My Cousin Balaji (standard:Fan Fiction, 2945 words)
Author: Juggernaut	Added: Nov 14 2010	Views/Reads: 3373/1930	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A story of a young man lost his way in life.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

getting physical with his classmates only got him into hot water. At 
the end he couldn't cut the grade and failed to get into medical 
school, his mother's cherished wish. Somehow, Balaji managed to 
filter-through the education system and graduated with a degree in 
Botany, nicknamed the “wedding credential.” Since a diploma of some 
kind was essential for a matrimonial alliance for a man or woman in 
degree crazed India, students who failed in every field, generally 
majored in Botany, considered chop-liver among other fields of study. 

Balaji continued his academic pursuit to get a doctoral degree in
Botany. After he worked on his thesis for a few years, his professor 
rejected Balaji's Ph.D.thesis as gibberish with no sufficient 
experimental results. Frustrated, Balaji used his friends to harass his 
professor to approve his thesis. The timid professor was frightened by 
midnight threatening calls, being followed by strangers on the streets, 
and the fender benders while riding his scooter; all these incidents 
terrified the professor for his life, and he succumbed to the pressures 
to award the doctoral degree to Balaji. 

During a seminar on brain drain from developing countries to the United
States, Balaji met a Professor from the United States. Balaji impressed 
upon the American Professor that he was keen on coming to the United 
States for a short visit to expand his horizon in his field and bring 
back additional knowledge to impart on his Indian compatriots and thus 
reverse the process of brain drain. The American Professor heard 
similar stories before, but was impressed by the sincerity of Balaji. 
Besides, Balaji did not even raised the subject of financial aid, and 
said “knowledge is money.” 

Balaji invited the American Professor to his home to further impress him
with authentic South Indian homemade meals. The Professor was 
previously familiar with the run of the mill dishes at several Indian 
restaurants in the United States was impressed with a variety of 
genuine home-cooked dishes like massala dosa, coconut chutney, sambar, 
yellow rice with fried green chillies, stuffed eggplant curry, sour 
bread donuts saturated in plain yogurt, and sweet rice pudding with 
cashew nuts. 

The Professor highly recommended and sponsored Balaji for a short-term
post-doctoral position at his department without pay since Balaji 
insisted on working without pay. 

A few weeks after Balaji arrived in the United States, he grumbled that
he needed a monthly salary to sustain himself in the country. 
Surprised, the Professor realized that it was just a trick Balaji 
played on him when he said that knowledge is money to get sponsorship 
to come over to the United States. The Professor felt betrayed by 
Balaji, nevertheless, decided to give him one more chance by providing 
a small stipend to continue his work. 

After a few months, Balaji confronted his Professor, and accused him of
plagiarizing his work. Stunned and frightened, the Professor shook his 
head and asked “Dr. Balaji, are you sure about this?” 

“Sir, I read your recently published paper in which my ideas were
expressed without acknowledging my name.” Balaji was polite but firm. 

“ I could not give you acknowledgements based on your rhetoric, that
would be silly. I am sorry you felt that way,” replied the professor. 

Still not convinced, Balaji started spreading rumors that how his own
professor had stolen his serious work. Disappointed, the professor had 
to let go Balaji from his position with a favorable recommendation 
letter, an intelligent ploy to get rid off him. Armed with a good 
reference letter, Balaji managed to get a job with a better salary at a 
research institute in Arkansas. There, he impressed his superiors with 
his oratory that with his experience in plant breeding, and gene 
splicing techniques, he could produce rice that would smell like rose 
or jasmine. The Research Director was excited to the idea of producing 
Jasmine Rice or Rose Rice. 

Balaji in his new position traveled extensively to participate in the
scientific conferences, and spoke eloquently on the possibility of 
growing aromatic rice. After the research funds were exhausted, Balaji 
produced neither Rose nor Jasmine Rice. When he requested an extension 
of his employment contract, the Research Director asked “when do you 
expect to produce the aromatic rice?” 

“I have a simple formula that cost far less to make aromatic rice than
using complicated plant genetics, said Balaji with a twinkle in his 
eyes. I recommend adding artificial flavoring or essence while cooking 
plain rice, as matter-of-fact this approach gives a wider choice to the 
consumers. People can add whatever flavor they like, including 
raspberry or strawberry or even vanilla, just imagine eating vanilla 
rice,” Balaji's reply was sharp and crisp. Balaji sounded more like a 
con man than scientist. 

The reply stunned the Research Director, and he politely requested Dr.
Balaji to resign, and provided him with a good testimonial to find a 
job elsewhere. 

Dr. Balaji moved from place to place like a “Tripadhi Nakshathram” or
roaming star named after a star not so famous for brightness but for 
roaming all over the sky. 

Back home, Balaji's mother disappointed that her son failed to fulfill
her dream of becoming a medical doctor wanted him to marry a medical 
doctor so that at least her daughter-in-law would be a medical doctor. 
After screening several matrimonial alliances, she found a bride, a 
medical doctor from a decent family to marry her loving son Balaji now 
a Research Scholar albeit-a “Roaming Star” in the United States. 

Balaji introduced himself as Dr. Balaji without mentioning any specific
area of specialization or expertise. Among biochemists, he spoke 
eloquently on biochemistry; among immunologists, he lectured on simple 
blood tests to find allergies. Lecturing in any area of specialty came 
easy to him since talk is cheap and that kept him afloat wherever he 
went, at least for a short periods of time. 

Balaji shuttled from coast to coast and changed his jobs every so often.
At every place of employment, his research grants ran out in less than 
a year for mysterious reasons, and yet he received excellent 
recommendation letters from his superiors. During one of his stints at 
a Timber Research Institute, he advocated growing timber trees with 
poison ivy characteristics so that any beetle or bug that attacked the 
timber would scratch itself to death, this was to eliminate chemical 
treatment of timber for pest control. While this idea sounded 
revolutionary at first, after a while people thought it was a joke. He 
was kicked out from his research position within 3 months, the shortest 
duration of time he worked at any place. 

Dr. Balaji was in a constant motion, traveled from place to place
changing jobs and fields of specialization. At one stage, he thought of 
getting into Information Technology (IT), a hot field but then 
potential employers asked him too many questions in the job interviews 
and the job required special training, so he abandoned the idea of 
jumping into IT business and declared that it was only for the people 
with pigeon hole mentality. 

He went to India and got married to Sujatha, the doctor his mother
selected, and came back to the United States with her. Immediately on 
arrival to America with his wife, he jumped onto his new area of 
interest or specialization- his wife's career. Balaji considered his 
wife as an investment in the medical field. Sujatha worked in a 
temporary job and studied meticulously during the nights to complete 
the qualifying tests to gain entry into the residency medical training. 


Sujatha and Balaji argued when it was time in selecting the specific
area of medical training. Sujatha was interested in Pediatrics since 
she loved babies so she wanted to apply for medical training in 
Pediatrics. 

“Why you are applying for pediatric training? Are you out of your mind?”
Balaji went crazy. 

“I love children and which other field give more opportunities to work
with children than Pediatrics?” 

“Listen, do you know how much Pediatricians make in this country” asked
Balaji in a sarcastic way. 

“It was not the question of money,” Sujatha was adamant. 

“Then, what is your second choice of interest?” 

“Umm, I like Anesthesiology.” 

“Anesthesiology? Even a nurse-Anesthesiologist can do the job, it was
not a job for MDs,” Balaji showed his expertise in the medical field. 

“It was not so much of a challenge but my own personal interest in the
field that matters. Why you specialized in Botany of all the fields?” 
Sujatha challenged Balaji. 

Balaji was in trouble now. He couldn't say to his wife why he ended up
in Botany, the “wedding credential,” without which no girl was 
interested in him for a marriage. 

“Okay, what is your third choice?” Balaji ignored his wife's inquiry. 

“Radiology or Pathology, but I do not have to take your permission to
choose which area I would specialize, you know,” she said. 

“Oh no, the Radiologists would spend whole day reading x-rays for a
pittance, and Pathologists were not real doctors either, all they do is 
examine slides and write reports.” 

Sujatha filled the application forms prioritizing her own choice of
interest, and totally ignored Balaji. 

“I gave up on you, you are here in the United States because of me. If
not for me, you are worth nothing,” Balaji reverted to his strong-hand 
tactics on his wife. 

Sujatha was selected for the residency medical training in Pediatrics,
her favorite field of choice at a hospital in a city hundreds of miles 
away from the place where they were living together. Although Balaji 
insisted upon travelling with her to the new place, Sujatha suggested 
that he should stay put, and continue to work at his current location. 

Balaji was fearful that Sujatha who now called herself Sue might become
too independent by living on her own, kept calling her every other day 
to tell her that he would like to quit his job, and join her at any 
moment. 

Sue on the other hand, postponed his planned trips on the pretext that
as a first year medical resident, she was very busy working more than 
80 hours a week, and she would not have time, even for a romantic 
evening with him. 

One day, Balaji received a letter from Sue in the mail. Anxiously,
Balaji read the letter loudly to himself. 

Balaji, 

I am writing this letter to let you know that I have decided to live on
my own forever. During the few years I spent with you, I was treated as 
an investment you made to make money in the medical business, and at no 
point you expressed affection or love. I remembered you said during our 
courtship that you were an expert in kite flying when you were a kid. I 
believed it now after I saw how you want to control me like your kite, 
but you know what, I am not your kite any more, I am too far from you, 
besides the string was permanently cut now. I am a Kati Patang (a free 
flying kite) now. I could take care of myself without your help. 

Bye, Bye 

Sue 

PS: Don't bother to come over here to meet me at the hospital. My
decision is final. You would hear from my attorney since I filed for a 
divorce. 

Balaji was shell-shocked after he read the letter. He now realized that
all the shopping she made on his credit card, and his car registered on 
her name were totally pre-planned. At last, Balaji met a person, not 
anybody but his own wife who matched his wits. He came too far to go 
back to apologize to her. He tried to call her several times, but Sue 
never returned any of his calls. 

Balaji had spread rumors that his wife was unfaithful, and claimed she
had illicit relations with others while she was married to him as a 
last resort to malign her. Balaji's mother heard only one half of the 
story from her beloved son and believed it. She immediately started 
looking for a bride for Balaji, this time she was only interested in 
potential brides with a degree in Information Technology (IT), and 
agreed with her son that female doctors tend to get too independent 
after marriage. 

During one of the depressing days after Sue left him, Balaji thought
about a huge overgrown Fig tree near Hanuman temple at his house that 
nearly engulfed portions of the temple just as his own kite-line that 
intertwined the opponents' kites to bring them down. This time around, 
it was Sue like a smooth creeping-vine that tangled with him to bring 
him down. “I should never allow this happen to me again,” he thought, 
waking up from the daydream. Balaji decided that this time he would 
further shorten the leash on his would be IT wife. “I should have known 
better, the longer the kite-line, the more difficult to control the 
kite,” he thought. 


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