6PM Saturday
“Challenge.?” – asked Kanna. “I can get that Rs.500 parker pen..”
“No..” – shouted Pappu. “How can they pamper you like that. .? I won’t allow it to happen” .
Pappu is six years older than Kanna and just crossed seventeen. Still Kanna is her only brother and playmate till now. They both share everything amongst themselves, at least till now.
“Why..? They got you an expensive watch now. Every diwali you get very expensive dress. I get an ordinary one. Ofcourse I am not interested in such things. But if you can be pampered, why not me for a pen..?” – retorted kanna
“I asked Dad. He said he would get it if I promise him to do Sandhya Vandanam everyday without fail” – Kanna continued.
“Challenge’da..?” – said Pappu. “I will never allow it to happen. You want to take a bet..?”
“Bet..?” – Kannna’s eyes widened. He has been ingrained with an idea that betting is bad. “No.. no, Dad and Mom would blast us, if they come to know about it”
“If they come to know” – said Pappu. “Write in a piece of paper what I dictate. We both will sign at the end. Let’s keep this bet to ourselves”.
Kanna started writing whatever Pappu dictated. And then they both signed at the end.
The Bet“If Dad or Mom buys Kanna Rs.500 parker pen by 11:30 am Sunday, Pappu will give all her savings money to Kanna. If Kanna did not get it, Kanna will give all his savings money to Pappu”.
8PM Saturday
As I returned home from work, Kanna came running.
“Please pa.. Please pa..I promise pa. I would do Sandhya Vandanam every day pa. Please get me that Parker pen, please” – pleaded Kanna. “I am not asking for a dress or watch or some such thing. It is only for writing and learning. “
“No Dad” – said Pappu. “For writing, you don’t need a Rs.500 pen. He just wants to show-off. Don’t pamper him and spoil him”
“Definitely Not” – I said “I won’t pamper him. You are right. Rs.500 pen is not needed for writing. But it is just a silly desire. There is nothing wrong in fulfilling such things, if possible. It is just fun”
“So you will pamper him and get that pen to him..?” – asked an angry pappu. “Whenever I ask for something , you give me big lectures on saving money. But now when Kanna asks you are ready. You don’t worry about money..”
“No.. never.. I treat you both equally” – I said exasperatedly.
“No. Since he is your Son, I think you are pampering him. During my fifth standard, when I asked for a Re.1 Vicks chocolate, you gave me a 30 minutes lecture. Do you remember that..? Now you are pampering Kanna”- said a visibly angry Pappu. “You are spoiling him”
“Please Pappu” – I pleaded “Yes. You talk about that incident often. Please understand. I had admonished you at that time as we were in a tight position that time, that month. We were on a loan and conserving every paise during those periods. Last month you asked me for a watch and I got you more expensive one than you asked. It is all about affordability. Is it not..?”
“No Dad” – said Pappu “I promise Dad. I promise before this Lord Venkateshwara. If you or Mom get him that Rs.500 pen, I would never talk to you or Mom again”.
Pappu made a dramatic promise. She spoke loud with voice full of anger. Her nose became pink with a rush of
blood.
Kanna who was a silent spectator till now realized that Pappu had cornered me and he could lose out.
“No..” – shouted Kanna. “This is unfair. You cannot make this promise after our bet. If you make such a promise, then I will also make a counter promise. Dad I promise before Lord Venkateswara. If I don’t get that Rs. 500 parker pen before 11:30 am tomorrow, I will never talk to you people again” .
“What is this 11:30 am business..? Can I know..?” – I asked
“Dad, I and Pappu made a bet that if you or Mom give me a Rs.500 parker pen before 11:30 am tomorrow, Pappu will give her savings to me. Otherwise I will give my savings to her” – said Kanna.
“Do you know what you people have done..?” – I shouted.
“You have taken an ugly bet and followed it by an uglier promise. Whoever wins, the family peace and harmony will get destroyed” - I shouted on top of my voice.
I sulked in a chair with a terribly pale face. I could not understand how these two kids could get into such an Ugly bet and Uglier promise. I saw no way out of their bet and promise.
“Why..?” – asked Pappu. “Don’t buy your son that pen. That is all. Even if Kanna gives his savings to me, I will give it back to him. Nothing will happen”
“No, But you people just made a promise that you won’t talk to me. If I get the pen, pappu will not talk to me. If I do not get the pen, Kanna will talk to me.” – I said. “You have landed yourself and our entire family in soup with Lord Venkateswara as the witness.”.
We were all silent for sometime. The magnanimity of the situation sank inside all of us, slowly. Every moment looked an eon to me.
“This is the classical Mahabharata Bet and Promise wherein Individual desires ride over family and self is placed above society. Whoever wins the whole family is destroyed. Do you understand the gravity of the situation..? You people, by your greediness have put the happiness of family on pyre. Whoever wins, pyre will be lit” – I said.
“I am ashamed of you people. I am ashamed of myself that I grew such people like you”
8 AM Sunday
“Dad…” – called Kanna and Pappu in Chorus .
“Last night we talked about our bet. We decided to cancel the bet. Hence the promise is also cancelled” – said Pappu.
“Common pappu” – I said. “If you can cancel something at will or take it back then what is a promise..? You can very well cancel the bet. But you need to abide by the promise you made before Lord Venkateswara. Otherwise what is in a promise..?”
“But.. but that is not possible Dad” – said Pappu “As you said yesterday, if u get the parker pen to Kanna, I should not talk to you forever. If you don’t get it, Kanna should not talk to you forever. We don’t want that Dad. We are sorry”.
“You should have thought about it before you made the promise. You have given your word. Even if you don’t follow it, I would need to follow it. It is really hurting.. pappu..” – I said.
“With every passing moment, the cruelness of your promise hurts me. Decide amongst yourself what I should do and then I should never talk to one of you for life”.
My voice broke as I spoke the last few words.
10 AM Sunday
“Dad, I checked up with Granma” – said Kanna “She says we can break the promise and put penalty money in Srivari Hundi. That way we will all be happy”
“Yes Dad, it seems there is such option to break a promise made before Lord Venkateswara” – said Pappu.
“Granma is older and experienced than you in these matters”.
“Kanna, pappu, please listen” – I said.
“A promise is a vow that one makes to self. Lord Venkateswara is only a witness, so that you get the energy and determination to fulfill the vow. Since you made a promise you need to fulfill it. If you don’t fulfill it, your conscience and your Self will get hurt. You will never again be able to fight with determination for vows that you take. You will lose your battles half-heartedly” – I said. “No I won’t allow that to happen, even if it means I cannot talk to one of you for the rest of my life”.
11 AM Sunday
“Dad.. please Dad” – said Pappu. “Please give us a way out. Dad we don’t want this ugly bet and ugly promise. We want to forget this promise”
“There is no way pappu” – I said, as my voice choked. “Life gives us several hard lessons. We should not run away from these lessons. We should face them and go through them. Yes, they are tough. But it would lead to our betterment.”
“ Discuss between yourself and Kanna and tell me what to do. Should I buy a pen or not..? There is only 30 minutes left. If I buy, you cannot talk to me forever again. If I don’t, Kanna cannot talk to me forever” – I continued
11: 15 AM Sunday
“Dad I thought about it. You buy that pen for Kanna. It is available in the next door shop. Go. Hurry up. Do it now itself. We have just 15 minutes. Buy that pen and give it to Kanna.” – said Pappu.
Her voice broke. Tears welled up in her eyes. She started sobbing. “Even though it means you won’t talk to me again” – Pappu started crying full-fledged.
“Go.. Get up.. Go now” – Pappu pushed me out of house amidst her cries. “Kanna is too young and he needs your love and guidance more than me. I will manage somehow. Go dad.. Go now” - she sobbed
I went out of the house to buy that god-damned ‘Rs.500’ Parker pen.
11:25 AM Sunday
I bought that Parker Pen from next door shop and kept it in the Pooja room.
Kanna and Pappu huddled themselves together near the dining table. They were crying and sobbing. The house was dark even in that noon time.
I went near them and threw my hands around them. I could not control my emotions.
“I know it is tough. You may also think it is unnecessary and too stringent. In one way it looks like much ado about noghing. But it is not. Remember we are fulfilling the promise we made. I think we should go through this pain for life. No other way. This would give us several lessons. May be that is the will..” – I said.
“Can the time not stop here itself” – said Kanna as he looked at the clock. The Minute hand bent itself pointing at 5.
“That hand should break. It should never become straight and reach six” – As he said that Kanna started crying uncontrollably. “No pa.. I don’t want this pen. You don’t talk to me. Talk to Pappu” – he cried.
11: 29 AM Sunday
Kanna and Pappu clung around my shoulders.
It was as if the demon of time was chasing them and they have taken refuge in their Dad’s shoulders.
They were crying, sobbing and repenting for their foolish promise that has landed them in misery in a dark corner of the room.
Suddenly Pappu sprang up and rushed inside her room. She started throwing books from her almirah out frantically.
“Are you searching for something..?” – I asked. I was worried about if Pappu got stressed.
“Here it is “ – shouted Pappu. “It is the paper pa on which we wrote our bet.” – she said.
She read that piece of paper again. Her face brightened. She rushed to the Pooja room and picked up the Parker Pen from there. She came running towards me and said “Dad, here hold this pen”.
As I took possession of the pen, she started searching for something in her pocket. She could not get it.
“What do you want me to do now..?“ – I asked.
“I kept it in my pocket. I had taken it from my savings yesterday to buy a Parker pen for myself, in case you bought him alone a Pen” – she said “Now it is not here. I don’t know what to do..” – She started weeping loudly.
“I realize I am a bad person. That’s why these things are happening to me. I can't buy this pen when I need it badly..”
I just did not understand what she was saying. 'Has pappu gone crazy..?"- I thought..
11: 29: 50 AM, Sunday
Kanna started searching for that something. I did not know what they were searching for.
“Hey here it is ..” – said Kanna “As you pulled the pocket out, it should have fallen from your pocket”. Kanna picked a Rs. 500 note from a corner of the floor.
Pappu plucked the Parker pen out of my hands and thrusted the 500 rupee note. “Dad the pen is mine now. It is mine. I have given you Rs.500 for the pen from my savings”.
She then turned around to Kanna and said “Kanna, this is the pen I am giving you as gift. Take this”. As confused Kanna took the pen in his hands, Pappu said “Kanna, as per your promise, you got the pen. Hence you are free to talk to Dad and Mom”.
“What about yourself..?” – asked a concerned Kanna.
“I promised that if Dad or Mom bought the pen for you, then I won’t talk to them. They did not buy you a pen. I only bought it, right..?” – said Pappu. “ I remembered, I promised exactly the same words that we wrote in the bet. I went and checked now. I had a solution. If I get a pen to Kanna instead of Dad or Mom getting him the pen, then we neither violate the promise nor have to stop talking..”
She hugged me tight and said “Now I can talk to Dad and Mom always, till I live”. As she said that tears flowed down her eyes. “I will never make a Ugly bet or promise again”
The bent ‘minute-hand’ of the clock straightened itself pointing at '6'.
-TBT
“Challenge.?” – asked Kanna. “I can get that Rs.500 parker pen..”
“No..” – shouted Pappu. “How can they pamper you like that. .? I won’t allow it to happen” .
Pappu is six years older than Kanna and just crossed seventeen. Still Kanna is her only brother and playmate till now. They both share everything amongst themselves, at least till now.
“Why..? They got you an expensive watch now. Every diwali you get very expensive dress. I get an ordinary one. Ofcourse I am not interested in such things. But if you can be pampered, why not me for a pen..?” – retorted kanna
“I asked Dad. He said he would get it if I promise him to do Sandhya Vandanam everyday without fail” – Kanna continued.
“Challenge’da..?” – said Pappu. “I will never allow it to happen. You want to take a bet..?”
“Bet..?” – Kannna’s eyes widened. He has been ingrained with an idea that betting is bad. “No.. no, Dad and Mom would blast us, if they come to know about it”
“If they come to know” – said Pappu. “Write in a piece of paper what I dictate. We both will sign at the end. Let’s keep this bet to ourselves”.
Kanna started writing whatever Pappu dictated. And then they both signed at the end.
The Bet
8PM Saturday
As I returned home from work, Kanna came running.
“Please pa.. Please pa..I promise pa. I would do Sandhya Vandanam every day pa. Please get me that Parker pen, please” – pleaded Kanna. “I am not asking for a dress or watch or some such thing. It is only for writing and learning. “
“No Dad” – said Pappu. “For writing, you don’t need a Rs.500 pen. He just wants to show-off. Don’t pamper him and spoil him”
“Definitely Not” – I said “I won’t pamper him. You are right. Rs.500 pen is not needed for writing. But it is just a silly desire. There is nothing wrong in fulfilling such things, if possible. It is just fun”
“So you will pamper him and get that pen to him..?” – asked an angry pappu. “Whenever I ask for something , you give me big lectures on saving money. But now when Kanna asks you are ready. You don’t worry about money..”
“No.. never.. I treat you both equally” – I said exasperatedly.
“No. Since he is your Son, I think you are pampering him. During my fifth standard, when I asked for a Re.1 Vicks chocolate, you gave me a 30 minutes lecture. Do you remember that..? Now you are pampering Kanna”- said a visibly angry Pappu. “You are spoiling him”
“Please Pappu” – I pleaded “Yes. You talk about that incident often. Please understand. I had admonished you at that time as we were in a tight position that time, that month. We were on a loan and conserving every paise during those periods. Last month you asked me for a watch and I got you more expensive one than you asked. It is all about affordability. Is it not..?”
“No Dad” – said Pappu “I promise Dad. I promise before this Lord Venkateshwara. If you or Mom get him that Rs.500 pen, I would never talk to you or Mom again”.
Pappu made a dramatic promise. She spoke loud with voice full of anger. Her nose became pink with a rush of
blood.
Kanna who was a silent spectator till now realized that Pappu had cornered me and he could lose out.
“No..” – shouted Kanna. “This is unfair. You cannot make this promise after our bet. If you make such a promise, then I will also make a counter promise. Dad I promise before Lord Venkateswara. If I don’t get that Rs. 500 parker pen before 11:30 am tomorrow, I will never talk to you people again” .
“What is this 11:30 am business..? Can I know..?” – I asked
“Dad, I and Pappu made a bet that if you or Mom give me a Rs.500 parker pen before 11:30 am tomorrow, Pappu will give her savings to me. Otherwise I will give my savings to her” – said Kanna.
“Do you know what you people have done..?” – I shouted.
“You have taken an ugly bet and followed it by an uglier promise. Whoever wins, the family peace and harmony will get destroyed” - I shouted on top of my voice.
I sulked in a chair with a terribly pale face. I could not understand how these two kids could get into such an Ugly bet and Uglier promise. I saw no way out of their bet and promise.
“Why..?” – asked Pappu. “Don’t buy your son that pen. That is all. Even if Kanna gives his savings to me, I will give it back to him. Nothing will happen”
“No, But you people just made a promise that you won’t talk to me. If I get the pen, pappu will not talk to me. If I do not get the pen, Kanna will talk to me.” – I said. “You have landed yourself and our entire family in soup with Lord Venkateswara as the witness.”.
We were all silent for sometime. The magnanimity of the situation sank inside all of us, slowly. Every moment looked an eon to me.
“This is the classical Mahabharata Bet and Promise wherein Individual desires ride over family and self is placed above society. Whoever wins the whole family is destroyed. Do you understand the gravity of the situation..? You people, by your greediness have put the happiness of family on pyre. Whoever wins, pyre will be lit” – I said.
“I am ashamed of you people. I am ashamed of myself that I grew such people like you”
8 AM Sunday
“Dad…” – called Kanna and Pappu in Chorus .
“Last night we talked about our bet. We decided to cancel the bet. Hence the promise is also cancelled” – said Pappu.
“Common pappu” – I said. “If you can cancel something at will or take it back then what is a promise..? You can very well cancel the bet. But you need to abide by the promise you made before Lord Venkateswara. Otherwise what is in a promise..?”
“But.. but that is not possible Dad” – said Pappu “As you said yesterday, if u get the parker pen to Kanna, I should not talk to you forever. If you don’t get it, Kanna should not talk to you forever. We don’t want that Dad. We are sorry”.
“You should have thought about it before you made the promise. You have given your word. Even if you don’t follow it, I would need to follow it. It is really hurting.. pappu..” – I said.
“With every passing moment, the cruelness of your promise hurts me. Decide amongst yourself what I should do and then I should never talk to one of you for life”.
My voice broke as I spoke the last few words.
10 AM Sunday
“Dad, I checked up with Granma” – said Kanna “She says we can break the promise and put penalty money in Srivari Hundi. That way we will all be happy”
“Yes Dad, it seems there is such option to break a promise made before Lord Venkateswara” – said Pappu.
“Granma is older and experienced than you in these matters”.
“Kanna, pappu, please listen” – I said.
“A promise is a vow that one makes to self. Lord Venkateswara is only a witness, so that you get the energy and determination to fulfill the vow. Since you made a promise you need to fulfill it. If you don’t fulfill it, your conscience and your Self will get hurt. You will never again be able to fight with determination for vows that you take. You will lose your battles half-heartedly” – I said. “No I won’t allow that to happen, even if it means I cannot talk to one of you for the rest of my life”.
11 AM Sunday
“Dad.. please Dad” – said Pappu. “Please give us a way out. Dad we don’t want this ugly bet and ugly promise. We want to forget this promise”
“There is no way pappu” – I said, as my voice choked. “Life gives us several hard lessons. We should not run away from these lessons. We should face them and go through them. Yes, they are tough. But it would lead to our betterment.”
“ Discuss between yourself and Kanna and tell me what to do. Should I buy a pen or not..? There is only 30 minutes left. If I buy, you cannot talk to me forever again. If I don’t, Kanna cannot talk to me forever” – I continued
11: 15 AM Sunday
“Dad I thought about it. You buy that pen for Kanna. It is available in the next door shop. Go. Hurry up. Do it now itself. We have just 15 minutes. Buy that pen and give it to Kanna.” – said Pappu.
Her voice broke. Tears welled up in her eyes. She started sobbing. “Even though it means you won’t talk to me again” – Pappu started crying full-fledged.
“Go.. Get up.. Go now” – Pappu pushed me out of house amidst her cries. “Kanna is too young and he needs your love and guidance more than me. I will manage somehow. Go dad.. Go now” - she sobbed
I went out of the house to buy that god-damned ‘Rs.500’ Parker pen.
11:25 AM Sunday
I bought that Parker Pen from next door shop and kept it in the Pooja room.
Kanna and Pappu huddled themselves together near the dining table. They were crying and sobbing. The house was dark even in that noon time.
I went near them and threw my hands around them. I could not control my emotions.
“I know it is tough. You may also think it is unnecessary and too stringent. In one way it looks like much ado about noghing. But it is not. Remember we are fulfilling the promise we made. I think we should go through this pain for life. No other way. This would give us several lessons. May be that is the will..” – I said.
“Can the time not stop here itself” – said Kanna as he looked at the clock. The Minute hand bent itself pointing at 5.
“That hand should break. It should never become straight and reach six” – As he said that Kanna started crying uncontrollably. “No pa.. I don’t want this pen. You don’t talk to me. Talk to Pappu” – he cried.
11: 29 AM Sunday
Kanna and Pappu clung around my shoulders.
It was as if the demon of time was chasing them and they have taken refuge in their Dad’s shoulders.
They were crying, sobbing and repenting for their foolish promise that has landed them in misery in a dark corner of the room.
Suddenly Pappu sprang up and rushed inside her room. She started throwing books from her almirah out frantically.
“Are you searching for something..?” – I asked. I was worried about if Pappu got stressed.
“Here it is “ – shouted Pappu. “It is the paper pa on which we wrote our bet.” – she said.
She read that piece of paper again. Her face brightened. She rushed to the Pooja room and picked up the Parker Pen from there. She came running towards me and said “Dad, here hold this pen”.
As I took possession of the pen, she started searching for something in her pocket. She could not get it.
“What do you want me to do now..?“ – I asked.
“I kept it in my pocket. I had taken it from my savings yesterday to buy a Parker pen for myself, in case you bought him alone a Pen” – she said “Now it is not here. I don’t know what to do..” – She started weeping loudly.
“I realize I am a bad person. That’s why these things are happening to me. I can't buy this pen when I need it badly..”
I just did not understand what she was saying. 'Has pappu gone crazy..?"- I thought..
11: 29: 50 AM, Sunday
Kanna started searching for that something. I did not know what they were searching for.
“Hey here it is ..” – said Kanna “As you pulled the pocket out, it should have fallen from your pocket”. Kanna picked a Rs. 500 note from a corner of the floor.
Pappu plucked the Parker pen out of my hands and thrusted the 500 rupee note. “Dad the pen is mine now. It is mine. I have given you Rs.500 for the pen from my savings”.
She then turned around to Kanna and said “Kanna, this is the pen I am giving you as gift. Take this”. As confused Kanna took the pen in his hands, Pappu said “Kanna, as per your promise, you got the pen. Hence you are free to talk to Dad and Mom”.
“What about yourself..?” – asked a concerned Kanna.
“I promised that if Dad or Mom bought the pen for you, then I won’t talk to them. They did not buy you a pen. I only bought it, right..?” – said Pappu. “ I remembered, I promised exactly the same words that we wrote in the bet. I went and checked now. I had a solution. If I get a pen to Kanna instead of Dad or Mom getting him the pen, then we neither violate the promise nor have to stop talking..”
She hugged me tight and said “Now I can talk to Dad and Mom always, till I live”. As she said that tears flowed down her eyes. “I will never make a Ugly bet or promise again”
The bent ‘minute-hand’ of the clock straightened itself pointing at '6'.
-TBT
