Paranthaka - II
The story so far...
Arjun sat, sulking and staring out of the window, in the rear seat as his dad weaved his way through the evening traffic and his mom muttered all the prayers she knew. He had made what would register a faint, feeble attempt on the 'arguing with parents' scale, trying to convince them that there was nothing wrong with him and this visit to Srinivas -of whom he had vague recollections of being weirder than what was the average weirdness on his dad's side of the family- was unnecessary. But he knew he was waging a losing battle, especially when his father's temper had registered a couple of revolutions on the 'time to stop arguing with parents' scale.
So there he was, unwillingly on his way to have his mind analysed, even as the day's events loomed large in it. He had more or less convinced his rational self that unbelievable as it seemed, there was something strange about this Karikala character. A phone call to Karthik, followed by ineffective threats of violence, further followed by extremely effective offer of bribes, had gotten a 'i-swear-on-everything' confirmation that he had nothing to do with any prank. Not knowing what to believe, he prepared himself to meet Srinivas.
"So Arjun, what are your hobbies?"
"He reads voraciously. Watches every movie that releases...."
"Lalita aunty, please let him answer. Better still, uncle why don't the two of you wait outside and let me have a private talk with Arjun."
"Okay, now that your parents aren't around, I think we can have a open discussion. So was that your girlfriend in your room in the afternoon?" Srinivas asked with a foolish grin and an even more foolish wink.
"What are you talking about?"
"Arjun. You can trust me. I can understand the things you do at your age...."
"Oh. Please. You won't understand."
"Okay let that be. So what book are you reading?"
"Paranthaka. Its a....."
"Oh! Lovely book. One of Kalki's best works. Ah! The beauty of fiction based on reality. You don't know what is real and what isn't."
"Have you read it?"
"I have read all his books. I am a big fan."
So, there in an instant, for the most unexpected of reasons, all of Arjun's apprehensions about his weird cousin melted away and a trust was born, a trust that made him open out and narrate the incidents of the day. Almost immediately, Srinivas transformed into a nervously excited man.
"Fantastic. This is absolutely fantastic. You don't worry Arjun. I will talk to your parents. I will make them understand."
"You don't think I have lost it? Do you think this Karikala is real?"
"Most definitely. He is as real as real can be. You just wait outside a while and let me talk to your parents."
"I am afraid I have some bad news for you. I have reason to suspect that Arjun has MIMPD. It is a rare condition that has been the focus of my research for the past few years. He looks like a classic case."
"MIMPD?"
"Yes. MIMPD. Media Induced Multiple Personality Disorder. Over the past few years, our literature and movies have been obsessed with the theme of multiple personality disorders. These works have projected MPD in such a way that young impressionable minds have found it to be some sort of a cool thing, so much so that it has the potential to manifest in them. In Arjun's case, he is so involved in the historical novel he is reading, that he has begun to assume an alter-ego as one of the characters in it. Worrying as this may be, it is not all grim. I have been working on treatments for this disorder for a long time. We should get started as soon as possible. But it is important that Arjun does not know of this right now. I don't want to trigger off some extreme behaviour. He has sort of developed a trust in me and that is a good sign. Just act as if there is nothing wrong with him and prepare to get him admitted here in a couple of days."
Arjun welcomed the silence on the way home, although it seemed strange to him that even his mother didn't say a word. An event less dinner followed, and he lay on his bed continuing to contemplate the surreal 'Karikala' episode when sounds of a rather animated discussion drew him to his parent's room.
"I don't like the idea of Srinivas using him as a guinea pig for his experimental treatment."
"Don't be stupid, Lalita! Srinivas is a clever fellow. He knows what he is talking about. Its not easy to get a second opinion for ailments of the mind. Things are so damn subjective. What is abnormal for one might seem normal for another"
"MIMPD! Sounds like something a mad scientist in the movies comes up with. How come we haven't even heard about such a condition?"
"I don't even know how to answer that. Have you heard of every physical and mental ailment discovered? You just have to learn to trust. If Srinivas says he needs treatment, he needs treatment. You think I am not worried?"
Not wanting to hear anything more, Arjun crept back to his room. He was filled with a rage at the gall of that cheap, conniving Srinivas and he kicked himself for falling for his act and trusting him so easily. Even that rage was fleeting as he realized he was enmeshed in a situation with no escape, unless of course he could convince his dad, or convince his mom to convince his dad, that nothing was wrong with him. However, the fact was that the events of the day had left him in a situation where he himself needed some convincing that everything was all right. There seemed no way out but to become a lab rat. No way out, unless......
After vacillating a while between sleeplessness due to mental turmoil and sleep due to mental fatigue, Arjun submitted to the overwhelming force of the latter and dozed off. He awoke in the morning, startled to see his mother by his bedside, staring at him as if he was a new born. She stroked his head and handed him his book.
"Now you can finish it."
He held back a slew of thoughts just before they could come out as words and merely hugged her tight and said "Thanks Mom!", adding a "..for everything." under his breath.
That night, the full moon was fuller than it usually was, which even when interpreted as a hyperbole is too exaggerated even to be imagined.
"Are you ready, my general. My dear Paranthaka, if I may call you that?"
"I don't know. I don't know how to ride a horse,how to wield a weapon, how to defend,to attack, to hurt, to kill. I don't know any form of warfare, how to lead, to command. I don't know anything at all. What if I fail you?"
"It shall all come to you."
"How?"
"You will see. My faith in your destiny is greater than my faith in you."
Arjun, who shall henceforth be known as Paranthaka, neared his steed. He gathered the reins, and after a hesitant instant, effortlessly mounted it as if he had done it all his life. As he rode confused yet confident into the night, into the unknown,into an uncertain future, uncertain if it could even be called the future, his thoughts went back to the unfinished book that had started this all, lying unopened by his bedside. He remembered his mother's words as she handed it back to him, and he experienced a reassuring moment of clarity when he realised their true significance. He would finish it.
THE END
Arjun sat, sulking and staring out of the window, in the rear seat as his dad weaved his way through the evening traffic and his mom muttered all the prayers she knew. He had made what would register a faint, feeble attempt on the 'arguing with parents' scale, trying to convince them that there was nothing wrong with him and this visit to Srinivas -of whom he had vague recollections of being weirder than what was the average weirdness on his dad's side of the family- was unnecessary. But he knew he was waging a losing battle, especially when his father's temper had registered a couple of revolutions on the 'time to stop arguing with parents' scale.
So there he was, unwillingly on his way to have his mind analysed, even as the day's events loomed large in it. He had more or less convinced his rational self that unbelievable as it seemed, there was something strange about this Karikala character. A phone call to Karthik, followed by ineffective threats of violence, further followed by extremely effective offer of bribes, had gotten a 'i-swear-on-everything' confirmation that he had nothing to do with any prank. Not knowing what to believe, he prepared himself to meet Srinivas.
"So Arjun, what are your hobbies?"
"He reads voraciously. Watches every movie that releases...."
"Lalita aunty, please let him answer. Better still, uncle why don't the two of you wait outside and let me have a private talk with Arjun."
"Okay, now that your parents aren't around, I think we can have a open discussion. So was that your girlfriend in your room in the afternoon?" Srinivas asked with a foolish grin and an even more foolish wink.
"What are you talking about?"
"Arjun. You can trust me. I can understand the things you do at your age...."
"Oh. Please. You won't understand."
"Okay let that be. So what book are you reading?"
"Paranthaka. Its a....."
"Oh! Lovely book. One of Kalki's best works. Ah! The beauty of fiction based on reality. You don't know what is real and what isn't."
"Have you read it?"
"I have read all his books. I am a big fan."
So, there in an instant, for the most unexpected of reasons, all of Arjun's apprehensions about his weird cousin melted away and a trust was born, a trust that made him open out and narrate the incidents of the day. Almost immediately, Srinivas transformed into a nervously excited man.
"Fantastic. This is absolutely fantastic. You don't worry Arjun. I will talk to your parents. I will make them understand."
"You don't think I have lost it? Do you think this Karikala is real?"
"Most definitely. He is as real as real can be. You just wait outside a while and let me talk to your parents."
"I am afraid I have some bad news for you. I have reason to suspect that Arjun has MIMPD. It is a rare condition that has been the focus of my research for the past few years. He looks like a classic case."
"MIMPD?"
"Yes. MIMPD. Media Induced Multiple Personality Disorder. Over the past few years, our literature and movies have been obsessed with the theme of multiple personality disorders. These works have projected MPD in such a way that young impressionable minds have found it to be some sort of a cool thing, so much so that it has the potential to manifest in them. In Arjun's case, he is so involved in the historical novel he is reading, that he has begun to assume an alter-ego as one of the characters in it. Worrying as this may be, it is not all grim. I have been working on treatments for this disorder for a long time. We should get started as soon as possible. But it is important that Arjun does not know of this right now. I don't want to trigger off some extreme behaviour. He has sort of developed a trust in me and that is a good sign. Just act as if there is nothing wrong with him and prepare to get him admitted here in a couple of days."
Arjun welcomed the silence on the way home, although it seemed strange to him that even his mother didn't say a word. An event less dinner followed, and he lay on his bed continuing to contemplate the surreal 'Karikala' episode when sounds of a rather animated discussion drew him to his parent's room.
"I don't like the idea of Srinivas using him as a guinea pig for his experimental treatment."
"Don't be stupid, Lalita! Srinivas is a clever fellow. He knows what he is talking about. Its not easy to get a second opinion for ailments of the mind. Things are so damn subjective. What is abnormal for one might seem normal for another"
"MIMPD! Sounds like something a mad scientist in the movies comes up with. How come we haven't even heard about such a condition?"
"I don't even know how to answer that. Have you heard of every physical and mental ailment discovered? You just have to learn to trust. If Srinivas says he needs treatment, he needs treatment. You think I am not worried?"
Not wanting to hear anything more, Arjun crept back to his room. He was filled with a rage at the gall of that cheap, conniving Srinivas and he kicked himself for falling for his act and trusting him so easily. Even that rage was fleeting as he realized he was enmeshed in a situation with no escape, unless of course he could convince his dad, or convince his mom to convince his dad, that nothing was wrong with him. However, the fact was that the events of the day had left him in a situation where he himself needed some convincing that everything was all right. There seemed no way out but to become a lab rat. No way out, unless......
After vacillating a while between sleeplessness due to mental turmoil and sleep due to mental fatigue, Arjun submitted to the overwhelming force of the latter and dozed off. He awoke in the morning, startled to see his mother by his bedside, staring at him as if he was a new born. She stroked his head and handed him his book.
"Now you can finish it."
He held back a slew of thoughts just before they could come out as words and merely hugged her tight and said "Thanks Mom!", adding a "..for everything." under his breath.
That night, the full moon was fuller than it usually was, which even when interpreted as a hyperbole is too exaggerated even to be imagined.
"Are you ready, my general. My dear Paranthaka, if I may call you that?"
"I don't know. I don't know how to ride a horse,how to wield a weapon, how to defend,to attack, to hurt, to kill. I don't know any form of warfare, how to lead, to command. I don't know anything at all. What if I fail you?"
"It shall all come to you."
"How?"
"You will see. My faith in your destiny is greater than my faith in you."
Arjun, who shall henceforth be known as Paranthaka, neared his steed. He gathered the reins, and after a hesitant instant, effortlessly mounted it as if he had done it all his life. As he rode confused yet confident into the night, into the unknown,into an uncertain future, uncertain if it could even be called the future, his thoughts went back to the unfinished book that had started this all, lying unopened by his bedside. He remembered his mother's words as she handed it back to him, and he experienced a reassuring moment of clarity when he realised their true significance. He would finish it.
THE END
posted by Dreamer at 12:45 AM
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