The Dilemma

The Dilemma

His forehead creased as he frowned, thinking hard. Was that an a or an e? It could be an o or an i also! Sighing Ramlal, put his red pen down and rubbed his fingers on his temple trying to relieve himself of the throbbing headache which had now started.

There was so much going on right now. He was feeling so overwhelmed. Payal’s wedding was round the corner, he was retiring, the final term paper’s were to be evaluated and on top of it the village head, Sarpanch Chowdhury Sahib was hounding him for a meeting. He had woken up at four today, thinking that at least he could make some headway with the corrections, but ….

He looked back at his life with a smile on his face. Ramlal had no regrets with any of his decisions. He had left a good paying job in Chandigarh as a teacher in a prestigious private school, returned to his village Manghera, to teach in the GovernmentHigh School. He had started as a middle school teacher and now after 35 years, not only was he teaching most subjects in grades IXth and Xth, but was also the principal of this school. Despite being so far from the city, he had made a good reputation in the education fraternity and was respected highly amongst not only his peers but also the villagers and most importantly by his students. The salary was alright but the happiness factor was immense. Yes! Ramlal had no regrets.

His musings were disturbed by frantic knocking and Ramlal looked at his watch. It was seven already! And he had hardly corrected a few answer sheets. Slowly he made his way to the door and his mouth formed an O as he saw Chowdhury Sahib standing outside.

Boom Boom Boom, the headache just kept getting worse. Ramlal had managed to finish all his corrections except one paper, the very cause of his headache. Payal’s wedding day was just a fortnight away, there were so many things to do yet and he felt as if Sarita, his wife did not know what budgeting meant. He knew they were lucky in getting Avinash as their son-in law. In his community, it was difficult to get a match if the girl was educated, and Payal had completed her college studies and was training to become a teacher. An educated girl who wants to work –odds were definitely stacked against her. Then, an ex-colleague from Chandigarh suggested his student, Avinash. A pediatrician, who was from his own community, who wanted an educated girl, who was not concerned if Payal wanted to work or not, WHO DIDN’T WANT DOWRY! The match was definitely fixed by the Gods. Ramlal’s honest way of work plus the salary given by the government didn’t leave him with a big kitty to be able to give the kind of dowry people had been asking. Avinash’s parents were a bit disappointed with the ideals of their son, but they were not the greedy kinds. To them, ultimately their son’s happiness mattered.

Ramlal just wanted the marriage ceremony to go smoothly. Parth called out and woke him up from his reverie. Parth was his son, in second year engineering at Delhi IIT. Everyone had high hopes from him and he was a good boy. Ramlal was truly blessed to have a wonderful family. He decided to think of the positives instead of getting himself worked up, especially as he thought about his meeting with the sarpanch earlier in the day.

Now why did Avinash’s parents want to meet him? After Parth told him that Avinash’s father and uncle were coming to meet him tomorrow, Ramlal felt his head was just about to burst. He chewed his lip nervously as he hoped that there were no more new complications. He’d had enough drama to last him a decade.

Obviously he was wrong, Ramlal thought as he bid goodbye to Payal’s would be in-laws, the following evening. Ultimately it all boils down to money, he bitterly thought as Vats ji, Avinash’s father left with his younger brother. He replayed the scene that happened just an hour ago in his mind and felt his headache returning. “See Sharma ji,” Vats ji had begun, “you know how proud and self-reliant Avinash is and if I’d had another alternative, I wouldn’t have bothered you. I am not asking you for a car or more gold or anything. Nor am I asking for money for my sake. This is for the kids only. Now that Avinash has cleared his exams to go to UK for his fellowship and the kids will have to go there, the only thing that is holding him back is the cost. He has managed everything but the tickets and initial expenditure. And we want Payal beti to also go. We don’t want them to be separated immediately after their marriage and that too for two years! When today the loan officer refused the extra amount to be sanctioned, our last hope also died. Now, you are our only hope. I would need five lakhs rupees on the day of the wedding so that we can make the necessary arrangements as soon as possible. It’s a loan. Give me Payal’s passport on that day also so that we can finalize everything, hain ji. I am sorry to have sprung this on you at such short notice. Please don’t tell Avinash otherwise he’ll not go for his fellowship. You know how idealistic this young generation is. I don’t want him throwing his career away for such small issues.”