After passing the secondary school examination with flying colours, Basharat’s parents made their mind to admit him in the higher secondary school of the town. They were keen to see him shining and it was their long desire that he becomes a doctor. It was a Co-Educational institution with a best science faculty. So they were overjoyed to enrol their son in the town school. In order to complete the syllabus well in time and to face the exam more comfortably, he was admitted in a private coaching Accademy as well. For full two years he studied in coaching Academy where students of both the sexes were enrolled. He cleared his 12th class examination too with distinction and is now working hard to crack the pre-medical test so that he gets admission in the government run medical college. In order to clear some basic concepts of physics and chemistry, Basharat quite often consults Nuzhat one of his genius classmates of non-medical background who is preparing for engineering entrance exam at the same coaching Academy. She is very strong in physics and chemistry and belongs to a very poor and lower caste family. After appearing in the respective entrance examinations, Nuzhat qualifies for the engineering course in a leading IIT of the state while Basharat failed in his first attempt of the entrance. He doesn’t looses his hope, pledges to work harder than before and assure’s his parents to qualify the test in his next attempt. For a full year Basharat has confined himself in his study room and whenever he faces any difficulty in physics and chemistry, he straightaway meets his former classmate. Nuzhat’s IIT is only few yards away from the hired room of Basharat where he has been living for last couple of years. His both parents are government employees so they have given him full liberty to study in a hired room of the city where every facility is easily available for their loving son. Almost twice or thrice in a week, Basharat meets his former classmate to get some academic help. Nuzhat too helps him wholeheartedly and wishes him success in the exam because she knew that his parents have invested lot of money for Basharat’s education. He appears in the second attempt of entrance exam and is hopeful about his success.
On one sunny morning, Basharat is taking tea in the kitchen along with his parents and siblings. He has returned from the city a week before after appearing in the entrance test. Mustafa Lone a retired headmaster in the neighbourhood who has taught Basharat in his primary classes’ handovers him the newspaper in which selection list of the successful candidates was published. He also gives him the good news about his selection for MBBS in a reputed Govt medical college. Whole family is thrilled with joy, they are hugging each other and Basharat is being garlanded by his nears and dears. They express their gratitude to Allah for his brilliant success. His hard work has paid him at last. Next day a reporter of a popular news channel is taking interview of Basharat because he has not only been selected but also has topped the list. When he was asked about the persons who helped him in cracking this tough test. His answer was “”” I dedicate my success to my ex-classmate Nuzhat, she was my inspiration and it is she who actually helped me in cracking this exam. Whenever I needed her guidance and help, she helped me wholeheartedly. Had she not helped and guided me so nicely perhaps it would have been much difficult for me to clear the test.”””
After five years of medical education Basharat was appointed in the city hospital as the general physician. Nuzhat was already in the government service for last one year. During their course study period of five years they were meeting each other frequently and attending each other’s functions and other invitations. Basharat’s parents are now eager to marry him in their relationship because there were many well educated, good-looking and noble daughters in their relationship. When Basharat is informed about his parent’s plans through his close friends, he altogether negates it and denies to marry in relationship. Instead he is desirous in marrying with Nuzhat because they are respecting each other, they have understood each other’s nature and behaviour during all these years of togetherness. Both of them feel pleasure in tying the nuptial and living their future life as husband wife duo. When his father Afzal knew about the intentions of his son, he grows angry and compels him to change his stand. Both husband wife duo aren’t in favour of their son’s plans. They tried to make him understand about the challenges in post-married life. But their son is firm on his motif and isn’t ready to change his stand. He even asked his friends and relatives to mould his parents but they were quite reluctant because Nuzhat, Basharat’s ex-classmate to whom he credited his success belonged to a poor and downtrodden caste family. She is a noble, hardworking, well-educated and virtous girl but the only thing which displeases his parents is her poor background. They didn’t regard her humanistic qualities and her wholehearted help for their son in getting free MBBS selection. Instead they asserted that their son must marry in relationship with a girl belonging to same caste and royal background like their own. Despite urging his parents to reconsider their stand, when Basharat knew that his parents are still mounted on their own decisiveness, he preferred to remain a bachelor rather to marry a girl other than Nuzhat. Early morning on a day he left for his duties. During lunch time when all other family members were in the kitchen, one of the Basharat’s close friends comes and tells them that their son’s deadbody is lying at the police station. They were broken, wretched and couldn’t bear to hear this extremely terrible news. They were eager to know the cause of their son’s death. At police station, SHO tells them that Basharat has committed suicide. Nuzhat reading the uploaded Facebook post about Basharat’s death looses all her hopes and interests in living future life. Only a day later she too strangles herself to death because they were loving, respecting and understanding each other and they had desired to live as husband wife duo in rest of their life. They couldn’t afford to live without one another. So the plans of Basharat’s parents didn’t suite them well and they preferred death over living a life without one another.
( The author is a teacher@J&K School Education Department. Views are his own)
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