Sunday, April 18, 2010

Epilogue of 'We, the Bachelors'

Nearly a decade later, Prakash’s mother was sitting in their drawing room, having just finished the last story from the book written by her (now) fully grown-up boy. She closed the book and kept it on the table. Prakash was eager to know what her response would be.
Finally, Prakash’s mother looked towards him and said, “Writing is as pure as a mother’s love. Son, I think that you have done a great job by writing a book on the issues related to bachelors. You have elaborated the concept with good examples. The stories demonstrate that bachelor have somehow been wronged by society by not fully acknowledging his contributions.”
“Mom, as you read in the book, there are hundreds of alert Nandus working at a call centres day and night providing support to customers, hundreds of Akhileshes who insure the life of the central family person, many Munnas who show their humanity in case of disasters, and countless rickshaw drivers like Shiva who drain out their bodies to take the next generation kids to their school. But no one mentions or notices them,” Prakash said. Mother nodded in approval.
“Also there are many poor but hardworking boys like Chaman, who are born with a big fortune in their destiny. But they are disliked by the society and considered to be treated as dogs. But people salute them when their time changes,” Prakash added.
“I agree with you,” Mother replied.
“The hardworking bachelors play their indispensible role and drive most of the country’s economy. The country gets huge income tax from some of the bachelors with high pay packages. Even there are several young, unmarried entrepreneurs who help the country significantly. Also look at the high amount of donations paid to NGO’s by some of the NRI Bachelors who still feel a bond with their motherland.”
“That’s true Prakash,” Mother said, supporting her child’s argument.
“But I never understood, whenever any elderly uncle notices a black polythene bag lying around the residential area, why the primary blame goes to the bachelors residing in that area? I personally have heard many uncles saying to the bachelors, ‘You are self-centered males. What does the society get from you?’ After hearing such comments, the blood in our veins starts to boil. It is no less than a racist comment. Why should bachelors be treated like this? It is a shame on those traditional thinkers, who define the society as ‘only couples are included’. They should understand that we, the bachelors, in fact are and will remain an integral part of the society.”

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