Raghav was busy tending to the plants in the small
garden he had in front of his
independent house in Bangalore. He saw a taxi
stopping in front of his house.
He was
surprised to see his daughter Anushka getting out of the taxi.
He had no intimation about her arrival.
Since she left for Dubai a few years ago with
her husband, there had been no communication between them.
Anushka walked into the house with her luggage. She looked totally distraught. When she
saw her mother Neena seated in a wheel chair,
unable to move , she rushed to hug her and broke down crying. Raghav and Neena were perplexed. When Neena asked her what happened, Anushka
did not reply but was sobbing inconsolably.
In between sobs, Anushka told them that her husband
had divorced her as per Muslim law and thrown her out of the house. Since there was no one to help her in Dubai,
she had taken the first available flight home to meet them and seek their help.
Raghav’s surprise turned into a shock. With great difficulty he controlled his
emotions and sat down on the sofa to get more details about Anushka’s life in
Dubai and to find out the reason for her husband’s action.
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Hailing from a middle class family Raghav had a
Masters in Mechanical Engineering. After
graduation he joined an automobile company as Trainee Engineer. Over the years he rose in the company to
become the Divisional Head and was doing
well in his job. He had also managed to
build a small dream house on the outskirts of Bangalore with a small
garden. His wife Neena was a home maker,
a charming person who was well known for her wonderful hospitality. Anushka was
their only daughter.
An extremely pretty & vivacious girl Anushka was
full of fun and made friends easily . A Commerce graduate, She pursued a computer course, in a private
institute, to qualify herself for a job in a software company. She did well in
the computer course and after finishing the two years course managed to get a
job as a software engineer in a leading software firm in Bangalore, with a
handsome salary. Raghav and Neena were
happy that their daughter was progressing well in life.
They thought it was time that they found a life partner for Anushka.
When life
was cruising along beautifully, Raghav did not realize that a storm was brewing
in his life which was to shatter the peace in their home.
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It was not unusual for Anushka to return home late
from office. When questioned by her
parents about this she would always reply,
“We are working on a big project Appa. I have to stay back every day to help my boss
meet the deadline”
“Who is your boss?
Are there other girls in your team?” – worried Raghav would question
her.
“Our boss is Mr. Hussain. He is a very good man Appa. Whenever I am late, he only drops me home”
“Oh! That white car which drops you is his. I thought you were taking a call taxi home
every day”
“Though he stays far away, it is nice of him to
drop me home before he goes to his flat”
Apart from coming late from office every evening,
Anushka also started going to office on week ends. One week end, Anushka did not return
home. When contacted, she said, “Appa,
the project has reached the final stage.
My boss has to make a presentation to the management on Monday
morning. So I am staying back in the
office to complete the job. Don’t worry,
I am safe in the office.
Raghav was not happy. But he did not make an issue of it, trusting
his daughter.
Even after completion of the project, Anushka
continued to come home late. Within a
month, when again she did not return home over a week end, Raghav and Neena got
worried.
“I am not comfortable Raghav. We have got to check on what is really
happening” Neena urged Raghav to
investigate the matter. “You had said
that you know some one in the company
where Anushka is working. Why don’t you
discreetly check about Anushka “
Raghav decided to act. The news that the friend gave him about
Anushka a week later was shocking.
“Raghav,
your daughter seems to be having an affair with her boss, Mr.Hussain, a divorcee who has been with the
company for the last five years. He seems
to be doing well in his job and he is in the good books of the management. I learnt that your daughter is seen going out with him daily
after office hours. In fact there is a rumour in his department that the two have
been spending week- ends at a resort, on
the outskirts of Bangalore”
Totally shattered Raghav and Neena decided to confront Anushka, on a
Monday following a week end when she was away from home.
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“Where were you this week end Anushka?” asked
Raghav.
“I told you I was in the office”
“Don’t lie Anushka.
I know where you spent this week end with your boss”
Anushka realized that her bluff had been called
off. She decided to be defiant.
There was no
remorse or regret when she said, “Yes, Appa.
I am in love with my boss. And we
are planning to marry soon”
Raghav did not expect his daughter to be so bold.
“But Anushka, I understand he is a Muslim, is 15
years older than you. Besides he is a
divorcee”
“So what Appa, I love him and he too loves me. He is so kind and caring, I feel very happy
and secure in his company”
Raghav and Neena tried their best to persuade
Anushka to change her mind. When they
failed, they asked close friends of Anushka to influence her decision. But nothing worked.
When the pressure at home became unbearable, one
Friday evening Anushka walked out of the home, never to return again.
Much to their displeasure, Raghav and Neena learnt
that Anushka was staying with her boss in his flat. Subsequently they had a registered marriage
attended by some office colleagues. Soon
both quit their jobs and left for Dubai, where Anushka’s husband had found a
good job in a software company.
All the efforts of Raghav to connect with his daughter failed
miserably. She refused to respond to any
communication from him. Over a period of time he lost all contact s with her.
Raghav could not believe that love could
be so blind that it can make a girl forget her near and dear ones completely.
Neena could not bear the loss of their only child. She fell seriously ill never to recover
completely from a progressively debilitating disease she contracted, making her
dependent on a wheelchair to move around the house.
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In between sobs, Anushka told Raghav that after
they reached Dubai, Hussain’s family consisting of his father, mother and a
sister also joined them. She was forced
to convert into Islam and was given the
name Mumtaz. She was not allowed to take
up any job. However, she began dabbling
in some social activities in the neighbourhood.
Within 5 years of their marriage, the couple was
blessed with two sons. Anushka had to
cut down on her social activities to concentrate on the children.
Hussain had moved up the ladder in his company to
become a Vice President. He was
travelling a lot and spent very little time at home. She began to feel that he was beginning to
get distant from her. Her in laws also
started ill treating her. They were not happy about her going out on social
work. But they were extremely good to her sons and the children also loved
their grand parents.
On a couple of occasions when she tried to go out
to meet some old friends who were visiting Dubai, her in laws created a scene. They
must have carried tales to Hussein because his attitude towards her began to
change. Anushka realized that Hussain did not love her any more. And He was not giving her time to
listen to her story. She started feeling isolated and miserable.
Unable to bear the pressure, one day she managed to
corner Hussain when they were alone at
home.
“What is happening Hussain? Why are you ignoring
me? Have you found some one more
interesting?” the direct confrontation by Anushka provoked Hussain.
He replied, “Why, I understand that you have also
been in touch with your old boy friend
from India, who was here recently. You
were seen a couple of times with him in
a hotel”
Anushka did not know what hit her. It was true that she had met the old friend
at a restaurant only once. And she had
informed her in laws about the meeting.
But she did not expect that Hussain will use the information to fix her
and to make her feel more miserable.
This led to a massive show down between them. Hussain walked out of the house telling her
that he is going to be away on tour for a couple of days and deal with her
after his return.
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Those three days were the most miserable days in
Anushka’s life. She locked up herself in
a room not eating and crying the whole day.
Three days later, when Hussain returned, instead of trying to patch up with her and
console her, he threw a bomb shell at her.
“Anushka, our marriage is not working out. I have decided to marry again. I have found a more understanding woman, who
can take care of my parents and my children.
The law of this land allows me to
do this. Here is your air ticket to go
back to India and some money for your expenses.
I will keep the children with me. My parents will take
care of them.”
.Anushka was devastated. Hussain had given her no opportunity or time
to discuss their problem. Just took an
adhoc decision and walked out of her life.
She thought of committing suicide.
But the strong person in her decided to fight Hussain. Since she did not have any close friends in
Dubai, she decided to return to India to her long forgotten parents. She was
confident that with her father`s help she will win the case and atleast get
custody of her children, who were just 3 & 5 then .
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Raghav ran from pillar to post
to find a solution to Anushka’s problem.
He contacted the best lawyer in town seeking his advice in the
matter. He even visited Dubai and tried
to meet Hussain, without luck.
In the meanwhile, Anushka’s condition became more and more
pitiable. She was missing her
children. Besides, the realization that
her rash action had resulted in her mother falling seriously ill also started
eating into her. Though she tried to help her mother in whatever way she could,
it was a miserable time for everyone.
A year passed by, without any solution to Anushka’s problem. Raghav had found out that the laws of the land in Dubai, favoured Hussain.
There was no hope of Anushka getting custody of her children.
Both Neena and Raghav persuaded
Anushka to take up a job in a software company so that she will have some
diversion. Slowly she started coming out
of her depression and started behaving her normal self -spending as much of her
spare time as possible with her mother – trying to cheer her in her miserable
state. Though she missed her children,
she remembered to celebrate their birthdays at home, every year.
While Neena was happy that her daughter was there to give her company,
she was anxious to see her resettled in life, when she was still alive. She started putting pressure on Anushka to
get married again.
It took almost four years since she returned to her parents home for
Anushka to agree to the idea..
Raghav spread the word around,
advertised through community journals
and wedding portals. After an intensive
effort, he managed to find a good match for Anushka . His name was Ranaganath - a widower
who was a successful Chartered Accountant, in his mid forties, coming
from a well to do family. Apart from
good looking he came across as a very understanding person – willing to accept
Anushka’s past.
Though Ranganath had given his consent within a couple of
meetings, Anushka took her own time in
giving her decision
Finally when she gave her consent , it was agreed the wedding will be a very low key affair in a Hall attended by very
selected friends & relatives.
Neena, who was seated in a wheel chair on the front row in the hall was
very happy to see the marriage ritual – which she had missed when Anushka had
walked out on them to have a registered marriage wih her lover.
While Anushka seemed happy at the
turn of events, the thoughts of her children did pass through her mind. She wondered whether she will ever see them
again in her life.
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A surprise awaited the family when they returned home after the wedding
ceremony.
It was a cover addressed to Anushka delivered by courier that morning. The maid who was holding the fort in their house had received it. What intrigued Raghav was that it was from Hussain in
Dubai. He was not sure what good / bad
news it contained. He did not want to
spoil the celebratory mood of the family.
So he waited till every one settled down to rest. In the privacy of his bedroom he read the
letter.
“Dear Anushka,
I am writing this letter to you with a heavy heart. After the way I treated you, I don’t know if
you would like to even read a letter from me.
But it concerns your , nay our children.
So please read on.
After your departure from the house, the boys started missing you
badly. Though my parents were showering the affection on them to the best of their
abilities I realized that it could never
replace the love of a mother. After a
couple of years when they started slowly accepting the situation, my parents
who had gone on a Haj pilgrimage died in
the major stampede in Mecca, which happened early this year.
It was a shocking experience. The
boys were shattered. Unable to cope with
the family pressure brought on by this incident,
my wife Rita walked out of my life..
I have never been a good father to my children. Though I shower them with gifts from time to
time, I have never spent quality time with them. I am at my wits` end. As I am not sure of my
ability to bring up the children on my
own, I thought of checking with you to find out if you would accept the responsibility of
bringing them up. I can arrange for the
necessary finance.
Please let me know about your decision on the following email id at the
earliest.
Yours … ex-husband
Hussain”
Vivek was confused. A mixture of
emotions passed through his mind. After
a traumatic period Anushka was about to
begin a new life with her new husband. Should he upset the apple cart by sharing the
letter with her? On the other hand she
had always been pining for her children. Won`t it make her very happy to hear the
news. Is it fair to keep such an
important information from her.
He showed the letter to Neena who felt it would be best to give the
letter to Anushka and let her decide the course of action.
After rest, when the family was
having a cup of tea, Vivek handed over the cover containing the letter to
Anushka. When she saw that the letter
was from Hussain, she became tense and started reading the letter with trembling hands, with tears rolling down her eyes . Ranganath was keenly watching her. When
she finished reading she started crying, hugging the letter to her heart. Once she recovered, she passed on the letter
to Ranganath to read.
Vivek, Neena and Anushka were anxiously watching for Ranganath`s `s reaction as he was reading the letter. His response shocked every body.
With a smiling face, he hugged Anushka and told her,
“This is the best gift we have received on our wedding day
Anushka. Don’t worry, your children are
my children. We will both go to Dubai to
pick up the children and go on a family holiday before we return to India.`
With tears of joy rolling down their eyes, and with folded hands, Vivek, Neena and Anushka expressed their gratefulness to Ranganath.. After
several years there was a sense of
happiness in the family!
