Laugh
Extracted from the book “
Dancing on the notes of life”
Author: K. B.
Trehan
Publisher: Cedar books (www.pustakmahal.com)
Read one of the 35 chapters extracted from an engaging fiction, based on real life husband-wife relationship.
DAYS AND WEEKS passed with those dreadful thoughts. Ravi had
returned to Jamshedpur the very next day promising that he
would try to come over to Dhanbad frequently. Neena was
required to go too but was postponing her departure since she
was quite worried about her father’s condition, thinking he may
become an emotional wreck. But then she was not expecting it to
be any different. Vaas had also come over since his summer
vacations had
started.
By now, Seth had recovered only about 80 per cent. The burn
marks were still visible all over his body. The doctors had told him
that it might take up to one year before he could be classified as
having fully recovered. But sitting at home was not the best of
options and he started going to his office.
The evenings, however, would be really painful. The familiar
face of his wife waiting to receive him was there no more. He
didn’t enjoy the evening tea any longer without the company of
his wife who would give him details about what had
happened and what hadn’t happened while he was away over a cup of tea.
She would never say no to an invitation for a party and the Seths
had become a regular in Dhanbad’s party circles.
While Seth always nourished his couple of pegs of scotch
and had a good collection of Indian and imported stuff, he had
started hitting the bottle rather frequently and a bit hard. Instead
of going to parties, he now preferred to sit at home and keep
drinking until drunk, so that he could forget the incident that
had left him devastated.
Even alcohol wasn’t enough to give him a sound sleep. The
pain he was carrying inside his heart continued, so did the
memories.
Seth’s rational feelings started returning as if he had removed
all the cobwebs in one stroke. He decided to start a new life. The
more he thought, the more he was getting convinced that he was
lucky to have escaped from the jaws of death. He realised that
there was an intimate connection between the mind and the
body. He decided to treat the mind first. Mental health, he
thought, is more important than physical health. He heard from
somewhere:
“Be courageous. Impossible will then become possible. Courage
is the source of all success.”
He found that all power and courage were within him and he
was the master of his life.
“Who would like to be around me when I’m in this state?”
he questioned himself again while standing in front of the mirror
in the bathroom. The answer was, expectedly, in the negative. He
remembered having read somewhere that life was like a journey
where companionship may vary from a few hours to a few days.
He felt lucky that he enjoyed companionship of the most
wonderful woman on the earth for 23 long years.
The rains had stopped and the sun was struggling to break
free from the shackles of the cloud. Seth was, however, clear in his
mind. He must come across to his children as a new man when
they woke up. By now, he was feeling energised and remembered
the golden words of F.W. Wilcox:
“Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go….”