There was a big commotion in front of a
flat in Kapali Apartments, located in
the suburbs of Chennai. A middle aged lady was hitting a young man with her slippers while scareaming and
shouting at him.
“How dare you take my daughter out,
you scoundral. She is still in school
and you are professing love to her, when she does not even know the meaning of
love. Get lost. If I see you with her again, I will kill you.”
The tall,
dark and handsome looking youth , perhaps a college student, quickly took the lift opposite the flat. He
left the building before the crowd gathered. The girl's mother did not know that she had
hit a boy who was the son of a reformed gangster
in North Chennai.
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Laxmi, widowed at a young age was
struggling to bring up her only daughter Sandhya against all odds, as a single
parent. The small income that was
available to her, thanks to some savings in the bank left behind by her husband,
was not enough to meet the growing demands of
her pretty daughter.
Sandhya at 18, studying in the 12th
standard of a popular school, had grown into a beautiful young girl. With a fair complexion and a gracious figure, she was the cynosure of all the
eyes in the locality. Very
conscious of her beauty, Sandhya refused
to fall into any traps and went about
her business, like a normal diligent student.
She was a class topper and also
very popular in the school as a singer. She
was aware that her mother was struggling hard to bring her up and had dreams
for her future.
She had lost her father when she was only
6. Her mother, a sickly woman, never went out of the home to
attend any functions. On school days,
when neither of her parents were in the
audience to appreciate her performance she would invariably end up crying! She really missed her father! She missed the
presence of a man in her house.Until one day she found a prince charming in an
unusual circumstance – a meeting which was
to create a storm in her life.
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That day she was late to leave the school in the evening because she
had to attend a
special class.While she was walking to the bus stop with her close
friend Maya in school , she
suddenly realised that two boys were
blocking her way and not allowing her to proceed further. While one boy was passing lewd comments, .
the other tough looking boy was trying to molest her.
In the tussle that followed, she
fell down and started screaming for help. While the public was watching , out
of the blue, a young man materialised. He
decided to take on the tough guy.
In the typical filmy style, the two fought with each other. The young saviour managed to over power the
molester. The molester who found that his friend had already run away from the scene
without coming to his help decided to
escape, swearing revenge. Sandhya, whose friend also had vanished from
the scene stood there shivering from fear watching the scene unfolding before her. Though she was used to boys following her, she
had never faced such a serious situation before.
She was
totally shaken up by the event.
She turned towards her saviour and thanked him profusely. He introduced himself as Raja, studying in
the fourth year BA class in the college located opposite to her school. He escorted her to the bus stop and waited
till he saw her off in the bus. While
taking leave of her he promised to take care of her and protect her from bad
elements.
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In the subsequent days and weeks he was to
keep his word. Every day he would wäit
outside Sandhya`s school gate and escort her to the bus stop.
Naturally love blossomed between them. Sandhya who was in an impressionable age was longing for the love of a man in her life. She
found her prince charming in Raja. He seemed to be a nice guy, full of compassion and real love for her. He also seemed to come from a well to do
family, as she found that some times a car would be waiting to pick him up
after he saw her off at the bus stop.
Their meetings extended beyond the school
timings. He started taking her out to
the beach and movies. Obcviously he was
besoughted with Sandhya.
Whenever she was late in coming home,
Sandhya would tell her mother that she was busy attending special class or
attending rehearsals in the school.
Love is really blind. Sandhya carried on her affair with Raja, even
after learning that he was a Dalit
Christian while she was
a Tam Brahm. The mismatch became an issue for discussion when Raja
started contemplating marrying Sandhya
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It was a Saturday afternoon. They were
sitting under a boat on the beach trying to escape the direct rays from the
glowing Sun, like scores of couples do on a comparatively empty beach in the
afternoons.Both were staring at the waves in the sea without talking. Raja looked disturbed and was
drawing caricatures on the sand with his fingers,
It was sandhya who spoke first.
“What is
bothering you Raja. Why don`t you say something.”
“ I .. I don`t know. I feel
miserable if I don`t see you even for a day.. Why did you not come to
the school for the last four days- I
missed you so much.”
`I was not well. Mummy felt I should take
rest at home..”
‘Why didn`t you call me. Atleast I could have listened to your voice”
“ the telephone at home was not working. Besides my mother was all the
time hovering around me, worried about
me.”
Raja was silent for a
while. Looking at Sandhya in the eyes he asked her ” Do you love me Sandhya?”
In response
Sandhya put an around him and drawing
him close said, “Yes my dear savior I love you too.”
Holding her tight in
his arms, Raja said ,“. I want to marry you soon so that you can be
with me all the time. Sandhya , I cannot live without you even for a day….” So saying he became
emotional.
Sandhya was silent. He
continued, “ My love for you is pure Sandhya. I want you to be my life partner.” Disentangling
himself from her he said, “ I will not touch you again
until I marry you. This is a promise.”
Sandhya believed in
Raja. During the days they were
together, he never took undue advantage of her physically. That was something
which impressed Sandhya.
“I can convince my parents about our relationship. But what about your
mother?”
She replied, “ you will have to come and speak to my mother. She is dead against inter caste marriages. If
she knows that you are a Christian it will be very
difficult to convince her.. “
Overflowing with bravado Raja said, ` I
will convince her. .. when I drop you
home this evening I will come up with you to your flat and talk to your
mother”
Sandhya was hesitant.
But she realized that Raja was very serious and would not accept no for an
answer. She finally agreed to give Raja
the chance to try his luck with her mother.
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Laxmi had already come to know about the affair through the
neighbours. She was livid with Sandhya
for allowing herself to fall into a
trap. Sandhya`s explanations about how
Raja had saved her from a serious situation did not matter to her. While she
was having a running battle with Sandhya about the affair, she was waiting for an opportunity to meet
Raja and give him a piece of her mind. She got the opportunity to vent her feelings when Raja suddenly turned
up at the house on the Saturday evening with Sandhya, to talk to her. Laxmi never allowed Raja to
speak. Raja least expected the `slipper`
treatment that he got from Laxmi. But he was not going to give up so easily.
Next morning a big limousine stopped in front of the apartment complex. A tall dark man with a handle bar
moustache accompanied by two ladies came out of the vehicle followed by Raja. They
took the lift to Sandhya's flat.
When the bell rang and Laxmi opened the
door, she was aghast to see the four
uninvited guests with intimidating looks..
They forced their entry into the flat and
without waiting for Laxmi's permission they sat on the available chairs and
sofas. Hearing the commotion, Sandhya
peeped out from her bedroom door to see Raja and his family seated in the
hall. Raja's eyes met hers with a pleading look.
But she did not come out of her room, leaving her mother to tackle the
guests.
It was Raja's mother Rani who spoke first.
“Amma, we heard about the episode
about your beating our son Raja yesterday evening. We have not come here to fight with you. But plead with you. We know that what Raja
has been doing is wrong. He is still in college with one more year to
go and your daughter is in school. . We came to know about his affair and have been
trying to put sense in his head without
luck. He is threatening to commit
suicide, if he is not allowed to marry your daughter.”
At this point the father butted in, “Raja is our only son. We dont
want to lose him. Though we can get many girls from our community, who are very
well to do meeting our standards, we are willing to compromise for the sake of
our only son.” He sounded
condescending.
The old lady , Raja's grand mother now intervened
to say
“We are not saying that Raja and
Sandhya should get married immediately.
Let them both finish their education and we will ensure that we will
have a grand marriage celebrated at our expense. All that we are asking for is your Yes as a
mother of Sandhya so that the couple of have blessigs of both the families. We know that we do not belong to your caste
but Raja seems to be madly in love with
Sandhya and is determined to marry only her. We want to assure you until the marriage no harm will be done to Sandhya”
Laxmi did not know what hit her. In the absence of any other person in the
home to lend her moral support in her predicament, she felt isolated and
lost. Instead of replying them, she
started crying, cursing her daughter Sandhya for bringing this shame on her and
her family.
Hearing her loud cries, neighboours gathered in front of the flat, watching the
drama that was going on inside the flat.
When Raja's parents realised that they were
not heading anywhere, they got up to
leave the flat. Before leaving Raja`s
father, David left behind a visiting card on the teapoy and told Laxmi,
“we know it is not an easy decision
for you to make. But please think about our offer and call me
whenever you are ready to talk.
After they left all hell broke loose for
Sandhya.
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After Raja's family left the home, Laxmi
closed the door of the flat and turned to Sandhya who was standing in a corner
with apprehensive looks and tears in her
eyes.
Laxmi started abusing Sandhya and beating
her with a stick. To escape her wrath Sandhya
quickly got into the bedroom and locked herself in. In her helpless situation, Laxmi rang up her brother Hari, living closeby and
informed him about the incident. Hari and his wife Bhooma arrived soon to console
Laxmi and discuss about what they should do in the matter.
They decided that they will not agree to
the proposal made by Raja's parents but stop Sandhya from going to school so
that she has no opportunity to meet Raja.
They rightly felt that Sandhya was so young to know about love and
marriage. They did not want to commit
their girl to an uncertain future.
The
next few days were tough on Laxmi as Sandhya became morose refusing to talk or eat, crying all the
time. Since she was not allowed to go
out, she had no means of contacting Raja.
Even the telephone at home was kept locked up by Laxmi. Sandhya`s only link to the outside world was Prema, her
close friend in the apartment complex who was allowed to meet Sandhya. Prema informed Sandhya that Raja was found
hovering around the building complex every day, hoping to meet Sandhya, if and
when she came out. Sandhya never came out
for days together. Since Raja knew about Prema from Sandhya, one day he
managed to give her a cell phone with prepaid sim card to be handed
over to Sandhya, so that he can talk to her.
Locking herself in her bedroom, Sandhya
started having long chats with Raja over the cell phone without the knowledge
of her mother. The mobile became an accomplice in their love.
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One day Raja called her, ‘ Sandhya I cannot wäit any longer.
I feel miserable without seeing you.
It is more than three weeks.
There is tremendous pressure from my house asking me to forget you... but
I cannot.’ He became
emotional. Hearing him Sandhya also broke down.
‘ I am equally miserable Raja. But I dont know what to do. My mother is refusing to allow me to go out.”
“ Run away from home, Sandhya.
Find some way of getting out of the house and let me know the date and
time and I will come and pick you up. I
promise you again Sandhya that I will not
even touch you until we marry. I want you to be my wife for life. I promise to
look after you well.”
“But where will we go? Where will we live? What will we do for a living?”
The child in her was confused.
She had become extremely fond of Raja and knew that he was madly in love with
her. She did not want to hurt him in any way.
“Dont worry Sandhya. Once you come out of the home, I will persuade
my family to support me in life. My
grand mother is very fond of me. She
will do anything to see me happy..”
So, it was pre arranged that on a Sunday
morning when Sandhya was to go with her friend Prema to attend the wedding of
a close friend, she would escape and run away with Raja. As promised Raja was waiting outside the wedding hall with
a car and
managed to whisk Sandhya away from her
friend. True to his word, he took
her straight to his grand mother's house which was close to his own house and
left Sandhya in her care, until he sorted out the matter with his parents.
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When Laxmi came to know that her daughter
had ran away with Raja, in spite of the tight control she had kept on her movements, she was
devastated. Her wrath turned against Prema whom she cursed for helping Sandhya run away. There was a big scene in the apartment
complex with neighbours gathering in Laxmi's house trying to pacify her. Soon, her brother's family arrived. After discussion it was decided to file a
police complaint. Fortunately Laxmi had
kept the visiting card of Raja's father Davd.
The FIR filed with the police mentioned Raja's family as the suspected
kidnappers of her daughter.
Laxmi soon realised that David, with his
criminal background, had enough contacts
with the police and politicians
to ensure that they would not
take any hasty action against the family.
When Laxmi realised that she was against a
corrupt system and nothing will happen unless she takes drastic action, she
decided to meet the police commissioner persoanlly.. When she was refused permission to meet him,
she sat outside his office in dharna refusing to leave the place until she gave
her petition to the police commissioner personally. She threatened the police who were trying
to force her out that she will go to the media, if she
was not allowed to meet the commissioner.
Her strategy worked. Police commissioner received her petition and
ordered the SI in charge of the police
station near Laxmi's house to investigate the matter and report to him.
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The suburban police station was a a beehive
of activity. It had people from all walks of life come to register cases. There was man who had come to complain that
his wife had run away with his driver. Another case was pertaining to
extortion. Most common were the cases of people from the nearby slum come to complain about the bloody fights
they have had with their neighbours. This crowd
was invariably the nosiy ones testing the patience of Inspectors and
policemen in the station. On one of the side rooms one could see some policemen sleeping on benches, in
their vests. These were the policemen who were so busy with double duty and VIP
securities that they had no time to visit their homes.
The
SI who had received the note from the Commissioner , had summoned the families of Laxmi as well as
Raja to meet him in the morning on a Sunday. He
looked a harrased man. He could be seen bawling
at constables and also others who were crowding inside the station.
Laxmi's family was the first to
arrive. When he saw Laxmi, he atarted abusing
her for going to Police Commissioner directly and putting his job at stake. Soon Raja's family also arrived. They had brought with them Sandhya also, as
per instructions from the SI. With her head down, she was trying to hide herself
behind Raja's family.
On seeing her Laxmi started hurling abuses at her and crying loudly. The SI had to ask her to stop making a scene
and allow him to conduct the inquiry.
“Mr. David, this lady is accusing
your family of having kidnapped her daughter against the girl`s wishes.”
“It is not true. Sandhya willingly
came out with my son. We have ensured
that she is in a safe place – unharmed.
In fact she is now staying at my mother in law's place who is taking
good care of her “
“Why did you do this. Could you not meet the mother of the girl and
sort out the matter?”
“In fact, when my son went to meet
her, she beat him up in front of her
flat. Since he seemed to be crazy about
Sandhya and threatened to kill himself, we went to meet Sandhya's mother next
morning. She refused to engage in any
kind of dialogue with us but was
only screaming and shouting at us”
“ Don`t you know it is a crime to
kidnap a minor girl?”
“As per our understanding she is
not a minor. She turned 18 two months
ago.
My son even gave her a nice Birthday gift
on that day.”
SI then turned to Raja and asked him, “ I undertstand that you are still in
college. What is the hurry about getting married?
Raja was hesitant. His words came out in spurts.
“
I am deeply in love with
Sandhya. She also loves me. She told me
that her mother had come to know about our affair and she was so angry that
Sandhya was afraid that she might be
even killed.
I wanted to provide a secure place and also
take care of her for life--- I don`t want to lose her. I cannot live without her”.. Raja became emotional.
When SI asked Sandhya to come forward,
Laxmi tried to pounce on her and beat
her up.
“Stop it , Madam. Allow me to conduct the inquiry peacefully. If you try to obstruct me from
performing my duty, I will get you arrested”
Whining and weaping Laxmi withdrew. SI continued with his enquiry. He now addressed Sandhya
“Why did you do this? Is it fair to upset your mother who brought
you up against all kinds of odds for the
sake of your love”.
Sandhya did not answer. She was looking down at her toes and drawing
patterns on the floor with it.
“Talk young lady. Your mother seems to be very upset with you. Why dont you compromise and go back with her now? You are too young to
know the implications of what you are doing”
At this suggession, Sandhya reacted. She
spoke with great hesitation.
“No, I dont want to go with my
mother. For what has happened, she is
likely to kill me and kill herself. I am
scared. Besides, I am being taken good care of by Raja's
family. Raja's father has even agreed to
take care of my education. Raja's
parents and Raja are extremely kind to me.
I will not go with my mother.............”
Laxmi was furious at the response from Sandhya. A child whom she had brought up single handed
was talking against her. She felt
terribly humiliated and hurt. Suddenly she got up and ran towards the
street which was bursting with traffic.
Before her attempt to commit suicide by going under the wheels of a bus,
a constable managed to stop her and
brought her back even as she was
screaming and shouting,
“I dont want to live. Please allow me to die.. My only daughter has rejected me.. There is
nothing for me to live for...”.
Sandhya who was watching her mother was
moved by the scene. Tears were streaming
down her cheeks . Raja's mother who was
standing next to her tried to console her.
It was a pathetic scene. The SI realised that Laxmi was in no
condition to look after a reluctant and adament daughter.
He told Laxmi, “I understand your feelings as a mother. But your daughter who is an adult in the eyes
of the law is prefering to stay back with her future husband's family. I would suggest that all of you go back home
and do some serious thinking, before you take any drastic action. I will report the matter to the commissioner....
You can also file a case in the court if you want “
While Laxmi was taken away by her brother's
family, who had accompanied her, Raja's family with
Sandhya got into their car and left.
Sandhya, obviously affected by her mother's
attempt to commit suicide could be seen sobbing uncontrollably as she was being escorted to the car.
In view of Laxmi's mental condition, her
brother Hari decided not to leave her
alone in her house but to take her to his home close by.
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A week passed by without any change in
Laxmi's condition. Most of the time she was lying in bed
sleeping induced by the anti-depressant medicines she
had been given. It was again a Sunday
morning, when everyone was at home. The
door bell rang. When Hari opened the door he was surprised to see
Sandhya standing at the door. She looked
totally distraught and miserable. Seeing her mother lying in a cot in the
bedroom she ran to her. Laxmi who was
asleep woke up to find herself in the arms of her daughter who was hugging and kissing her
, “ I am sorry Amma.... I am very
sorry… I will not do it again… I love you amma...”
Laxmi could not believe what was
happening. She also held her daughter
tight and shed copious tears of joy at the re-union.
When they settled down, the family found
out that the scene of her mother trying to commit suicide at the police station
had affected Sandhya very badly. The
whole week she could not eat or sleep but pondered over her impetous action and the disastrous effect that had on her mother. That Sunday morning, on the pre-text of going to the shop for buying something, she left Raja's grand mother`s
house.
Before leaving she left a note for Raja that she was sorry to leave him
and asked him not to pursue her any more as she was clear that she cannot have
a happy marriage without her mother's blessing. It was a difficult choice- but
she had made it.
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Two days later Hari was browsing through a Tamil daily. He was shocked to read the following news item.
21 years old boy commits suicide.
Raja,
the only son of David well known in the locality as a reformed gangaster in North
Madras, was found dead in his house by his family. An empty bottle of poison was found next to his
bed. A failed love affair seemed to be
the reason for his death. Police have registered a case of unnatural death and
are investigating
Hari decided not to show the paper to
Sandhya. since she had already made her
choice.
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