Cruel Strokes Of Destiny

by Pushpa Ramchandani

She broke out, “Mama after bidding you good bye, I boarded and occupied a window seat in the ladies bus, and left from here; before all were seated I just stretched my neck and was fast asleep. I was very tired, and with all the heavy jewelry and the clothes that I wore, it would have been impossible to sleep, but there was no way out. I raised my wrist to look at the ‘mother of pearls’ oval white faced golden band watch. It showed me 2am. So I just closed my eyes and thought about you all, and fell fast asleep. I was suddenly startled awake by a very harsh and loud voice asking, “how far are we from our home?” The driver decently replied. “One more hour to reach home”

  The lady sitting on my adjacent seat was my mother in law, and I realized that while I had dozed off my head had dangled and rested on her shoulder. Her shrill voice had made me fully awake, and I could see the grey darkness of the night getting a shade lighter, and a pinkish golden beam of light being spread by the rising sun. As the suncrept over the horizon, the sky appeared to bleed with its red color flickering all over. Within minutes the whole sky was lit up with bright sun rays, and a beam of brilliant sunshine streamed through the tinted glass window of the bus, creating rainbow colors of light which fell on my face. Outside the window of the bus I could see the flickering red rays over the waters of the meandering stream, running along the side of the road. I just closed my eyes once again but then my sister in law squeezed herself in between the two of us saying, “I want to sit with Kala.” Then she started handling all the jewelry on me and exclaimed, “Oh! This necklace is beautiful. Mamma even I want a similar necklace.” Her mother’s reply was swift and crisp, “Baby it’s all yours first let us reach home.” I felt like saying, “No; its mine, and my dad got all these pieces specially made for me, and I will not give them away to anyone.” I just kept a serious expression on my face. But I controlled my tongue and just listened to the mother and daughter, because mum had asked me to keep shut as far as possible.

  Then I looked out of the window and saw the bus turning to a huge palatial house drove through the driveway and stopped in a large portico. There was a sudden hustle bustle and everyone became alert, and ready to descend down. Even I felt like jumping out and running to the rest room. But I sat quietly till all had gone. Then my other sister in law came up and said “I am Soni, Come I’ll take you to your room.” She gently held my hand and helped me down the steps and took me to my room, and I rushed to the rest room. I just wanted to take off all my heavy jewelry and unload myself, but the fear of it being confiscated, did not allow me to do so. How I was dying to stretch myself on the bed and relax, but I dare not do any such thing right now. Before entering my room I had crossed a huge veranda with a large swing with a reclining sofa on the back. Then we had crossed a huge living room. It was large in size but dingy; it had three arched doors in the front wall, with four alternating windows. Doors had brown tinted glass doors which added to the dinginess of the room. The ten to twelve foot high roof had a large chandelier in the centre and two old fashioned ceiling fans one on either side. There were no ventilators in the room to allow entry of light. It had multiple rooms at the extreme end and one of these was mine. Soni’s hand on the switch panel had flooded the whole room with bright light from the chandelier.

  I could see my mother in law perched on the swing and shouting, “Remove all the bags carefully and take them to my room. Then in the same voluminous voice she yelled, “Moti, get me a glass of cold water, and come and press my feet, I am very tired. “Hearing Moti’s name I felt very relieved, so there was a Moti in this house also, he will do all my work like Moti of our house.

  For the next one week or so I was put on an Exhibition. I had to wear my newest of my clothes daily, with matching sets of jewelry. Every day a new group of ladies used to walk into my room, appreciate me and my ornaments, and comment, “Seems from a very rich family. God bless her. “This routine continued for nearly nine days, I met nearly half the town women but not my husband, whom I was dying to see. I thought this must be the custom, and mum had probably forgotten to elaborate on this point. So I waited patiently for that day to dawn, when I would finally meet the man whom I had married.

  Then one fine day, while I was fast asleep in my room, it was past midnight, when I felt some sturdy hands shaking me vigorously. At first I just turned my side and tried to sleep, but again the same shake made me realize that someone was trying to wake me up. With half closed and half open drowsy eyes I looked at the figure bending on me, so close to my face ,that I was about to scream. Immediately he put his hand on my mouth and said, “Damn it, I am your husband, don’t shout, I want to consummate our marriage.”

  I was literally trembling, and before I could collect my composure or speak a word, he started stripping me of my clothes and just forced himself into me. I was just spellbound, fear and pain were so intense that I just lay listless under his heavy grip, his body arching over mine and tried to bear the agony. It lasted for more than 5 minutes, and then he moved off me, panting as if he had done some laborious work. I thought I would die of this pain which was still persisting. The burning sensation gave me the urgency to go to the restroom and wash myself with cold water. I rushed to the rest room and bent over the sink for support, listening to the mournful drip from one of the faucets. Plop, plop. The glistening wet drops fell like tears into the porcelain and rolled down the drain, uselessly. I glanced at the face in the mirror. It glared back at me with a frightening look. A ray if soothing moonlight sprayed through the glass window and then on my face, adding to the pallor on it. When I returned to my room after a soothing cold splash of water, I saw him sleeping on my bed. He had occupied one half of the bed and was already snoring.

  I was confused whether to sleep on the same bed with him, but the fear of another similar attack by him made me tremble. So I quietly picked up a pillow and went to sleep on the sofa lying on the opposite end of that room. For quite some time I lay awake and just remembered you, mum, who had never alerted me of these types of episodes; neither had I read of this agonizing experience in any of my novels. If this was marriage, then why was I forced to plunge into it so soon?

  When the day dawned, I woke up with a lethargic body all soiled in blood. Surely my periods had started, but then I remembered, the date was far away. I just did not know whom to talk to about this incidence. I looked around the room with half drowsy eyes and saw a short stature, dark complexioned man sleeping in the same posture as I had seen him last night. He was in briefs and a vest, with an exceptionally hairy body which was evident from the thick, bushy hair on his shoulder blades and his legs and arms. He had a small blunt nose and a dimpled chin which showed a sparse growth of beard, which had not been shaven for the past few days. So this was the man who had raped me last night. Yes it was plain and simple rape. He did not have the courtesy to take my consent but just forced himself on me, as if it was his birth right, and he had the license to do it. So this was the man of my dreams, and from last night’s behavior I had started fearing him. How desperately I wanted you to be with me at that moment, so that I could confide in you and express my feelings.

  After my morning routine I went to the adjacent room and waited for further instructions. Through the slightly open glass window, I saw my father in law. His eyes shimmering bright with intelligence and kindness below the mop of perennially uncombed sparse hair . It was there that I heard my father in law speaking softly to his sister, who had stayed back after the marriage, “My dear sister, till you are here I request you to take very good care of the new bride. She is from a very high status family with loving and caring parents; try and give her all the comforts till she adjusts to this atmosphere. She has come at a very tender age and my alcoholic son may put me to shame if he comes home drunk, or if my wife ill-treats her, which is a high probability.”

  She arched her brow with a flicker of annoyance and said without hesitation. “It’s too late to even talk about your wife’s nature and behavior. I had a strong suspicion abo
ut all this; after all she is your fourth wife. Who on this earth would give their girl in marriage to be the fourth wife of a middle aged man?”

  There was a pause in their conversation, a glance here and there and he said, “Actually it was my third marriage in reality, you people had considered third marriage as inauspicious, and the third wife was destined to die soon, so the priest had tied my third marriage knot to a goat which was slaughtered immediately, and this lady wedded to me in the form of my fourth marriage. But how does that matter now.”

  “ She is the sister of a jockey, who is himself a good for nothing, don’t you know, it was the attraction of your wealth which prompted him to give his young sister to a rich man of your age; now you have to bear the consequences. I know he has been extorting a lot of money from you all these years. He is also ruining the life of your son.” her last words were a bit loud and in a disgusted tone

  “Softly, softly, there are some guests around and someone may overhear us. Then his tone became defensive and he continued, “You know I did all this just to get a male heir from her to inherit all my wealth, my previous two wives left a daughter each and passed away. Now I feel sorry for this innocent girl who has left her parental home and come to stay with us. From now onwards I will put all my efforts to bring Rup, my only son on the right tract, for her sake at least, but my dear sister, till you are here I request you once again to take good care of her until normalcy returns in this house.”

  Her voice again spoke of disgust, “I had requested you many a times, to reform him first and then think of his marriage, but you were of the opinion that after marriage, love and compassion of a lady will have a healing power. Then there was a long pause, “I quite agree with you, I will try my best to take good care of her. You know your wife very well, I feel very scared to argue with her on any subject. She is the most stubborn, arrogant, senseless and selfish woman I have ever seen. She does not hesitate in humiliating anyone. All that she cares for is herself and her comforts. No one in this house can dare to take any work from any of the servants. They are always in her service and still she keeps yelling at them. I am just confused, but I will try my best till I am here.” All this she said in a single breath and in utter disgust.

  For an instance I felt guilty that I was sneaky and stood behind the door till the whole conversation was over. Since it was all concerned about me, I had every right to hear it and anticipate my future problems. I was literally shattered; I could clearly perceive that my future in this house was at the mercy of others. If he was so concerned about my happiness, knowing his wife’s nature and his son’s character, then why was he so keen on our early marriage. He could have first reformed his son and then thought of marriage, as rightly pointed out by his sister, who appeared a very sensible person from her views.

  I could correlate the entire scene of the previous night, which was due to effect of alcohol. I just wondered how an intelligent and far sighted person like my father had been betrayed about all these facts. I just recollected my composure and pretending to be ignorant about the entire conversation, moved out of the room in the direction of the kitchen. It was now that I started having a faint belief in fate. I did not allow any such discussion to overpower me. I remembered you, mum, saying to me, “your life will be a blank slate waiting for words of goodness to be written on it. Our blessings are with you and God is there to help and guide you.” So I did not go into any negativity and kept myself strong like a pillar.

  Then I had heard my father in law, saying to his sister, “I think with responsibilities of marriage, and love and attachment of his wife, he will soon reform and become sensible. He will even learn to help me in my business in due course of time.” How desperately I wanted to be with you, and confide in you, but then I remembered your words, “My dear daughter, from now onwards that will be your new home, and in laws, your new parents. Always give them due respect and they will reciprocate with your share of love and affection. “I thought, when prospects of marriage are so abstract and future in oblivion, then I would never advise any girl to get married. At that time this dear sister of mine was the only person in my mind, god forbid she should never face similar circumstances.”

  I was just wandering in my thoughts when Soni, my sister in law called me for breakfast. Soni was nearly my age, a year or two older, very good looking, soft spoken and always extended a sympathetic attitude towards me. She was very sensible and docile. I came to know that when she was 3years, her mother had died during labour of her second child. Both mother and child could not survive, so a step mother, the fourth wife was brought in the family. Her docile nature was due to the step motherly attitude towards her. May be she had gone through worse sufferings in her childhood.

  The first wife had died in a boat accident, when the boat capsized, those who knew swimming, were saved and she was drowned, in spite of all efforts of the rescue team. She had also left behind a daughter who was 12 at the time of her mother’s death. This girl was married off at an early age of 15 years, was seen at the time of marriage, like other guests in the house. She had also left soon along with the other guests.

  The only consolation for me in this new home was that there were two persons, or rather three persons, who were good natured, and whom I could rely upon. It was my father in law, his sister Mohini, who was a guest for some more time, and my sister in law Soni, who had become a good friend of mine. The Other members in the family were Rup, my husband, whom I had met only once, and that too while I was half asleep. Then there was my youngest sister in law. She was polio stricken and had a foot deformity. She was the one who had fallen for my jewelry. Then there was my great mother in law, whom everyone feared, and I the most. She spent half the day sitting or lying on that large swing in the veranda, just ordering the servants for errands. She was extremely fat and on top of it, the whole day she used to keep munching, and further increasing her weight. She was short stature, with a waddling gait; probably her knees were being strained due to her weight. Her hoarse voice added to the shrillness of her tone, reached not only everyone in the large house, but the neighbors too. All three servants were in attendance, one was massaging her feet, second was moving the rope of the huge cloth fan hanging over her and the third one running to and fro to fulfill her demands. Moti came running with her breakfast which she had ordered. She was the ruler of that house, creating terror in everyone’s mind.

  Not even in my dreams did I ever think of conveying this picture to you all. You are too dear to me to be disturbed about all these trivial matters. There had been so much of excitement and happiness during the celebrations of the marriage, and I am pretty sure the post mortem of all the functions must have been conducted, along with the photo album. All of you must have been in the rejoicing mode. So why give a shock to my family. I was well aware of dad’s temperament, and in no way did I want to tarnish his image in the society or ruin his health. When Moti handed the plate to her, she just stared at him and growled, “don’t you know my breakfast time is 9 ‘o clock, it’s already 20 minutes past nine, why were you late?”

  He replied in a trembling voice, “I was giving breakfast to Soni and the new bride.” The sentence had just struck her ears when she flung the plate at him and yelled, “Then go and serve them all and your salary will be paid by her parents, is that clear?”

  Before her sentence was completed, a jeep stopped in the porch just outside the veranda, and brother Nandu jumped out of the front seat. He came running in and nearly tumbled over the plate and stuff lying on the floor. Had he entered a minute earlier, the plate may have been on his face. I saw him through the window of my room and just wanted to run out and hug him and cry my heart out to him. But I did not do that, instead I sat there quietly and watched him. He met my mother in law, asked about everybody’s welfare. By that time the driver had unloaded the jeep, and more than a dozen boxes, cartons and a suitcase had been kept in front of her. Then in a very soft tone Nandu inquired about me.
Her reply was blunt and rude “She must be somewhere inside, it’s only 10 days of marriage and you have come running to see her”. Let me assure you she is fit and fine and very happy in our house.” Then she took a deep breath and said, “If your mother had to send all this stuff for her, she could have sent it with someone rather than to make you run.”

  My brother Nandu was awe stricken, he was momentarily aghast and seemed to fumble for appropriate words. He collected his composure and said very decently, “No aunty, I just came to say hello to you all, and mama has sent some sweets, nuts, fruits and some dresses for all of you.”

  Then he came to my room, from where I had heard the whole conversation. I just flung myself into his arms and hugged him tight as if it had been not 10 days but 10 long years of separation from my family. My mute flow of tears on his shoulder, spoke very loudly of my condition, and he must have calculated for himself the entire situation. Though 2 years younger to me, he consoled me saying, “Everything will be fine in due course of time, just be strong.” Then his next valid query came, “Rup is ok with you, he treats you well, that’s all that we care about.”

  I just wanted to open up my heart to him, but I withheld from doing so, because I knew that if you all come to know about the whole scenario, you would surely fall ill due to the tension. Before any other scene was created, I just offered him a glass of water, and bid him good bye, with the words, “Promise me that you will not tell mom about all this. Tell her I am very happy and not to worry about me. ”He just nodded his head, His lowered down eyes were brimming with tears, which he tried to control and swiftly walked away out of my room. Out in the veranda, the entire stuff had been removed to her room, and she was still perched on the swing, lying down; the servants in her attendance. My brother said a quick bye to her, boarded the jeep and whisked away, he met the male members in their office and went home. I knew my mute tears would become verbal by the time he reached home.

  If not my parents the story would reach my sister Nitu, at least, and I am sure he must have told her every bit of it. I feared she would develop apathy to the name of marriage and be scared of getting married when her turn came. I accepted it as a stroke of destiny, not only on me, but on my dear parents too, and waited for the day when Lady Luck would shine on me and normalize my life. I knew dad with all his farsightedness and expert opinions about others must have taken every precaution about the family reputation, their financial status and above all the boy’s character. But somehow or the other he had been betrayed, so I waited for the storm to settle down on its own. In no way should Dad have a feeling of guilt complex, for an act which was not committed by him.

  In the three months that followed, I got my full share of love and affection from my father in law, who treated me and Soni alike. He too was scared of his wife. Very quietly he used to come to my room and handover packets of fruits nuts and other stuff and say, “this is for you and Soni, others will get their share from the kitchen. He once kept a tender hand on my head and said, “kala my daughter, I was very selfish and I am responsible for bringing you to this house to be my son’s bride. I had heard a lot of praises about your nature and your upbringing, and was sure that only a sensible girl like you could reform my son and bring him on the right tract, with your love and affection.”

  I could calculate that he was concerned about my future too, which was directly or indirectly linked with the wellbeing of his son. So my future was at stakes. This made me more confused. When attempts of parents had failed in reformation of their son, how could he expect me, a stranger in their house, to do this job? So I decided to develop friendly relations with my husband, and then try and mold him.

  My father in law was probably trying to compensate for everybody’s share of love for me. He showered fatherly affection on me, to the extent that I nearly forgot to notice the rude behavior of others. I came out of negativity, and followed his advice as the rule of the thumb. I always saw my own father in him. Before leaving for work, he invariably came to my room, blessed me with his hand on my head and asked me if I needed anything.

  It was a Sunday morning, nearing 9’o clock, I was waiting eagerly for him to come and bless me and then leave for work. I knew, for him work was worship, and used to work all seven days a week. May be he avoided staying at home because of some tantrums being thrown by his wife. I waited for another half an hour, and asked Soni, “How is it that your father went away today without giving me my share of blessings?” she replied, “No, he is still sleeping today, maybe he is unwell.”

  Suddenly there was a big commotion in the house; all were running in and out of his room, scare and tension spoke on all faces. I heard Moti shout, “Someone please call the doctor immediately. The doctor arrived, went to his room, and came out in two minutes. He had declared him dead. All were spell bound. It was unbelievable but it was a fact. The only saintly man in this house, on whom I was dependent for his fatherly love and affection, was gone. I just said to myself, “Dear father I wish you would be with me for some more time to guide me in the work allotted by you, I would have tried my best and shown you the results.”

  The whole house was in turmoil, news of his demise spread like wild fire not only in the neighborhood, but far and wide. People started trickling in slowly. His death was a big shock for the family. Far away from home, plots were being hatched about the successor of his wealth. Murmurs were clearly audible; son is not eligible yet, two more years to become 21. Then my mother in law Sita’s family background was very well known to all, and they feared her jockey brother would grab the major share and turn it to ashes, or a large amount would evaporate in his alcohol and cannabis indica. Rup was not holding a good reputation either, because of his street friends and his addiction to alcohol. Every mind was knitting its own web and getting entangled in the cobweb. Soni had the same turmoil of waves in her mind as I had, like the high tides of full moon ocean, thoughts came dashing on the grey matter of my brain, left some impression, and then slowly drove back. I knew I had no say, so why not leave it on God Almighty.

  From the window of my room I saw my mother in law, Sita, sitting on the swing with her jockey brother, whispering in each other’s ears. They were spinning their own web. Tears rolled down my eyes continuously till the lachrymal glands of my eyes were exhausted of their stock of secretions. Then Moti came running and said, “The lawyer wants both of you with the whole family in the living room.” I asked him, “What does the lawyer have to do at this time, when the cremation is yet pending.” Soni just shrugged her shoulders in ignorance, and said in a whispering tone, “Once I had heard daddy talk to a lawyer about making some will.” Both of us, walked in a staggering gait, entered the living room and stood behind the sofa where Sita was sitting with her youngest daughter Chanda. Rup with his eldest married sister and her husband were on the opposite sofa, Rup’s aunt Mohini was sitting on the third sofa to the left of Sita. I gave a sigh of relief on seeing her there. Soni and I kept standing till the lawyer pointed his finger to the fourth sofa and indicated us to sit.

  “I am Mohan, the advocate. Since this is a personal and secret matter, I have called precisely only the family members.” He opened his briefcase, took out a file from it, and placed it on the center table. Then he continued in a stern and crisp voice, “Mr. Ramesh had called me a month back and showed his desire of making a registered will, which I have brought with me. Please be attentive, and hear it carefully. In the end I shall give a copy of it to each one of you.” Then he looked at all of us and said, “Probably Mr. Ramesh had an intuition of his early death, and when I had said to him there was no hurry, he had said, the earlier the better, and shown urgency for the will.”

  He had hardly finished his last sentence when Sita interrupted him saying, “Man, read the will soon and tell us immediately, has the whole wealth been left in my name or has he distributed some amount to his dear s
ister and his married daughter too.” As usual her voice was rude and rustic, and the advocate just looked at her in pitiable expression. He then slowly opened a sheet of new crisp paper, held it in one hand, and with the other hand he took a pair of golden frame glasses, parked it on the bridge of his nose, and adjusted it. Then after clearing his throat he started reading in a clear and loud voice.

  “I, Ramchand Relani, under full conscience and awareness and complete sanity, with all my higher centers in perfect health, am making this will where in all my farms, my agricultural land, mobile and immobile assets including my bank deposits my wealth in bank lockers, and money in business accounts, shall be transferred under government custody, immediately after my death, under section of “Court of wards.” This step is being taken as my only son Rup is a minor and not eligible to inherit my wealth and take care of it till he attains adult age of 21 years. As per my instructions, a cheque of Rs. 5000 per month shall be given to him, on the first of every month, for the maintenance of my family expenses. My family which consists of my wife Sita, my son Rup and his wife Kala and my two unmarried daughters Soni and Chanda This will is irrevocable and operable till Rup attains his 21st birthday. The amount of loans which were extended to my employees is condoned to them, together with the interest, and shall not be claimed back after my death. This will is unchangeable and irrevocable.”

  After reading the will advocate Mohan kept it back in the file, took out photocopies which he had brought with him, and handed one each to Sita, Rup, the eldest daughter and aunt Mohini. Then he took leave and left the living room. Everyone was spell bound and sat there in stony stillness, lost in their own thoughts, but I was relieved. He has taken a very sensible step and was very farsighted, I thought. He was fully aware of his wife’s nature and his son’s character and incapability. Five thousand rupees for running a family of 5 members in those days was a big amount.

  Then it was Sita who spoke in her usual harsh and disgusted tone. The mournful expression or tone was not reflected at any time. “Has he left some amount for his own cremation, or that has to be borrowed? “Now it was aunt Mohini’s turn to speak. All this time she was sitting with her head hung down, eyes brimmed with tears and looking not only sad, but lost. She was probably shattered by her brother’s death at a young age of 65 and was concerned about the future of the family. She extended a glance of shameful disgust at Sita and spoke in a low tone, “Now I can understand why he had shown me a secret locker in his Cupboard and said that there was some money in it which was to be used in an emergency. “She ran to his room and brought a sealed envelope containing some currency notes, which she handed over to Rup and said take care of all the expenses till the cremation is over, and all guests gone. It appears to be more than sufficient; you can give it to Kala to keep it safely for you. “I think in this way Mohini aunty was trying to build the missing bond between me and my husband, and trying to create a sense of responsibility in me.

  My mother in law’s face became flushed with anger and disgust. She rubbed her hands as if the race horse on which she had betted had lost, and her dreams were shattered. She quickly left the room, walked hurriedly up to the swing in the veranda and mounted herself on it. Then she called for her jockey brother who came running and sat next to her and then for hours, they whispered their plans to each other.

  By this time my dad, my uncle and my brother had arrived in a jeep. I was surprised that even on this condolence visit they had come loaded with a dozen cartons and bags containing stuff. These were formalities which had to be full filled. I was so excited at the glimpse of my family members that momentarily my grief was washed away. They met the entire family and then came to me. Dad embraced me encircling his arms around my neck, wiped my tears, kissed my forehead again and again and soothed me through and through. When I touched the topic of the will, he hushed me with his finger on my lips and said, “He was a very sensible and gentle personality, a very farsighted business man, he has taken a perfect timely step. In just a couple of years Rup will inherit all his wealth, and learn to manage the whole empire. This is not the time to talk about all these matters, you just do your duty as a daughter in law, his blessings will always be with you. My brother held my hand and said, “Dad knows all minutia about this place, and one of his close friends had informed him. From now onwards, they will try and bring Rup out of that friendship and also from alcohol. Don’t you worry; we are all on the job. “Then he rushed after dad to the guest room.

  All preparations for the funeral were done; I paid my last respects to him. His face was calm as if he was in deep slumber. There were tears in thousands of eyes, not only his employees, but neighbors, friends and relatives. This spoke highly of his soft and benevolent nature. Then they took him away. At this moment a very peculiar scene was enacted by Sita. She clung to the coffin and started howling, “No! Don’t take him away. He was my life, my savior, what will I do without him.” In a frenzy fit she started beating herself on her chest and thighs. Where from she produced tears, I could not understand. It was a very well enacted scene, and some of the spectators chuckled with sarcasm.

  I knew I would miss him a lot. In the past 3 months I had received a 3 year quota of love from him. I prayed in my mind for the peace of his soul in heaven. Probably he had a premonition of his premature death, so he tried to give my share of love, which he knew was lacking in his family.

  My mother in law became like a starved ferocious tigress as if her prey had been snatched away by someone. I started fearing her even more than before. In the next 3 days all the guests left except aunt Mohini. All had left with distaste in their mouth especially due to Sita who hardly felt the loss of her husband. All that she was concerned about was the wealth which had slipped from her clenched fists like dry sand? Her purpose of marriage to a wealthy middle aged man was defeated by his will. He may have assumed the misuse of it all by her or her brother, and hence he took this step. With the will was divorced, the full motive of her plans of marrying a multi-millionaire.

  Within a month, two of the servants were turned out; Soni and I were found as the substitutes. Only Moti was retained for her personal work, but he had a soft corner for both of us and used to help us in the kitchen. This sympathy was intolerable for her and he used to get unwarranted thrashings from her in return.

  Soni used to console me saying, “Kala don’t worry; when she does not treat me well, because I am her step daughter, how can you expect better behavior from her? She had to bear all this right from her childhood, which had probably made her stronger and had molded her nature and character. In the late 40’s the amount which was stipend by the bank was more than sufficient for a comfortable living of 5 family members, but half the amount used to evaporate in alcohol, another 10 per cent on friends and the remaining amount used to be spent on household expenses. I made strong efforts to bring Rup off alcohol, but in vain, so finally I gave up and took this life to be my destiny, my luck.

  So life rolled bye and nearly one and a half precious years of my life drifted away. Due to Sita’s minor ailments I was not granted leave to visit you all. I do not think there was any ailment, it was more of frustration and vengeance, to take revenge from any person who was her husband’s favorite, but there was no remedy for that. Rup’s friends were instigating him to acquire the wealth by obtaining a forged birth certificate from some hospital showing him as 21 years of age. But the British rule was still in existence and the penalty for any crime was very high so he held himself from it.

  Time rolled by very monotonously and I acclimatized myself to the existing conditions of the family and made myself more busy in house hold chores. I had heard from you, mum, “The direct path to a man’s heart is through the stomach”. So I started making special dishes for Rup, tried to serve him personally, I waited for his late night return and greeted him with a smile. Sometimes I deliberately denied him of sex, which was his only passion and demand after coming home drunk. My only demand was that h
e leaves alcohol, but this formula also failed. So I again left it to fate, and waited patiently for some magic to occur.

  As bad as the conditions were, life was peaceful at least. Then was the period of unrest in the country. The communal discrimination crept in and the country was to be partitioned into India and Pakistan. Within minutes it took the form of looting, arson and riots broke out. Those who were the employees were seen attacking and looting property of their own employers. Mobs became rampant on the streets, houses and market places were set ablaze. Fear spread like fire, all doors windows and gates were tightly locked.

  Blazes of fire balls were seen all around. The beautiful sky blue color changed to smoky grey, mingled with fiery red flames which rose from the burning houses. Fumes with high concentration of carbon monoxide made breathing very difficult. White ashes from incinerated houses were seen blowing in the atmosphere. One could smell burning flesh of those victims who were burnt alive in their homes. It was amazing to believe that those who lived like brothers for many years, suddenly broke the bond of friendship and became thirsty of each other’s blood.

  Suddenly there was a loud thumping sound in our courtyard, and we thought we were the next targets of the intruders. All of us locked ourselves in one big room and held our breath, waiting for the worse to happen. Strict instructions had been given, “Moti do not to open the gate to allow anyone in.” Then there were loud knocks on the door as if someone was desperate to get entry. The knocking continued for nearly 5 minutes, when we heard Moti saying, “Madame please open the door and let these children in.” I saw, through the crevice of the strong mahogany wooden door, three children standing outside the room near the veranda. So I quickly opened the door and allowed them in. It was a pitiable sight. They were our neighbor’s children who had jumped over the high boundary wall into our compound.

  They were trembling like jelly fish. The eldest one about 12 years of age broke out in bouts of crying and said, “Our house has been set on fire”. My parents have got trapped inside, when they went to collect some valuables and run out. So they told us to jump into your house for shelter. She was limping with agonizing pain, with a fractured ankle. The other two were smaller than her, both boys, were continuously sobbing. I quickly ran to the adjacent room to get a first aid box, applied a pain killer liniment and tied a crepe bandage on her foot. Her expression was of fear mingled with relief. While I was giving her first aid Moti brought a cup of hot milk for each one of them spontaneously, without any permission from the lady of the house.

  Then this girl took out a pink bag from her waist and handed over to me saying, “Please keep this safely, mama asked me to tie it on my waist and jump into your house. It contains gold and some currency.” I paused for a moment and softly said to her, “It is safer on you, so keep it back and give it to your mother when you go back.” Luckily this piece of conversation was only between her and me and that too in whispers. I just caressed them and said, don’t worry you are safe here, “God almighty will save your parent too.” My mother in law gave a glare in return.

  Then I asked the children to take some rest. The little brother about 6 years of age kept his head on his sister’s lap and immediately went off to sleep. He was oblivious about the gravity of the situation. The second one, who was about 9, also dozed off. For the first time in all these years, I noticed an expression of appreciation in Rup’s eyes. This built my confidence and made me aware of a good human being inside him.

  Conditions were deteriorating, and getting from bad to worse, people started migrating to Bombay with whatever cash and gold in hand. We were in a fix, with nothing in hand. All our wealth was in government custody. There were acres and acres of agricultural land, a huge mansion, but nothing in hand to survive even for a few months.

  As the day dawned, I quickly sent back the neighbor’s children when their father came to fetch them. He thanked us from the core of his heart, for giving them shelter in time of need. They also told us they were leaving urgently for Bombay. For the first time I saw Rup sober and tense, probably he was thinking about moving, but he was empty handed.

  In the early hours of the morning, as per my routine, I made 2 cups of tea, one for myself and the other for my mother in law. She was nowhere to be seen. I went to her room, which was all in a mess, old clothes lying on the floor. Chanda her youngest daughter was also not traceable. I ran to Rup and said, “They are all gone.” It took him a moment to understand, but before I could explain him further, Moti came in and told us that her brother had sneaked in and helped her pack her belongings and they left the house at midnight, leaving others to their fate. Leave the step daughter Soni, she did not care for her only son too.

  Rup asked us to quickly pack up and take some bare essentials and leave. Then he said, “don’t forget to take your marriage jewelry.” Soni and I hurriedly packed up a few changes, assuming that we would come after about a fortnight. I went to the locker to collect my gold. I was shocked to see it open and empty. I yelled and all were in that room with the open locker gaping at us. So she had swept it empty and fled with her beloved daughter and brother. She did not care about her only son who was penniless and his future in darkness. I just closed my eyes and prayed to God for some miracle to save our lives.

  Instantly we heard the honking of a jeep at our main gate. Moti ran to see, and heard a familiar voice saying, “Moti let me in soon.” He opened the gate without our permission, letting in the jeep. Which stopped with a jerk, the driver jumped out and said, “Don’t waste time, let me help you with the baggage and lets flee immediately, your father has sent me.” In the panic I had not been able to recognize him as my old driver. We all boarded the Jeep with our belongings, I insisted Moti to accompany us, but he wanted to stay back and take care of the mansion till we return, so the three of us left. I gave a sigh of relief, thinking, “I am still the eldest daughter of my parents, and they could never abandon me in time of need.” I gave a last glance to the mansion where I had entered barely 2 years ago, as a bride, fully loaded with precious jewelry and heavy ornaments, wearing a rich brocade sari, daughter of a well-known famous rich business man and the daughter in law of a multimillionaire business tycoon, wife of the only heir of unlimited wealth. I left this house empty handed, dressed in most ordinary clothes and having no jewelry on me, going to an unknown destination where destiny was to place me like a dice on a chess board.

  It was still not full day light when we left our house, we could see the whole city burning. Rioters were seen ransacking shops and torching the houses to locate their next target. The police sirens were heard faintly as if from a distance and were silenced by the sheer number of vandals. The police was brazenly pushed away with stones and chairs and even fire crackers. The sky was a vantage of red, yellow and orange flames which burnt away the faith and safety of a common man. She narrated all this in one breath without even taking a glass of water in between to moisten her lips. All this reflected on her sour feelings and the sufferings she had experienced. I was so stupefied at the whole tale, as if I had had a bad dream. She even noticed that our area was quieter and not much turmoil visible.

  “So here I am, my dear sister, with a full account of the time I spent in my married life with my in laws. I know this is the biggest stroke of destiny on me and my parents. Nobody can be blamed for all these events. My parents chose the wealthiest family who could provide all the comforts that I was used to, but who knew the minute details of their nature and character?” She said all this in one breath looking at her sister.

  After listening to her pathetic story my next question shot at her, “How did Rup attain all these injuries? “I glanced at him, lying on the bed in deep slumber, blood still oozing from the fresh wounds inflicted on him. The lower lid of his right eye was edematous and black due to some blunt injury. The short stump of the tip of his nose was swollen and resembling th
e joker’s nose in the circus. His clothes were soiled in blood and mud slush, but in spite of all these injuries he was calm as if in coma.

  She put her right hand on her forehead and said, “Mum, probably fate was not fully satisfied with the wounds inflicted on my mind, his share was in store for him. I was so relieved when our driver came to pick us and we hurriedly sat in the jeep and fled to save our lives. We had hardly travelled about 5 miles when the jeep stopped with a sudden jolt nearly throwing me and Soni off the back seat. There was a large mob collected in the middle of the road, looked very violent and ferocious, most of them were having a weapon or a bamboo in hand. Suddenly I saw Rup taking out his revolver and make an air fire. He shouted very loudly, “Move out, make way, you have blocked our way.” Then he started laughing very loudly and continuously.

  This act was sufficient to instigate the infuriated mob; they just pulled open the battered door, pulled him out and dragged him out of the jeep, flung him on the ground and started beating him with their feet and bamboos. Some of them had steel bars and cycle chains in their hands; they all were frenzied and shouted very loudly,

  “Go away you traitors, leave our country, or we kill you. You make us toil in your farms, we shed our sweat and blood and you collect all the riches, ”were the shouts coming. The driver was stunned, he looked back at us and said, “Dive down and hide yourselves below the seat.”

  I was completely dazed and before I could dive, I saw two hefty people hold Rup’s hands tight on the back and a third man slipped a truck tire around his head. Then one of them sprinkled some fluid, probably petrol, on the tire and took out a match box from his pocket to ignite it. I closed my eyes and dived down and thought this is the end.

  A loud voice came from the crowd, “No, no! Don’t kill him, his father was a kind soul, he had donated pieces of land to many of us and had even condoned the loans extended to us.” He quickly intervened and shouted, “Let them go.”

  He was probably their leader, so they stopped, dragged Rup and threw him into the jeep like a bag of grains. The driver was awe stricken and wasted no time in starting the jeep and darted out of the city premises racing like a bullet.

  I was wondering how Rup could have done that stupid action of air fire and then laugh in front of a violent mob and instigate them. Soni could read my thoughts, she knew her brother more than me. She whispered in my ear, “Before leaving the house he had consumed his dose of cannabis indica, I had observed him in the jeep pulling imaginary threads and laughing to himself, but he would create this scene, was beyond my imagination.”

  Instantaneously his ego and anger banished as rapidly as it had risen, leaving him deflated like a day old party balloon. He just sank into the front seat adjacent to the driver, moaning with pain and agony.

  “ Mum, you know at one moment I thought God is relieving me of all my marital ties and sending me back to my parents, but I felt a stab of pity for the first time and in that moment of distress I was praying to the almighty for his safety and life.”

  After listening to all this I said “Is this not strange? The ties of marriage are so strong, that a person whom you have married hardly 2 years back, who is not a good character, he does not love you or care for you. When he is in peril, you pray for his safety. I am happy that you thought of the right path even when you were in danger.” I was happy that the heavens had worked and they were the beneficiary of a miracle, their lives were saved.

  Then she continued the remaining part of the incidence. Mum after fleeing from there I saw such pitiable scenes which are beyond imagination. Our entire population is in absolute wreck. Some areas appeared as if they have been savaged by an air raid. The entire villages had been wiped out. The driver told us that a large number of people have been forcibly converted and their children kidnapped, women abducted and openly raped. Women have been subjected to maximum humiliation and torture. The extent of their agony was evident from the heart breaking scene which we saw on the way. When we were passing through a small village I saw a group of gangsters chasing like wolves, women who were running at their fastest, to save their honor. Then in the blink of the eye I saw them jump into an open well, one after another, till there was none left. This traumatic scene has left a wrecking impression on my mind, which probably will never fade out of my memory. She sighed, took a deep breath and nearly collapsed on the bed.

  I developed apathy for the word of child marriage. Now I knew why my husband, Ram had kept me ignorant of all the happenings. He feared that it would go into depression at the plight of my daughter’s condition and never think of getting my second daughter married. All this time I was under the impression that Kala is not able to come and see us because of her domestic problems, but the gravity of these problems was so great, was beyond my imagination.

  Then came the turmoil which turned our lives into a nightmare, Ram told me that we may have to leave our hometown as India is going to be partitioned.

  “The savage acts of riots and terrorism are seriously spreading. The whole population has been infected with a spirit of vendetta and revenge. This was happening on both sides of borders. Both communities who were living peacefully were now arch enemies. They have indulged into committing adultery on the helpless women folk of the opposite community. Some of the abducted women, who were to be saved by the police authorities from the grip of rioters, have been unfortunate enough to be raped by them. The saviors have also turned to be wolves, so now the question of staying here does not arise. We have to move out immediately.”

  I could not contemplate the meaning but could feel the tension on his face. I could see houses in the vicinity being set ablaze and there was large scale arson.

  My husband, Ram, was a very renowned and respectable personality in the society, and well known for his wealth. He was once brought home on a stretcher by his employees. “What has happened to him? ”I had screamed. We were told that when he was returning from the farms, he was attacked by some miscreants. Fortunately he was saved by his sincere employees. He had sustained minor injuries, but his moral was shattered. At that time I could anticipate that under these circumstances it would not be too long, when we will have to migrate.

  From that very day we took an immediate decision to migrate to India. We were having very high hopes of returning after peace was restored. So we decided to bury most of the wealth in the form of gold coins and jewelry in the floor of the attic room. “When things are settled we will come back, to reclaim all our wealth, and restart our business later on.” This was to be kept a secret between the two of us, me and my husband and of course no one was taken into confidence regarding this matter. Our children were too immature to be party to this decision.

  Life had been going on smoothly and our second daughter was nearing sweet sixteen but after hearing her sister’s story she was determined never to risk her future in marriage. Then came the day when real scare was created. Rumor was that Hindu girls were being kidnapped and raped. Whenever there was a knock on the door I asked my girls to run and hide under the bed or the table in the darkest of rooms. Both my grown up girls were terror stricken. Things were going from bad to worse and finally we decided to move out and go to Bombay. We collected some of our jewelry and whatever cash we had. Few valuable small items were taken and we were to migrate in a ship. For us it was very agonizing to leave behind property and the business and most of the valuables. Everything slipped away like dry sand from the fist. A remote hope of returning home one day was still in the minds, which remained just a hope and never materialized.