To put it in the most simplistic of ways, ‘dilemma’ means nothing but difficult choices.

This is
something that commonly occurs at nearly every major turn in our lives, a cloud of confusion veils
our mind as we think about the odds and the evens for all of our choices. As said by author Michelle
A. Homme, “It is difficult to manage the thoughts in our head with the feelings in our heart, because
only one of them is right”.

‘Dilemma’ by Vijaydan Detha is a short story that deals with such episodes of dilemma in different
situations. The story, written in simple terms, draws an easy picture for our mind to illustrate and
understand.

In the beginning, we learn about the ghost that falls in love with a bride by getting a glimpse of her
ethereal visage and yearns to go with her but thinks she would be hurt if he were to possess the
bridegroom. So, he stays on. Here, we see practicality and a sound mind that isn’t shrouded by its
desires.

Later, we see the bridegroom travelling abroad for business and meeting the ghost on the way.
Understanding that the bridegroom would be away for 5 years, and marveling at his capacity to stay
away from his newly wed bride, the ghost transforms into the bridegroom and goes back to the
house as he does not want to let go of this golden opportunity. There, he thinks about whether or
not to reveal the truth to the bride. On one hand he could live the five years pretending to be
someone else and never feel true happiness as it would be based on a lie, or he could tell the bride
the truth even though she may turn away from him. In the end, he decides to tell her the truth and
to his surprise, she accepts him. In this case, her perspective also matters as it shows us how she had
to choose between her husband who was too invested in making money and goes away a few days
after their wedding, and a stranger who professes his love for her and offers a chance at happiness.

At the end of the story, we see the last choice that the villagers and the Seth have to take in order to
prove who amongst the two bridegrooms are real. This is solved by the shepherd.

In each and very one of these cases, we learn that some choices are fueled by what we desire and
this may sometime cloud our judgement, and other choices are taken with sensibility and a good
awareness of the people involved and their feelings.

In conclusion, we must understand that a dilemma is something that we can learn a lesson from,
something that is necessary for us to be aware and for us to change our perspective for the better.
Like Albert Einstein once said “You can’t resolve a dilemma with all the very same mind that made
it”.