Hickory Dickory Dock-2!

..continued from Part-1

Shalini, slowly raised her head and looked at him with drooping eyes full of hatred. When realization hit her, instead of her usual violent nature, she was extremely quiet. “Shalini, these are the papers you have to sign. I have filed for our divorce. We can’t go together like this forever. “ He paused, almost expecting the Gin bottle to crash on his head. But no.. nothing happened. “Shalini, are you listening?. He repeated. “I have filed for our divorce, and your alcoholism and Schizophrenia will earn me divorce within 6 months. I can’t go on like this Shalini, I need to get out of this.”  Still there was no answer from her.  “This house, I have written on your name. And I am ready to pay 25,000 rupees as monthly compensation”. “The kids seem to be okay with this. You can choose to stay here or be with the kids. I will be moving out today to the Skyline apartment “.

 

He waited some more minutes for her reaction. No. Nothing at all. She seems to be exceptionally peaceful today.  Slowly he put the papers in the table and closed the door.

 

While driving to the City Medical Center, his entire past flashed through his mind. When the poor, but exceptionally brilliant boy lost his father at 10. When his wealthy maternal uncle took the whole expenditure of his studies, along with his mother’s hospital expenditure. When he passed his MBBS with gold medal from Trivandrum Medical College. When he got his admission for FRCS in UK. And the fateful day, when he promised his uncle that he would marry his daughter, as soon as he completes his FRCS. It was common among Hindus in Kerala to marry one’s cousin. Shalini was studying in 10^th class, when he came back from England. The young lad had hopes and aspirations about his future. He was already famous then for his surgical skills.

 

But soon he had to put his life as pawn for the money his uncle paid.  He married his high-school going daughter. Shalini, was an innocent, fair girl, who never knew even to read or write English. With her high profile husband, she felt totally left out and secluded , among his circle of colleagues and friends. But she was never a quitter. Soon she learned English and tried her best to pull her level so that she can get her husband’s love and attention. But nothing could melt off the indifference that Shivakumar showed towards his uneducated wife. She soon realized that her husband married her only as part of the barter trade, for his FRCS. When they had 3 kids, her life centered on them.

 

Flying from continents to continents, Shiva Kumar never really bothered about nurturing his family with love. The kids grew up seeing and sensing the thick wall between their parents. When they had their own life, they flew away from the nest.

 

For Shalini, it all began with loneliness. Soon it turned into clinical depression. The anti depressants she took, became her only solace. And very soon, the inevitable happened. She became addicted to it. She increased her regular dose, and when she wanted to drown her depression more, she turned towards alcohol. Alcohol and high dose anti depressants, gave her a 24 hr high. Shiva Kumar never noticed this, till one day she was admitted into hospital, for its overdose usage. But by then things had gone, completely out of control. The withdrawals pushed Shalini, to the verge of committing suicide, and Shiva Kumar soon gave up.

 

The next years, it was not Shalini who lived with him. It was the deadly combination of alcohol and Pethadin that shared his home. Soon she started to cause trouble in public places. Shiva Kumar got numerous phone calls from different shops in the city. She even came to City Medical Center and caused havoc. Shiva Kumar started paying for his early negligence towards his wife. And last week, his patience limit snapped, when he got a call from Police Station. It was when Shalini, on her high, barged into a three star hotel in the city and caused trouble there. And it was on that evening, he called Adv. Radhakrishnan, to file for divorce.

 

The car turned to left from the bypass road. From there it turned towards the doctors’ parking lot, in City Medical Center campus. There it stopped in front of the board named “managing director”. When he locked the car and walked towards reception, he never knew that his day would be the most eventful day in his life.

(…continued in Part-3 ..)