My Wanderings - 63. Short Story No 43. Paradox of Badri Nath

                      Badri Nath Pandita  was a very methodical person right from  the beginning and  sometimes scornful of the prevailing  system during his times . He was born in a  poor and large family,  being last but one  among his other seven siblings. He was first in his family who graduated and got a job in state Govt. He looked after his parents nicely untill they left this mortal world  quite peacefully .
Badri Nath   had risen to the position of an Office superintendent in his Deptt. by the dint of his hard labour , punctuality and decipline. Moreover, he was  honest to the core. The persons working under him had made fortunes but he neither  compromised with his principles nor obliged anyone for a treat or favour. However, his Deptt.was usually considered by compromising people as source for minting money.
He was so honest that if he  had some departmental letter addressed to himself,  he would enter it properly in the peon book and then only after his proper acknowledgement he would receive it. Once there was an inspection of his section , Inspector was not able to find any irregularity  despite of his best efforts in this regard as he had to justify his visit. Finally he visited the urinal and found nephthaline  balls missing there and pointed out the same irregularity.  Badri Nath sent two peons immediately  to purchase the nephthaline balls in the market. But nephthaline balls  could not be found. He then ordered them  to make  white  paper balls in the shape of nephthaline balls and kept them in urinal and got his irregularity removed from the shrewd Inspector.   Sometimes people, on his back,  made fun of  his methods but nobody ,including his superiors ,  ventured  to argue in front of him. He was methodical in his family life also. His wife was very generous and devoted lady who would be ever ready to fulfill the whims and fancies of her husband . They had only two children , when other couples of their age had not  less than four or five children during those days . Badri Nath   had planned  his family properly  when no body was aware of the word  family planning . Those days there was no restriction from  Govt or society  to plan  the family. Moreover , one had  to bear the ire of family or society who opted for this. He married his daughter, who was elder to his son at a very young age only after she  completed  some basic education. He was not also much particular about the education of his son  and let him grow with  his own  natural  faculties . Moreover , Badri Nath  was much against arranging private tuition for his  children, about which people had started to get awareness. It was not because Badri Nath  could  not afford to arrange private tuition for his only son but it was against his principles . The son of Badri Nath   was very intelligent. He always stood first in the class. Badri Nath    was not much  interested in securing   a seat for him in professional college either  . He  made up his mind  that after graduation, his son will  join some office at his native place  and get promoted in due course of time. He thought that he will marry  him with a simple girl so that he   remains  always with him.
One day Badri Nath's  wife ventured to have an arguement with her husband for the sake of her only  son.
"Why don't you try to get your son admitted in some professional college?,she said hesitantly.
" I don't want that my son should become an engineer , and get married to the daughter of  some   affualent family , so that I will loose my son for ever." he retorted back, " I want my son to be with me in my old age also.
" You are trying to be selfish here  ", she said with indignation. " No father in this world will be ever jealous of his son's progress like you."
"I am not jealous of his progress , but I want him to be with me", replied Badri Nath with  determination .
It was really very difficult to argue with Badri Nath ,  which his wife knew very well and therefore , She  herself stopped  the arguement voluntarily and got busy with other chores of  her house. 
Here it will be pertinent to tell the  reader about  those days when  professional colleges were few and far within the country . It was really difficult to get admission in those  colleges . But if admitted it ensured a better career opportunities  and a wife from affualent family for the eligible person.
The viewpoint of Badri Nath  regarding career of his son  appeared very absurd and rediculous  to his wife , friends and relatives but none dared to  argue with him in this regard.
While people make plans for future of their wards , destiny plays its own  role in  building the career of  eligible students, sometimes,  in complete contradiction with their  propositions.
As already advised son of Badri Nath was very  intelligent , he secured second  position in his intermediate exams  . He got nomination in reputed engineering  college outside Kashmir along with Govt.scholarship  for study purposes . Now Badri Nath  was left with no other alternative but to send his son for engineering training outside Kashmir. He had to bow before destiny ,  despite of all his reluctance in this regard.
Then all the forecasts of Badri Nath began to realise in  due course of time. Only after completing engineering his son got a placement in American company and he shifted  there within a very short period. He got married to a girl from a very affualent family of Kashmiri Pandits , who were already settled in states . He remained in touch with his parents for some time but in due course of time  he was lost in the limelight and hectic life of America . Badri Nath and his wife grew old and lived lonely life in their native city , longing for the occasional visits of their daughter and son in law , who also lived in the same city coincidentally .
One day Badri Nath felt himself in a  Paradox , a  seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true .
At the fag end of his life he  realised the truth of his conviction , which appeared absurd to most of the people around him including his wife once upon a time.
It was really true and well founded, he murmured with himself.
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