Sailaja stood at the threshold of her village, a proud postgraduate—a rare achievement in her small community. Her heart swelled with hope as she accepted a job at a nearby school, but this joy was quickly overshadowed when she fell in love with Kedar, a kind-hearted man with strong values. Dreaming of a future with him brought a light to her life, but her family extinguished it with their traditional views. They disapproved of Kedar because he wasn't financially stable, and in their eyes, that meant he was unworthy. They arranged her marriage to Mahesh, a man from a large joint family who seemed reliable but was still a stranger to her.
With a mixture of anxiety and hope, Sailaja married Mahesh. He worked in a distant city and promised to make their life together beautiful. As her heart fluttered with dreams of happiness, she soon found herself pregnant, feeling the tender life growing inside her. But the joy was short-lived. When Mahesh went out one day for shopping and didn’t come back, confusion and dread gripped her. The bustling city felt like a barren desert where the echo of her unanswered questions lingered.
Days turned into weeks, and she was brought back to her in-laws' home, where her heart sank deeper into despair. Instead of searching for Mahesh, her in-laws filled their days with prayers, seemingly resigned to his disappearance. Sailaja felt a storm of emotions. Anger boiled inside her as she watched them mourn a son they had lost but didn’t actively seek. Why was no one looking for him? She felt helpless, trapped in her own body, burdened by the weight of her pregnancy and the grief that enveloped her.
When her daughter was born, the joy of bringing new life into the world was tainted by the absence of her father. She held her baby tightly, yet the emptiness echoed around them. As the months passed, whispers from relatives became daggers, piercing her already fragile heart. “What did she do to lose him?” they asked, their judgment heavy in the air. Each taunt felt like a rejection of the love she once held dear, turning her into a stranger in her own family.
Life with her in-laws grew unbearable. Sailaja’s spirit felt crushed under the weight of their silent accusations. Finally, with nothing left but her determination, she took her baby and left their home. She moved to a neighboring city, filled with fear but also a flicker of hope. She found a job, but the salary was too low to provide a stable future. The dreams she once harbored for a happy family seemed to wither away.
As she fought to support herself and her daughter, she began to understand deeper truths about Mahesh. He had desired a life without attachments, yearning for Sanyasa, the renouncement of worldly ties. But why marry me? She asked herself repeatedly, confusion drowning her heart. Each thought stirred a mix of sorrow and betrayal—betrayal not only from Mahesh but also from the family that had abandoned her when she needed them most.
Despite the pain, she pushed on, facing each day with the determination of a warrior. Her daughter grew up, and as she embraced her ambitions to become an engineer, Sailaja's heart swelled with pride. Yet, a cloud of worry loomed over her. What future awaited her little girl? She questioned her own choices and the life she had been forced to live.
In quieter moments, Sailaja couldn't shake off the deep-seated fear and disappointment that lingered in her heart. “Why did I have to endure so much?” she wondered, feeling the sting of her past. In a society that often disregarded women’s happiness, she was left to navigate a world that felt unjust.
She had survived against all odds, but the scars remained. Sailaja was resilient, yet her heart longed for answers, for peace in the chaos of her life. She had fought battles, not just against the world but also within herself, questioning the very fabric of her existence.
Could a woman ever truly find happiness, or was she destined to carry the weight of others’ choices? As she watched her daughter step into her future, Sailaja hoped for one thing: that her little girl would never have to question her worth in a world that often silenced women’s voices.
No comments:
Post a Comment