Crime and Punishment

SHORT STORY

Crime and Punishment

Dr. Sanhita Kanungo

‘Papa ,I like this one’ Nikita said. Vikas looked at her distractedly.They were buying a Mother’s day cake for Swati. It was a surprise for her mother and Nikita was very excited. He paid for the extravagantly pink and red hued decorated velvet cake and left the store. Nikita kept chattering and he nodded at her absently. It was the same every year,this day and it was getting worse. Alcohol had helped once but after his stormy separation and subsequent reconciliation, with his wife, he had given it up. He wondered if he should consult a psychiatrist but was scared about inadvertently opening up a can of worms. He could see his father glaring at him, angry at his weakness, from heaven. No, that man was in hell for sure. He shrugged off his feelings and drove home, smiling at his excited daughter. ‘She’ too would have been a mother, being celebrated by her children. She was so beautiful and full of life. Life was full of plans for her. She was of middle class and rather humble background , her parents were both teachers in the government school. But she never lacked any comforts. And she gave her parents back, in pride. A brilliant student, artist and dancer. She could have become anything but chose to join medicine.And that is where he met her, his short lived dream. He had joined the Bharatpur Medical college which had a state of the art Radiodiagnosis department. He was much lower down in the merit list and would not actually have been eligible for Radiodiagnosis at all. But he had his ‘dear Dad’ to pull strings and get it done. His life was smooth. He deserved less but managed to get everything. A large plot of land had already been bought and construction started for a state of the art Radiodiagnosis unit and hospital, no expenses spared. He just had to get his MD. His professors adored him. They were wined and dined by his Dad. The gathering of the rich and the famous in the parties, meant that he was given special attention in his department by the faculty who wanted to be in the right side of the right people. He remembered meeting Vinita in the canteen. She smiled at him and said..’oh you are the Richie Rich’. He coloured up but there was no venom in her words as she kept chatting normally. They went around discussing about Doppler studies and other USG topics. He met her again and again. She was doing her post graduation in Obgyn and was a favourite among all for her skills, brains and temperament. He could have showered his wealth on her but she hated that. He knew about her humble background and made sure, that she was comfortable. They were unofficially engaged as was the norm in the Medical college but discussion about the future could wait. Life went on in the whirl of duties, classes, thesis preparation and the romance took a comfortable pace in their lives. He had gone home for Diwali. Professor Diwan and his garrulous wife were present in the Lakshmi Puja gathering. As she kept chattering with his parents, his heart sank. His mother stared at him with irritation. His dad didn’t even look at him. The celebrations continued well into the night. The summons came the next morning. His father informed him that he was engaged to the daughter of his business partner, Vikas always knew that. It was business and everything was intricately woven up. Property, business interests, politics and family. She, Swati was studying hospital administration in Pune. He had nothing to worry about. She was smart, attractive and their life would be perfect together. The blessings of their well connected and wealthy families would be with them. They could go abroad for their fellowships and their hospital would be waiting for them. It was good for young married couples to have some time on their own after their wedding, his Dad smirked. As he tried to tell his father about Vinita, his father looked at him and said ‘Beta, she can be one in a million but she is not for you. Her parents are not of our caste or of our background. Be practical. Life has to be planned,you will do the same for your children. We are setting a date for November. Let her know..’ Vikas went on with his life as was, before this interlude. He met Vinita as usual and asked her, if he could meet with her parents. Wedding plans were being discussed and he stopped all communication with home. His cousin Ankita called him one day. Her father had been diagnosed with Stage II lung cancer. They were supposed to go to Mumbai but Ankita was pregnant and had been advised against travel. Could he go for just a few days, her husband who was in Singapore would relieve him after a week. Mousa was his kindred soul and he reassured Ankita. He would definitely accompany Mousa, Ankita should relax. Bhaskar, his portly brother in law, met him in the hotel lobby after a week and thanked him profusely for his help. Mousa had been operated but the chemotherapy and follow up would take some time. They discussed about the treatment over lunch. Bhaskar was very excited to be a Dad finally. They had been trying for years. Vikas promised to look in on Ankita regularly as he left to pack for his flight back to Bharatpur. He yawned as he sat in his window seat as the flight crew went through the safety drill and slept throughout the journey. As his phone awoke with him, in the airport, 136 messages flashed in his screen. No..it was a nightmare. Who could do this? Kill Vinita? Smother, assault, kill? Rakesh Kumar? Never..he was her friend and a gentle person who would never do anything like this. What drivel in the newspaper.. As he reached the campus, there were policemen, cameras, ministers, students, teachers,mobs everywhere. Rakesh and a GDA were arrested. He would never forget the hunted look on Rakesh’s face as he was led away. He tried to tell people but nobody listened or even looked at him. It was as if he never knew Vinita , let alone be engaged.. The papers were full of the villiany of a jealous rejected suitor story. Dr Rakesh, who had paid a large sum of money to the GDA Satnam his accomplice in this despicable crime.Satnam confessed to everything… the killing and assault. Rakesh was from Darbhanga, he was the eldest of many siblings of a poor family and had enormous responsibilities towards them. He was intelligent, hardworking, rustic, friendly.. and the scapegoat. Vikas knew who was responsible. His paternal fingerprint of power, wealth and coercion were all over the place. He was rendered invisible by his family’s wealth and power. With time, the case fell apart. Palms were greased, conspiracies were hatched. The culprits were set free but ostracized by society. Their dreams turned to dust and they lived their lives in obscurity. Vikas finished his Post-graduation and left for Delhi. He had to marry Swati as there were business dilemmas, as his brother told him. Vikas never looked at his father, nor spoke with him till his death. His unwillingness to go to Australia for his fellowship was a sore point with his family and Swati’s too. He did his FNB from Delhi and joined government service. They had hospitals and clinics but it would be years before he joined them. His marriage with Swati was tumultuous from the outset with his problems with alcohol and depression. He had daily nightmares and continuously relived those months and days.Blood, noise, crowds, Dad, Vinita, Rakesh and Satnam. Crime and punishment and guilt. But, Life goes on as his did. Rishi and Nikita entered his. Beautiful, innocent tiny little human twins, his own. They ensnared his heart and soul. He reconciled with Swati and moved back in. He was now a father. But he never forgave his father till death did them part. They shared the sordid secret as did his family, maybe Swati’s too. Vinita remained an unsolved case file and Rakesh a doctor in a far flung health center in Bihar. The month of May was cruel. They celebrated their twins birthday, Swati’s birthday , Mother’s day and then, this day of mourning ..of the dream that never was ,which was exclusively his to mourn. As he parked his Mercedes in the garage of his grand mansion and watched his beautiful daughter rush in with the cake, another angelic face smiled at him .”.Oh so you are The Richie Rich”. He smiled at the memory, brushed away the tears and walked in to his family

Dr Sanhita Kanungo lives in Kolkata and is a medical professional. She is an avid reader and is an observer of the complexities of modern life.

Crime and Punishment

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