“VIRTUE” and “VICE”
Story
By
VIKRAM KARVE
_____
PART 1
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“Do you drink…?” she asked me.
“Yes…” I said to her.
“You will have to quit drinking if you want to marry me…” she said.
“Quit Drinking…?” I asked her, curious.
“I don’t want a husband who drinks
alcohol…” she said to me, “my husband must be strict teetotaller…”
I thought about it.
I had really liked the girl –
she was beautiful, well-educated, and from a good family – she was elegant,
smart and graceful – I felt attracted towards her.
In fact – she was exactly the
type of wife I had wanted.
I wanted to marry her.
On the other hand – I loved having
a drink too.
So – I decided to see if I
could convince her to soften her stance.
“Well – I am not a drunkard or alcoholic – but – I do enjoy drinking once
in a while…” I said to her.
“Well – you will have to give up drinking completely…” she said.
“I feel you should be a bit flexible…” I said to her.
“No – it is non-negotiable – I don’t want a husband who has the vice of
drinking…” she said – in a rather imperative tone of voice.
“Isn’t that being a bit too harsh…?” I said to her, “in today’s world –
drinking can hardly be called a “vice”…!”
She looked at me and spoke.
“Drinking alcohol is a “major vice”…!!! If you want to marry me – you will
have to quit drinking totally – I will not allow you to drink even a drop of
alcohol…” she said to me – in a rather imperative tone of voice.
“Please…” I tried to reason with her, “you need not be so rigid…”
But – she interrupted me quite rudely.
“It is quite clear to me that drinking alcohol is more important to you
than marrying me. So – in that case – I don’t think it is possible for me to
marry you…” she said to me in a firm tone of finality.
And so – that was the end of the marriage proposal.
_____
Dear Reader – I forgot to tell you the name of the girl – her name was
Nisha – yes – her name was “Nisha”.
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10 Years Later
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PART 2
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I met Nisha 10 years later at a most unexpected place.
I was shocked when I saw her face.
She looked terrible – totally haggard – as if she had suffered a serious
bout of illness.
All her beauty and youthful looks had gone – her face looked harrowed
and fatigued – and she looked old – as if she had aged at least 20 years in the
10 years that had gone by.
I smiled at her.
She gave me a reluctant smile – her lips flaccid – her skin sagged –
there were ugly bags under her eyes – and her eyes looked weary – almost
lifeless.
I was mentally shaken by the metamorphosis in her appearance – she
looked sickly and burned-out – a sad sight.
It was evident that Nisha didn’t want to speak to me – because she walked
away – without speaking to me.
My friend came out of his clinic – and he called me inside.
He was my school classmate – and we were meeting for the first time
after leaving school – around 20 years ago.
A few months ago – we had met on a flight to Mumbai from Istanbul –
where I had signed off from my ship – and he was returning from a holiday in
Europe.
He was a psychiatrist now – and – I promised to meet him in case I
visited his town.
“That woman who came out of your clinic a few minutes ago – is her name Nisha…?”
I asked him.
“Yes…” I said, “she refused to marry me because she wanted a husband who
did not drink – she wanted a strict teetotaller husband who did not touch alcohol…”
“Oh…” my friend said, “poor thing – she is in bad shape…”
“Poor thing…? Bad shape…?” I said, curious.
“She was married to a wealthy businessman. Sadly - her husband had a
gambling addiction…” he said.
“Gambling Addiction…?” I asked him.
“Yes – he was totally addicted to gambling – pathological gambling – it’s
an impulse-control disorder…” my psychiatric friend said.
“So – what happened…?” I asked my friend.
“He was a compulsive gambler – he gambled his money on almost anything
and everything – he speculated in stocks – day trading – futures and options – he
used to do heavy betting – legal and illegal – from horse racing to cricket
matches – all sorts of “satta bazaar” – card games – you name it – and he
gambled money on it…” my friend said.
“And – his wife didn’t come to know…?” I asked.
Gambling Addiction is a “hidden illness” because there are no obvious
physical signs or symptoms like in alcohol addiction…” my friend said.
“Then – what happened…?” I asked him.
“I told you – he had a gambling addiction disorder – he couldn’t control
himself and he started gambling very heavily – he lost a lot of money – he took
huge debts to recoup his losses by speculating in shares – but the stock market
crashed – and he was totally wiped out – and – unable to pay his heavy debts – he
became bankrupt – with loan sharks hounding him – his gambling addiction totally
ruined his life…” my friend said.
“That’s quite a sad story…” I remarked.
“What happened after that is even sadder…” he said.
“What happened…?” I asked him, curious.
“He committed suicide…” my friend said.
“Oh My God…!!!” I said – taken aback.
“His wife – the lady you saw leaving my clinic – she had a severe nervous
breakdown – it was very acute – she even started having suicidal thoughts – so –
she had to be hospitalized…” he said.
“Nisha had a nervous breakdown…? Is she okay now…?” I asked him.
“Well – I am treating her – we are giving her counselling and therapy
too – she is improving – hopefully she will recover…” my psychiatric friend
said.
“What a sad story…” I said, “I hope she gets well soon…”
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EPILOGUE
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At night – I thought about Nisha – her sad story.
The irony was that now I was a teetotaller – I had quit drinking alcohol
a few years ago.
This story highlights an important fact – the “moral of the story”:
“Visible” Vices are “safer” that “Invisible” Vices.
It is easy for people to see your “visible” addictions like smoking, drinking
etc. – but – it is difficult for people to know about your “invisible” addictions
like gambling.
(I wonder if there are more such “invisible” vices)
Dear Reader – there is one more “moral of the story”:
A known “Devil” is better than an unknown “Angel”.
Think about it.
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
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