Agape & Eros

Guidance

Ram went downstairs. His friends were waiting at the bar to meet him. 

Bri- Ram, is Priya alright now? 

Ram- She was dehydrated. She's asleep. Doctor put her on saline. I am such a fool.

Adi- Why are you blaming yourself, Ram? She didn't eat properly. What could you do here? 

Ram- It wasn't her fault. She couldn't eat, she couldn't wear Mom's gifts.  

Kunal- What do you mean? 

Ram- Mitu maami taunted her again over those diamond bangles. 

Bri- And Priya was insulted and hurt. 

Ram- Yes. 

Bri- I knew it. Gaadhein ho tum sab. Priya ko aab take samajh hi nahi paayein. She has tolerated a lot. She still is. 

Adi- Sorry, yaar. Maine bhi kya kya socha uske baare me.

Ram- I wanted to protect her honor. That was the least I could do for her. I failed. But I don't know how to stop Mitu mami without being rude to her. 

Bri- You are still contemplating being rude? Haalat dekhi Priya ki? 

Ram- Yes. But what should I say? If I say something now Mitu mami will say that Priya manipulated me. I don't get this family politics very well. Bri, suggest me something. 6 saal se isse aur iski family ko to jhel raha hain na tu?

Adi- Ram, my family is much better than yours. 

Ram- I am sure they are still a headache to Bri. Right, Bri?

Bri- Umm... Mild headache. 

Kunal- And Ram's family is migraine for Priya. 

Vikrant- Listen, Ram. Leave it now. You should eat something. 

Adi- Haa. Subha se tu bhi to bhooka tha na mere vai. 

They all eat together with Ram. Their dinner table discussion was about how to handle Mitu mami. They couldn't find out a way. As none of them possessed a criminal mind. 

After dinner, they opened a bottle of champagne and started gossiping. Their serious discussion quickly escalated into jokes and laughter, thanks to Adi and Vikrant. Ram was standing near the table. He was in a gloomy mood. Bri walked toward him. 

Bri- Ram, Mainu twadde nal kuch gaal karni si. Utthe chalo.

Ram- Mere naal? Ok.

Adi- Yahi baat karo na. Hum bhi sune. 

Ram- Girl wants to do gaal. 

Bri- Adi, sit down. 

Adi sat down. Kunal and Vikrant laughed out loud. Bri and Ram went to the other side of the dining hall. 

Bri- Listen, Ram. There's no politically correct move. You can't save all sides here. You have to choose a side. 

Ram- But I am not used to saying harsh things to my family. You know that. 

Bri- Yeah, I know that. But if you want to protect Priya, you'll have to protest somehow. 

Ram kept staring at the floor. 

Bri- And another thing, Ram. I know you consider Priya to be your friend, but she's your wife. We don't know her well. We know her through you. Complaining about her to us will do no good. We won't be able to give you any solution because we don't know her. On the contrary, we will join in your biwi bashing. Do you get it? Are you understanding what I am trying to say? 

Ram- Yeah, I get it. Actually, my life was an open book to you. I shared everything with you. So, that habit persisted. But I shouldn't have done that. I bashed Priya for no reason at all. 

Bri- In the future, if you face such problems you should talk to her. Communication is really important in a successful marriage. Look at me and Adi. We argue and we fight. Ek dusre ko kuch bhi bol dete hain. Apni dil mein kuch nahi rakhte. That's why we have a better understanding. Our bond is unbreakable. I know, Adi still does the biwi bashing. But even I bash him. Our relationship is like that. And Adi bashes me only in front you guys, who probably know me better than me. But Priya, she is really different. She's quite soft actually and easily misunderstood. And I raised you to be better than Adi, ok? So, no biwi bashing. 

Ram- Ok, meri maa. I won't do it ever again. Jo man me ayega sidha Priya ko jaake bolunga. 

Bri- Good. I know this is tough for you. You don't have a parental figure in life who would teach you about this. But don't worry. Mein meri jaan ko hamesha support karungi, aur guide bhi. 

Bri hugged Ram. and patted him on back. 

Ram- Vikrant is right. Tum dono hi ho mere bhaai behen, aur maa baap. What would I do without you and Adi? 

Bri- You would be a complete mess. Aab bhi thoda ho. But without us, you'd become completely messed up. 

They both laughed together. After a few minutes, Ram's friend took their leave. Ram entered their room. He sat beside Priya and put his hand on her forehead. 

Ram- Waha tumhara tabiyat kharap hain, aur yaha mera halat. 

He kept caressing her hair leaning on the headrest. Slowly he fell asleep without knowing. 

*

Adi and Bri were on their way home. Bri was driving the car. 

Adi- Ram looked really helpless today. 

Bri- Yeah. He never expected his family to behave in such a way. 

Adi- He has only learned to love his family unconditionally and never to think ill of them. He is still a kid in his mind. Apart from business and taking care of his family, his world revolved around food and rain. He never protested for himself. How is he gonna do it all? 

Bri- He'll have to learn, Adi. This isn't how life works. He can't make everyone happy around him. He shouldn't. He should not care about those leeches in his house. It is high time he became tough. But unfortunately, he doesn't have anyone to teach him that. 

Adi- Yeah, he lost his mom at such a young age. And then uncle got busy with his business and new family. Whenever he got some time to spend with Ram, he wanted to pamper him. 

Bri- Yeah. And uncle couldn't find time to teach him life lessons. He passed away so early. And that Nandini aunty...

Adi- Ram doesn't believe it, but she raised him up to be weak so that she can exploit him easily.

Bri- Exactly. We are all he has. We should guide him, Adi. 

Adi- You are right, baby. We will always be there for Ram. 

Bri- And for Priya too. You may be still skeptical about her but she is not that different from Ram. 

Adi- But her rude demeanor...

 Bri- Puts you off. I know. That's because Priya has a different coping mechanism. Ram lets everyone exploit himself. But Priya learned to protect herself. To protect her family from the evil world. Priya had a tough life too. I guess tougher than Ram. She didn't have the luxury to be naive and soft. 

Adi- Perhaps you are right. 

Bri- I am always right. Dekh lena tum.