The Drama of Relatives and the Pain of an Exile
The distances between cities may fade, but the "dramatic walls" built between relationships are so deep and complex that measuring them is simply impossible. No matter how many miles a person travels in the journey of life, until the journey of relationships is walked with honesty, one never realizes whether they have reached their destination or lost their way. Nowadays, in almost every house, there are bound to be some relatives who are practicing the politics of self-interest wrapped in the guise of affection.
The most painful aspect is that "false narrative" in which it is claimed, "We never made any distinction between you and our own real siblings." The truth is that people who are forced to remind you of this repeatedly are actually the ones laying the foundation for division. This sentence is essentially a shield behind which they hide to manipulate you according to their own will. The reality is that as long as you do not speak the truth and keep nodding along to every "yes" and "alright" of theirs, you remain their favorite. But the moment you choose the path of truth, sadly, those relationships are lost—because their bond was never with your personality, but rather with your silence and your subservience to their wishes.
As long as you obey their every word, you are considered a "real brother," but the moment you show a sense of self-respect, you are instantly taunted: "You have changed." What a strange paradox it is that the very relatives who try to prove you a stranger at every turn end up placing the blame on you, claiming that you are the one creating the divide. This is just like someone steering a car themselves, driving it down the wrong path, and then blaming the passenger for staying silent.
When an exile sitting in a foreign land hears these things, his grief is not about what they said, but rather how years of companionship and sincerity stand so helpless before that single "boastful" gesture of theirs. True relationships are never flaunted; they reflect through actions. Relationships that rely on a ledger of "I did this for you" are not relationships at all; they are mere transactions.
Today, I have come to understand that those who repeatedly try to convince you, "We never considered you an outsider," are actually trying to cover up their own weakness by reducing you to a relative who bows his head in submission to their every whim. Life in exile has taught me that it is time to bring these fake characters down from the stage and teach them to walk on the road of reality. Now, whoever walks alongside me in this journey is truly mine, and whoever remains lost in the noise of their own dramatics is better left behind at their own chosen destination.
How did you find this piece? Please do share your valuable thoughts. I eagerly await your comments.
Sincerely, seeking your prayers, Sagar Pardesi
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