequent to that Tarun too in daily conversation with his better half too used to relate his this dream. Now situation was of the kind, this idea ever crept in his mind like a ghost to migrate any how to USA. This ghost idea ever kept on riding on his whole being. (End of the Part 8th. Cont’d.) Penned by — Vinay Pharasi —–