Sunday, March 13, 2016

Children of Divorced Parents – Assets, Liabilities or Bad Debts...?

This evening – on TV – I watched the movie ONE FINE DAY for the Nth” time.

The film is a romantic comedy that depicts the parenting problems faced by divorced single parents and emotional fluster of children of divorced parents. 

This reminded me of a story I had written long back on a similar theme – from the Point of View (POV) of a small boy whose parents are divorced.

I called the story BADMINTON

Read on...


BADMINTON
A Small Boy Narrates his Life Story
Short Fiction
By
VIKRAM KARVE


Badminton is a game where you volley a shuttlecock back and forth over a net 


BADMINTON – A Story By Vikram Karve

Part 1

DIVORCE 

BADMINTON SINGLES

My life is like a game of badminton. 

I am the shuttlecock  and my mother and my father are the two opposing players.

Let me explain.

My parents are getting divorced. 

Now  both are highly qualified MBAs – and have very meticulously divided their assets  and very painstakingly shared their liabilities. 

Except me. 

They don’t know how to divide me  so they are fighting it out in court  battling it out for my custody. 

And  till they finally decide this way or the other  I am being tossed from one parent to the other  like a shuttlecock is tossed from one player to the opponent in a game of badminton.

From Monday to Thursday  after school is over  I take the Aundh Bus to stay at my mother’s place.

On Friday  I take the Kondhwa Bus to spend the weekend with my father.

On Sunday evening my father has to drop me off at my mother’s place before 6 oclock.

And  if we are late even by one minute  my mother raises a hue and cry against my father  and she complains to the family court.


After Two Years


Part 2

REMARRIAGE

BADMINTON MIXED DOUBLES

My life is still like a game of badminton. 

But now – after 2 years – there is a slight difference. 

Now  instead of badminton singles  it is a game of badminton mixed doubles.

Let me explain.

On one side of the badminton court  are my real father and step-mother.

And  across the net  on the other side of the badminton court  are my real mother and step-father

And  I am still the shuttlecock  being tossed from one side of the badminton court to the other side of the badminton court  back and forth. 

However  there is also a big difference. 

Earlier  when they used to play badminton singles  the rallies were short and sweet  the volleys were gentle  and each player wanted the shuttlecock to fall on their own side of the court. 

Now  in badminton mixed doubles  the rallies are long and painful  the smashes are hard  and the players  especially the new players  want the shuttlecock to fall on the other side of the court  across the net.

Do you want me to explain...? 

I don’t think I need to.

I am sure you have got the drift of what I am trying to say. 

Now you tell me one thing:

Am I an asset to be divided...?

Or  am I a liability to be shared...?

And then – a terrible thought comes to my mind – of a third option.

And I feel afraid of one thing. 

In the game of badminton  the shuttlecock may get worn out. 

Then  the badminton players toss the shuttlecock out of the court – yes – the players throw away the old shuttlecock – and they get a new one.

Oh my God...!!! 

Will this happen to me...?

Once they have their own children  what will happen to me?

I will become like an old shuttlecock  to be discarded  and to be replaced by a new shuttlecock.

Yes  once they get rid of the old shuttlecock  maybe the mixed doubles partners will stop playing mixed doubles with the old shuttlecock.

Now they may start playing badminton singles with each other with their own new shuttlecocks.

Soon  both couples  my real mother and stepfather  and  my real father and stepmother  they will have their very own children.

And then  they may abandon me forever. 

Yes  I am really scared that I will be abandoned forever. 

I will no longer be an asset to be divided.

I will no longer be a liability to be shared.

But – I will become a bad debt to be written-off from the balance sheets of my biological parents lives.


EPILOGUE 

Please answer the small boys question – and  solve his predicament.

Once parents get divorced  and then they remarry someone else:

1. Are children of their first marriages ASSETS to be divided...?

2. Or  Are children of their first marriages LIABILITIES to be shared...?

3. Or – Are children of first marriages like BAD DEBTS to be written-off from the balance sheet of each parents life...?

Dear Reader  please comment  and do let us know your views. 

VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 
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Disclaimer:
This story is a work of fiction.  Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the story are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice
No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.
Copyright © Vikram Karve (All Rights Reserved)

Copyright © Vikram Karve (all rights reserved)

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