The Curious Case of Shanti Priya: Truly Blind

This is the second part of an ongoing work. The first part can be found here.

Rajneesh Sharma lay awake on the bed, waiting. It was only 3 months ago that he was a shy young man away from family and friends toiling away for a successful career. And within these three months, his life had been transformed.
That day started on a very bad note. His bike had conked off just on the very day when he had an important meeting to attend. After trying his best to get his bike started, Rajneesh had made his way to the bus stop cursing away at each and every thing he passed. He hoped that he would get an auto soon and reach in time for the meeting.
Rajneesh waited impatiently for 5 minutes, but neither the bus nor an auto turned up. Just as his tension and frustration were rising, he noticed a girl gazing at him. She gave him a nice smile. Rajneesh self-consciously avoided her gaze for next few minutes. But then somehow they started conversing.
Rajneesh was not the kind of guy who could strike conversation with any passing stranger and he was especially an introvert around ladies. Even today he cannot remember who started it, but within seconds the conversation felt very natural.
Soon Rajneesh found out that the girl’s destination was along the same route as his and he offered her to share the auto. She agreed. Finally an auto driver made his way to the bus stop. Rajneesh hailed it and soon both were on the way to their offices.
That night Rajneesh analysed what had happened that day and was surprised at himself. He had not only talked to a girl, but had even made an arrangement to pick her up the next day on his bike on the way to the office. He was proud of himself. He had surely charmed the girl, because she had readily agreed for the arrangement. ‘Shilpa is not very beautiful, rather passable, but very charming.’ Rajneesh would have explained this to anybody who would have asked about Shilpa. But he did not, as nobody asked him the question. Nobody asked him the question as he had not divulged any information about her to anybody, not even her name. And his parents were completely in the dark even about Shilpa’s existence till around a week ago.
Rajneesh was very punctual in picking up Shilpa everyday, and Shilpa was on the bus stop without fail. This was the start of a very beautiful friendship between two very unlikely people.
Rajneesh was from North of India. He was here because his company had closed their operations in Delhi and had transferred him here. None among his family or friends had ever been south of Mumbai in their lives. And so Rajneesh was a loner in this city. He was here for more than a year now, and yet his acquaintances did not extend beyond his colleagues.
Shilpa was also new to this city, but she had come here from a nearby town after her graduation. For a long time Shilpa did not reveal neither the town nor any other details about her family. Whenever the topic came up, Shilpa would get restless and Rajneesh would drop the topic.
For the first month, Rajneesh used to religiously pick up Shilpa at the bus stop and drop near her office. Some time later they started meeting for coffee in the afternoon or evenings. Slowly they started watching movies and having dinners together. They took a couple of picnics together too and had even stayed in a hotel in Mysore overnight posing as husband and wife.
At this point Rajneesh felt quite natural that he and Shilpa would get married sooner or later, although nothing of this sort had been spoken of. Shilpa’s behaviour towards him left no doubt in his mind. He knew that one of these days he would ask her about marriage, and she would not refuse. Thus one day on the way back after dinner, he took her to a nearby park and asked her to marry him.
Shilpa was taken aback, and the next moment she had tears in her eyes. She had neither said yes or no, and Rajneesh was confused.
‘Rajneesh!’ Shilpa spoke softly still in tears, ‘Don't be angry at me. I cannot marry you although I have similar feelings towards you as you have towards me. I am being forced by fate and I am helpless. I cannot marry you!’
Rajneesh felt bold when he heard that Shilpa loved him. ‘Whats the matter? There is nothing like fate. Whatever it is, we can solve it together.’ He took her hand in his. Shilpa would not talk, but when Rajneesh insisted she relented.
‘I am from Tumkur, a city an hour from here. My parents used to live there, in fact most of my family is still there. But about time when I was graduating, an evil fell on our family. My father had taken loan from my uncle for business. The business failed and my father could not repay the loan. That uncle has big clout in Tumkur and he started harassing my father. Unable to take up the harassment, both my parents committed suicide. But this did not deter my uncle. He started harassing me. Uncle wanted me to make true my fathers loan and proposed that I marry a person of his choice. I am sure he had some deal in mind and wanted to sell me off. But then I was lucky and ran away. I came to Bangalore, found a job and have been living in hiding. Uncle has lots of contacts in Bangalore too. I wont be able to hide for long. And I don't want you to be caught in my uncle’s clutches, which you will if you marry me..’
That night was a long night. Rajneesh trying to convince Shilpa to get married despite her past. Shilpa refusing, saying that her uncle was very dangerous person. But as night wore thin, Rajneesh proposed to pay off the loan, it was a big amount but he could manage it. Finally that night Shilpa smiled, and they hugged for a long time.
The next week was even longer and equally hectic. They wanted to get married as soon as possible. Shilpa was worried that if her uncle even suspected about any of this, all hell will break loose. Rajneesh managed to scrap through all his savings and with a personal loan managed to collect enough for the repayment. He did not want Shilpa to live in fear and wanted to repay the loan as soon as possible. He also had insisted on buying some jewellery for the bride. Shilpa had insisted to get married in a temple and not in registrar office. She wanted to start her new life on an auspicious note.
On the big day, they woke up early and went to office as usual, met in the evening directly in the temple. They did not want any risk of being seen together on the D-day. They got married, took the certificate from the priest as a proof of marriage, and took off for honeymoon. The only witnesses were couple of Rajneesh’s friends/colleagues. Shilpa did not want to get any body, either her friends or relatives. Rajneesh’s parents could not make it due to short notice.
Rajneesh and Shilpa were just back from their honeymoon. The honeymoon was a short one as they had things to settle with Shilpa’s family. Rajneesh was excited. Tomorrow would be a big day. He had written off a cheque for Rs 5 lakhs. Shilpa would meet her uncle along with some of her other relatives, pay off the debt at once. Once that hurdle was crossed, Rajneesh expected the normal ending of any story ‘They lived happily ever after...’
Shilpa walked in the bed room carrying a glass of hot milk (as is the tradition). He drank the whole glass bottoms up. Smiling, he lay his head down on the pillow and fell asleep. That night Rajneesh slept like a log.
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Lakshmi, Shanti Priya’s mother, was wondering about the events of the last year. She was mechanically pacifying the baby. It was 2 AM and the day had brought more questions than answers.
Lakshmi was thinking of the day when Shanti’s husband dumped Shanti on their door step, the world had transformed for the old couple. All social contact had to be stopped because everybody would ask the same question, ‘What is Shanti doing here? Is everything OK between her and her husband?’ for which they had no answer. They were too embarrassed to explain their son-in-law’s despicable behaviour. They were hoping angainst hope that once the court had settled the matters, they could live peacefully.
But after the court verdict things in fact went from bad to worse. Now they had to face questions about their own daughter’s behaviour. Lakshmi did not remember when she had received a visit or attended a function in past many months.
Srinivas, Shanti’s father, had made up his mind to throw Shanti out of his house on the day of the verdict. Shanti’s behaviour in his typical middle class values was of the worst kind. And he wanted nothing to do with such sinful daughter or her ‘paapi’ sons. But then Lakshmi felt pity for her daughter and the new-born kids. She knew that Shanti could not manage to raise the kids alone while also having to earn a living. She had cried, she had pleaded, she had done everything to get Srinivas to accept Shanti living with them. But then he had agreed only after he extracted a promise from Shanti to reform her behaviour.
When Adi-Abhi were 3 months old, Shanti rejoined the job offered to her by the politician. Although everything including Shanti’s character was lost during the court case, the job had been retained as she had joined on permanent basis and could not be removed so easily. For the first few months after rejoining, Shanti had been regular to office, she left the house before 9 and was back soon after 6. She also took care of her children, although not as much as Lakshmi would have liked.
Then one day she called up from office to tell Lakshmi that she had work and would come late. She came back at 8 pm. Lakshmi ignored it as she knew that Shanti’s job responsibilities would require her to work late hours once in a while. But then this became a regular affair. Initially, she would be back by 8, then it became 9 and later she returned regularly after 10 pm.
This was not acceptable even for a forgiving lady as Laskhmi. She broached the topic and Shanti blamed her boss. H claimed that he had been targeting her from the beginning and had threatened her of dismissal if she could not complete the assigned job. Shanti felt that she was being targeted because of being a single woman . ‘I am being made to pay for one mistake of mine. Now nobody would believe me if I complained against him. Everybody thinks I am ‘loose’’, Shanti was trying her best to hold back the tears.
Lakshmi felt bad. She comforted Shanti and told her not to worry about the kids. Lakshmi would take care of them. Shanti could work without worrying about home. Lakshmi still believed that these difficult times would soon pass.
From that day onwards, Lakshmi never broached the subject with Shanti again. She silently toiled away taking care of kids when Shanti was ‘forced’ to work late nights, sometimes on Sundays too. But Lakshmi never complained even to her husband as she was sure of not getting any empathy. She had never felt the burden unbearable until today.
2 days ago, Shanti was in a very bad mood. She was complaining about everything including food. Then in the night, she confided to Lakshmi that she had to go out of station for 2-3 days on official duty. She had tried her best to convince her boss not to send her, but he had insisted and had not given her a choice. And so Shanti left the next morning.
The two days went well. The kids threw up tantrums once in a while as they were not used to their mother’s absence for so long. On the third day Aadi fell sick. He never stopped crying and had to be taken to doctor. The doctor had him admitted for a day. This was a difficult situation for the old couple as they had to take care of both the kids, one at home and another in the hospital. And all the while Shanti could not even be communicated with. Her colleagues at office always replied that they did not know where Shanti was and how to contact her. When Aadi was discharged from hospital, Lakshmi gave the charge of both the kids to her husband and determinedly reached Shanti’s office. She asked for her boss and was directed to a cabin which she directly entered and without waiting started abusing the boss for being so harsh on Shanti.
Laksmi spoke for half an hour. The whole office was listening. The boss, an old man with grey hair and soft expression, listened to Lakshmi patiently without interrupting. When finally Lakshmi had exhausted her feelings, she was given a glass of water and some coffee. Then he got up, without speaking, in deep thoughts. He paced up and down for few moments trying to analyse. Then he sympathetically looked at Lakshmi and spoke to her in soft voice.
‘I don’t know what to say. I know that part of what you are saying is truth. But Shanti has been given all the facilities possible including extra leaves past few months. Many-a-days she comes to office late, leaves early, no one questions her. Once when I had the boldness to ask to stay atleast when the work is more, she threw a big tantrum and she cried.‘
‘Who can help but feel bad for a lady when you are told that infant kids are alone at home and that she has to take care of everything. Even now she has disappeared for past 2 days without notice and that is why we could not help you trace her.’
Lakshmi was dumbfounded. Why would Shanti lie? Or was the boss lying blatantly in front of his subordinates? What was she doing till late in the night? With all these thoughts running in her mind and a heavy heart she left for home.
The clock struck 2 and as if on clue the door bell rang. Shanti stumbled in, she looked drunk. Lakshmi got agitated and demanded an explanation. Shanti glared at her, threw her handbag in disgust and banged into her bedroom. Lakshmi stared at the handbag for quite some time. Then making up her mind, she slowly carried it to her room and opened it. Inside, Lakshmi found a cheque worth 5 lakhs, some gold jewellery, a small bottle of half empty sleeping pills and a marriage certificate certifying that ‘Shilpa’ and ‘Rajneesh’ have been married at some temple.

The Curious Case of Shanti Priya: The Weak and the Deserted

The Curious Case of Shanti Priya: The Weak and the Deserted

A news paper article by Ms Gita Rai, the noted feminist and the founder member of ‘BULDOZE’ the NGO working for empowerment of the women, is given below:

She was one of the many thousands of women, women who are deserted by their husband, disowned by parents, left alone to suffer and most likely to die on the streets. Shanti Priya has been through it and much more. But she has emerged like a phoenix, a source of inspiration and strength for all those facing injustice.

Shanti, as she is known to her near and dear, was deserted by her husband one chilly rainy night. It was supposed to be the happiest moment of her life, it was the day she found out she was pregnant with her first child. But it was not to be; she was dragged out by her husband and dumped in front of her parents’ house. Parents sheltered her for the night in a moment of pity, but soon made it clear that she could not stay there for long.

And so, on the second night in a row, Shanti found herself searching for a shelter. Luckily for her, a journalist friend of hers gave her not only the shelter but a platform to fight against the injustice. Her friend along with the editor of a small news paper where the friend worked, printed an interview which shook the city. That article made a heroine out of Shanti.

Today, a very pregnant Shanti is sitting in front of us, a day before her appearance in the court asking for divorce against a monster of a husband. She has difficulty standing up, yet there is a smile on her face, a sad smile. She hopes that the Judge will give a favorable judgment which will enable her to take care of the children (yes she is expecting twins).

Below we print an excerpt of Shanti’s interview, the interview which is endearing yet emanating the strength.

“We were classmates, Shantanu and me, during our graduation. (Smiles) Those were beautiful days, we connected almost immediately. We soon became very good friends, but both of us did not think much about the next step. It was only in our final year, that we took the friendship to the next level, after a lot of thought. Except for two of us, this was a logical conclusion which all our friends were expecting. We got married after 4 years of courtship. Life seemed idyllic then.’

‘The first year breezed past. We used to like each other very much and the marriage did not change things. We still loved each other. But then his job profile changed. In the new job, he had to travel a lot, for short durations but very frequently. It was then that Shantanu changed little by little, he started getting suspicious. He used to call me everyday and demand the day’s account, for every minute. If I was at a party, he used to ask who I was with, what I would do after the party. It was all ok in the beginning, but then it started getting on my nerves. Yet I used to calmly tell him everything. But the more I told him, the more he expected from me.’

‘Our first major fight was 2 weeks before he threw me out of the house. I was at a gathering at a friend’s house, and I came home late, around 1 AM I think. Shantanu was sitting on the steps waiting for me. He was not expected to return on that day from his business trip. And he had forgotten to take the house keys along. He was furious and demanded me to know why my mobile was switched off. The simple reason of lack of battery charge did not satisfy him. He was raring for a fight that day. He then demanded who had dropped me. ‘Wasn’t it one of the Kapoor’s (name changed)? I could make out the aquiline nose and cunning grey eyes even in the dark. You know how I feel about them.’ I agreed that the Kapoor’s (name changed) were known womanizers, atleast most of them. But Rajat Kapoor who had dropped me was nice man. I tried to justify, but finally gave up realizing that the argument was only making him angrier.’

‘Oh, that day is etched in my memory. It was happiest day of my life. I had suspected that I was pregnant for quite some time, but I got it confirmed only that afternoon. I was so happy, I was singing, dancing in the house, waiting for Shantanu to return from office. I was eager to give him the news.’

‘No I had kept the suspicions to myself, did not even let Shantanu get a hint. The anger in him had not cooled off even 2 weeks after the fight over Kapoor’s, we were hardly on speaking terms. I have hoped earnestly that my pregnancy and the future as a family will normalize our relations. But I had hoped too much.’

‘He pushed me away; he threw me on the bed instead of hugging me. Never in the history of human kind, would this have happened. A wife revealing about the motherhood and getting back angry beatings in return. He was questioning my character; he was questioning whether he was the father of the unborn children. He had not forgotten for two weeks. I started crying. I could not speak. He prowled around the house like a tiger building up his anger while I was silently crying in the room. Then suddenly he walked into the bedroom, dragged me into the car and dumped on the steps of parent’s house. We did not exchange a word in the car, we haven’t spoken till today.’

‘My father is an ex-serviceman. He is a man of discipline. And that turned out to be his undoing. On my mother’s insistence, I was allowed to sleep in the house that night. But next day it was made clear that I should look for alternative arrangement. I walked out of the house without knowing where I would sleep. Luckily for me a friend, Shivani, lived near by. She is a journalist working for a small newspaper. She gave me the emotional support I was desperate for. I was without a house, without money, without a job and pregnant. But this was the worst, things turned for better soon.

Shivani, with the support from the Editor Mr. Bhalerao, ran a small piece in the newspaper. The piece worked miracles; it was later selected as the Best Article of the Year by the Woman’s council for Independent Reporting (WCIR). But in short term, the plight of a single helpless woman was noticed. My father took me in, although reluctantly. I got a job in the government via the local MLA. The judge decided in my favor to give priority to this case. All of this happened due to the news paper article. I am grateful for the news paper and its editor.

‘Yes. I have applied with the Judge to keep my children away from the court. I do not want them to be affected by my personal mistakes or that of their father, Shantanu. I want them to have a normal childhood. Judge has kindly agreed stating that their wont be a need for the children to be produced in the court.’

‘I request all the readers to keep posted on this case. This is not only my personal case, but the case for all those women who are at the receiving end of atrocities. I wish all those women enough strength to fight against the society, fight for justice.’

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Although the case was in ‘fast-forward’ the court procedure took 6 months time. The twins were born in the mean time, yet nobody was allowed near them. Not even a photograph was allowed to be taken, as ruled by the Judge, “The children are not party to the divorce proceedings and should be protected against any violation of privacy.’

Shanti Priya in the mean time was fighting a huge battle but she was not alone. She was supported by thousands of supporters from all over India. Many Women’s organizations had offered her support, both monetary and moral.

Shantanu had not tried to defend himself in the court of the public. He had maintained a dignified silence all along, refusing to speak to any journalist, even his friends. In the court he still maintained that paternity tests should be conducted. A move opposed by Shanti on the grounds that the case was one of ‘Cruelty towards the spouse’, one proved by his dumping a pregnant lady shelter-less out of the house.

On the final day of hearing, Shatanu’s lawyer requested to produce in front of the court an evidence. Shanti did not care. She knew that whatever the lawyer produced today, the judge would rule in her favor. The public outcry otherwise will be so much that no judge will take the risk of a ruling pro-Shantanu. She was baying for the house and 75% of any future income of Shantanu.

It took a moment for Shanti to realize the evidence being produced. The next moment she had fainted. On the screen was a photograph of Shanti holding the twins, cute little boys yet to be named. Staring towards the camera were two sets of deep set gray eyes along with the unmistakable aquiline nose.

The judge ordered for the paternity test.