Rajnish had picked up the habit of reading Shakespeare. He was a great admirer of the Bard. Once he recited the famous verses from The Merchant of Venice to Aisha:
The quality of mercy is not strain’d,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath:
it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest…
Aisha was moved. Yes, this was the time, yes. She gathered courage…”Rajnish…I was behind your parents’ murder.” Rajnish’s body went cold, his eye eyes turned red, was that because of savage sadness or noble anger is a fact unknown. He got up, got hold of a hammer and rushed towards Aisha, she tried to run but he got hold of her too…he raised the hammer…and dropped it, on the floor; frustrated.
“No, Aisha, death may not take you,
As I, idiot, love you,
It is done – the beginnings new,
All this time, why didn’t I knew,
Your lusthirsty, bloodthirsty self?”
Rajnish headed towards the nearby river. His heart and mind were a boiling pot of emotions. Actually, Rajnish had secretly killed Aisha’s father- Ganpat, as his revenge. No one knew of this. He had used his political influence to silence his act. Now, he realized he had taken away an innocent life. But this evil had had no effect on the devil.
Who, Aisha? Devil? Evil? No, Aisha was more of an Aphrodite for him. But now he felt guilty of loving her when she should not even have been living in this world! He had killed he dear mother, how could he forget! But she had accidentally fulfilled an unconscious Oedipal wish of his – she had killed his father. But that couldn’t repay his mother’s murder. And after all, Bajirao was his father, his well-wisher. Oh, such confusion!
“Whose life to give, whose to take?
High are the stakes.
What is and what isn’t?
What should I do, what I shouldn’t?
That’s the question…” he thought.
Suddenly, he saw a human figure standing in mid-air, over the river. It was Rajnish’s mother, no doubt! In a dreamy voice, she said;
“You may think of revenge,
But not me may you avenge,
Because this all is savage,
The evil being’s beverage.
Forgive them, my son!
Forgive!”
The figure vanished in the air. Rajnish felt her presence. Omnipresence.
He was calm now, his path was clear. He walked on it until he reached a high cliff. He phoned Aisha;
“Aisha, you used to say that we are one,
So I am you and you are me.
Let it be so.
Let I be you,
And you be me.
I sacrifice me with glee,
May your beautiful life you see.
I forgive you, Aisha! Please forgive me too…you’ll soon discover if this is not reason enough. And I still love you!!”
He ended the call, ended his life. He jumped to his doom. He reached there. Death.
Aisha kept the phone aside . Beside her sat party members. “My work is done. Now you may carry on your promises. Make me the president, change the manifesto. Now, we’ll smoothly win. Where is the opposition now?” all laughed out loud.
Such a complex character – Aisha.
Beauty & Tragedy 