A Bad Daughter-in-law For A Change!

[font=&quot]We have had enough of bad mothers-in-law. The tears shed by some of the gracious ladies here in this forum is sufficient enough to sink a whole town. I am sure that all these gracious ladies are going to blossom into wonderful mils in due course.. And what if they have a problem from their daughter-in-law? [/font]

[font=&quot]They will simply win them over by their unconditional love. Here is one story where a mil wins over an evil dil by the sheer force of her love. [/font]

[font=&quot]I am even thinking of holding a contest for those ladies who can keep their eyes dry at the end of this story. But I am sure none will qualify.[/font]

[font=&quot]Please don’t ask me whether it is real or not. Please tell me whether it is good or not. [/font]

[font=&quot]Happy <st1:City><st1lace>[font=&quot]Reading[/font]</st1lace></st1:City>[font=&quot].[/font][/font]

Varalotti
[font=&quot][/font]



The Heartless Daughter-in-Law



"Is this Madhu's house - I'm sorry - Mr. Madan's house? Is he home?"

"He has gone out. I am his mother. You are…. Sorry, I am not able to recognise you."

The young lady bent and touched Parvathi's feet.

"Why all this... .. Please come in."

Parvathi surveyed the young lady standing before her. She was of a wheatish complexion, tall and slim. The smile which was more pronounced in her eyes than in her lips made her look even more beautiful.

"Ma, my name is Latha. I am working in Madan's office. I am writing a Departmental exam and I have come here to seek Madan's guidance. When will he return?"

Parvathi’s heart melted on being addressed as ‘Ma’ by the stranger.

"He has gone out with his wife. They just left and it will be at least an hour before they are back. Please sit down. And if you want to inform Madan just call him on his mobile. You can use this phone. You look so tired. I shall get you a cup of coffee. "

“Why trouble yourself,Ma? I will just be with you for some time and go. I will come some other time to see Madan.”



As Latha was sipping the coffee Parvathi started the conversation.

"Are you married, dear?"

"Not yet, Ma. I have an elder sister to be married. It is pretty difficult to get good boys these days. "

Then the conversation drifted to matrimonial ads in papers, the effect of one's horoscope and the credibility of the astrologers, marriage expenses and dowry, the monsoon rain, the price of vegetables, the TV serials, working women and old age homes. An hour had slipped by.

"You know dear, it is almost an year since I talked so freely for so long."

"Ma, what are you saying? You have a son and a daughter-in-law as well. Will they not talk to you?"

Parvathi let out a long sigh born out of resignation.

"My daughter-in-law never talks to me except while giving commands and cooking instructions. That too she does in mono-sylabbles and she sees to it that my son does not talk to me either."

"Ma, What are you saying? I can't believe that."

"Yes. When I was looking for a bride for my son I was lured by her fair complexion and good looks. I never thought she would be such a heartless character. She hates me from the depths of her heart. I have given her everything - the control of the house, my son and every thing. But still she keeps on finding faults with me.

“She reluctantly offers me food twice a day. But in return for that she dumps cooking and all the household work on me. Of course we have all the gadgets – washing machine, microwave, vaccuum cleaner and even a dish washer. But at my age work is strenuous even with those gadgets around. "

Latha moved a little closer to wipe off Parvathi's tears and gently stroked her.

"Latha, do you see the the house right across the street? The lady of the house is a devil in the form of a woman. And she had an angel for a daughter-in-law. She was so sweet and I used to talk to her daily. And the old hag did not feed her properly. The girl died while delivering her first child. The Doctor said that the death was due to malnutrition. Had I been blessed with a daughter-in-law half as good, I would have treated her like a queen. But you see I have been given a fiend for a daughter-in-law.

“You can never imagine how heartless she is. One day last winter, I was a little tired and had slept a little longer than usual. She could not get her morning coffee on time. You know what she did! She poured ice-cold water right on my face. I woke up with a shock and was shivering for the whole day. And she had the audacity to say that the water dropped from her hand just like that and the beauty was my son believed her version and not mine.

“She has never taken food with me even once. She thinks that it is beneath her dignity to dine with me. She makes me eat alone in the store room. If her mother comes from her native village she will make me eat first and then the mother and the daughter would have a long lunch together chatting about everything under the sun.

“Once I was down with fever. She was furious as she had to do all the household work that day. She openly accused me of faking illness to dump the work on her. When Madan returned from office he came to my bed and lovingly enquired about my health.

 

The Heartless Daughter-in-law

The Heartless Daughter-in-law
​

“Should not a son do that? Cannot an old mother expect at least that minimum courtesy from her son? But she became furious and started shouting at him: 'While I am suffering in the kitchen all day long you go to your mother straightaway ignoring me. You treat me like a cook in this house.’

“One day when I forgot to switch off the kitchen light and the exhaust fan she created a big scene and even called in our neighbours and humiliated me in their presence. Now you see she has left her computer on. It has been running for the past two hours. If I say a word about this she would look for the slightest provocation to pounce upon me. What can I do? I just keep quiet. That’s all.”



Parvathi started listing the ills perpetrated by her daughter-in-law. Latha listened to it with genuine concern and said finally:

"I know about your suffering, Ma. Madan has told me a lot about his wife. He used to say with tears in his eyes about the treatment meted out to you by his wife."

There was now an unexpected glow in Parvathi's face. Her eyes were shining with tears as she spoke.

"Is it true? Does my dear Madan know that his wife tortures me day in and day out? And does he feel sorry for that?"

Parvathi wiped the tears off her eyes and straightened up. "That alone is enough for me, dear. The mere fact that my son felt sorry for me is more than enough for this old woman."

Now Latha became red with anger.

"Ma, why should you bear your daughter-in-law's ill treatment? It was you who, after your husband’s death, single handedly brought up your son Madan and gave him the life and the dignity he has now. Whatever life and comforts your son and daughter-in-law are enjoying now it was purely your making. Why should you suffer at that devil's hands and that too at this ripe old age?"

"What can I do, tell me. It is true that I did everything for my son. I don’t blame him, poor soul. It's all due to that devil that I suffer. I am not fortunate enough to have a good daughter-in-law like you. Hm.. . what can’t be cured has to be endured. "

"No Ma. Don't talk like that. You should live in peace and comfort especially during your old age. And you can still do that. If you agree to what I say you can be completely free from your daughter-in-law's torture. What do you say?"

Parvathi looked askance at Latha.

"Madan confides everything in me. He is in a dilemma. He said, ’If I scold my wife for the unfair treatment meted out to my mother she threatens to run away from the house. And that will create a big scandal. But if I choose to remain silent my mother will continue to suffer at her hands. And her sufferings seem to increase by the day. You know nowadays my wife doesn't even talk to me.’"

Latha blushed slightly before continuing further.

"Ma, I am not sure whether I can say this. But your son told me that it has been six months since they slept together."

Parvathi was rendered speechless at this revelation.

“We have been talking about the problem for quite some time. I sensed that he has a soft corner for me. I too have a liking for Madan. But he told me very strictly that he will not take any major decision without your blessings. Now everything is in your hands, Ma. He says that he can pack up his wife and send her to her mother's place. I will come to live here and do all the household work. The moment I step into this house you will become the real boss of the place; Madan and I will be waiting to carry out your commands. Let's not wait for legal formalities like divorcing her and remarrying me. Is it okay with you?"

Latha placed her hands gently on Parvathi's shoulders. Parvathi brushed them aside with a brutal force. And with the same force she slapped Latha on her face. Parvathi's mouth now emitted fire.

"What did you say? You want to replace my daughter-in-law because she is not all right. Isn't it? I tell you, fool, that can happen only over my dead body.

If a son or daughter misbehaves the mother does not simply throw them out of the house and bring some one in their stead. The mother just patiently waits for them to reform. A daughter-in-law is also a daughter and if she does not behave, I as a mother have to only wait and pray.

“I should not have talked to you about my daughter-in-law. I am quite ashamed about it. But remember: even if my daughter-in-law beats me to death it is strictly a family matter between myself, my son and his wife. And I won’t let you, a perfect third person, to take advantage of our family situation and intrude into our home taking cover under the conflicts.

“My daughter-in-law is a heartless creature, I concede. But she is far better than you - a character-less slut who wants to steal a man from his wife.

 

The Heartless Daughter-in-law

The Heartless Daughter-in-law
​

“I do not know how far you have seduced my son. But remember one thing: if my son deserts his wife to marry you, I will disown him. I will simply throw him out of this house. This house is mine; being gifted to me by my father. My son does not have any right over this house. I will disinherit my son and settle this house in favour of my daughter-in-law. I will rather be a maid to my daughter-in-law than the boss of the house in which a slut like you lives. Get out of this place right now before my anger gets the better of me. And never, never, never come again. Understand?"

Latha was too stunned to speak and retreated without uttering a word.

Parvathi was seething in anger for a long time. When her son and his wife returned in the night and even when her daughter-in-law teased her about something trivial, she did not have the heart to reveal about Latha’s plans.

Parvathi listened to the clock striking the mid-night hour. She could not sleep that night. She no longer worried about her daughter-in-law. She was more concerned about her son and his possibly straying out of his marriage.

She felt something in her legs and she woke up with a start. Parvathi switched on the light and was shocked to see her daughter-in-law sobbing and it was her tears that had wet her feet.

“What happened Raji? Are you all right? Why are you crying?”

Raji gently brushed aside Parvathi’s hands and fell like an uprooted tree at her feet.

“Ma, please.. please forgive me Ma for what I have done to you.”

Parvathi did not understand.

“I am not even fit to be your maid, Ma. I have hurt you, robbed you of your peace and happiness and was giving you hell all along. When I first stepped into this house I saw you as a barrier between me and my husband. I wanted you out of the house and out of our lives. I even shamelessly told your son that so long as you are here he should not touch me.

“You could have taken revenge on me by just agreeing to Latha’s plans. I would have been thrown out of the house, the marriage and would have lost everything. But you protected me as if I were your own daughter. You were even willing to lose your son if he chooses to go astray. I don’t deserve so much of love, Ma. I simply don’t deserve you, Ma.”

Raji was sobbing when she said that. Parvathi was still in shock.

Raji wiped her eyes and told firmly.

“Ma, I promise, that from this moment onwards I will treat you as my mother. I will do all the household work. You just sit in that easy chair in front of the TV and make me run here and there with your commands. Yes, Ma, I will do that. Will you accept my love Ma?”

Parvathi could no longer bear that. She hugged her daughter-in-law and they both wept silently in each other’s hands.

“But Raji how did you know about Latha’s plans?”

Raji looked down.

“Please forgive me, Ma. I wanted to spy on you. I wanted to know what are you saying behind my back to the neighbours. So I left the computer - which has an inbuilt audio recording system - on with an extended microphone. The entire conversation between you and Latha has been recorded in the computer. I just played it back and came rushing to see you.”

Parvathi did not know how to respond.

“One more request, Ma. Please pardon your son also. He is blameless. I have been giving hell to him. I badly wanted him to drive you out of the house which he never had the heart to do. To bring him to my way I adopted a lot of pressure tactics which drove him to the extreme step of finding another woman in my place. Bless me, Ma. From now on I will be a good wife to him and a good daughter-in-law to you.”

“No dear, I can’t accept that. You will be a good wife to him and a daughter-in-love to me.”

The two women laughed together amidst their tears.

 

A Good Analysis Prathi!

Dear Prathi,
I first thought that this story might not be relished as most of the ILites are mostly dils and to show a dil in bad light might offend them. But you have dispelled my fears. This was based on a few real life incidents none of which had a happy ending. The only power I have as a writer is to give happy endings to my stories and happy lives to my characters. I stretched that power to the fullest extent. A story like this will not even be shortlisted in a national competition, for the judges would say, 'it's too cinematic.' But should we not aspire for goodness and happiness at least in our imagination? This story was published in Womans Era a few years back and the reviews were generally good.
Yes, Prathi, the husband's part is the most realistic. Any man would do only that under such circumstances. But a woman placed in similar circumstances will not seek an affair. That's gender-equality for you.
Varalotti

 

But It's not easy, Purnima!

Dear Purnima,
Do you think that it's an easy thing to make ILites cry? Not at all. Our gracious ladies are not weaklings to shed tears at the drop of a hat. To make you people cry I have to write a powerful story. And if you tell me that you cried, well, as a writer, I can't hope to get a greater compliment.
Thanks for the nice words, Purnima.
I do write all types of stories, love stories, horror stories, humour stories, family types even naughty and evil stories. But what I present to IL is pure vegetarian dish as pure as the recipes of your aunt. I do server nv dishes, but that is a separate oven, separate utensils and another world. ha ha ha
Also thanks for the nice words you have about my story Promise. In fact it was that story which dragged me lock stock and barrel to IL. Thanks to Shakti who did that.
regards,
Varalotti