The Three Commandments

“Lakshmi, how much more time do you need to get ready?” Janardan asked Lakshmi, his wife, who was busy getting ready for an outing. “Even at this age, you take so much time to get ready. The taxi is waiting for us.”

“Coming, 5 minutes please,” Lakshmi responds.

“Okay,” Janardan replies in a loving tone.

Janardan and his wife Lakshmi have been enjoying a retired life for the last 5 years. Their two children, Amit and Sumit are happily married and settled abroad. Janardan and Lakshmi sacrificed their joy, happiness, and privacy, for their children. Today they are well-settled and independent.

Since Amit and Sumit had gone abroad, they came to meet both parents only twice. While Janardan and Lakshmi went abroad only once to stay with their children. Primarily, their post-retirement benefits didn’t give them the luxury to keep visiting their children frequently as they desired.

Phone calls too were very occasional. As parents, their eyes always yearned to see their children and their ears longed to hear them call Papa and Mama. At times Lakshmi would express her feelings to Janardan but somehow Janardan maintained a stoic silence on his feelings. It is not that, he hasn’t got any feelings or that he didn’t wish that their children would come and see them once a year.

Janardan looked at his family photo where all four of them were together. The photo was taken before Amit left for America for higher studies. That family get-together never happened again. Janardan was quiet but his eyes spoke his feelings loud and clear. 

Hearing Lakshmi’s footsteps, he turns back. “Oho!, you look so pretty in this saree” Janardan compliments her with a smile. “Saree always suited you but somehow you mostly avoid wearing it.”

She walked towards Janardan and put her hand on his shoulder, “you know, I am not used to wearing a saree,” said Lakshmi to him. “I wore it today because I wanted to see that smile on your face.”

Janardan holds her hand. “Thanks, dear”. Her gesture brought tears to his eyes. He never forced her to wear a saree but deep in his heart, he always had this desire to see her wearing a saree. He always believed that of all the dresses, the saree is not only appealing but also gracious & a concoction of modernity & tradition.

“Aren’t we getting late,” Lakshmi pulls her hand out of his hand? “You are free to romance when we are back home.”

“Okay, Madam, as you wish.” Janardan takes the keys and steps out of their 2 BHK flat, Lakshminivas, which he had purchased in her name.

The taxi driver said something to Janardan. “Are you married?” Janardan asked the driver.

“No Saheb.” The driver replied with a smile.

“Beta, you will understand this much better when you get married.” Janardan chuckled and replied.

As the taxi stopped in front of the lawyer’s office, Lakshmi gave a confused looked at Janardan. “You said, we are off for an outing.” She said to Janardan. “What sort of an outing is this?”

“Have a small work to finish with the lawyer and then we will go straight ahead to the place that I had planned,” Janardan explains to her. 

Lakshmi wasn’t convinced. “Is there anything that I don’t know?”

 “Didn’t I tell you about the will, the other day?” Janardan reminded her.

“You did tell me about preparing a will,” Lakshmi replies. “But I am sure, we didn’t discuss anything about it and I even don’t know what is there in your mind.”

She was clueless about what decision he had taken. She was equally worried about the repercussions due to his decision. 

“Let us go inside, the lawyer is waiting for us.” Janardan requests Lakshmi.

“Good afternoon, Janardanji and Lakshmiji.” Mr. Alok Singhal, the lawyer, welcomes both. “Please have your seat.”

“Alokji is the will ready?” Janardan enquired.

“It is ready,” said Mr. Alok while taking out the will from his drawer. Mr. Alok hands it over to Janardan, with a request to go through it before getting it registered. 

Janardan glances at the file. “Show it to me,” Lakshmi asks Janardan. He was sure that if she reads it then she would become upset and sad. He wasn’t too happy when he asked Mr. Alok to prepare this will. It took months before he made up his mind. 

 “I have a meeting to attend in the bar council,” said Mr. Alok. “I will be back in an hour or so, in the meantime, both of you can go through the documents carefully”.

Lakshmi passed the papers to Janardan and asked him to do the reading. “I am not getting any positive vibes.” 

Janardan opens the file once again and begins to read it.

“In the will, I have put certain conditions, which our children would not have expected,” Janardan told Lakshmi. “But please, don’t get upset with me, even if I am doing it with a heavy heart.”

“Both of us will be donating our body to some hospital” Janardan reads out the first condition of the will. “Our body parts would be used by the students of anatomy. We spent our life sacrificing, so we will sacrifice our body too for a good cause.”

“No one, including our children or any relatives, should perform our first death anniversary rites.” Janardan continues reading out the conditions. “Let nobody remember us ever after our death. What is the point of remembering us after having left the world? If someone cares for us, then they should remember us while we are alive.”

Janardan starts choking. He takes the glass of water and drank it slowly so that he gets time to compose himself.

“The small house, in which we are living, is exclusively yours,” Janardan reads out the third condition. “We are living together and will die together. I don’t want to die first and leave you alone in this world. But if that happens, then our beloved Lakshminivas will be put on sale and the sale amount will be donated to an old age home, where either of us would be staying for the rest of our life, till death. Whatever money is left, will be utilized in taking care of those aged parents whose children have abandoned them in search of fame and wealth.

Lakshmi kept gazing at Janardan with watery eyes while he continues narrating the contents of the will.

“Why are you trying to be so cruel towards our kids,” Lakshmi asked him in a trembling voice as she never expected this. “You were not like this, rather you were a doting father, and I was the stricter amongst both of us.”

“I am still a doting father,” said Janardan to Lakshmi. “But why is it that, our children have forgotten us after they have found a life of their choice.”

“They must be very busy in their life.” Lakshmi justifies their actions. “Please forgive them for one last time.”

“Lakshmi, you are a mother and you defending your children is understandable,” Janardan replies. “But isn’t it equally important for them to remember us as their parents? Like every parent has a duty toward their children, the children too have a duty toward their parents. How long we should keep consoling ourselves for our children’s actions? Have they ever tried to know how we are surviving? Do we have any financial or health issues etc?”

Lakshmi didn’t have any answers to Janardan’s questions. Probably he was right. Their children were so busy that they forgot to enquire about their parent’s well-being. Whenever Janardan and Lakshmi had any problem, financial or otherwise, it was somehow managed by them, as their children had some excuse or the other for not being able to help them, when needed, both physically and financially.

Janardan never wanted any financial help from his children, all he wanted was emotional support.

His eyes became moist, and his voice choked. He was finding it difficult to finish reading the will. His emotions were not in his control, as he never expected life to take such a turn. He always dreamt of living a peaceful and satisfying life with Lakshmi and their children. He wipes his tears and drinks a glass of water to clear his throat. He keeps back the file on the lawyer’s table. 

Tears were continuously rolling out of Lakshmi’s eyes. She could feel the pain behind his voice while he read out the will. The lawyer enters his chamber after concluding the bar council meeting. Lakshmi wipes her tears hurriedly. “I am sure both of you would have gone through the will,” said Mr. Alok to them. “If it is okay, then both of you can sign it so that I can get it registered.”

Lakshmi looked at Janardan. Janardan could read her eyes. Her eyes pleaded with him against taking such a drastic step without giving their children one more chance to think about their behaviour toward their parents. Her motherly instincts had overpowered her mind and heart. She was unsure, whether she should sign the will or not. She feared permanent disassociation from her children. Every important incident from Amit’s and Sumit’s childhood till the time they both left their home in pursuit of a better future, was flashbacked within seconds.

“Lakshmi, what are you thinking?”

“Where should I sign?” Lakshmi asked the lawyer.

“You have to put your signatures on every page,” Mr. Alok explains to her.

Both Janardan and Lakshmi signed the will and handed it over to the lawyer for registration.

“Thanks a lot, Mr. Alok” Janardan shook hands with him before leaving his office. His hands were trembling because he did, which probably no father would have done to his children.

“Thanks, Mr. Janardan, and Ma’am. Well, I know, this will, is quite an unusual one, but as a lawyer, I cannot influence my client’s decision. I will initiate the registration process today itself and will inform you when to collect the documents”, said Mr. Alok to Janardan.

Both Janardan and Lakshmi walked back to the parking lot. They sat on a bench while waiting for the taxi. While Lakshmi was crying inconsolably & requested him to take her back home. Janardan too found it difficult to hide his emotions. It was like their world had shattered, for no fault of theirs.

Had their children been more considerate towards them, maybe Janardan and Lakshmi would have had a happier life. Parents sacrifice everything they have, including their happiness, comfort, time, efforts, etc for their children so that they can give them a bright future.

Children should also understand that whatever their parents do for them, is without any expectation, but if the children in return took their parents for granted, then, Janardan’s decision would be the right thing to do. 

Parents are the most beautiful creation and are God’s representatives on Earth. They do everything possible for their children’s comfort and their bright future. Now becomes the children’s duty to reciprocate the same in their old age when they need their support, love, and care in return.

The taxi driver picks them up from the pick-up point and drives them to their house, which was once a home for Janardan, Lakshmi, Amit, and Sumit.