The Bastard

A short, well engraved with words and delicately assembled thoughts runs around four souls, each hurt from inside, each wanting to be acclaimed, and eac wanting to be SAAF CHUPTAY BHI NAHI, SAMNAY AATEY BHI NAHI, I was stunned for some while, What a piece!

good writing as in i liked it.

best.

Very good work here!


Ras

nabendu,
very well written. as if real. u don;t have to tell that it`s not autobiographical. hope to read more such stuff.

Very well written. There is great power in a story simply told. Perhaps a different title would not have given away the ending.

Also, the dichotomy between a child`s world and an adult`s world is well brought out.

the title did finish the suspence.......but even with a different title i dont think the suspence wud be there.....the theme is an old one......and the mothers reaction doesnt make it more realistic or deep or whatever.......things were too obvious anyways.....nothing to fret about the characters....but i hope i was not too critical to discourage you.....see you with a new story soon.
ammara

Nabendu:

Nicely done.

This was an understanding between consenting adults it seems. The wife’s anger was the most interesting and layered aspect of the story for me. Bijoy-kaku served as a constant reminder of the reality of her life; a truth I imagine she would sooner forget.

Now being a bastard seems trendy but real snob value may come from being daughter/son of a brother or sister in a bizarre twist to Electra/ Oedipus complex.

The title does does give away the story. However, the story is nice.

Adding to what Hamidm and Beej were talking about; there is one more aspect which has probably been ignored. While I personally believe that adoption is a good thing to do, it is also true that it takes away a lot from the mother. The morning sickness, swelling up, being looked after, the need to be looked after, the baby kicking in the uterus, losing bladder control, all of this builds a connection between mother and child. Adoption takes that away.

When an impotent man lives with a VERY caring wife, I don`t see why he should be dominant. To me, the three decided to go ahead with this unusual arrangement to;

(a) Save the marriage
(b) The couple trusted Kaku
(c) Save the face of the impotent man

Cheers

Dear All

Just to clarify, this is NOT an autobiographical story.

I am the youngest of seven children and I grew up in Kolkata

It is not a real-life story of someone else, either.

It is purely fictional.

Re: # 22

oh. nevermind then.

Nicely written story. And the beauty is its simplicity.
The obvious title reduces the suspense... but had there been suspense, the story would have lost its simplicity.
The climax was the best part, where the protagonist says that he is at terms with reality. Perhaps because he loved his legal father, as well his mother, far too much, to hold them responsible for any kinds of weaknesses that they might have had. Perhaps he had forgiven his mother for not being the virtuous person that mothers are supposed to be; and his father too, for not being biologically capable of fathering him. Perhaps he had always known it deep down. Perhaps he had guessed it a long time back.
I do agree with hamidm, but its useless debating over such a non issue. And that too, with Beej, with his half-baked yet headstrong theories.

Great job, Nabendu. This is incredible.

#17 by hamidm2

Clearly, things are not easy for you – what with that adrak-eaten brain of yours!

[........ look, who cares why the poor woman jumped into bed - there could be a million reasons: impulse, depression, momentary insanity, a tiff with her husband, ``i am fed up with that impotent brahmin ba%4*rd``, too much adrak, a hormonal attack ............ people do stuff all the time that they can`t explain the morning after, …]

Clearly you are out of touch – this “story” is set in a village and hopping into bed is not the first thing most women do – they certainly do not take that act trivially – like you seem to imply women to, by that idiotic statement that ther could be a “million” reasons for it! (Do some simple math – if you are still capable of that act – one hopping a day would require 3,000 years to reach a figure of million.)

[........ and when it comes to sex .... let`s not even talk about it - the children might be listening !]
You will be surprised – at how much MORE knowledgeable the children can be., than somebody like…. like you!

[..... and what was the other thing ?........ oh, how could the woman love the child if she hated his biological father ?]
Don’t pull your smartypants trick on me by putting words in my mouth! Let me repeat:
“I also find it less than credible that a woman would hate the person who impregnated her without shifting some of that hate to the product of that act! Most women would have mixed emotions regarding the child that reminds them of somebody who took advantage of them. Period.”

I think you should stop having this romantic and idealized view of women where they have superhuman powers of making a clear and neat division of feelings – one set for the “culprit” and the other set for the child – and never the twain to meet! Most women are – as most humans are – just human – and a REAL woman would always get mixed-up. Simple as that! And no, one does NOT need to be a woman to make that simple deduction.

Re: # 18

beej mian,

........... i don`t know about the wrong side of the border, but on god`s side the village people seem to jump into bed more often than people living in the cities - actually they can also jump into a field of sugarcane or a corn field !.......... most city people in pakistan, right or wrong, believe that country bumpkins and bumpkets have more fun ........... heer and ranjha, sohni and mahiwal and mirza sahib and saiban bibi were village people (not the gay band variety)....... and oh, by the way, i did not say that women ``jump`` into bed without thinking about it .......... unlike men, they actually think about it before they do it ............ but, they still do and have a million reasons for doing it ........of course, the morning-after pill might change all that .............

.......... and i don`t want to start another controversy, but i have to say that most women hate the fathers of their children - they just put up with them for obvious reasons ........ mrs hamidm is an exception, of course (for obvious reasons, again)

Re#15, #14

Hamidm2, don’t be too sure it is a “yarn” – especially in view of the last line in this story! (If it indeed were fiction – I would not consider it a good one, as explained earlier.)

Just explain to me what you find so “good” about a woman hopping into the bed with her husband’s friend – whom she does not love and perhaps hates – to create a baby so that she will get reminded of that same person all the time. The husband comes across as a total turkey.

No, Hamidm2 – as a yarn, this stuff is pathetic! If it’s true though, it is depressingly sad!

Even that dork of a walking library of Hindvi can get that basic fact – but YOU don’t – see where that adrak has got you to?!

I am sorry if I hit any raw nerves around here with my candid statements in #13 and here.

As some people know, the janitor tells it like he sees it – the labels are for others to choose – the reality does not change.

Hamidm2, you can put aside your morbid fear of the broom and the mop – the janitor has been favorably touched by Behram’s humility and is trying to cut back on the sharp stuff – but as always, no promises regarding the future – this is just a fleeting attack of sentimentality – I’ll get over it!