The Runaway

In a bid to pass my time during those boring hours of solitude, I started reading English novels very recently. Thanks to one of my close friends in Pune, for introducing me into this new world of English novels. I stared off with “The Last Juror” by John Grisham. It was pretty decent but not brilliant. The next one I read was “The Partner” by John Grisham.

This blog is about “The Partner”. Don’t worry people, I am neither writing the review of the book nor am I any good at it. I was more absorbed by the plot of the novel rather than anything else. It is about a partner in a law firm who fakes his own death and escapes with loads of cash. The chase begins and after a while the culprit gets caught. How the culprit justifies his side of the story and comes through against the trial by court make up the rest of the novel.

Our hero gets an idea of running away from everything and starting a new life all over due to his personal and professional pressures. He builds a plan and things fall beautifully in place for his getaway. The reasons given by the hero are an adulterated wife, being father to somebody else’s illegal child and the backstabbing by his partners.

Every one of us have gone through times when it feels as if you just want to leave everything as it is and run away. Where? When? How? We don’t bother. Just run away from this piece of shit and get lost. But is there such an option really on? What are the pros and cons? Nobody knows. Because nobody has really ever tried it.

Siddhartha would have gone through the same ordeal on the night he decided to flee. What would have been his feelings when he decided to leave his kingdom, throne, beautiful wife and lovely child? The force of the closed door pulling against the treaded (probably dreaded as well) path. How strong could have been the force? Certainly strong enough to throw Siddhartha into the world of Buddha.

The makings of a classic – Irresistible force against the Immovable object – are on. The force has the advantages of a fresh lease of life, no past burdens both financially and personally, doing whatever the hell you want without being accountable to the society and perennial freedom. The disadvantages being a need for financial backup to be procured either in the right way or the wrong way, guilty conscience and the fear of getting caught which can be tougher to overcome than the actual event.

The object has the advantages of familiarity, security to whatever extent and the bond. The bond especially is a very strong one. We develop a bond towards everything ranging from the dog next door to the beggar down the road to the office. The familiarity gives us a strange happiness and a sense of relief that nothing has changed. It is the same familiarity that becomes the disadvantage when there is an overdose.

Is the force strong enough to move the object? My answer is a strict NO. Indian culture provides a very strong bond between an individual and his family. A bond that is impossible to break away from. Whenever you sort of look out for a subway or a sub-route it is that bond which pulls you back. The more we think of leaving, the more we convince ourselves that staying is the better (if not best) option. Right choice I would say.

Throw in your 2 cents on this matter.