why was rakesh mother proud of him?
chapter "The Devoted son"
English class 11
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Answer:
Sadly, it’s not long before this that his mother passes away. Varma takes it especially hard. Rakesh is pleased he at least made her proud before she died, but he worries for his father and how he’ll cope. Now that Rakesh has a family of his own, he doesn’t have as much time to dedicate to Varma, but he does what he can as his father’s health declines. He doesn’t want to lose any time he has left with him, and he puts his medical skills to good use.
Rakesh imposes a ban on sweets for Varma, to look after his stomach. However, Varma tries to get them through Rakesh’s son, which enrages Rakesh. He worries that his father will make his grandson less honourable than Rakesh. Tensions rise between father and son, and Rakesh starts resenting how much time he spends looking after him—although he keeps doing it. For example, when everyone fears Varma is near death, they postpone a birthday party, only for Varma to be entirely fine. Rakesh wonders if he’s doing it deliberately for attention.
However, Rakesh doesn’t give up on his father—instead, he becomes more devoted to him. He wants his son to have a good relationship with Varma, just as he did as a boy. Varma tells Rakesh and his wife that he doesn’t like them, but even then, Rakesh looks out for him. As relationships deteriorate, Rakesh must choose whether to stay devoted to his father or leave him to die on his own.
Rakesh chooses to help his father. Desai’s message here is that we’re all faced with similar choices eventually, and we shouldn’t forget to look after our elders the way they once looked after us. Although Rakesh can’t make his father better, and he’s struggling to keep his own life under control, he doesn’t abandon him. He shows Varma the same faith once shown to him when he wanted to become a doctor. When Rakesh must finally let Varma go, right at the end, he knows he did all he could for him.