Cruel Strokes Of Destiny

by Pushpa Ramchandani

Chapter 3

  I can vividly recall the picture, when we stood there with our baggage packed, which contained only the bare essentials, and were about to exit from our beloved home. My eyes and mind looked back, probably to have a last glimpse of the home where I had stepped in as a newlywed bride, with loads of materialistic belongings, gifted by my parents. I had spent twenty years of my prime youth under this roof. I had decorated each room according to my taste. How I used to show off with every new item which Ram, my beloved husband, had gifted me. My masterpiece was the gramophone of my room which was one of the rarest collections of that time. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I just exclaimed, “Why did all this have to happen so soon. The day had just dawned for our comforts and luxuries, everything seems to have perished.”

  My husband had just held my hand tight and said, “Take this as the will of destiny; I am sure it will not be cruel with us. We will come back soon and get all our fortune back. ”So with heavy hearts we said good bye to our home and left for an unknown land. The home which meant so much to us, where all my children were born . The home where they grew up from the infant to childhood and then adult age . How and when could we get back to our home, sweet home . The sweet memories would remain with us all our life. Everyone was in panic to leave soon and save their life and honor. The queue for the available ship was long, so we had to spend two nights in a small guest house before our turn came.

  It was midsummer and we slept on the terrace due to the heat. The darkness of the night had not yet changed its color to the hue of the rising sun, when there was a sudden thud on the terrace; a large brick had fallen on Ram’s pillow and fell on the ground saving his head just by an inch or two. We all got very tense but thanked our stars for his life being saved. It was then that we made a final decision to move out as soon as possible and never to return again. Probably this was what the miscreants had wanted. The brick had been deliberately thrown from the adjacent house which was at a higher level. The aim was to create scare and panic.

  The harsh memories of my past life were making me tense even till date.

  Suddenly I felt my heart was sinking. My breath was very rapid and my tongue parched, and I softly asked for water. She looked at the doctor for permission; who nodded his head and allowed me a few sips of water. My thoughts along with my tongue became moistened, and I again walked down my memory lane and tried to capture the string from where I had left it.

  I could clearly see the tension on my husband’s face during the entire journey. Going to a new country with five children , of different ages and above all, a grown up beautiful girl. There was no certainty of any future work. It must have been heart breaking for a person of his status. He valued life and honor more than his wealth. Then he had to shoulder the added burden of three more persons who were added by my elder daughter’s family. His younger brothers had opted to stay back and did not migrate .It took us full four days to travel by steamer from Karachi to Bombay.

  There were about 1800 passengers on board, its capacity being only 1500, but because of the rush, a three hundred extra were accommodated. All showed tension of variable degree, trying to take care of their belongings. Those who could not be accommodated in rooms and cabins were to occupy the deck, which was also packed. For the children it was like a long picnic but tension and fear was revealed from every adult. They did not know what the next day had in store for them. Food and water was being served very conservatively, and the quality was such that consumption was also meager.

  It was the first time that we were sailing in a huge steamer. Both my daughters went up to the third floor of the ship named “Dongra” to get a view of the Pacific Ocean.

  The sun had completed its journey from east to west and was about to plunge into the ocean and cast a spell of darkness for 10 hours. The rays of the sun spread a golden sheet on the surface of the ocean which appeared as if someone was bleeding on the under surface of the water. The ball of fire was playing hide and seek with the few clouds floating in the sky. Finally it hid under the water and at a point the sky and earth seemed to embrace each other. The sky gradually changed its shades of color from blue to pink to grey and finally black.

  The beauty of the sunset was exquisite but the mind was tumultuous like the waves of the ocean, and could not appreciate any beauty of nature; both sisters had the same hurricane storm in their minds, “What is in store for us tomorrow?” All that was visible was the darkness of the approaching night like the darkness of our future. Suddenly I felt the warmth of a gentle hand on my shoulder, and a soothing voice said, “What are you all doing here at this time?” Ram had come looking for the three of us when he had not found us in our cabin.

  We turned back to find him, posing to be very poise and calm but his face spoke of the fathoms of his anxiety. We spent four days and nights on board, and finally the sight of land on the western coast brought the news of Bombay harbor approaching.  

   We had landed at Bombay harbor. It was a complete mess. People sitting in groups around their belongings and valuables, waiting to be taken to the camps, set up for refugees. We were staying in open air. There were snakes and scorpions moving about. Water was rationed and Government agencies used to give food supply. Water was to be drawn from hand pumps, the girls used to be spared of this activity. We could hardly sleep due to fear of our meager possessions being stolen, or some miscreants trying to harass us. We could see around us some people trying to capitalize on the miseries of the common man. Extra care and protection was given to our girls because of their tender age. We spent full two days and three nights in this open air accommodation, before our turn came to move into barracks. Ram took a precautionary measure to register Rup’s family separately in order to get two different accommodations for two families.

  We were taken to kalyan camp which was set up at the outskirts of Bombay. We were allotted a barrack with tin roof. Its walls were of about eight feet height. It had a hall, a room and a toilet. A temporary kitchen was set up and we used to bring water from hand pumps, extra precautions were taken at every step to keep away from the evil eyes of bad people. Sanitary conditions were not good; most of the inhabitants had contacted a skin disease like scabies.

  This sudden change in life style was a shock to all of us but we did not lose heart, because a remote hope of going back to our native land and acquiring back the left over assets was still persisting. I still remember that day clearly when our domestic servant Moti came to work in our house. He had also migrated. Very decently we had refused his request saying, “It will be difficult for us to feed seven mouths, and from now we will not be able to afford a servant, till we establish ourselves again.”

  “Sir but I want to stay here with these little children whom I have brought up, and I know they miss me and my services, how will Madame manage the kitchen, she has never worked.” Ram was pertinent and refused his services. We were used to a clean and luxurious life, and adjustment was next to impossible for me the most. All could manage somehow, but I was highly sensitive to unhealthy surroundings. My children extended a helping hand and we somehow dragged our life hoping for a sure change. Unfortunately that glamour, that pomp and show never returned in our life.

  Fortunately or unfortunately my daughter Kala’s family had been allotted a quarter at quite some distance, which maintained their privacy and did not make Rup a parasite on us. It gave him a chance to struggle and earn a living, though help was being extended to them in time of need. The partition of the country, Change of governments, new rules, regulations and constitutions, brought multiple obstacles in his way to get his wealth back from court of wards. When all his legal correspondence failed, he even tried his last threat. A suicidal attempt was made by him to threaten the authorities. When there were no results, he sat patiently and waited for the day to dawn when he would acquire all his sealed wealth.

  Life started reeling again and a year passed by. One fine morni
ng we could hear loud music and sermons from adjoining hutment. I learnt that the adjoining shed was converted in a temple by a young Pujari. He was quick to cash on the sorrows of the refugees. We also visited the temple frequently to pray to God to rid our sufferings. In hard times and in times of need God is the only savoir.

  One day, it was nearly midday, the loud music and sermons of the temple were over. I was cleaning the room when I heard a peculiar hustle bustle in the temple hall associated with some whispers. Out of curiosity I picked up a wooden stool, climbed on it, and tried to peep across the wall into the hall. The young pujari had caught hold of a young girl’s hand; she was struggling to let herself free. She tried to scream but he closed her mouth with one of his strong hands and literally dragged her into the room and closed the door behind him. I was stunned to see all this, so I ran to my neighbor’s house and told them about the whole scene. They quickly ran out collected some more neighbors and entered the temple hall. They all started banging on the door which was locked from inside. The girl’s loud screams were audible; when the door did not open, they broke it open, and just saved that girl from being molested. She quickly set her clothes right and ran out of the room crying. The pujari buttoning himself, fumbled for defensive words. But the crowd did not let him go; they beat him hollow and handed him over to the police for abusing the temple, a sacred place. After this incidence we took an immediate decision to move out of this place as soon as possible.

  We moved out to Indore which was another town where refugees from Sind had settled down. My parents were already there. We rented a house, younger children all started going for studies. Our second daughter, Nitu, was big enough for marriage and we started looking for a match. We were being shuttled from one place to another in search of a good stable business and the children’s education.

  I still remember how Ram had got my youngest daughter, admitted to a convent school. He even got her free ship on sympathetic grounds of a refugee. She came out with flying colors, and soon became her teachers pet. Ram used to devote a lot of time to her studies; she used to top in class and made him happy and proud. He had judged her caliber and the potential of her grey matter, and wanted her to achieve some high goals in life.

  Nitu’s prospective groom was found in the town of Kota. He belonged to a very good educated family. He was good looking, really handsome and had a pleasing personality. In all these hassles of migration and the hardships that followed, Kala’s life being prematurely ruined, apathy to arranged marriage which Nitu had developed, was gone and forgotten. Moreover I did not want to make things difficult for Ram. I had no reason to say no to this proposal. Arranged marriages were settled by parents. The main concern used to be high family lineage, respectable living standard and a good looking boy with a basic earning. I think this fulfilled nearly all the requirements .This taboo of arranged marriage became so deep rooted in my genes that it affected my crucial decisions in later life. She was shown a photograph of the future groom and her consent was taken. He looked handsome and smart, so there was no reason for me to reject the proposal for Nitu. Because of the miscalculations in Kala’s marriage, we took extra precautions and probed well into the boy’s character and habits.

  Once again I am feeling a vacuum, and a sinking feeling .This time I felt myself falling slowly and gradually into a dark black well. The depth of which was beyond any unit of measurement .It seemed like a bottomless well. Suddenly I felt a very harsh blow on left part of my chest, my doctor tried to resuscitate me with a cardiac massage and some injections in my drip. As I came around, I felt my face flushing and a rapid pulse rate giving me a feel of palpitation but I soon composed myself to complete my journey of the past. My chain of thoughts caught up from where they had broken.

  I saw myself in my family, making preparations for Nitu’s marriage .It was mid-summer, extremely hot. The entire family was busy in the arrangements. All shopping was complete; only packing was to be done.

  Our family use to sleep in open air in the backcourt yard during the summers. One morning Ram woke up early and he found the door of the house bolted from inside and he could see plenty of light inside, this he thought was unusual, he could judge that something was terribly wrong. The door was opened and we could see a gaping hole in the side wall .Burglars had struck; all the jewelry and cash had disappeared. The police was informed; they could find empty boxes outside .We had no confidence in police and knew even if they trace out the thieves nothing will be recovered from them. This was a cruel blow on us, as the marriage was fast approaching. I still remember the tension which prevailed in the family. Everyone was disturbed; I was hit most, as my daughter’s future was at stake. I feared the breakup of my marriage. I just don’t know why fate was so cruel and giving repeated blows to our family one after another. I used to pray to the Almighty to give sufficient strength to my dear husband to bear all these shocks and remain strong.

  We borrowed money as we did not want to lose a good proposal and a good family where our daughter was going. The marriage took place in a traditional way on fairly good scale. There was no comparison to the grandeur of the first marriage of our house. Nitu was sent to her husband’s house with all our blessings for a happy life.

 

   

  Chapter 4