The Woman Behind the Successful Jerk

Jump to Comments

At the young age of 20, Sunita married a Punjabi boy, 25 years old working as a clerk in a central govt office. He was average looking, earned enough to manage the household expenses. Yet he was a man with a difference- he was very ambitious. Her mother advised her to be by her husband’s side, during good times and bad, like her mother did and her mother, before that. Women are supposed to take care of their husband, kids, his family and extended family. She had grown up watching this so she had no problems accepting it.

A couple of years after marriage and the birth of their first son, her husband Pawan decided that the meagre salary he earned from the goverment job was not enough. He wanted something more from life. He took a loan from his office and other sources he could think of and invested in property. Running a house on the salary after deducting the interest on the loans was difficult but she didn’t complain. After all, whatever Pawan was doing was for the good of her children and their future. They had a second son. Their household budget became a little tighter but she managed. She couldn’t buy clothes for herself but the yearly visits to her mother got her a few suits and then last year her brother got married and she recieved gifts from the bride’s family. That would suffice for this year. All these years Sunita ignored herself. She was not illiterate but daily stress and financial constraints had taken a toll on her looks and health. Some years later, after a few increments and as a result of the 4th Pay Commision Report things started improving. Her brother-in-law recommended a property available at a throw away price, it was a distress sale. Pawan couldn’t let the opportunity go, he again managed loans from different sources known to him and the situation was back to square one. She had to manage the expenses with great difficulty. All for the good of the family; she didn’t complain.
After a couple of more properties and 20 years later, as luck would have it properties in and around Delhi and NCR skyrocketed. Pawan became a multimillionare. Sunita should have been a happy woman now. But there is a twist in the story. Pawan had resigned from his job and started his own business which was doing quite well. Life should have been easy. No, there were tensions in the house everyday. Sometimes Pawan complaint of the food not being good enough or about too much noise in the house. He was becoming abusive by the day. His drinking was beyond control. He never entered the house before midnight. Sunita would wait for him for dinner only to be told that he already had it. Her neighbour dropped a bomb one day. Pawan was seeing another woman. When confronted Sunita was told that she was no more compatible with Pawan. Apparently he was too embarrassed to be seen with her. His social circle had changed along with his financial status. The approval of his erstwhile society didn’t bother him anymore. He hated to be seen as one of them. Somewhere his unsophisticated wife reminded him of his once lower middle class status. One of his female employees fell for his money and he fell for a younger and good looking woman. This new person in his life provided him with all the excitement and adventure he had all but forgotten. He left the house and shifted to a bungalow with his new wife. This for all the sacrifices Sunita made. Both the sons have now left their mother because they want to be a part of their father’s booming business. All that their mother could offer them was love. Love alone is not sufficient to earn you respect in society. Where did Sunita go wrong? Is there any justification for Pawan’s behaviour?

11 Comments

Filed under Family, Fiction, Husband, Women