Translated from the Original Hindi by
Kanwar Dinesh Singh
There was some discussion on the topic “Women’s Freedom and Respect” on the lunch break. Professor Shekhar Kumar was speaking something. The beautiful, fair-complexioned Shalini, sitting right in front of him at the dining table, tightly held the edge of her sari and stared at him with flaming eyes. Shekhar Kumar was shocked. Shalini stuttered in anger and said to her friend Nisha, sitting nearby, “Let’s go, dear!”
“What happened?” Nisha asked in surprise.
“Get up now,” Shalini said while picking her up and moved ahead. Nisha got up in a hurry and followed her.
“Shalini, what happened to you all of a sudden?” Nisha asked whispering.
“I wanted to ask this professor something, but he turned out to be very mean.”
Nisha said, “O dear, what happened to you all of a sudden? Tell me, did he offend you?”
Shalini said, “See, this is my second year in research…As this professor was giving a very good lecture on women’s freedom and empowerment from the dais, I thought of discussing some concepts of research for clarity with him.”
Nisha said, “So what’s wrong with this; you’d have discussed with him.”
Shalini said, “O, what should I tell you? Didn’t you see that yourself? At first, he kept talking well, but after a while, the way he was staring at my body—only I can understand that. While looking at me meaningfully, he said, “You are very smart; your research will be completed in no time. Shameless creature!”
Nisha said, “Let it be, dear! I have also faced many such professors who talk a lot from the stage, giving examples from scriptures. They are nothing but wolves. It’s a compulsion of the system that we are bound to do research in the guidance of such people against our wish.”
“There is no dearth of good people in the world. We’ll teach lessons to men like him.” Before entering her room, Shalini looked back; there was pallor on Shekhar Kumar’s face.
-0-Dr Kanwar Dinesh Singh