Our local presswali’s daughters Beena and Puja got married recently. Beena’s a bit older than me and Puja is all of 11-12. Yeah, and she was wed off, though she will be staying with her mother only for a few more days. When I first heard this I did, but now I don’t really blame their mother as such. What else was she supposed to do- her husband walked out on them after a bout of heavy drinking once 7-8 years back and she doesn’t even know he is alive or not; she can hardly scrape some money together from her daily job of ironing people’s clothes and other such odd jobs here and there in a few houses. And she herself is a very frail, weak woman, having recently suffered multiple fractures while repairing their one-room shack. I guess she needed some anchorage- an assurance that someone will be there to look after her daughters if she’s dead and gone. There’s another reason as well. She couldn’t afford to organize two different wedding ceremonies, however unlavish, at two different points of time.
But will the girls really be ‘looked after’ as such? I wonder. From all that I know of Beena, she’s a very serious, very somber girl, already apparently weighed down by life. I haven’t seen her smile often. And she’s probably gone to just another small town and will have to keep on doing all that she did here, with the added cares of a household that she would be supposed to manage. And her husband will perhaps, a few years down the line, hang out with the village prostitutes, come back drunk and possibly walk out on their relation just like her father did.
God forbid, but if something like that happens, what about her princess dreams- you know, the kind where everybody gets to live happily ever after? It’s hard to believe that, but maybe her circumstances never allowed her to have any. Who knows.
But will the girls really be ‘looked after’ as such? I wonder. From all that I know of Beena, she’s a very serious, very somber girl, already apparently weighed down by life. I haven’t seen her smile often. And she’s probably gone to just another small town and will have to keep on doing all that she did here, with the added cares of a household that she would be supposed to manage. And her husband will perhaps, a few years down the line, hang out with the village prostitutes, come back drunk and possibly walk out on their relation just like her father did.
God forbid, but if something like that happens, what about her princess dreams- you know, the kind where everybody gets to live happily ever after? It’s hard to believe that, but maybe her circumstances never allowed her to have any. Who knows.
9 comments:
Yeah, I know this kind of stuff is very common in india, but it still kind of pains that this happens, I mean what bad have those girls done that they shouldn't be allowed normal teenage life, friends, education, and have to sacrifice for their own safety and survival..........
oh, she probably has dreams, everybody does.
hope it doesn't go all awry for her too.
i hate drunkard husbands
this shows we are still a developing country wher Richer ppl are becoming richer and poor poorer. But always hope for the best, May be her husband hates drinking, who knows ???
#perx:
Yes, it's kind of sad...ain't it?
#Nids:
Yeah she probably does, but at the same time, I feel that she already understands the unattainable nature of those dreams.
I hate drunkards too. : |
#lincoln:
Yeah, who knows...hopefully she will have a good life...
You remember that poem "An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum?"
The condition of these people is just like that..maybe even worse. At least those kids did have a room with four walls and a roof they could call a school. These people don't even have that. They have no dreams, no ambitions. They are taught not to. Life for them is merely survival, not dreaming.
Yeah...I remember the poem...I guess they all have the dreams...but it's strange how even the kids learn to believe that they are very unlikely to be fulfilled and they grow with that realization. It's a hard truth, hai na?
@ ishmeet Life for them is merely survival, not dreaming.
I beg to differ thre are persons who have dreamt in those survival times and led the wrld..
its about one persons mental courage and an iota of luck which can do wonders...
@Sanyukta: Yeah, they do have dreams. We all have dreams, but it's just that..I don't know yaar. It's just sad that somebody has to live like that while others live in a totally different way. Somehow makes me feel guilty of being born in a middle class family. What did those kids do wrong? Why should this be happening to them? I don't think that question will ever get answered.
@Lincoln: Sure, there are exceptions everywhere but the hard reality was that only some dare to dream. And they are the really courageous ones. Not everyone has that kind of courage. Most just give up because there's not enough hope. It's difficult too.
i don't know why you think their marriage is like sad thing, its not all about dreams you know, their mother knows best, she has been through it. even then she got them married, reason she knew what was right for them and with her own experience she would have chosen some nice grooms. and talking about dreams ...maybe the girls have simple dreams and one of their dreams has been fulfilled.
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