PROPERTY- FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE?

‘Property’- the Dictionary describes it as something of value, either tangible or intangible. The property that I speak of is not anything elusive such as copyrights but something more material such as real estate. It could be a piece of land or house bought from your own savings or it could be an ancestral one that is handed down from your previous generation. If it is the former, rest assured, because that will be the arena for your offspring to battle upon. But if it is the latter, get ready to jump into the battlefield for a direct confrontation- with your conscience, with your sentiments and with your family.

I don’t know why it is so, but ancestral properties always have a way of walking hand in hand with misunderstandings. They are always passed on with an added interest and even though love does not flourish in these material assets, wherever they go they tend to cause heartbreaks. The initial element of exhilaration upon being pronounced an heir is soon lost in the wilderness of the vice. Apparently heirs gain nothing much in this game of succession. Instead they often end up losing more than just their hair. Left with a ‘will’ that has a lot of ‘ways’ to go, the game starts with the blame on the parents for their lack of imagination in the field of family planning. Since everybody is not a mathematical wizard, they feel a smaller number is always easier to be divided with than a larger one. And since nobody likes a lottery that is collectively won or heavily taxed, the curses soon start to pour forth for having handed down a something which is not individualistic but that which has to be ‘shared’.

I do not know how it is in Hindu or Christian laws but in Islam (unless it is distinctly willed), the property automatically goes to the sons with a meager portion hurled at the daughters. It is a different issue if the brothers are large hearted and willing to share it equally for fear of severing off the wonderful rapport that siblings often have amongst each other. Moreover, this way everyone can also feel the guiltless clean joy of a sanction that is neither bribe nor alms. If not, a guilty conscience will keep on giving everyone endless insomniac nights. Therefore, the earlier one tries to come to terms with reality the better it is, because half a loaf is always better than no bread. And there is always a chance that vultures and lawyers (who by the way, have a lot of professional courtesy for each other), are always on the lookout for naïve negotiators.

After having decided on the sharing aspect, there is one more thing to take care of. It is a well-known fact that in modern times, one single bungalow cannot house tens of families with tons of children. And since each child cannot carry away a room to his or her city or country, the choice is obvious. You begin to think of ways to dismantle the gigantic treasury of your childhood memories and replace it with something more concrete. Whether this can be labeled as the proper cup of tea or not, this way each gets to have a sip of the property in almost equal terms. Never mind the fact that your father had toiled away his youthful years in trying to make something that would have endured long after he was gone.

So the next time when somebody breaks the news that you have inherited something, before you jump with joy, think again. This could be the beginning of an ending- of beautiful relationships, of humility, of sanity, of rationality and most important of all, a peaceful slumber. Nothing, not even a legacy with a zillions zeroes tagged onto its ends, can be compared to the modest forty winks that a human soul desires. There might be a million ingenious ways to define Property. For me it is but-

A donated wand

That magically transforms

A boon to a curse.

Nargis Natarajan.