Not all dreams are worth chasing
By: Bashir Ahmad Dar
Jagnu was a handsome young man with a high-profile government job and a handsome salary. He was married to an exceedingly beautiful woman, Mehnaz. They had been married for five years and had a lovely daughter. Theirs was an arranged marriage.
Mehnaz was a highly educated, well-read and highly ambitious woman. She held a postgraduate degree in medical studies and had ranked third in her batch. While she excelled at writing detailed descriptive answers, she struggled with objective-type questions, which, according to her, she feared like the ferocious fangs of a snake.
Though born to a rural father, Mehnaz was raised and educated in the heart of a bustling city. She spoke with a refined city accent and embraced urban culture so thoroughly that she looked and behaved like a perfect city girl. Anyone would doubt her if she ever said she was from a rural background, and indeed, she took great pride in calling herself a city girl. Somewhere along the way, she had silently developed a quiet but strong superiority complex regarding urban versus rural life.
But destiny, as they say, can blind your eyes and paralyze your judgment. It brought her to Jagnu — a man from the very world she thought she had outgrown. Her decision to marry him wasn’t impulsive. She spent nearly a week contemplating the proposal, took her friends’ advice, consulted her parents, and finally said yes. It was Jagnu’s job that drove her decision to marry him. She had three other sisters — all married. Two of them had settled in nearby villages, but the youngest was married to a man from the city.
Jagnu-a man- as pure as a gem, strong like a diamond, and shy like a lily. He was the favorite of his in-laws, especially his father-in-law, who trusted and admired him immensely. He often sent Jagnu to represent the family at important functions. Jagnu loved Mehnaz dearly. To him, she was not just the mother of his children but the dream woman of his life– his queen, above all else.
The first few years of their marriage went smoothly. Mehnaz would spend her days managing the house and, as Jagnu’s return time approached, she would freshen up, apply cream, spray perfume, and prepare to welcome him warmly. Everything seemed perfect, until one day, her younger sister invited her to visit for a few days.
No sooner had Mehnaz stepped into her sister’s home than a dormant yearning within her came alive. Her old dreams breathed again. She began wondering what life would be like if she returned to the city permanently. She observed her brother-in-law — his polished accent, his suave demeanour. Even his scolding sounded like praises, his curses like blessings.
Her sister, despite working relentlessly from dawn till dusk, wasn’t treated with much care — yet Mehnaz said nothing. After all, her sister had married a city man and was living what Mehnaz considered the dream life. In Mehnaz’s eyes, that alone was enough to excuse everything.
Though she stayed for only a week, it was long enough to shake the foundations of her marriage. When Mehnaz returned home, she was a changed woman. The city haunted her thoughts. She heard the honking of cars, the bustling sounds of buses and autos. The towering buildings, the late-night strolls, the glitter of urban life — all kept playing on her mind.
She began persuading Jagnu to move to the city. But neither her parents nor the nature of Jagnu’s job supported the idea. Jagnu himself was reluctant. He gently asked her to drop the idea but promised to build a spacious, comfortable house in the village. But Mehnaz, now driven by greed and longing, was not satisfied.
Seeing that her husband was unwilling to budge and shift an inch, she began mistreating him. Cursing, taunting, and belittling became her norm. She neglected both the house and Jagnu’s emotional needs. She constantly compared him to her city-based brother-in-law, reducing him with every word. Each comparison was a blow to Jagnu’s self-esteem. His head lowered with shame as he listened to his wife belittle him — the very woman he had once placed above the world.
Mehnaz began treating his rural family with cold disdain, acting as though it was her right. She even threatened divorce over trivial matters.
Seeing that Mehnaz was slipping away, Jagnu tried everything — every trick in the book, every act of love — but it was in vain. She had made up her mind to leave the marriage, though not alone — she intended to take the child with her.
Jagnu, madly in love with Mehnaz and unable to bear the thought of losing his family, fell into deep depression. The pain of rejection and the crumbling of his once-dream life shattered him. Super-sensitive as he was, the emotional blow proved too heavy.
Today, Jagnu lies broken — admitted in a mental hospital in the very city Mehnaz once longed for while Mehnaz herself struggles to find a decent job to keep up with the soaring costs of city life.
Lesson: Not All Dreams Are Worth Chasing. Some dreams are mirages—chasing them leaves you emptier than before.
(The author is a teacher by profession. He can be reached at darbashir1234321@gmail.com)
