Jaane Bhi do Yaaron

I am a Gujju (often pronounced as Good Jew and may be that is why Hitler Spared me :-D) But, I am quite influenced by my Maharashtrian Neighbors and Collegues who have been God like during my depressing times. In Past 10 days, I have been at my lowest in eight months ever since I have been blogging. And it was getting too boring being down, so I decided to laugh it out somewhat.

I am representing the skit that I had written in my college, this time definitely remixed with 498a in it (then little did I know then that there is such a law and that I will be blogging it one day) I am sure all Maharashtrians will take it in the same spirits as my Colleagues and Neighbors who hold most of the surnames in the Society. This skit is limited to jokes with no intention of pulling down anyone. All characters here are fictitious and any resemblance to anyone living or dead has to be a sheer coincidence.

Once upon a time a Marathi Mulga (boy) named Abhay Wagh Fell in love with his class mate a Marathi Mulgi Kanta Waghmare. (Well some Maharashtrian surnames are also very unique, if translated it works out to some meaning. In this case Wagh means Tiger and Waghmare means Hunters of Tiger or also Tiger Killers.)

This story is post 1983, in the era of 498a misuse and dowry less urban marriages. Where the ingredients of a Hindu marriage are still the same, that is to say Husband, Wife, and husband’s joint family and the regular anticipations of the wife to stay away in a nuclear family and husbands unperturbed devotion to parents along with wife. But with Section 498a in the backdrop the story unfolds like this...

After some months of marriage, Wife nags and demands a nuclear family, Husband is sandwiched, tries to play the hero with a middle way out working out a win win for all the parties. But this hurts the ego of Wife and she goes away to her parent’s house.

Girl's Family, The Waghmares are now furious and they file a 498a on the family of Waghs on a friday evening, Kanta’s family became the Kaante for the Waghs. Abhay Wagh and his family members were caged, I mean arrested by the charges put by Waghmares u/s 498a and other accompanying charges of 406, and other charges that I would deliberately not mention. Abhay was full of bhay of being arrested again if the bail got rejected. But, They were released after some holocaust.

Now, the Wagh’s were busy quashing the charges on them. Their Lawyer Mr. Khare (Kahre means Right/True in Marathi) was giving a tough fight to the lawyer of the Whagmares- Mr. Khote (Wrong/False in Marathi) The case ran that was dragged to a knothole witness different tenure of the judges who changed from Mr. Khan to Mr.Walker to Mr. Khanwalker.

Abhay now comes across a movement call "Save Indian Family" that fights Elder Abuse and Misuse of family laws that is section 498a that lack the essence of Evidence Act. Abhay was counselled by the victim brothers of the same boat and he is now running “self-sponsored-Free-to-users” independent Helplines of the group. He attends the victims personally and also if required, then blog-fights on the net against those who call names to Save Indian Family like Shaming Indian Families etc. He hates the fact that people just do not give a fair chance to the innocent husbands family and benefit of doubt is to the cunning Wife's family by default.

Over the shoulder, This guy would have been settled with some difference here and there in life, if 498a was not prevailing in its current form. Would have excelled in his life as a man of family with his wife and children born to them.

But with the family broken morally, financially, stately rather ubiquitously, he is still finding it hard to settle down with the fact that his money, time and age all have gone in proving him and his family Innocent under the presumptuous law that holds one guilty till proven innocent, the law which is exempted from evidence act, the law that is justified by the documented stories of one side and does not accept the other side of documentation. The law arguably called as the liar’s law, the anti-dowry law and Section 498a.

Abhay Wagh, who always sang “Hum Honge Kamyaab ek din”, was once interviewed by one of the journalist who realized the whole scence and he though being optimistic did realize that his generation of people have lost it all. And he just said “Hum honge Kamyab? Ab Jaane bhi do yaaro (let it be), We are stranded, We could have been better off, But we are now fighting for the Elders and next generation"

Hum Honge Kamyab... Ek din,

Jinesh Zaveri.