Building Healthy Relationships

“Building Healthy Relationships” is the story of Falak, a girl from a joint family who got married. Amit, Vinit, and Devyan were three brothers from the same family. Falak married Devyan, who ran his auto parts business at the time. Devyan’s elder brothers served in the military, and his mother also lived with each of the three couples in the family.

Falak realized over time that her mother-in-law was very controlling and strict. For example, her mother-in-law always said, “You should do all the household work and take care of us in this house other than outings,” when she wanted to go on a date with her husband.

Except for his younger brother, Falak was his parents’ only daughter. Indeed, Vinit’s wife was one of her four sisters and one brother.

Amit’s wife was an orphan who got married by his guardians, who took her parental property in the name of her marriage. To put it another way, we can say that each daughter-in-law’s parents came from different families. There is no parental home for Falak’s elder sisters-in-law.

One day, Falak planned to take her husband to her parent’s house for her brother’s birthday. But when they told her mother-in-law, she said, “You are just married,” and they refused. So your first responsibility is to convince her that instead of hopping from one place to another, she should take care of her home. However, Devyan refused and went to visit his wife’s parents.

She began to scold Falak when they returned, telling her that if she wanted to live here, she had to follow her orders, or she could leave the house.

Devyan became enraged when Falak started to cry. “Maa, you do not have a right to insult my wife, and that too unnecessarily!” he told her mother. “How can you differentiate yourself from your grandmother if you want to behave similarly? In this instance, what is my wife’s fault? Every mother-in-law faces this issue. How can you live with your daughter-in-law if you didn’t understand your father then?”

Then, Devyan made the decision to leave the house with his wife because he didn’t want to repeat his grandmother’s behavior when she always overpowered his mother and aunts and never gave her son and daughter-in-law any personal space. His uncles and aunts split up after his grandmother passed away.

Devyan’s mother suddenly broke down in tears and began apologizing, promising to keep Falak and the other daughters-in-law as her own children. She realized that she could comprehend her daughter-in-law if she had a daughter. Moreover, she believed that the gap in relationships, particularly between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, could be understood by younger generations.

She decided to take all her sons to a picnic with their wives and children the following Sunday. However, they decided to join her in making the picnic. As a result, she went with her family and enjoyed the trip, which was a reward for her understanding of what was required for her generation’s marriage.

Moral of Building Healthy Relationships Story

Each person is different, which may be due to their own circumstances. This can often lead to many differences. However, we must try to understand each other and adjust a little to have a healthy relationship.