What have you done for
me?
“What have you done for me?”
Yelled Ravi, the only son of Mr. & Mrs. Sen,
“Tell me, what did you do for me?
Except scolding me every now and then!”
“Hush Ravi! He’s your father, right?”
“I don’t care, ma. He knows nothing but to scold me.”
Mr. Sen stood there, with a shaky voice, “Alright!”
“Leave it Deepa, He doesn’t understand me, can’t you
see?”
“What’s left to understand?” yelled Ravi,
“For the 20 years I’m born, you did nothing but to
scold me.”
These conversations weren’t new in the Sen Bunglow,
Especially after their son “grew up” to adolescence.
The son, as he was, would do something, not wise;
His father’s concern would make him the “villain”
without thinking twice...
Mr. Sen, an honourable man as he was, did bow down to
the words this time;
“What have I done you ask? What have I done?”
“Except for scolding me of course”, retorted his son,
“You have always stopped me from having any kind of
fun!”
“Hanging around with bad company isn’t fun, Ravi”, his
mother chimed in,
“We do it for your own good, don’t you understand?”
“If you can’t do anything for me, you don’t need to do
anything!
Just leave me alone!” shouted Ravi, “Just stop this
over-caring!”
Days went by; the Cold War was still on,
Ravi hadn’t spoken a word, neither had his father.
“Why don’t you understand? After all, he is our son.”
“Tell me something Deepa, which son asks such a thing
to his father?”
“He is still very young”, Mrs. Sen comforted, “He’ll
understand.”
“He will”, sighed Mr. Sen, “but by then, it would be
too late.”
“Don’t worry,” said Mrs. Sen, holding her husband’s
hand,
“Together, we will set things straight.”
“Why don’t you people just leave me alone?
Don’t you see that I do not want to talk to you?”
“But, Ravi, we are your parents”, pleaded Mrs. Sen;
“What have you done for me as parents? I’m sick of both
of you!”
Stabbed by those words from their son, Mr. & Mrs.
Sen, went out on a drive,
For the house that echoed with those words, had become
unbearable...
Little did they know that it was their last drive,
Little did their son know that the end could be so
terrible.
The news broke Ravi, he had never wanted his parents to
die,
Just because of his ignorance, he couldn’t even say
them “Goodbye!”
Life taught him, the hard way, the pain of losing
someone dear,
No matter how hard he shouted, there was no one left to
hear.
Alas! Now that his parents were no more, he understood
his mistake,
But just as his father said, it was just too late.
Few days later, after the funeral was over,
A suited lawyer approached the grief-stricken Ravi;
He gave Ravi, his parents’ will which was wrapped in a
brown cover,
It said, “To our dearest son, for inside you, we live!”
“Ravi,” the lawyer started, “You are now the sole owner
of Sen Industries.
There are some savings under your name that your
parents had made.
‘My son should not suffer by any means, in case we
die’,
At least, that is what your father had said.
Four years later, a journalist asked,
“Mr. Ravi, the most successful young man,
How does it feel to be awarded the best businessman?”
“I feel honoured”, the cameras clicked everywhere he
could see..
“Any advice you want to give to today’s young
generation?”
His voice shook as he spoke:
“Never ask your parents ‘What have you done for
me?’...”
*****
-
Diptarka
Ghosh Hajra
