Hatred

There is no greater glory than love, nor any greater punishment than jealousy,' goes the oft-quoted saying. Life was such. Raghav and my friend Indranil have been great pals since childhood.

We went to the same playgroup and then the same school. We grew up loving and caring for each other selflessly. There was healthy competition between us and there was no jealousy. If one failed to achieve something which the other did then the one who failed did never feel deprived. People were surprised to see the amazing 'chemistry' in our friendship.

We represented our school in all the games. But we hit it off as partners in tennis and badminton. Jointly we brought many laurels for our beloved institution.

Sometimes we were aware of evil conspiracy around us to break our solid bond. But they failed. Because we knew that unity is strength and we will succeed together.

Our school life came to an end. It was full of glory with many achievements to our credit both in academics and sports.

Then we went to different colleges but our subject was common and that was Law. After our graduation, we enrolled in the bar council and started our practice of law.

At the court, we frequently saw each other and interacted. But due to our busy lives, we couldn't freely mix and talk. Sometimes when challenging cases came our way we however took out time to speak to each other. Sometimes we spoke over the phone but rarely met.

Then there came a divorce case and we both represented the respective clients but opposite to one other. This case would change our lives irreversibly. I won the case for the lady whom I represented and I could get her demand of the alimony she wanted.

Indranil lost the case for the husband. But strangely, the lady who had won became friends with Indranil. After a courtship of a few months, they got married. The ex-husband couldn't digest the fact of the marriage and now teamed up with me to file a case of damages against Indranil. Initially, I resisted going for an outright battle with my dear friend. But my client kept on provoking me and slighting my legal acumen. So I succumbed to his pressure and accepted the challenge of fighting his case. In fact, for the first time, I felt jealous of my friend Indranil because he had bagged a beautiful lady as his wife.

My client kept provoking me by saying that as I had won the divorce case for his wife then she should have married me instead of the opponent's lawyer. So outrageous the thought. He provoked the animal instincts in me and slowly I started getting jealous of my long-time friend Indranil. My client had all the qualities in him to drive a deep wedge in our rock-solid friendship. He had the money and power and he purchased me.

I could not think that I could change so soon and for the reason of a woman who was not even known to me. For the first time in my life of thirty-odd years, I felt jealousy and hatred develop in my thoughts.

The legal engagement continued for many years. No solutions came about. My client had a fat purse to continue his wicked ideas. My friend Indranil drained his resources.

After many years when nothing was coming out of the fight, my client still kept on pressing on the gas. Only I benefited monetarily, from the cost of so many hearings. My client felt happy seeing the depleting financial condition of his ex-wife, now the wife of my friend Indranil.

Then one day, Indranil's wife died. She had a massive cardiac arrest and passed away soon leaving behind a bereaved Indranil. But I could not look into the eyes of my friend. Though I visited the last rites of his wife. My client just vanished from the scene not to appear again in my life. He had come to sow the seed of hatred in my life.

My friendship with my dear friend Indranil had ended with remote chances of mending probably in this life. The cause was hatred.