“I’m being pulled apart by the family sentiment on one side and the lure of love on the other,” said Chandrika melancholically. “Love seems to be the most compelling of human emotions as it combines in it the craving of the soul and the desires of the body.”
“I know your hurt,” said Roopa sympathetically.
“I don’t mind hurting myself,” said Chandrika dejectedly. “I am worried about him and concerned about our mother. Moreover, how can I compromise your interests? That’s my dilemma.”
That her sister should think about her welfare, even in her predicament, melted Roopa’s heart. ‘If only I could go to her rescue in the hour of need,’ thought Roopa. ‘What if, I get married first to save her love? Won’t my out of turn marriage save the day for us all?’
She felt she knew her parents well enough. They were conventional more for the society’s sake than out of personal conviction. Besides, they loved their children dearly. She was confident that all would welcome her idea. The prospect of her averting an imminent schism in the family appeared heroic to her.
‘How nice it can be,’ she thought excitedly, ‘if my sacrifice serves my sister’s cause besides solving my parents’ problem.’ She was pleased to perceive herself in the role of a martyr for the family cause. However, on second thoughts, she contemplated the implications of her marriage without a degree as she was just through the first year of what appeared to be a three-year ordeal. ‘How I nursed the dream of being a doctor,’ she thought melancholically. ‘Oh, have I not come to love myself in that role. Now that the bubble has burst, I couldn’t care less. Hasn’t life become humdrum, any way?’
As she recalled her own disappointment, she remembered the cause of it all. ‘After all, your earnings would be your husband’s,’ as she recalled her father’s words of objection, she saw a ray of hope in the situation. ‘What if my husband helps my ambition to further the family income?’ she thought excitedly. ‘Who knows I may as well get an understanding husband. What a happy life I would lead then! Won’t I love him even more for that? Let me take a chance and see what lies in store for me. Any way, I’ve nothing to lose, do I?’
It seems the feature of life that while darkness deprives man of his shadow; his hope lingers on in spite of the foreboding.
As Chandrika wept inconsolably, it seemed Roopa’s fear of the unknown was washed away in her sister’s tears. Having made up her mind, Roopa unveiled the contours of her plan of action, however, hiding the hope behind her apparent sacrifice and that about had the same effect on Chandrika, as sighting a boat in the high seas would have on a shipwreck; it raised her spirits. Chandrika was profuse in articulating her gratitude, and as if to convey her indebtedness bodily as well, she hugged her sister, while Roopa felt embarrassed as her own streak of selfish motive jarred with the purity of her sister’s outpouring. After all, the attributes our hypocrisy induces others to adduce to us would bring no value addition to our conscience.