Five Lacs of Rupees

Ashtavakra is a mythological character from Veda Vyasa's Mahabharata. He was a boy with eight bends and a hunch back. Despite his deformed body, he was an intellectual giant and won over Vandi, the court priest in Mythilla who had humiliatingly defeated his father Kagola. I was writing Mahabharata is English and had just written a sentence. A father is probably the most important person, because without him, you and I would be here.
I suddenly heard a voice. “Don’t you think that it is a bit of overgeneralization? Just as the five fingers can’t be all equal; not all fathers are the same too. Mine for example is on out and out bastard!”
I turned around to look at the person, who in one sentence had cast grave doubts at his grand father’s potency, grand mother’s character and father’s origins. It was a young man in his early thirties; fair, smart and well dressed. He looked like a model or an actor. He had been arrested in some case and was an occupant of the special class block.
Even in prison, I was a busy man, and thus did not waste my time in discussing non issues with other prisoners. Nevertheless he was an occupant of my block and introductions were only natural. His name was Rajesh Bajaj and he was a builder. I did not actually ask him, but came to know nevertheless that he had been arrested under section 324,307 and 506 (part two) of the Indian Penal code. In a simple language, these would refer to simple injury, grievous injury and criminal intimidation. He had beaten someone up quite badly. He remained with us only for three days after which he got a bail. I had not asked him, whom he had got into a fight with, and before I could get friendly or familiar with him, he was released.
The next week, we had another occupant to our block. This gentleman in his sixties was grey haired but fair smart and well dressed. His face appeared extremely familiar and I could catch the connection, only when he told me his name Srichand Bajaj. He was a builder too. When I casually looked at his admission card, I found that he had been arrested exactly for the some section as his son had earlier been. He was arrested on a Thursday and thus had to stay in the prison over the weekend. He got his bail eventually on a Tuesday. I could not avoid hearing his story, and it was both stupid and tragic. Srichand and Rajesh were partners in a construction deal. The net profits were about ten lacs. The father decided that he deserved about seven lacs while his son the remaining. Rajesh disagreed and insisted that he be paid five. When Rajesh and his wife had gone to his parent’s house for dinner, what started as a small discussion, ended up in hot words. The daughter-in-law, spoke rudely to the father-in-law who got annoyed and screamed back at her! The son supported his wife; a fracas ensued; and had his hands around the old mans throat, before they could be separated.
Srichand was enraged that his own son could do this to him. He approached the local police station and lodged a compliant consequent to which the son had to spend a few days in the prison. It was not difficult to understand that the father was here due to a counter compliant. During his stay Srichand commented time and again that his son Rajesh was a slimy bastard, blissfully unaware of the fact, that each time he uttered this, he was making himself impotent and sullying his good wife’s character. I will teach that bastard a lesson were his words when he was released on bail.
A few days later I met Rajesh Bajaj at the prison gates, where I was awaiting admission as a court returnee. This time being a repeat offender, he had not been given special class.
“I will not leave that bastard. He may be my father but see how he behaves! The first time he paid twenty thousand to the inspector to get me arrested. This time I heard that it is a lac. But I will be out on bail in a day or two. Even if I have to spend five lacs, I will surely teach him lesson when I go out. I hate that bastard!”