Happy Anniversary
Short Fiction
For 31 years, Amit and Seema Arora have lived a life of ordinary joys, recycled struggles and an unvarying routine built around necessity and unquestioned responsibility. Amit Arora, 64, has filled the vacuum of retirement with tea, technology and a daily dose of dismissals. He consumes world news with a large side of namkeen and cynicism and is also an active member of his Resident Welfare Association. Seema Arora at 61, a retired home science teacher has treaded the foliage of marriage, work and motherhood to arrive at a clearing, unaccustomed to sun and space. On the outside, the Aroras appear to be a well-greased unit, replete with a daughter, Mansi, married to the love of her life.
The film begins with a slice of their reality, a family born on the cusp of stifling patriarchy, globalization and the rise of a peculiar middle-class mindset with roles reigning over interests. Seema and Amit have worked in tandem to achieve the middle-class dream, they have a modest house, a car, savings to not just survive but to spare on a few indulgences, a successful daughter in a happy marriage and a spotless image in the society. But this dream is held together by several fallacies that are eclipsed from their heavily conditioned minds.
On the afternoon of their 31st anniversary, a debate triggered by their six- year old granddaughter’s sense of individuality even at such an early age, causes Seema to question her dependency, a coerced sense of satisfaction and a patchwork identity left on the back burner for 61 years. What gnaws at Seema, is not a lack of ambition, but a dearth of interests, an absence of the markers of individuality.
This realisation is strengthened under the heat of everyday dismissal of her needs and infantilization of her opinions at the hands of her husband as well as her daughter. An introspection into her second-hand childhood shared with five siblings traced over the beautifully ventilated life of her granddaughter, leads her to recognize the need for space, both physical and metaphoric, to thrive.
Soaked in this realization and a belated sense of purpose, Seema looks for a tangible shift, a room of her own, on their anniversary. A blinded Amit is shocked by this revelation and rejects the idea only to unearth his own insecurities.
In this great middle-class saga, there is no hero, no villain, just victims of circumstances guilty only of performing and perpetuating toxic traditions unquestioningly.
Puzzled, full of self doubt, and facing emotions and questions Amit and Seema had never dealt with earlier , they begin to negotiate and understand each other better and embark on another year of their married life with a renewed(hopefully) understanding.
