Chapter-IV: Jasmine
The morning breeze was cool and refreshing. Soon the summer sun would go high up and it would be intolerably hot all of a sudden. This is why the lawyer Mr. Sen wakes before the day break and finishes off his morning walk before the sun sweeps down with all its vehemence. Walking at these hours is also free from the hazards of vehicles and the jumble of pedestrians moving in clusters and randomly. Notwithstanding the serenity of the ambience Sen felt disquiet surging up his mind. This always happens before he is to do the unpleasant and sacrilegious job pertaining to divorce case. He is to take up these cases unwillingly as a part of his profession. Lawyers in the criminal branch are to take up more unpleasant cases. He in fact decided a few months back not to entertain these cases any more and refused some cases thereafter, but this a special case and probably the last one. He always feels unhappy at the breaking up of sacred marriage and it at times seizes him with the same gloom that inflicts on a hangman after hanging a convict. Why do they break off on flimsy grounds? Can’t they have a little bit more tolerance and patience? There are undeniably cases which cannot be lingered because of the depth of acrimony and bitterness and divorce is the only way out. But most of the cases happen on the spar of the moments and could have been repaired with a little bit efforts to compromise. He too had quarrels and disagreements with his wife. At times they stopped talking with each other for days and once she had gone to her brother’s house for a week. But every thing got easy in all the cases and they even could not dream of separation.
Married life is sacred and should be based on love, pre-marriage or post marriage. Is there something wrong with the love of these couples, pretension of love? It may not be like that. They love each other all right and break off at moment’s anger and misunderstanding and when they come to senses, there’s no point of return. Here’s the tragedy of most of the divorces and this is what hurts Sen the most as he’s to play the medium of the tragedy. This is the last case and he’s not going to take up any more such unpleasant cases but he would have nevertheless to go through the ordeals of completing this case.
This last case has some special significance as both of them are known to him from their very childhoods and he has always treated them as his own children. They have decided to break off mutually as they can no longer tolerate each other and their relation has cooled down without any open fight or quarrel. Sen had talked with each of them separately and both said that for reasons unknown to them the warm relation has dissipated and it is intolerable to linger. So both opted for signing the divorce form in his office and he is to present it to the law court meant for separation. Considering the future of the ten year old child he had requested them again and again to reconsider but they are adamant and said categorically they had gone far beyond the point of reconsideration. Even the persuasions of relatives on both the sides have failed. Sen knows both of them from their very childhood. They were neighbors and childhood friends and seemed to love each other deeply. Sen had interfered and dissuaded the parents of the girl when they had gone ahead for her arranged marriage with an accomplished groom. Now after twelve years of marriage the love has worn out. Was their anything wrong with the love itself? It’s, as a matter of fact, very difficult to understand human mind. ‘Debah na jananti kutoh manushya’ [Even God does not know, let alone humans] so goes the saying.
Sen thought of his own conjugal life. It was an arranged marriage and their love that grew in course of conjugal life has stood the trials and tribulations of half a century. Two months from now it would be their 50th anniversary and the son from USA and daughter from Mumbai are coming home to celebrate the golden jubilee with pomp. How happy he feels about his conjugal life and this is the only resting place at the old age. Now he is to be the medium of the nasty job of breaking off the marriage of another couple. Sen felt a pain deep inside his heart.
Upon entering the gate of the house, he noticed his old woman watering the plants. Hearing his footsteps she looked up and cast a charming glance defying her age and glowered at him, ‘oh, today too, you’ve not worn the cap! Who cares? You catch cold and the trouble is mine.’
Sen as usual feigned a naïve smile. Now she creased into a charming smile and said, ‘Go upstairs and I’m coming in no time to get your tea ready.’
Even at this age the old lady prepares tea and food of the household. He came close to her and watched closely the jasmine creeper she was now watering. Only a few months ago she had brought the small sapling from a neighboring house and now it has reaches the roof of the two story building and got adorned with heavenly scented white flowers. She loves her plant like her own children and takes care of them with utmost attention. She gets morose whenever any plant dies as tough some close relative has passed away.
After breakfast Sen scrutinized the details of the divorce form very closely, corrected at places and thereafter passed on to papers of other cases. Next week he has a hearing of an embezzlement case relating to succession of paternal property. He yawned and felt drowsy. Closing the files, he lied down in the sofa and dozed till the computer operator and the junior rang the doorbell at eleven. He handed over the divorce paper to the computer operator and instructed him to scan a copy of the papers. Then he sat with the junior, who was to appear at the next hearing, about the cheating case and gave him the references for the precedents relating to the case. The young boy laid the ladder and climbed to look for the volumes from the racks high upon the wall. He left off for his bed room and seated on the easy chair his mind again was haunted by the divorce case and was tormented by the unpleasantness of the impending case. In order to divert his mind he started reading a novel but failed to concentrate.
After lunch he soon fell asleep and had a sweet dream of his conjugal life. He slept till late afternoon and no sooner than he got ready with the papers they came.
She was accompanied by her brother and sister in law and he by two friends. Both had dressed simple and looked gloomy. Their woe-be gone looks made Sen morose and thoughtful. All the visitors were well known to Mrs. Sen and she offered them tea and biscuits. She too was very sad as she new both the husband and the wife from their very childhood and used to treat them like her own children. She took the brother and sister in law aside and asked them to dissuade the breakers. They were morose too and told that their best efforts had failed.
The sun had now gone down and the trees were casting flickering shadows against the streetlamps. The junior arranged all the papers in order and handed over to Sen. Sen wiped his glasses clean by the hanky and leaned over the papers and started talking about the sanctity of marriage and conjugal life without lifting his eyes from the papers. His voice seemed croaked and he coughed off the lump rising in his throat. He proceeded to unravel the bliss of mutual love, respect and fellow feeling, the adverse effects of separation on children and the destructive effects of intolerance in all spheres of social life. Then he looked up and asked the wife and the husband in turn, ‘you still stick to your decision?’
‘Sure’ both replied.
Sen handed out the form to the husband for signing.
Suddenly he felt dizzy and breathing trouble and blubbered out, ‘wait a bit; I’m feeling sick.’
everybody in the room rushed worriedly toward Sen and laid him on the sofa. Sen protested in a barely audible voice, ‘this fuss is unnecessary. I’d soon recover.’
The junior sprinkled water on his face and forehead and Mrs. Sen rushed in screaming.
‘Get me a glass of water.’
His wife handed him the glass and he took a draft.
‘Why are you masking all these fuss? I’ve told you this is nothing, just weariness and I’d recover in no time. In fact the room is stuffy. Go open the windows.’
The junior hastened to the far end of the room and started opening the windows and a gust of cool breeze greeted all of them. Sen now felt o.k. and slowly made for the table. He once again handed the papers to the husband and said apologetically, ‘sorry, I’ve delayed the
process.’
Amar, the husband, smelt intently the air and holding the papers in his hand hastened to the open window. ‘Oh, it’s jasmine!’ He exclaimed. ‘Have you got it Rama?’
‘Certainly,’ the eyes of the wife brightened and in front of the bewildered eyes of everyone she strode across to her husbands side, snatched the papers from his hands and tore them to bits.