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    Unrealized Ambitions & Other Stories
    Unrealized Ambitions & Other Stories
    Unrealized Ambitions & Other Stories
    Ebook105 pages1 hour

    Unrealized Ambitions & Other Stories

    By Raja Sharma

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    About this ebook

    “What is your name?”

    “Woman.”

    “Age?”

    “Four hours, twenty minutes, and eleven seconds,” said Dolly looking at the wall clock behind the doctor.

    “Have you come alone?”

    The doctor gave her first-aid and wrote something on a piece of paper. He called a peon and sent Dolly with him. She was referred to a psychiatrist. It was obvious that they thought she was insane.

    Outside the doctor’s cabin, many patients were sitting in a row of chairs. Dolly occupied a seat and began to hum.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRaja Sharma
    Release dateDec 31, 2011
    ISBN9781465904409
    Unrealized Ambitions & Other Stories
    Author

    Raja Sharma

    Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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      Book preview

      Unrealized Ambitions & Other Stories - Raja Sharma

      Unrealized Ambitions & Other Stories

      By Raja Sharma

      Copyright@2011 Raja Sharma

      Smashwords Edition

      All Rights Reserved.

      Chapter 1: Back to Social Cage

      That must have been a strange day when she decided to take that unprecedented decision, for she had been silently bearing all the atrocities, without ever uttering a word of protest. Her fate had been sealed by her parents when she was sent away with a husband, double her age. His only virtue was his extreme richness. She had been suffering for long but now she had taken a strong decision to seek at least one day’s freedom from that social cage.

      There was a parrot in a cage hanging in her bedroom. Her husband loved that parrot very much. The parrot used to imitate the sounds made by the inmates of the house. That day, immediately after waking up, she unlocked the door of the cage and freed the bird. The bird came out timidly but after a while it flew out of the window into a new world of liberty.

      She had never tried to bring disrespect to her in-laws and her parents but the things had been quite unbearable of late.

      She descended the stairs hurriedly and looked at the people sitting in the drawing room. They were having tea, busily talking about their problems of everyday reality, though most of the problems were their own creations but they were endeavouring to prove superiority over each other by coming up with instant solutions. She paused for a second and then began to whistle, not paying attention to the people there, almost behaving like a stranger. She began to walk towards the outer door.

      When they saw her, they were shocked because she was in her night dress, hair disheveled, and face unwashed. She had never presented herself without a proper dress whenever she appeared in front of her father-in-law and other senior members of the Gupta family. She was the daughter-in-law and her sudden appearance there was shocking because the elders were supposed to be respected and she was supposed to cover her head with her shawl in front of them. But she did not pay attention to them and continued walking. Her whistling was the most shocking revelation to them.

      She was in her mood, quite unknown to all of them. She came onto the porch and reached near the car.

      Dolly Gupta remembered that as a child she had often been dominated by her elder brothers. They used to come out of the house together; they would be whistling while picking their bicycles to go to the football ground. She wanted to whistle too and go with them but they would pull her inside the house and lock her in a room. She used to remain in that room for many hours but her parents never tried to free her. Her mother, though a loving woman, loved her sons more and often neglected her. Dolly was supposed to behave like other girls but she was more interested in games and sports which boys played. As a result, she had to be caged, and sometimes beaten by her elder brothers and often by her mother. She could never say that childhood happens to be a glorious period in a person’s life. In fact, she wanted to erase every single memory of her childhood and find a new world for herself.

      Now she was Mrs. Dolly Gupta, the wife of Mr. Ramesh Gupta, a very rich businessman. When she reached the car, she found that the car was locked. The car had been gifted to her for her services which she provided to her husband in bed, and she was not ashamed of that. She was happy that she was worth at least that much. She whistled again and gestured to her husband. He was supposed to come to her to give her the car-keys but today he did not get up from the sofa, maybe too timid to get up in the presence of his parents and other elders present in the drawing room.

      Mr. Gupta looked worried and angry and he said, What is all this? Why aren’t you dressed properly?

      She knew that he was trying to show his manhood in front of his people. She knew how much of a man he was! He licked her feet at night, licked her spit, and begged her on his knees. But, today, in the daylight he had changed his colours. Dolly wanted to shout at him and open his secrets loudly in front of the people present there but something held her back.

      He came near her and got hold of her arm; though she tried to resist, he pushed her inside the house. She staggered and controlled herself. Her anger was beyond control and it burst out, Bastard! She slapped her husband very hard on his face. It was totally unexpected and he immediately retreated. Dolly kicked the car-door and ran towards the main gate.

      Guards! Catch her! shouted Mr. Gupta.

      Now Dolly began to run, beyond the reach of anybody. She did not want to be caught to be kept inside that house. She did not want to miss one day’s liberty. It had taken her many months to come to this decision. She was happy that it was her own decision and she was on her own, with no one to order or guide her.

      Her former friends and relatives thought that she was very lucky, for she had found a very rich husband but she knew well how fortunate she was. Her impotent husband had treated her like an item that was kept on display in the rich society. The tag, Mrs. Gupta, had been forced upon her, though she was happy as Dolly.

      Having left the house, she entered a congested locality and she did not know how many streets and by lanes she crossed. Since it was office going time, people were hurrying on their way, children were going to schools, and vendors were selling their goods on the pavements.

      Dolly thought about women who must be washing, cleaning, or cooking in their houses, having suffered the physical torture given by their husbands. They were confined like her too. She spat angrily onto the ground. Suddenly, her eyes fell on a tea-stall by the road. She wanted to have a cup of tea. Women usually don’t visit such tea stalls because rowdies and eve-teasers crowd those tea-stalls whence they pass dirty comments to the girls and women passing by.

      Dolly stopped in front of the tea-stall and said, Give me a tea and a packet of biscuits.

      She did not mind the presence of the young men there and she began to hum. This particular act of hers was enough to convince the young men that she was not like other girls, she was really something. Some of them passed comments which she took very lightly.

      The shopkeeper gave her a cup of tea and biscuits. She seated herself on a wooden bench and kept the tea on table in front of her. A fellow from a nearby table said, Where are you coming from?

      From her lover’s bed! added another of the customers.

      Dolly smiled and said, Yes, you are right! But, how do you know?

      We are your lovers too, will you come with us? said one of them and caught her arm in his firm grip and kissed her hand.

      Dolly replied, No, not today. Some other day.

      Give me a kiss and I will pay for the tea, said one of them.

      "No, you are too

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