A Devoted Son

A Devoted Son
Rakesh is as devoted to his parents as he is committed to his
work. An ideal son, surgeon and husband, he comes up in life the
hard way. When at the peak of success and fame, he loses his
mother and watches his old father going to pieces. How does he
balance his professional obligations against his personal duties?
Let us find out.

THE results appeared in the morning papers. Rakesh scanned
them. Then he went up the steps to the verandah where his
father sat sipping his morning tea, and bowed down to touch
his feet.
“A first division, son?” his father asked, reaching for the papers.
“At the top of the list, Papa,” Rakesh murmured. “First in
the country.”
The family whooped and danced. The whole day long
visitors streamed into the house to congratulate the parents
and to slap Rakesh on the back. They filled the house and

scanned: examined carefully whooped: made a lot of noise in celebration

the garden with the sounds and colours of a festival. Rakesh
was the first son in the family to go to school and then medical
college. At last the fruits of his parents’ sacrifice and his
own labour had arrived, golden and glorious.
To everyone who came to him to say “Mubarak, Varmaji,
your son has brought you glory”, the father said, “Yes, and
do you know what is the first thing he did when he saw the
results this morning? He came and touched my feet. He
bowed down and touched my feet.” This moved many of the
women and men in the crowd and they shook their heads in
wonder and approval of such exemplary behaviour. “One
does not often see such behaviour in sons any more,” they
all agreed.
And that was only the beginning, the first step in a
sweeping ascent to the heights of fame and fortune. The
thesis he wrote for his MD brought Rakesh still greater glory.
He won a scholarship. He went to the United States of
America where he pursued his career in the most prestigious
of hospitals. What was more, he came back. He returned to...