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A very short story about a brother sister relationship that many might resonate with.
“Give me his number, I’ll teach that jerk a lesson. Don’t worry.”
“Nah! Let it be, I’ll block him. He won’t trouble ever again.”
“He should have been blocked by now, which you clearly haven’t done. You lied to me when I told you to stay away from him. Anyways, give me his number; I’ll make sure he never dares to text you or any other girl again. That pig needs to be taught a lesson.”
“Let it go. This won’t happen again, I promise.”
“You promise?? What rubbish is that? That d**k ###d is sending atrocious messages, blackmailing you, how dare he? I’ll break his head, he needs to be taught a lesson. It’s nowhere your fault. Just give me his number and I’ll handle it.”
“It’s ok bhai, I am fine. I’ll myself teach him a lesson. Don’t worry.”
By now he was boiling with anger.
“Look! This is the last time I am telling you…GIVE ME HIS F****ING NUMBER. Let me handle him.”
“No, let it be. It’s okay.”
The damage was done.
For no particular reason, she hurt the person who loved her the most; her elder brother. And for whom? A boy who only loved her skin, not her soul. It wasn’t even love, just infatuation. What did he think she was? Some bait to soothe his insatiable hunger for skin?
Deep in her heart she knew her brother was right, but she was too deeply attached to that boy; so much so that she turned a blind eye to all his flaws.
She met him through a mutual friend and he fooled her into believing that he loved her and started expecting wrong favors. When she denied, he started blackmailing her.
Her brother had sensed his intentions long ago and warned her to stay away from him. Had he been a good guy her brother would have supported her, but not this time. She didn’t listen, lied to him and even now was trying to settle things.
Letting go isn’t easy, at least not when you are 20-something, in college and all your hormones are raging.
Later that night….
“I am sorry, bhai. I didn’t mean to hurt you”, she apologized.
“Let it be. It’s okay. Good night, go to sleep”, he replied.
He went away.
She knew it wasn’t about not giving the number, it was about pushing him away when he was trying to protect her. Unintentionally…indirectly…she told her brother “STAY-OUT-OF-IT”. The trust he had on her was broken when she lied to him and didn’t block that useless boy’s number on the phone. Her brother was hurt and she was the reason behind it.
He didn’t get mad at her, he just went silent…and this silence killed her. Things would have been easier had he been angry and fought with her. She loved him. And now, she missed him too.
Sorry meant nothing once the trust is broken. The brother-sister bond is strong and she knew that within a few days everything might return back to normal. But somewhere deep inside, it would always prick. It couldn’t be reversed.
Image Source: Unsplash
An engineer by brains and a writer at heart- in this beautiful chaos of donning two hats, it's the ink and paper which keeps her going. Her love for expression is undying, unapologetic and read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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