BADMINTON : a story

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BADMINTON

A Small Boy Narrates his Life Story

Short Fiction By Vikram Karve

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Badminton?is a Game where you Volley a Shuttlecock back and forth over a Net.

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BADMINTON

Story By Vikram Karve

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A Small Boy Narrates his Life Story

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Part 1?

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DIVORCE

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BADMINTON SINGLES

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My life is like a game of badminton.

I am the shuttlecock – and my mother and my father are the two opposing players.

Let me explain.

My parents are getting divorced.

Now – both my parents are highly qualified MBAs.

They have very meticulously divided their assets.

And – they have very painstakingly shared their liabilities.

Except me.

They don’t know how to divide me.

So – they are fighting a custody battle for me in court.

Yes – my parents are battling it out in court for my custody.

And – till they finally decide this way or the other – I am being tossed from one parent to the other – like a shuttlecock is tossed from one player to the opponent in a game of badminton.

From Monday to Thursday – after school is over – I take the Aundh Bus to stay at my mother’s place.

On Friday – I take the Kondhwa Bus to spend the weekend with my father.

On Sunday evening my father has to drop me off at my mother’s place before 6 o’clock.

And – if we are late even by one minute – my mother raises a hue and cry against my father – and she complains to the family court.

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Two Years Later

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Part 2?

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REMARRIAGE

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BADMINTON MIXED DOUBLES

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My life is still like a game of badminton.

But now – after two years – there is a slight difference.

Now – instead of Badminton Singles – it is a game of Badminton “Mixed Doubles”.

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Let me explain:

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1. On one side of the badminton court – are my REAL FATHER and my STEP-MOTHER.

2. Across the net – on the other side of the badminton court – are my REAL MOTHER and my STEP-FATHER.

3. And – I am still the “shuttlecock” – being tossed from one side of the badminton court to the other side of the badminton court – back and forth.

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However – there is also a big difference.

Earlier – when they used to play “badminton singles” – the rallies were short and sweet – the volleys were gentle – and – each player wanted the “shuttlecock” to fall on their own side of the court.

Now – in “badminton mixed doubles” – the rallies are long and painful – the smashes are hard – and – the players – especially the new players – they want the “shuttlecock” to fall on the other side of the court – across the net.

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Do you want me to explain…?

I don’t think I need to.

I am sure you have got the drift of what I am trying to say.

Now – you tell me one thing:

Am I an “asset” to be divided…?

Or – am I a “liability” to be shared…?

And then – a terrible thought comes to my mind – of a third option.

And – I feel afraid of one thing.

In an actual game of badminton – the shuttlecock may get worn out.

If this happens – the badminton players toss the shuttlecock out of the court – yes – the players throw away the old shuttlecock – and they get a new one.

Oh my God…!!!

Will this happen to me…?

Once they have their own children – what will happen to me…?

Will I become like an “old shuttlecock” – to be discarded – and to be replaced by a “new shuttlecock”…?

Yes – once they get rid of the “old shuttlecock” – maybe the “mixed doubles partners” will stop playing “mixed doubles” with the “old shuttlecock”.

Now – the new partners may start playing “badminton singles” with each other with their own “new shuttlecocks”.

Soon – both couples –?my REAL MOTHER and my STEPFATHER?– and –?my REAL FATHER and my STEPMOTHER?– they will have their very own children.

And then – they may abandon me forever.

Yes – I am really scared that I will be abandoned forever.

I will no longer be an “asset” to be divided.

I will no longer be a “liability” to be shared.

But – I will become a “bad debt” to be written-off from the balance sheets of my biological parents’ lives.

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Food for Thought

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Part 3

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CHILDREN OF DIVORCED PARENTS – ASSETS, LIABILITIES or BAD DEBTS…?

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Please answer the small boy’s question – and solve his predicament.

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Once parents get divorced?– and – they?remarry someone else:

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1. Are children of their first marriages “ASSETS” to be divided…?

2.?Are children of their first Marriages “LIABILITIES” to be shared…?

3.?Or – Are children of first marriages “BAD DEBTS” to be written-off from the balance sheet of each parent’s life…?

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Dear Reader – please comment – and do let us know your views…

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VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright ? Vikram Karve 1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve 2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post ? vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Disclaimer:

1. This story is a fictional spoof, satire, pure fiction, just for fun and humor, no offence is meant to anyone, so take it with a pinch of salt and have a laugh.
2. All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
3. E&OE

Copyright Notice:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright ? Vikram Karve (All Rights Reserved)

Link to my original post in my Blog Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve:?https://karvediat.blogspot.in/2017/03/are-children-of-divorced-parents-assets.html

? vikram karve., all rights reserved.

This is a revised version of my story BADMINTON which was Written by me Vikram Karve more than 13 Years ago in May 2011 and First Posted Online by me?Vikram Karve?in my blog at?5/30/2011 03:45:00 PM?at url:?https://karvediat.blogspot.in/2011/05/badminton.htmland subsequently revised and re-posted online a number of times including at urls:https://karvediat.blogspot.in/2011/12/badminton-my-favourite-short-stories.html?and?https://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/04/marriage-divorce-remarriage-and-game-of.html?and?https://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/11/blog-fiction-badminton.html?and?https://karvediat.blogspot.in/2015/12/badminton-story.html?andhttps://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/03/children-of-divorced-parents-assets.html?and?https://karve.wordpress.com/2020/06/15/badminton-2/?and?https://karve.wordpress.com/2021/01/08/divorce-and-children-a-game-of-badminton/?and https://karve.wordpress.com/2022/06/02/badminton-3/ and https://karve.wordpress.com/2024/09/27/badminton-4/ etc

? vikram karve., all rights reserved.

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