What is Ammas views now, asked Radhika
It is the same dear. She is refusing to budge,answered,Radhikas father Pratap.
Radhikas face fell.
They were on Video chat.Radhika in a far off country & Pratap in chennai.
I will keep trying ,don't you worry.Pratap was trying to cheer Radhika.
Pratap a successful finance professional, in Chennai& Revathi his wife.Radhika their only child,now a citizen of a different country, wanting her parents too to migrate for good.
Radhi had sent the scanned copy of the Ad in their local newspapers,couple of weeks back.The rules for migration were very simple,it appeared.
Both she & her ever doting father have been trying to persuade Revathi,in vain.Though,Revathi was a MSc in Biological Sciences ,a gold medalist at that,chose to remain a home maker.
Pratap was at it it again..What do you say,Revathi. Today also Radhi was asking me.Why not we simply move.I don't think we can have any more happiness than being with our Doll.I have also had enough of my profession. This window for parents to migrate ,with citizenship, is just for three months.So we don't have much time left.We can always come to India once in a while to visit the temples which you are so fond of.
Revathi just had her characteristic smile & said it could be the other way,visiting their daughter once in a while.She simply refused to budge. How could she ..
That night as she was lying on the bed ,sleep deserted her & her thoughts rolled back in time..
Revathis was an arranged marriage & they had a very peaceful family life till the usual social pressure & associated murmurs led them to the doorstep of gynae & then an IVF clinic.They were confident,it must be something minor,more to do with her extreme shyness. The usual tests on both of them & on the date of discussion only Revathi could make it since Pratap was delayed ,courtesy,a board meeting.
Revathi,said the Doc,I have good & bad news for you.You are quite ok but Pratap is sterile. That was the gist, but fairly forthright,despite a verbose sermon,which was a necessity.It meant she could give birth to a child but perhaps with a seed from other unknown stranger.
Take your time,Revathi, These are difficult decisions & perhaps irreversible,said the Docter in her soothing yet professional voice.
A KUNTIan dilema was faced by her.She recollected the evening phone call her hubby had made to her,which in a nutshell exuded confidence that both of them were perfect but for her shyness.He had gone ahead even citing both their families had dozens of kids of all ages.She also fully realised how much Pratap wanted a baby & that too a girl.Besides he was a person who couldn't take disappointments easily,at his age.
It was indeed difficult especially when she wanted to go through this without him knowing the details but only to satisfy him on the progeny...
it so happened that evening she went to a discourse where the Swamiji dwelving into philosophy of life came out saying nothing belongs to us in this world & whatever we think is ours is also not ours.
That was it.she made up her mind.
A deep breath,Revathi called the doc if she could go ahead merely with her consent,explaining briefly the dilemma faced. It was agreed she will go the IVF way but to keep everyone in loop satisfied,semen will be frozen & stored,though it would serve no purpose
And finally, Radhika was born,Revathi as the biological mother& the father unknown..
Did it matter,perhaps no,but the Kunthian question remaining as an eternally unanswered issue.
Time rolled by,the secret ,getting buried by the layers of time ,deep in her heart.A doting father,a brilliant kid in Radhika,was excelling in every aspect of life,academics & otherwise,finally landing her as a citizen of the supposedly most advanced country, full of opportunities,sponsored by the ,worlds biggest IT company.
And now the fate was staring at their faces,in pressure building up on Revathi to migrate along with her hubby...
She was worried ,very worried,for one of the condition put up by that country was to bring in only Biological parents,identified with the now famous DNA finger printing which would clearly establish the.....
and she knew what that meant...
TC
CU
Sunday, January 31, 2010
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51 comments:
Ingenuous plot line, crisply said without fluff - hallmark of a gripping short and really short story. Do write more frequently.
K Raghunathan
I wish it had occured to me. Enjoyed reading it.
ah ! ironies of life ..what a brilliant plot ..loved the way you wrote it
rally nice, the flip side of scientific advances..hehe not really.
Lovely read!
Welcome Back..
very well written.. Loved it..
@Raghu
Welcome Raghu ..Two comments..Honoured here !!
TC
CU
@Lakshmi
Irony..thats the right word Lakshmi ..thanks for passing by
TC
CU
@The unsure ascetic
Flip or Flop..life has to go on..science & its consequences on humankind...
thanks for being here
TC
CU
@Never Ending Memories
Had been in a deep slumber & thanks for the welcome & ofcourse the encouraging words
TC
CU
Nice story line.Very well written. Thank you for sharing.Thank you for your warm visit the other day.Take care.
Nice story. Is there a next part to it?
@venus66
Welcome here ,after a very long time I guess & thanks
TC
CU
@Sumana
Welcome & thanks ...at this point of time havnt thought about the next part !!
TC
CU
As usual..a different thought provoking ending...Good one..
And thanks for your wakeup call in my blog.. :)
Truly amazing...narration, plot, characterization, choice of words.....wonderfully poignant, stirring and moving! As a first timer here...i can asure you i will come back...the best short story i have read in a long time!
Keep it up!
Wow! Fate is cruel isn't it? It could happen to anyone... I know of someone who wanted to donate her kidney to her sick mother only to know at that point that she was an adopted child! it was almost unbearable for her! here it is doubled, the dad and daughter....
liked the new word coined 'Kunthian' :) liked your plot line.....
welcome back :) . . Awesome plot , kudos to u :)
@Daisy Blue
Welcome here & for your comments..me too just woke up after almost one year..lol
TC
CU
@Arun
Welcome here...Too many nice words !!Thanks a lot ,its very encouraging
TC
CU
@Preethi
True Preethi , many buried truths ,when they surface,do cause anxiety & sometimes upset many an Apple Cart !
Thanks for being here
TC
CU
@ Fantasies of a lifetime
Thanks for being here & nice words
TC
CU
welcome back!
that was a good story with a twist...is there a part 2?
@Suma
Welcome Suma & thanks ...at this point of time thought about the next part hasnt crossed my mind. But who knows!!
TC
CU
oh. my. god!
that was nice! well thought, well written. aww poor Revathi :( she has to eat up so much worry and sorrow all day. Nothing so dense as a secret!
@Shruti -
Welcome here..If only we humans could Download our worries & keep our mind free....
Thanks for being here
TC
CU
Nice short story. Loved reading it. Surprisingly simple yet the kind of stuff that would keep coming back to ur head. :)
@Kaapi Prash
Thanks for your words & being here..
If only one could solve the mysteries of life...
TC
CU
Nice Blog!!
Keep it up.
@Chirag
Thanks Chirag ..Thanks for being here
TC
CU
Brilliantly written.
Will come for more.
@Shas
Thanks for your words & nice words
Welcome here
TC
CU
Hmm.. really an issue that is v uncompromising for an indian lady..Short and crisp.. Asusual nice :)
@Aarthi
WB, Great to hear you are in Utopia ,both on & off the BlogWorld
Thanks for being here
TC
CU
hi nanba...nalem nalem ariye aavel! tcare
Long time no c? :)
@anits
Vaanga vaanga,vegu naal piragu vandhu irukkeenga
Tc
Cu
@Ponnarasi Kothandaraman
Welcome, yeah the March 31 st deadline had been eating into my time ..hope to be here often lets see
TC
CU
lovely......reveals depth of a woman's heart
@Cindrella
Thank you & for bing here after a long time
Womans heart,fathoms deep,no one understands it
TC
CU
Hello sir, hope you are doing good. Just a casual comment!
CU later CU sir!
@Raghavan alias Saravanan M
Vaanga Vaanga, romba naal aachu indha pakkam vandhu.
Nalam thane !
TC
CU
hi sir,
romba naal illa.. maasam / varushamae aachu.. I guess. Right?
The story was too good, precise. It was very interesting as well :)
You are really good at writing fictions. Keep writing!
Hope you had been doing good and life treats you and your family members well.
Take Care.
@Raghavan alias Saravanan M
Yeah, Naatkal ,varudangalagi vittanavo !!
Well,life has been going on at its leisurely pace .
Hows your life & where are you these days.Still globe trotting I guess
TC
CU
hello! reading your blog after a very long time :)
another super read! i hope you have taken my advice and sent your scripts to a film/TV producer :)
ah!no new stories?;)
@ Gayatri
Thanks for being here...re my stories to TV serials...Are my yarns so bad !!...pun intended
Hey thanks for the nice words
TC
CU
@m.flowerr
Aging grey matter of mine ,turning dry I guess !!
TC
CU
Nice gripping read...it is sad to keep secrets from a loved one...telling them could hurt them, not telling them seems wrong... darn complications!!
so what happens next ??
@anusha
Tough Call
She keeps it to hersef & doesnt go
TC
CU
ooh! this is what happens when you keep secrets from your family. i think the mother should tell her daughter, sure she would be sad and angry at first, but she will come around. she has to :)
@Gayatri
WILL MAKE ONES HEART LIGHT ISNT IT...GREAT IDEA...BUT DIFFUCULT ISNT IT IN REAL LIFE
TC
CU
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