Life in a Metro

Piyush and Priya have been married for some time and still finding it hard to cope with the lifestyle in a big metro. It was love marriage but gradually they are spending less time together. Piyush has become stagnant in his operations profile and the new bosses do not think too high of his skills. Priya on the other hand works for a retail chain as their brand manager and is doing very good in her career. Piyush is ambitious by nature and wants to achieve lots.

'Priya!  I cannot drive to office late everyday just because you cannot stitch your acts in time. There has to be a sense of discipline or else you find an alternate way to go to office.' Piyush honks the car continuously.

 ‘Piyush!!  The only time we get together are these journeys from home to office and back. You want me to stop that as well.’ . She come running and gets into the car.

Mad Rush in Metropolitan Cities

‘Look I have been supportive of your job and you know that very well but for the sake of your job I can’t sacrifice mine. I am under tremendous pressure at work and can’t ill afford to run slack. I can achieve plenty provided I am allowed to concentrate on work.’

‘Oh so you mean I am the reason for you not doing well or getting raises, promotions or a better switch?' 

‘I don’t want to spoil my morning so let’s stop here’. The traffic moves like a snail even on the express way. Piyush has an internal meeting with the Sales Team and does not wants to get late. 

‘Piyush! you have changed a lot, you don’t tell me your thoughts nor you love me as you used to.’ Why for god sake women pick up fights early in the morning? Don’t they have sense of time or place, sighs Piyush.

'Priya ! It’s just that men get happiness when they do well professionally and women when their house is in order. In our arrangement we have to first decide who the man is and who the woman is.’ 

‘What do you mean?? You want me to drop my career and raise a family now?We agreed that we will not talk about this for at least next 5 years.'

Silence accompanies them for the rest of the journey and in their minds thoughts flow.

'I fought against my parents to get married to him, broke my relationships with family and friends just to make him comfortable. I am earning to share his burden of EMI’s, ever spiraling living expenses and saving for a comfortable future.'

'She is the only girl I loved and always dreamt of marrying her. I want to do well in career so that I can take good care of her and the family. The question of family will only arise when we sit and decide a pit stop. But who has the time. Her ego and career is more important than anything else. What will we do of the money when there is no time to be together, no kids to relax with ,no future to live for.'

They reach her office gate.

‘Priya do you mind leaving everything and going back to Dehradun, parents are there, life will be easy, we will earn less but we will be much happier’.

‘Don’t get silly ideas!! I will take a week off and let’s go on a short vacation. We need time together’.

 ‘Yes I even think so, in this mad rush of daily life we have stopped spending quality time with each other.’

‘Have a Good Day’.

They hug and depart smiling with a renewed hope to start afresh.

10 years later….

‘Priyansh ! Come fast or else ask mom to drop you to school’

‘No daddy I am coming’.

'Get into the car you both!!'

Posted in: Couple, Love, Short Story