COUNSELLING A WIFE

My Dear Annu,

You have been telling me so often that your mother-in-law has not been as nice to you as you had expected of her, that my sisters love you all right but they would not forgive you for faults for which they would readily forgive their own daughters. Here is a thorny problem and I wish to tell you something that you had least expected of a doting husband like me. You would agree that to err is human. You would agree that we too also err before each other and a loving wife has always been forgiving an equally doting husband. Couldn’t you adopt a similar attitude to my mother and sisters? You agree that all sisters love us and they would do anything to make our life happy. Could you not tame their attitude to advantage? The best course is to consult them one by one. Explain to them individually your problems and seek guidance. That would give them an insight into the affairs. They would also have the satisfaction of having been taken into confidence. Once you know their minds and they know yours, the difference would vanish. I hope you would never try to pay them in the same coin. That is likely to disrupt our own private life. Harmony has in keeping peace with all. This is the secret of a marital life. With many affections.

Very loving yours,

Akhlaq Ahmed.