Destiny

18. Heap Of Problems And The Final Choice

A few days later, the postman brought two letters, one for Anupama and the other for Satish. Dr Desai had written to tell her that he had been to England the previous month, and had met Anand there. When Anupama saw the address Dr Desai had given, she was shocked. It was the same address to which she had written all her letters. The implication was all too clear-Anand must have received her letters but had chosen not to reply. Anupama turned to see what her father was doing. Satish had collapsed after reading the letter that he had received. Anupama wondered what the letter said as she ran to get him some water. The letter was from Nanda's prospective in-laws...

"We had heard a rumour that your eldest daughter has leukoderma and because of that her husband has left her. We did not believe it and had come to see for ourselves. We now know that it was not a rumour but a fact. We do not want a daughter-in-law whose sister has white patches. As you are aware, ours is a very orthodox family and nobody will accept this alliance. . .Perhaps this alliance has not met with Lord Brahma's approval. Please do not misunderstand us, but we are forced to call off the wedding. "

The news came as a shock to everyone and Anupama bowed her head in shame. The grim silence that swept through the house was broken by the sound of Diya's sobs. Sarita's anger erupted like a volcano; if she had possessed the power of Shiva's third eye, Anupama would have been reduced to ashes.
'It is because of her that they want to cancel the marriage. There is no point in weeping about this; you must go and inform them that Anupama and Nanda are stepsisters, not real sisters. Tell them that Anupama has inherited this affliction from her mother, and reassure them that they need have no worries about Nanda.'

Anupama knew that what Sarita had said about her mother was not true.
But if a harmless lie could help Nanda get married, she would not object.
Anupama could not bear to see Diya suffer because of her. She said in a low voice, 'Appa, please do as she says. If you can revive the alliance by doing that, no one will be happier than me.'
Satish was filled with despair, but he agreed to go the following morning. The household was in a state of nervous anticipation all day.

Satish returned in the evening, looking downcast. They had told him bluntly, 'You are saying this because it suits you, but we don't want to take any chances with our son's future. We can always get a better alliance.' Nanda's marriage was cancelled, and Anupama was blamed for this misfortune. This time Anupama did not weep-there were no more tears left inside her. He seemed to age overnight; he became even quieter than before. Fate was conspiring against him, nothing was right in his life anymore. By the end of the month, he was transferred to another village, not unlike the one they were living in. Encouraged by this turn of events, he and his family soon settled down in the new village.

It had been a year since Anupama had returned to her father's house. Before moving to the new village, Anupama gave her new address to the postman, and requested him to redirect her letters promptly. Even though she had realized otherwise, she still hoped that Anand would come for her one day. Since Satish was new to the village, no one had approached him for private tuitions yet. Life had become a struggle, and Sarita vented all her frustrations and anger on Anupama.

'Your in-laws are rich. Why can't they send some money every month for your maintenance? It would have been better if you had stayed with them instead of coming here and adding to our burdens.' But Anupama could not bring herself to add to her humiliation by asking her in-laws for money.

Sarita firmly believed that whatever they spent on Anupama was a sheer waste; she refused to acknowledge the fact that Anupama helped with the household chores all day long. Anupama had wanted to take up a job as a teacher, but for that she needed a B.Ed. degree. So she resolved to go to the city-there she would start giving tuitions, and earn enough to study further. If only she had contracted the skin ailment while she was at college, then Anand would not have married her and she would not have lost everything. She could have continued her education and taken up a job, casting aside all thoughts of marriage, instead of being a burden on her family.