a heartfelt story of two girls and their hidden destiny…
Chapter – 1
The red colour attracted my eyes and I glanced at a lady in red sari and feet decorated with red colour (Alta-red liquid ladies from Bengal apply to decorate their feet and palms in Bengal of Eastern India), strangely the girl had covered her head and part of face with sari (Indian traditional dress) and held end of Red pallu (one end of sari which covers body parts above torso) with her right hand. It was a new bride colour “RED”. I had just fallen for her attire, which had made her look gorgeous and silky rich. She Looked poised. She walked fast towards her house from the garden. The glass bangles on her hand made sounds, which pulled my attention toward her face. Oh gosh! She pulled the pallu to cover her face. For a moment I thought that I knew that girl. I felt so; there was some kind of resemblance I was familiar with. I thought after noticing her height and walking style. Perhaps I had seen her before. If she was the same girl I had guessed, then her identity in my mind was so different till I saw her again that day. As I was astonished with the view I just had. “Who that new girl was?” I asked Sumi.
Sumi was my childhood buddy, I had gone to her house to show her a gift my father had given me same evening, a new watch. I was amazed to hear Sumi’s reply. There was questions running in my mind which was hard to believe “is she the same girl I knew for so many years?”.
“Oh my god! So she is the same girl” I wondered. I was still sinking in with the belief Sumi had just told me about. My expressions made Sumi go crazy with wide-open eyes and my fingers held my cheeks with *Phataakh* sound.
“Gheesss…he…he…he…” Sumi tried to stop her laughter by keeping her palms on her mouth pretending to forcefully stop it, which was busting out. She raised her shoulders and went jumping around me. I was familiar with her such reactions.
She giggles often and gave such expression most of the time without any reason. Sumi was a plump girl with suppressed grin. She had thin lips, chubby cheeks and a small and round nose. Her two loose braids, which fell in front of her, would mess her face up all the time. Top of it the black ribbon ends from her braids would become chewing gum for her. She would tuck her blouse in her skirt so much that there would be stress lines running from her shoulder to the waist. Her skirt must always stay above her belly. To do so she would pull her blouse from under her skirt. And as skirt came down while jumping she would repeat the sequence.
What I liked most about her was her innocence and her grin, though it annoyed me some times but she was one girl I would spend most of my evening with her. She was my companion for school.
Sumi, Are you ready”, I would call Sumi every morning before going to school.
Sumi would be just stuffing her breakfast. Stuffing paratha (Indian bread) in her mouth she would respond, “Coming,” and that would drop half bite out on the plate, “be seated Pinky”. She would gulp the bite which was hard to swallow. Plate should be cleaned. My god! I always thought, “She would not leave till she finishes two parathas even if we would have to run to reach just before prayers start in the school. Sumi would be different and totally chaotic by then, there would be no sign of Sumi in well-ironed uniform and groomed hair. I would pull her hand and call to run fast else Ms. Shakti would ensure that we would go to our class via Vice Principal’s room and rebuked.
As I questioned Sumi what was that girl doing in the neighbor’s family.
“She is Toony,” replied Sumi, “she married to a boy in new family”.
The boy’s family has just come to this empty house, which was adjacent to Sumi’s house. The boy’s father was employed in a government office on high position and was highly respected by colleagues and neighbors in the area where they lived. Boys mother was also employee of Government bank.
The houses where the boy and the family lived were located in the center of other houses in the complex. Each row of houses was set of 4 houses in a row. People living in the blocks were very closed to each other’s family. One could peep in another house easily from front and backside. Most of the people in complex kept fences at the back of the houses to protect their houses from neighbors.
Thus Toony’s family also lived in same block as the new boy’s family.
Toony and her older sister Mitali would play with us every day. My block was behind Sumi’s block at hardly any distance. From my house I could look at Sumi’s house and call her often for paying. And we all girls played together.
Toony, was a tall girl around five feet eight inches, a rare height to Indian standard. She was a good runner though she never participates in athletics. The secret of her fast running was her supper thin pair of legs. Her long and thick two braids looked thicker than her legs. She had big eyes like dears’ eyes with black rim around them; which made her face look round and beautiful. She usually wore skirts and when she moved around her skirt would become round filled with air. She looked like a classic lampshade in skirt from my height, which was way shorter than her.
Toony and her older sister Mitali were the apple of their father’s eye. Their father sat in the verandah to watch his lovely daughters playing in the evening every day. I always sensed a typical Bengali smell from their house; which was due to the fish curry for main course twice a day.
“Aae Tooniya, ekhane aaye re, kee khabo tumi ratri ke…!” their mother would scream to ask for evening meal choice. She pronounce Toony’s name as Tooniyae, with very Bangali accent.
A soft looking Bengali lady with silky skin and double wrap sari around her shoulder would always catch my attention. She would keep her daughter so protected. I could never imagine Toony would get married to a new stranger neighbor boy without her parents even noticing anything. Most unlikely with the boy who looked so terrible and nowhere to match with Toony.
When and how did they fell in love? How she got trapped in his game? Or did she really love him? Looked impossible. No one knew till it happened…my mind only kept wondering.
A most happy looking Toony’s father suddenly looked sad and sat in the same chair with his head down, gazing the floor…with exhausted thoughts…and sagging eye in anguish. As if he had cried for hours in sorrow, but no one saw him crying. May be he had a heartfelt cry without tears, else Toony’s mother would have felt week and depressed. He could not digest or understand the fact that Toony, his daughter had fallen in love and married secretly with his neighbor’s boy and did not disclose the news to them. He would never ever even in his dream give his daughter to that boy. No one knew when this happened…how could she even consider the boy to be married to. His anger and disapproval only made him disowned his daughter.
There would be distressing silence in Toony’s house; Mitali would sit alone and stopped playing with other girls. Their father stopped watching his daughter’s playing in the veranda with their friends. Girls stopped going to their house. For us Toony and Mitali has suddenly grown up and seamed much older than us. Entire girls gang who played with two sisters had fallen to silence.
Cahpter – 2
A year passed by…
“Namaskar ! Dinaji” Said Asha, (Namaskar-this is the way Indians greet each others with folding hands)
“Namaskarji, I am seeing after long” said Dina, (my mother) with surprise after seeing Asha on her door one day.
“I wanted to meet you for so long but could gather strength and come out of the home”, said Asha.
“It’s been nearly two months I have not seen you. Rather After I changes my house to your complex you have stopped coming to see me though you also live in the same complex”. Said Dina with delighted face.
“Yeah! Life has been cruel to us and we were nervous of meeting and facing our friends and relatives.” Said Asha.
“Why what happened? And who is this behind you? Is it Sneha? Why is she dressing like a married woman? ” Questioned Dina.
“Can I have a cup of tea? I will tell you every thing happened with us so far”, said Asha.
Dina, Asha and their husbands were good friends; they would often spend evening together at either of their houses. They would talk on various topics of including their office as Dina and Asha’s husbands worked in same Government organization. That was another reason they got along very well as they had common stories to share. Asha’s husband was well known for his education and superiority in the office. He was considered one of very successful and established officer in the company.
Asha and her husband had two children, son was older and was doing senior collage and daughter too was doing graduation. Their daughter Sneha was sweet child of her father. Snah’s father loved her and always felt proud of their daughter for being a very obedient and introvert girl. But little did they know that how smart she could be, definitely quite smart than her parents.
“Sneha came to visit us today after 8 months after her marriage”, Asha began to say after sipping tea and relaxing bit on the couch. “She came to see her father being ill these days. He misses her so much that he fell ill and requested me to call her”. Asha continued “my daughter who always looked shy, introvert and obedient turned out to be unexpectedly clever. I never knew my daughter was having an affair with a boy who was friend of my son. What did he see in him? The boy wears thick glasses and studies with my son in same collage. He visits our house sometimes to be with my son. I didn’t know when he trapped my daughter. There was no sign of their seeing each other. It all happened very secretly. She never confessed about this affair and neither she intimated about the day they went to church for secret marriage. More to that the boy’s parents were involved in the mission.”
“Did they never ever spoken to you about the their son getting married to your daughter?” Asked Dina.
“Nop!” said Asha.
“Oh! But why boys parents acted in this manner?” Asked Dina.
“Probably they would not have got such beautiful and educated girls for their ugly sons.” “How clever people are!” murmured Asha.
“What sons! You mean they have more sons? Who did the same!” Questioned Dina with some kinds of suspiciousness.
“Yes, said Asha. “Their older son also has done the same thing.”
“Whom did he married to?” questioned Dina.
The older daughter in-law’s name is Toony. I believe her father went in to depression and disowned her”. (pause) “But we are could not disowned our daughter. She is too precious to us”, Asha’s eyes were wet. Sneha tapped her mother’s shoulders and said smiling, “It’s OK Mom, and they are nice people though”.
“Oh! My god” Dina was stunned. It is the same family Toony married in. “This family knows how to trap girls from good families”. Murmured Dina.
“Well, My husband is a very nice person so are my in-laws”, said Sneha to prove her point that she has chosen the right husband and family for herself.
She continued with being proud “my husband takes good care of me and his elder brother and his wife Toony are good people too. My mother in-law is very kind person and always takes good care of us. Though she works and away from home for large part of the day but she ensure that we are comfortable at home”.
“We live as joint family where every one cares for others; my mother in-law ensures I meet the right doctor since now I am running my first trimester”. Sneha ended her explanation after this note and continued to rub her mother’s shoulders.
Sneha looks concerned and obedient daughter but not knowing her destiny. Her mother had consoled herself by then and asked Dina to take leave. It was getting dark and her father was alone at home.
Dina was my mother who could not come out of shock of what happened to her dear friends Asha and her husband. She let go things thinking it will be fine and time will heel the wound of Sneha’s parents once they see their grand child after few months. But there was always a question, which disturbed her for many months even after listening their story about how happy Sneha was then.
Why did both boys parents did secret marriage was there any mischievous plan. Probably no girls would have fallen for their sons. Neither who were good looking nor highly educated or pose any sorts of smartness.
Months passed by and nothing more news did we hear. Nor there was any disturbance in the life of Toony and Sneha. People created buzz of how well the family was looked after in spite such dramatic marriages in that family.
Chapter -3
Days…months…thus 2 years passed by…
It was a surprise to Snehas’s parents Asha and her husband come to our house to see my mother and father. Since we had moved to different house, we had not seen them for one and half year. This time Sneha’s father came, looking much happier and better in health.
“Oh! Dear friend, you look so much better now” said my father to Snehas’ father. Asha (Snha’s mom) and Dina (my mom) met with much love and affection. To our surprise Sneha was also with them.
“Thank you and yes! I feel much better and I am in total peace now since my daughter has come back to us after going through hell in her married life” said Sneha’s father. He looked like a king who lost the battle but gained the life of his love ones.
“Really how is she now? What happened to her?” asked my mom before my father could react to his words
“She also had a baby boy, which her husbands family kept with them and kicked her out from their home.” Said Sneha’s father.
“How dare they! Merciless people” said my father.
They turned out to be the monsters later on after the baby was born. She is our daughter and we could have left her with them to suffer more. She only disclosed her agony few months ago. We will hire a lawyer to handle the situation.
“What happened to Toony?” Asked Dina. Dina knew the story of Toony too.
Oh! They have abandoned Toony. She also had a baby boy; She has been given verandah to live as she has nowhere to go. Her parents have not taken her back either. After being kicked she has been spending her day in their house verandah. I will be meeting her parents to convince them to take her back as she has been thrown out from her husband’s house.
They should also take legal help to get the baby back from monsters.
“Did they trouble Sneha? Asked my father.
“Yes they did a lot emotionally but they could not do much to Sneha physically as I reached there on time to bring her back in our house as soon as we got to know the reality” said Sneha’s father.
But Poor Toony she suffered still. Perhaps curses herself for all those choices, decisions and misguidance she took from nasty neighbors and did lot of pain to her loving parents…
What was her future? What did she do? How did she get her baby from her husband’s family?… What about Sumi?… Perhaps this story will find new discovery, which could be the link of this story…THE CHOICE!
