Apathetic Love

By Ankit Singh Chouhan

On a gorgeous evening in Jodhpur, the Baraat finally comes back from a long journey to the hotel which is shining under bright lights giving an indication of a delightful wedding to the strangers outside. Even when the rest of the world is worried about the outbreak of a deadly new virus, nothing could stop Indians from attending weddings.

One of the Baraati, Ajit is very tired like everyone around him but he feels happiness about the successful marriage of his newlywed cousin.

The best time in his life, away from all the responsibilities, hard work and his dead-end job in Mumbai. For him this break was an amusement.

However, the tiredness after dancing, travelling, giggling, and flirting made him look for a thick blanket, so that he could find a peaceful corner to sleep and be ready for the next morning tour in the city with his friends.

Suddenly, his dad Lalit comes into his vision who is walking straight towards him. The man who constantly tries to end all the fun, who wanted his son to be a millionaire, an IAS or anything that could be bragged about in the neighbourhoods, while his only child earns just enough to exist and lives just enough for himself. Lalit is a marine engineer earning a lot, unlike his ungrateful kid.

Ajit hates his father’s ideas of constant comparison with the world that doesn’t care. He has a simple rule for life ‘never aim high’ because life is too short and then you will lose out on enjoying the small things just like his father who barely spends time with him and is always aiming for fattening the wallet with money.

He gets stressed and starts to think of possible reasons his father might have come to see him.

Lalit tells his son about an urgent ship which he wants to be onboard from Mumbai.

He goes onto explaining that they will be leaving by tomorrow morning through car and Ajits’s presence as a second driver is vital. He also points out about endless leave without pay that Ajit had taken. The pleasurable time in Jodhpur had come to an end.

Ajit gets annoyed and protests his father’s decision but, in the end accepts the idea with a silence when Lalit rags by saying “You wouldn’t be able to achieve anything with this kind of attitude.”

Ajit thinks to himself of what an unlovable father he has got, who comes to live with the family only once in a year and displeases him every now and then.

The next morning, Ajit gets ready by 5 am with his body shivering in fever. “Shouldn’t have eaten an extra cup of ice cream” he thinks to himself.

Ajit and Lalit prepare to leave the place. They share a good bye with everyone before heading on for a twenty-hour journey.

The journey goes on smooth until drowsiness comes after having a heavy lunch. They follow the route which crosses the state boundary via Ambaji, a lovely place filled with beautiful sky-high mountains where people can find solitude.

To keep Lalit engaged in driving, Ajit starts talking about the new virus which may wipe out the whole world. His dad ignores the fact and describes to him various conspiracies from Halley's Comet crash in 1910 to the prediction of world ending in 2012 but here they are roaming across the globe.

Ajit takes on the driving seat in the afternoon. His incomplete sleep, tiredness and anger towards his father translates in his driving speed as he goes on overtaking cars, not long before Lalit scolds him for his carelessness. He once again mocks by saying “This behaviour will make you pay someday.” Irritated Ajit makes himself realize that sooner he will be free from his father’s rubbishness and calms himself down.

In the evening, Lalit disconnects Ajit’s android with the car and starts to play the radio. “There will be a complete ban on people from stepping outside their houses from 12 midnight today” said the Prime Minister on every radio channel.

It makes the duo shocked as they are uncertain of whether they will reach by today. The fuel level starts to deplete as they try to find a petrol station which they shortly discover, only to realize that it is closed. With the fuel meter at empty level and batteries of all the phones dead, they find themselves trapped in no man’s land. The duo decides to leave the car and look for help nearby. Stuck in the hills of Ambaji, they walk for several miles before Ajit faints away and falls on the ground.

In a fuzzy manner, Ajit opens his eyes and observes himself on a hospital bed where the doctor comes by and asks “Do you feel good now?” Ajit nods slowly to assure the doctor about his health. The doctor goes on to say “Your father is a brave man, he took you on shoulders for about 5 miles. He might take a little space in tomorrow’s newspaper.”

Confused, Ajit imagines about his relationship with Lalit, he visualizes his child-form who grew up in his mom’s presence, gaining all the love and attention while idolizing his dad as a hero every time he came back home. But there's a point at which this narrative gets changed. As the kid goes on to become an adult, he realizes his own purpose and his dad forces him to face the real world.

Ajit feels a hidden emotion of love. He comes back into his senses when Lalit opens the door.

Lalit brings a packet of orange juice. He quietly passes it to his son, Ajit grabs the packet loosely and it falls on the ground, spilling the juice across the floor. “Can’t do anything properly”, Lalit murmurs.

Ajit smirks at his father’s saying as he seeks the hidden emotion again, which he denotes as ‘Apathetic Love’.

By Ankit Singh Chouhan