๐๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ก๐ข ~ ๐๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐๐ |๐๐+| - Chapter 1: Chapter 1
You are reading ๐๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ก๐ข ~ ๐๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐๐ |๐๐+|, Chapter 1: Chapter 1. Read more chapters of ๐๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ก๐ข ~ ๐๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐๐ |๐๐+|.
Author's POV:-
A young girl, dressed in a red blouse and a long flowing skirt, lay on her mother's lap, crying uncontrollably. Her small arms wrapped tightly around her mother's waist, clinging as if to anchor herself against the storm that was about to uproot her life.
Her mother gently caressed her head, silent tears filling her own eyes. She knew she was powerless - a mere puppet in the hands of her husband and mother-in-law, her existence reduced to obeying their commands without question.
"Maa... mujhe shaadi nahi karni... Baba ko bolo na... Mujhe itni jaldi shaadi nah karway.." the girl sobbed brokenly, her voice trembling with fear and desperation.
(Maa , I don't want to get married... please tell na baba to not make me married so soon..)
Her mother's hand trembled as she spoke, her voice low, resigned, "Kyun aise darr rahi hai meri bacchi? Tere Baba ne kaha na... larka acha hai...unhone soch samjh k hi yeh faisla liya hain.."
("Why are you so scared, my child? Your father said that the boy belongs to a good family... He made this decision after a lot of thought...")
But Sakshi only shook her head more fiercely, fresh tears pouring down her cheeks.
Before her mother could say anything more, a harsh voice rang from the doorway, firm and cutting, "Bahu, apni ladli beti ko samjha de... kuch din mein uski shaadi hai. Sasural mein jaake aise roegi toh achha nahi lagega."
( Bahu explain to your beloved daughter... her wedding is in a few days. If she keeps crying like this after going to her in-laws' house, it won't look good)
Startled, her mother hastily pulled her saree's pallu over her head in submission.
Peeking out from the crook of her mother's waist, Sakshi saw her Dadi entering the room, chewing paan ( beetle leaves), her sharp eyes filled with disapproval.
Dadi's glare fell first on her bahu. "Apni beti ki shaadi sar pe khadi hai... aur ab tak akal nahi aayi tujhe pallu pehnne ki? Maa hi aisi hai toh beti ko kya sanskaar degi?" she snapped.
(Your daughter's wedding is around the corner... and you still haven't learned to wear a pallu properly? If the mother herself is like this, what values will she pass on to her daughter?)
Her mother lowered her gaze, shame burning in her heart, but saying nothing.
Dadi then turned to Sakshi, coming to stand by her side. She placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"Sakshi, ab tu badi ho gayi hai. Yehi sahi umar hoti hai shaadi ki."
(Sakshi beta now you have become an adult ..this is right age of getting married for girl..)
"Par mujhe abhi nahi karni shaadi, Dadi..." Sakshi whimpered, her lips trembling, her small body shivering with fear.
(But I don't want to get married dadi..)
Her Dadi clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Ladki hoke janam liya hai, toh ek din toh shaadi karni hi padegi na! Hamare zamane mein toh isse bhi chote umar mein ladkiyon ki shaadi kar dete the. Tere Baba ne toh phir bhi tujhe baravi kaksha tak padhne diya bina mere baat sunke...!"
(If you are born as a girl, then one day you have to get married, right? In our times, girls were married off at an even younger age than this. Your father, at least, allowed you to study up to twelfth grade, even though I kept opposing it...)
Sakshi bit her lip, her heart screaming to shout - 'Bhaiya toh mujhse bhi bare hain aur college mein par rahe hain ...toh unke shaadi kyu nahi karwaya ja raha '- but she swallowed her words. Speaking up would only bring more trouble.
("Bhaiya is older than me and is still studying in college... so why isn't he being married off...?")
'Yeh sab faltu ki aasu na nikalke , behatar yahi hain ki apni maa se kuch kaam-taam jaake seekh le...waha tujhe koi madad karne k liye nahi ayegi, sab kuch akele hi karni paregi...'
("Instead of shedding these useless tears, it would be better if you go and learn some household work from your mother. No one will come to help you there; you'll have to manage everything on your own.")
With a last disdainful glance, her Dadi turned and walked out, leaving behind a heavy, suffocating silence.
Sakshi clung tighter to her mother, her sobs quieter now, but her heart heavier than ever - carrying the weight of a future she didn't choose.
After making sure her Dadi had left the room, Sakshi could no longer hold back the fear festering inside her. She raised her teary face, her voice dropping to a trembling whisper only her mother could hear.
"Maa... agar woh bhi mujhe maare... jaise Baba aapko marte hain... tab kya karungi maa?"
("Maa... what if he hits me too... like Baba hits you? What will I do then, Maa?")
Her mother's heart shattered at the words. Her hands trembled as she cupped Sakshi's fragile face, brushing away her tears with the edge of her saree's pallu.
"Main aur tu ek jaise thodi hain, meri bacchi..." she whispered, forcing a small smile through her own tears.
("You and I are not the same, my child...")
"Sab tere Baba jaise nahi hote... samjhi? Ho bhi sakta hai ki woh tujhe bahut pyaar kare... raniyon ki tarah rakhe... har waqt bure khayal kyun laati hai apne mann mein?"
("Not all men are like your Baba... Understand? It's possible that he might love you a lot... treat you like a queen... Why do you always fill your mind with such bad thoughts?")
Sakshi didn't respond. She simply reached out with her small hands and gently wiped the tears pooling in her mother's eyes, just as her mother had done for her.
Deep down, Sakshi knew. She knew the painful truth her mother tried to bury beneath a mask of false hopes. She had heard the muffled sobs, the gut-wrenching cries that echoed through the walls late at night when Baba's anger consumed him. She had seen the bruises - the purple and red marks that peeked out from under her mother's sleeves, from her neck, from the soft curve of her collarbone. Sakshi didn't need to guess what her baba had done to her maa. The signs were unmistakable, the familiar marks of violence, the ones that only deepened when he returned home drunk.
But none of this meant ,he hit his daughter. For him, she was his ladli beti - his precious daughter. He loved her with all his heart, or at least that's what he would say. He would always hold her close, tell her she was his world, but Sakshi's heart couldn't ignore what she had seen and heard - what she had felt, every single day.
Sakshi didn't hate her father, not entirely. But the way he treated her mother - the way he tore at the very foundation of her maa's soul with every slap and every curse - was something she could never forgive.
Since childhood, Sakshi had always gravitated more towards her mother. Maa was her refuge, her sanctuary, the one constant in a house full of chaos. She could never turn to Baba for comfort the way she could to her mother. In her eyes, he had already lost the smallest shred of respect she once held for him.
He could be a loving father, yes, but as a husband? He had failed.
A young girl, dressed in a red blouse and a long flowing skirt, lay on her mother's lap, crying uncontrollably. Her small arms wrapped tightly around her mother's waist, clinging as if to anchor herself against the storm that was about to uproot her life.
Her mother gently caressed her head, silent tears filling her own eyes. She knew she was powerless - a mere puppet in the hands of her husband and mother-in-law, her existence reduced to obeying their commands without question.
"Maa... mujhe shaadi nahi karni... Baba ko bolo na... Mujhe itni jaldi shaadi nah karway.." the girl sobbed brokenly, her voice trembling with fear and desperation.
(Maa , I don't want to get married... please tell na baba to not make me married so soon..)
Her mother's hand trembled as she spoke, her voice low, resigned, "Kyun aise darr rahi hai meri bacchi? Tere Baba ne kaha na... larka acha hai...unhone soch samjh k hi yeh faisla liya hain.."
("Why are you so scared, my child? Your father said that the boy belongs to a good family... He made this decision after a lot of thought...")
But Sakshi only shook her head more fiercely, fresh tears pouring down her cheeks.
Before her mother could say anything more, a harsh voice rang from the doorway, firm and cutting, "Bahu, apni ladli beti ko samjha de... kuch din mein uski shaadi hai. Sasural mein jaake aise roegi toh achha nahi lagega."
( Bahu explain to your beloved daughter... her wedding is in a few days. If she keeps crying like this after going to her in-laws' house, it won't look good)
Startled, her mother hastily pulled her saree's pallu over her head in submission.
Peeking out from the crook of her mother's waist, Sakshi saw her Dadi entering the room, chewing paan ( beetle leaves), her sharp eyes filled with disapproval.
Dadi's glare fell first on her bahu. "Apni beti ki shaadi sar pe khadi hai... aur ab tak akal nahi aayi tujhe pallu pehnne ki? Maa hi aisi hai toh beti ko kya sanskaar degi?" she snapped.
(Your daughter's wedding is around the corner... and you still haven't learned to wear a pallu properly? If the mother herself is like this, what values will she pass on to her daughter?)
Her mother lowered her gaze, shame burning in her heart, but saying nothing.
Dadi then turned to Sakshi, coming to stand by her side. She placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"Sakshi, ab tu badi ho gayi hai. Yehi sahi umar hoti hai shaadi ki."
(Sakshi beta now you have become an adult ..this is right age of getting married for girl..)
"Par mujhe abhi nahi karni shaadi, Dadi..." Sakshi whimpered, her lips trembling, her small body shivering with fear.
(But I don't want to get married dadi..)
Her Dadi clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Ladki hoke janam liya hai, toh ek din toh shaadi karni hi padegi na! Hamare zamane mein toh isse bhi chote umar mein ladkiyon ki shaadi kar dete the. Tere Baba ne toh phir bhi tujhe baravi kaksha tak padhne diya bina mere baat sunke...!"
(If you are born as a girl, then one day you have to get married, right? In our times, girls were married off at an even younger age than this. Your father, at least, allowed you to study up to twelfth grade, even though I kept opposing it...)
Sakshi bit her lip, her heart screaming to shout - 'Bhaiya toh mujhse bhi bare hain aur college mein par rahe hain ...toh unke shaadi kyu nahi karwaya ja raha '- but she swallowed her words. Speaking up would only bring more trouble.
("Bhaiya is older than me and is still studying in college... so why isn't he being married off...?")
'Yeh sab faltu ki aasu na nikalke , behatar yahi hain ki apni maa se kuch kaam-taam jaake seekh le...waha tujhe koi madad karne k liye nahi ayegi, sab kuch akele hi karni paregi...'
("Instead of shedding these useless tears, it would be better if you go and learn some household work from your mother. No one will come to help you there; you'll have to manage everything on your own.")
With a last disdainful glance, her Dadi turned and walked out, leaving behind a heavy, suffocating silence.
Sakshi clung tighter to her mother, her sobs quieter now, but her heart heavier than ever - carrying the weight of a future she didn't choose.
After making sure her Dadi had left the room, Sakshi could no longer hold back the fear festering inside her. She raised her teary face, her voice dropping to a trembling whisper only her mother could hear.
"Maa... agar woh bhi mujhe maare... jaise Baba aapko marte hain... tab kya karungi maa?"
("Maa... what if he hits me too... like Baba hits you? What will I do then, Maa?")
Her mother's heart shattered at the words. Her hands trembled as she cupped Sakshi's fragile face, brushing away her tears with the edge of her saree's pallu.
"Main aur tu ek jaise thodi hain, meri bacchi..." she whispered, forcing a small smile through her own tears.
("You and I are not the same, my child...")
"Sab tere Baba jaise nahi hote... samjhi? Ho bhi sakta hai ki woh tujhe bahut pyaar kare... raniyon ki tarah rakhe... har waqt bure khayal kyun laati hai apne mann mein?"
("Not all men are like your Baba... Understand? It's possible that he might love you a lot... treat you like a queen... Why do you always fill your mind with such bad thoughts?")
Sakshi didn't respond. She simply reached out with her small hands and gently wiped the tears pooling in her mother's eyes, just as her mother had done for her.
Deep down, Sakshi knew. She knew the painful truth her mother tried to bury beneath a mask of false hopes. She had heard the muffled sobs, the gut-wrenching cries that echoed through the walls late at night when Baba's anger consumed him. She had seen the bruises - the purple and red marks that peeked out from under her mother's sleeves, from her neck, from the soft curve of her collarbone. Sakshi didn't need to guess what her baba had done to her maa. The signs were unmistakable, the familiar marks of violence, the ones that only deepened when he returned home drunk.
But none of this meant ,he hit his daughter. For him, she was his ladli beti - his precious daughter. He loved her with all his heart, or at least that's what he would say. He would always hold her close, tell her she was his world, but Sakshi's heart couldn't ignore what she had seen and heard - what she had felt, every single day.
Sakshi didn't hate her father, not entirely. But the way he treated her mother - the way he tore at the very foundation of her maa's soul with every slap and every curse - was something she could never forgive.
Since childhood, Sakshi had always gravitated more towards her mother. Maa was her refuge, her sanctuary, the one constant in a house full of chaos. She could never turn to Baba for comfort the way she could to her mother. In her eyes, he had already lost the smallest shred of respect she once held for him.
He could be a loving father, yes, but as a husband? He had failed.
End of ๐๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ก๐ข ~ ๐๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐๐ |๐๐+| Chapter 1. Continue reading Chapter 2 or return to ๐๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ก๐ข ~ ๐๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐๐ |๐๐+| book page.