By Shobha Diwakar

It’s strange how mood swings appear and disappear like the overhanging clouds that envelope the sky, create shadows of doubt whether or not it is going to rain and before you say ‘Jack Robinson’ lo, you’ve guessed, the clouds have scattered to some other landscape and the merry sun looks slyly down with a curved smile upon you, teasing? Well you may think so.

Human beings too suffer from mood swings. Have you heard that before? Yes, children do; what about adults? If they do suffer too many swings it’s a cause to worry, the truth being it is a compulsive disorder. A distorted personality, some childhood mishap or some mental sickness, surprisingly the suffering person complains all the time of loss of hunger, headaches, stomach aches blurred vision and what not. A sudden attitude change overpowers the affected person, who creates problems for the family with all sorts of damning accusations, cries and yells at the top of her/his voice. Moreover, after an hour takes an anti depressant and like a genie from the Aladdin’s lamp, on waking, is as fresh as a lark and normal as a baby in arms.

The person needs to be taken to a psychiatrist but who is to bell the cat? The raging person is all set to throw you out of the house at the least provocation. You may love, fondle or pamper you will be blamed or better still some other member of the family will become the target of abuse. Mind you if you happen to open your mouth, you are damned and condemned. You may claim you have surrendered to the person’s whim hoping to cool off the situation but like a viper, the person will persist in screaming to announce to your neighbors that some ghostly issues are over riding. Beating, strangulating, abusing or throwing that person out of your snug home for disturbing the calm of the day?

Some parents hide the facts of their child and dump ‘them’ in a marriage to get rid of their own problematic child. Generally, they seek a far off city remote from their own where one cannot find out anything about the family history. Initially everything appears to be normal but like onion peels, the truth soon breaks the misty veil and hell breaks loose like a mad flurried dog in pursuit, but it is too late. The raging lion within tears everything that crosses it come what may, to destroy and covet like the tidal waves of the sea. Then tired and wrung recedes into the background. Did anything really happen the previous day? The settled calm is like the settled turbulent waves rippling like a whirlpool to drown you. Like an octopus prey, you are caught in its tentacles, like a crocodile’s smashing jaws. Such anacondas survive long with the tremendous energy of their brain, after all where else can such energy be used?

Just a warning when you negotiate matrimonial alliances be sure to enquire family history, let the ‘would be partners’ undergo psychological tests to check compatibility. Don’t be taken for a ride and make yourself miserable for the rest of your life. Time and tide wait for no one. Beware of shrouded beauties, sweet oratory and greed. Who knows what lies behind the counter or under the veiled mask?

About the Author: Dr. Shobha Diwakar is retired head of the Dept. of English at C.P. Mahila Mahavidhyalaya, Jabalpur. She is currently on the advisory board of Dr. Stephen Gill’s, Canada’s writer’s lifeline.ca. She has published numerous research papers, poems and articles in national, international journals and also in leading news papers. She is a keen observer of life and human nature.