by Deepanshu Srivastava

Amit Deshmukh and Girija Shinde were schoolmates in a public school in Colaba, Mumbai during the year 2010. When they grew up Girija took up the job of an executive in an ad agency in Colaba while Amit topped the MBA course at Mumbai University and was looking for a lucrative job of his taste. He left no stone unturned in getting a job of his choice but could not succeed. This led to his gradual frustration. Ultimately he took up the job of marketing executive in a sports management company situated in Bandra.

However, he was not satisfied with the job and kept on looking for a better one but in vain. This made him irritative by nature and he started feeling that nowadays employers prefer ladies to males having the same qualifications for any white-collar jobs.

Amit and Girija have been dating for the last three years and we’re in a good relationship. In the meantime, Girija got an important assignment for one year from her office and was being sent to Bengaluru for the same. She discussed this project with Amit and told him that while in Bengaluru she might not be able to connect with Amit frequently owing to the hectic nature of the project. After knowing this Amit got possessive of Girija and asked her not to take up this project so that they could be in regular touch with each other. He did not believe in keeping a long-distance relationship for such a big period. Although Girija denied going for the project at Amit’s request but being a career-minded lady, repentance grew up in her. A few days later Amit wanted to take Girija out to a party, thrown by his colleagues at a sports management company to celebrate the promotion of their CEO, Mr. Shantanu.

However, due to some prior official commitments the same evening, Girija could not accept it and despite Amit’s repeated requests showed her reluctance. Amit took the refusal to his heart and started seeing it as a fallout of Girija’s inability to go to Bengaluru owing to his request. Her refusal made him so upset that he told Girija that he would be not meeting her anymore and rushed away from there. There was no communication between them for the last two and a half months.

On the other hand, Amit’s parents, Mr. Narayanrao Deshmukh and Mrs. Premlata Deshmukh were unaware of this new development. They knew that the two youngsters are in a relationship for a significant number of times and now they wanted to get them engaged soon. They discussed it with Amit who informed them that they were no more in a relationship for the last couple of months. They wanted to know from Amit, the reasons for the break – up but on every such occasion Amit did not open up. Amit’s father decided to find out the reason since he and his wife felt that Amit and Girija would make a nice couple. So Narayanrao first spoke to Amit and Girija’s common friends as well as from some of their office colleagues. Finally, their common friend, Suman Arora, informed Narayanrao that Amit has been feeling insecure and jealous of Girija over Girija’s career growth and was passing through a phase of internal conflict. Amit’s dialectics forced him to take such an extreme decision. Girija was also in a melancholy mood due to Amit’s adamancy over her project assignment. Suman added that their love relationship was converted into an estranged one due to the above reasons. She concluded that Amit’s CEO’s party incidence in which Girija did not want to go proved to be the catalyst and almost ended their relationship. After getting to know the reasons for his son Amit’s break-up with Girija, Narayanrao tried to counsel his son and asked him to give a second thought to his decision. However, Amit justified the break-up and told his father that Girija’s behavior towards him had changed ever since she got the Bengaluru project. He also told him that Girija should prioritize
him over her job.

After hearing Amit’s reply, Narayanrao wanted to know Girija’s side of the story. To do so he planned a lunch at a nearby hotel and asked Amit and his wife Premlata to accompany him for it. Without informing them he also invited Girija for the lunch who promptly accepted it due to her respect towards Narayanrao and his wife. In the hotel, Amit and his mother were surprised to see Girija accompanying Narayanrao. Narayanrao then informed them that Girija had come at his invitation. During lunch, Narayanrao made Amit and Girija sit face to face with each other and made everybody at ease by cutting jokes about his younger days. In this relaxed environment, Amit and Girija came to talking terms and opened up with each other. After the pre-lunch drinks, Girija asked Amit’s parents if she wanted to talk to Amit about some issues in private. Appreciating this, Amit’s parents moved towards the recreation room of the hotel to leave the two together. Girija expressed her unhappiness about Amit’s telling his parents only one side of the story of their break-up. She further asked Amit why he was not serious about his career and stopped applying for jobs matching his qualifications. She also questioned his possessiveness about her going to Bengaluru to better her job prospects. Amit had no answers to her questions and he kept mum which further annoyed Girija and she left the hotel after paying respects to Amit’s parents. She also ranged up Narayanrao for her inappropriate behavior at the hotel.

When Deshmukhs were heading back to their home from the hotel, Amit recollected his last fight with Girija which took before their break-up. Girija had been confronting him for not showing up at the job interviews and for his casual approach to his career. She had yelled at Amit due to his such a lethargic approach in his life he had lost an opportunity of getting a job in Boston, USA. All this had made Amit upset and he had asked her to leave her house.

Twenty days had passed since they visited the hotel and Deshmukhs were having their 35th marriage anniversary the next day. Amit listened to his father inviting Girija to the function. Amit then asked his father why he had been always remembering Girija and taking her side. Amit’s father then explained to him that he had felt Amit’s s internal tussle going on for some time because he dislikes the present job, not getting a job of his choice, and Girija’s vertical growth of her career. He added that he had found Girija an intelligent, practical, and composed girl over some time and she had been trying to persuade Amit to work harder and take life seriously to achieve the success he deserved. However, instead of understanding her motives, Amit had not been taking her advice
seriously and ultimately broke his three-year relationship with her.

After hearing his father and with introspection regarding his relationship with Girija Amit realized his improper behavior towards her, he went to Girija’s house and apologized to her for all his ill-treatment over the past three months. Girija felt happy that now Amit has realized his shortcomings and was ready to take on life seriously. They together came back to Amit’s house to celebrate the marriage anniversary of Amit’s parents. Seeing them together, the happiest person was Amit’s father. He told them that they have given him the best gift on his 35th marriage anniversary. The celebration went off till late at night and became a memorable one for
Deshmukh. In the function itself, Amit and Girija pledged not to allow any misunderstandings to creep into their relationship. They also announced to take their relationship to a next level when Amit proposed to Girija for marriage, which Girija happily accepted. With this announcement, the euphoria of Amit’s parents knew no bounds.

About the Author:

A keen sports writer and storyteller, Deepanshu Srivastava is a freelancer from Pune.