Brotherhood of Man
by Murzban F. Shroff
In which Sandeep Kaul, Sandy, a young stockbroker, having made a killing that day, and travelling home to Andheri on the last train of the night; Sandy, having celebrated his profits with his friends at a quarter bar in Colaba and having left his friends at the point they decided to take their revelries to a house of pleasure. Not that Sandy wasn’t tempted, but he was still hurting at the departure of his wife, who had left him unexpectedly, without warning. Removed from the banter of his friends, Sandy realized that he was punch drunk. The rocking motion of the train made him sleepy. He was wondering whether he should catch a nap, when he heard loud voices from the doorway and noticed two men quarreling. The younger of the two seemed upset; he was angry and, from time to time, would swing on the rod at the entrance. When he did that, his friend’s eyes would widen in fear, he would chide the young man and grab at him, but the young man would push him away. Sleep fled from Sandy’s eyes. He strained to see what was happening. The young man was clearly taking chances with his life: he could be struck by an electric pole any moment. Sandy realized that the young man was threatening to kill himself; he was swinging his body further and further out of the doorway. His older friend tried to stop him, but the young man kept pushing him away. Sandy got to his feet. He walked across to the two men. Politely, he asked the young man if he could speak to him. The young man stared at Sandy suspiciously. Please, said Sandy, it will take only a few minutes. The young man hesitated, then relented. He allowed Sandy to lead him to a seat. The older man looked at Sandy gratefully, and shook his head approvingly, as though to say it was a timely intervention. Sandy began. He was married once, not long ago. He had a daughter, only six years old. He was doing well in his job, making good money, saving, investing. He had invested in a house, toward which he paid a huge mortgage every month, and his daughter went to a good school. Then, his wife tells him one day that she wanted to leave him because she had been to a college reunion, and met an old boyfriend with whom she still shared a spark. The spark had never gone, actually. She wanted to follow through on that feeling, and it was better she did so now than later, she said. While they were still young. At this point, the young man shouted: “You should never have let her go to that reunion. A woman’s place is at home, with her husband.” Normally, Sandy would have countered that, he wasn’t that kind of a man; but today he said, “I know, brother, I know. I was wrong, and I paid a price.” The young man put an arm around Sandy. He said, “I, too, have seen treachery, brother, but not like yours.” Now Sandy continued. She had claimed their house, which was in both their names, and Sandy was working extra-long hours to pay off the mortgage, while she continued to be with her old boyfriend, who, incidentally, was married, and showed no signs of leaving his wife. The young man cursed again, and Sandy went red at the ears. He himself had no such words for his wife. He said to the young man, “What I am trying to tell you, my friend, is that I, too, felt like killing myself. I, too, felt like jumping off a train. But you don’t go killing yourself for the wrong reasons. You don’t give up your life for the wrong person.” The young man nodded. “I know, brother, I know. I know I was wrong. I am ashamed. But, then, I am not as brave as you.” Hearing this, the older man bent and hugged his friend, who, rising, hugged him back. The train broke speed. A station was coming into view. Yet the two friends hugged warmly. Seeing them, Sandy felt as though a rock had been lifted from his heart. Yes, he was tired from the weight he had carried all these months. But his mind was clear. Crystal clear. It told him why he had been betrayed. So that one day, perhaps, he might save the life of a young man, a man much younger than himself, with a whole life ahead of him.
Murzban F Shroff is the author of Breathless in Bombay (stories), Waiting for Jonathan Koshy (novel) and Fasttrack Fiction (digital shorts). A six-time Pushcart Prize nominee, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for best debut from Europe and South Asia, a finalist for the Horatio Nelson Fiction Award, and the recipient of the John Gilgun Fiction Award, Shroff’s fourth book, Third Eye Rising (stories) will publish in January 2021 in the U.S.
