[Gosh! It has been a while since I have posted any scribbles here. Recycling one of my recent Facebook posts - because it is food for thought at many levels. Will perhaps start a series of blogs on random conversations: with strangers, service providers, et al! :-)]
I was in the middle of touching my make-up - it would have sounded very arrogant or flippant or even comical to chat about such a issue then! So I waited till I was done, and then asked him if there was a problem. He waived my question with a "nothing, minor things happen in marriages." I gently stated that hitting is not a minor thing; it amounts to domestic violence. He lamented that people like me would not understand. And according to him, domestic violence is about "drinking and hitting"! Whoa! He then steered the conversation towards his wife, who he said becomes defensive when she is wrong and thus, instigates him. So he slaps her hard. She calms down. And the cycle repeats. Hmm! He hits his children once in a while when they misbehave, so that they know what fear is. Hmm! What logic!
I overheard my cab driver asking on the phone "did he hit you?" The speaker was on, so I could hear a woman's voice from the other end. Gist of the story - she was hit, she kept quiet, and locked herself up in her room. The driver mumbled some sympathy and told her he would call her back in a few.
I was in the middle of touching my make-up - it would have sounded very arrogant or flippant or even comical to chat about such a issue then! So I waited till I was done, and then asked him if there was a problem. He waived my question with a "nothing, minor things happen in marriages." I gently stated that hitting is not a minor thing; it amounts to domestic violence. He lamented that people like me would not understand. And according to him, domestic violence is about "drinking and hitting"! Whoa! He then steered the conversation towards his wife, who he said becomes defensive when she is wrong and thus, instigates him. So he slaps her hard. She calms down. And the cycle repeats. Hmm! He hits his children once in a while when they misbehave, so that they know what fear is. Hmm! What logic!
Coming back to the woman on the phone: his sister. Spends most of her free time on Facebook, talking to strangers (read men), much to the dismay of her husband. He repeatedly warns her of the perils associated with such virtual connections. But she is hooked, and gets on to these chats the moment he steps out for work. Yesterday she had done the same thing. Chatted with a young guy from an interior city, who then sent her his pics and asked her to find him a wife. She chirped about this chat to her husband when he came back from work. And whack!
Moral of the story - Not my monkey, not my circus! :D
P.S: This post does not mean that I support either of the men here in the way they handle their situations/spouses. It is meant to be a grim reminder of the reality of our society. More on this soon.
