Social Issue Short Story – World class treatment
Photo credit: chilombiano from morguefile.com
(Note: Image does not illustrate or has any resemblance with characters depicted in the story)
Now-a-days the need of old age home is growing very widely.
Earlier its name was heard in foreign countries but as India is getting modernize , people are adopting retirement home or old age home as the best place for their parents. Today’s generation think that they are arranging the best medical treatment for their parents and take out some time from their busy schedule to meet them.
Mrs. Nausheen Firdous, a 65 year old lady joined the retirement home as her son and daughter-in-law moved to Australia, she use to sit idle and was always in depressed mood .
One day she was sitting in garden, a man came sat opposite to her and said “hello mam myself kumer vishwas ,I have been watching you since long time ,why you always sit alone, every body here have similar problems”.
She stood up and was trying to move kumer stopped her by saying “see mam if you share your problem with some one you may feel relaxed”.
On kumer’s request she sat again and said” the main villain of my family is my daughter-in -law, she is a witch. I don’t know what black magic she did on my innocent son, he changed after marriage. My son’s name is sameer, he work in an MNC . He is the only son to me. My husband died when sameer was 2 years old . I faced a lot of difficulties to full fill the educational needs for him. I bought up my son with lot of love and given him what he asked for.
One day he said he is in love with his college friend Ayaat and want to marry her .With in no time I agreed to him .After marriage she was fine and use to take care of me. But after six-seven months she started pointing out mistakes in me. Every day she has a different complaint to say against me. Many times sameer ignored them but some time he scolded me by saying that she take care of us, she woke up early in the morning to cook for us etc why you trouble her.
Did he forgotten how much effort I put to feed him, educate him,and grow him as big as to scold me . On 12 April Sameer came in to my room and said “Mom I got promotion and I need to move to Australia “,I congratulate him. Then he said “My company is providing visa for me and Ayaat . I am afraid how you alone can manage here .
I said “no problem I will manage “.
Sameer got silent for a minute and said ” I will send you visa after one month .Till then for you to stay, I have seen a place where you will feel like home, food is also tasty . I liked the place so much that I booked it for you. Lets go and see it tomorrow, if you don’t like it ,we will see another” .
After 3 day I joined the place by saying I also liked it . Today it is 74th day, the visa is yet coming. sameer called me last week and said he still trying for visa . If he does not want me to come to Australia he would have said me directly ,why did he kept me under expectation.
After listening to her story kumer said “A father can manage to feed 4 children but 4 children combine find it difficult to feed him”, this is the reason for me to come here.
Don’t get depress by thinking what is not their, enjoy with what you have.for example:”I cried because I have no shoe, then I met a person who had no feet”. Think about those parents who were not blessed with children . Thank god for every thing you got.
Kumer stood and said I need to make a call to my elder son as he is suffering from jaundice .
Next day kumer vishwas manage to obtain the contact details of sameer from retirement home and gave a call to sameer . he did not answer the call.
So, kumer called him after an hour. This time Ayaat answer the phone call.
kumer said :”hi ayaat myself kumer vishwas i am calling from retirement home, just listen to the audio, which I have recorded while your mother-in-law was speaking to me”.
After listening to the audio ayaat’s voice tone got changed she asked slowly ,”Is she near to you “.
kumer said :“she passed today at 10:30 “.
ayaat started crying and said :”it was my idea to let her stay in old age home , Sameer will never forgive me “.
Kumer said: “you will also become a mother one day and how would you feel if your son leave you in some old age home, to whom you kept in your womb for more than 9 months”.
She was crying continuously and said: “how did that happen”.
kumer said: “i am sorry ayaat in order to make you realise your’s and sameer’s mistake I lied you, she is alive, and She did not asked me to do this , I did all this from my side.
ayaat said :”thank god ,can I speak to her “.
kumer said: right now she is not here.
ayaat said : “thank you for making us realise our mistake “.
Kumer said :”its ok”, and disconnected the call.
The next day Nausheen firdos was very happy , so kumer asked her the reason, she said “last night my daughter-in-law called me and spoke with me for an hour and apologize for departing me from my son .”
A week later sameer came with visa to take his mother to Australia.
CONCLUSION :
I will try to express the feeling of our old parents in two lines urdu shayari(poetry).
ghairo ne na kuch karm kia farz samaj ker
apno ne bhi jhatak dia gard samaj ker.
(Strangers did not turned up thinking that its not their duty
my relative have wiped me thinking me as dust.)
–END–
