The Night Of Final Revelation (A Story................)

The boisterous gambling house was teeming with men who were screaming, drinking, abusing each other in their colloquial languages and swearing profanities……. In came Aditya Mittal, son of the steel baron Mr. Harsh Mittal, owner of the grand Mittal Group of Industries. But what was a megalomaniac businessman like him doing here tonight? Aditya was gambling like most other people over here, he was betting on huge amounts…… tonight the stakes were real high but unfortunately his lady-luck seemed to have forsaken him………..he had already lost millions and yet he was putting on more ,desperately anticipating to win at least one round. He was drunk like hell, seeming to be in an urgent need, trying to hide the thin veil of melancholy on his face……howling like some crazy lunatic but it was a sheer charade of the public-image that he was putting up before the other socialites of this ostentatious casino, beyond which lay the real Aditya………Aditya Mittal……..tonight he was no better than a pauper in the side-streets……..everyone had forsaken him…..even God. But how can God abandon his own child? He always forgives someone who comes to his Kingdom asking for mercy. But even God seems to be apathetic towards his illegitimate child……..otherwise how could someone who was rolling in luxuries the day before be faced with such miseries today? He was Destiny’s prodigal son…………….so this was coming up.
Aditya Mittal……….a big name in the business circle…….but that’s past, the royal past of someone who, at present, has lost everything………..wealth, property, his kinfolk and of course Perizaad, his high profile wife and most importantly, his loving daughter Abhilasha. Now let’s sneak into his past quickly and unmask the reasons for his miserable plight.
Aditya, the young and handsome son of the great business honcho Harsh Mittal, was the sole-inheritor of the mammoth property that his father had made in his formative years of life. Aditya was a happy man. He had successfully completed his MBA in finance from a reputed University in USA and had come back to India to assist his father in business, which he was going to take over in near future. He wanted to gain practical experience and learn the various business tricks from his sagacious and successful father, while handling the business deals along with him. In USA, he used to live-in with an American model-turned actress, Samantha Hawking. A celebrity in her own right, Samantha was an eminent personality in the elite modeling circles of the States. Unfortunately, after completion of his MBA course, Aditya’s father called him back to India and like an obedient son of his parents, Aditya came back to India. The temptation of the colossal property possessed by his father was too difficult for him to resist. He knew quite well that living with Sam against his parents wishes meant that he would lose everything which included his parents and the massive fortune as well. It meant more to him than his glamorous girlfriend Sam. After all, was there any one on earth who could defy the lust of fame, power and wealth for a woman? He believed “love” was something which could be easily bought if one offered the right price for it. In fact he believed that everything in this world was up for sale but one had to know the secrets of the trade. Aditya broke up with his long-term girlfriend, explaining to her his reasons and came back to India. Sam initially became very upset and threatened to sue him on charges of betrayal. But Aditya’s father came to his rescue. He offered a hefty price to Sam for her years of commitment to his son, which was too much for Sam to resist. Sam eventually complied to leave Aditya alone and never come back to him in future. She was hesitant to confront a legal war with such a powerful and influential business family and the price paid to her in return to her company was indeed lucrative.
Aditya was relieved. He was once again the happy-go-lucky guy as he was always, free from Samantha’s dominating and over shadowing public stature. Now he was single again and being the son of Harsh Mittal, he was grabbing the spotlight, the media attention and the ladies attraction too. He was once again the most eligible bachelor in town pursued by elite class models and actresses and the daughters of prominent business families in the town. The son of the Business Baron found his image glorified by the media each day. Be it the electronic media or the print media…….he was everywhere. He was the “breaking news”……..everything he did, everywhere he went was curiously sought after by the reporters and journos. He was on the cover pages of all the leading dailies and magazines. The sensational and stunning Aditya Mittal became the blue-eyed boy of the media people…………he was the apple of their eyes. Even trivial matters concerning Aditya Mittal became the highlight of public attention and attraction. People loved to read more and more about him, nothing seemed to quench their ever increasing thirst and curiosity and the media never restrained from providing the public more and more, juicy feeds on him. His romantic ventures with the aspiring and upcoming models and actresses became the talk of the town and dominated every gossip column of the news dailies and magazines. In a nutshell, there was a big hype going on about him and pretty soon he became an iconic personality, behind the towering façade of his father. However, behind this veneer of a celebrity-like lifestyle, Aditya was a lonely man within. Gradually he became weary of the everyday business deals conducted across the globe; the seemingly incessant odysseys drained the life out of him. His daily rendezvous with the media did not fascinate him any longer. It was at this critical phase of his life when someone infused refreshing fragrance in his otherwise dull and monotonous life.
Her name was Perizaad. Perizaad Kashyap, a young and glamorous business tycoon in her own right. Her father was a renowned business magnate, Mr. Hrishikesh Kashyap, the owner of the Kashyap Group of Industries in India. The daughter of a business mogul, the smart and elegant Perizaad, captivated business circles and was recognized for her charming yet witty disposition in public. She was a successful business entrepreneur like her father, having made several lucrative business negotiations, conducting significant takeovers and was believed to have an illustrious career in business ahead. She was definitely a celeb in the elite circles but preferred to keep a low-profile and avoided the limelight and never spoke to the media unless it was about an imperative takeover or business deal, she was involved with. She spoke less but when she did, she made sure she mesmerized her audience who were absolutely enthralled by her glamour, charisma, personality and definitely her exemplary speeches. She was not at all a hyped figure in contrast to Aditya Mittal and she never ever was a source of juicy scandals for the media houses. She was an enigma. She was appreciated as a prominent business icon and not as a page 3 socialite because she was an introvert by nature and refrained from attending high-society celeb parties and going to the celebrated discs of the town. Media never stopped wondering about her, but it failed to extract anything out of the iron curtain of her personality.
The Mittals and Kashyaps were on the way to make the biggest collaboration in business history. They were conducting a joint venture, a gigantic project worth 250 million US Dollars. The entire business circle was looking forward to this deal, realization of which meant greater fortune and reputation for these two business groups. It was during this time that Aditya and Perizaad bumped into each other at the board room, in a high-profile business meeting. It was not a love-at-first-sight for the duo. Initially it was purely on business purpose that they met up once and thereafter, they kept meeting each other. Gradually the enchanting and flirtatious Casanova captivated the heart, soul and mind of the otherwise reclusive yet charismatic and gorgeous Beauty. After three months of dating, they fell in love with each other. The glamorous couple garnered much of the media attention, which never left them alone. Marriage was a predictable consequence following the high-profile romance. The families were more than ecstatic and decided to collaborate once more on the grand occasion of marriage. Of course, this giant of a merger was inevitable following the high-profile and the most talked about marriage that was going to come up shortly after the conclusion of the business deal.
The joint venture of the Kashyaps and the Mittals was a grand success and they were everywhere on the newspapers. Aditya and Perizaad were greatly appreciated for their success and the journos and paparazzi were relentlessly following the couple everywhere, for bites and snaps. Cameras clicked incessantly whenever the couple was spotted at any corner of the town. Be it a socialite party or high-profile business deal, reporters and photographers followed them everywhere. The scribes were not yet tired because the marriage was still to follow.
Finally it was the D-day………not only Aditya and Perizaad were getting married that day; it was also the grand wedding of the two significant business multinationals. The nuptials were held in a totally remote corner of the town, the details of which was not disclosed to the media. The media was forbidden to enter within the secured premises of the magnificent farm house, surrounded by tight security all around. High-profile guests including film stars, business moguls, ministers and eminent personalities hovered around the place, thereby enhancing the glamour and style quotient and raising the temperature in the house! The mercury soared to a maximum when the couple rocked the dance floor following the marriage, dancing to the music played by the DJ hired for the occasion. The euphoria was spreading all over like some malicious disease and by midnight everybody was drunk to the brim. Finally it was the end of the long and tiring day and a prelude to a new beginning for the elated couple. They felt like they were on the seventh heaven and could not ask for greater happiness. Their parents were treading on cloud number nine as well! In the morning, the newspapers were filled with news pertaining to the grand matrimonial ceremony and everyone including the business, media and public circles were over the moon without even being directly involved with the Magnum Opus.
The sweet and long honeymoon period finally came to an end and it was time again for some serious business. Aditya and Perizaad became engrossed with their professional lives and in the process, could hardly spare any time for their conjugal life. Initially both were trying to compromise and make up for the lost time by managing small vacations to nearby locations and tourist spots at weekends but eventually that too came to a halt with more and more projects coming on and making them busier than ever. They were the chief decision makers for their firms and none of the corporations could manage a day without them. They were inevitably essential to their organizations. But their conjugal life was on the verge of absolute end. Regular arguments and disagreements prevailed during the hard-earned intimate moments, preventing them from coming to a mutual decision. Their parents became wary of the critical circumstances and decided to trespass in their personal domains. Both Aditya and Perizaad yielded to their decision of sending them to a long vacation in the romantic country of Switzerland. That was probably the last chance for them, to save their marriage from breaking up. They packed up and left for Switzerland hoping to rediscover the love and charm in each other during this period, which was entirely private and belonged only to them and nobody else had permission to interfere. They wanted to spend some intimate moments hoping to revive the relation which was at the brink of being a total failure. However they had dreams in their eyes and tried their best to cooperate with each other in reliving the moments they used to spend together, prior to marriage.
Aditya and Perizaad had successfully survived the rough phase of their conjugal life which bore fruits in the form of a beautiful child. It was a girl…………she was named Abhilasha. Abhilasha brought immense joy and happiness in the household. Everyone was ecstatic over the arrival of the new-born. Her excited parents were once again reunited…….all because of her.
Abhilasha was gradually growing up. She was six and was admitted to a reputed school in town. Abhilasha never had the opportunity to bond with her father and mother, who always left her with her nanny and went for work. She was very close to her nanny, a young girl named Madhvi. Madhvi loved Abhilasha like her own child, perhaps even more. She could never replace the need for her mother in her life but substituted well in Perizaad’s absence, doing everything from feeding her, cleaning her, dressing her up for school, making her study and even serving as her play-mate. Abhilasha loved Madhvi, but yearned for her mother’s love. She was lonely at times but eventually she came to terms with the fact that her parents were engaged in doing something that was perhaps more important to them than her. She submitted to leading a life that did not include her celebrity parents.
Abhilasha was now ten. She spoke less, mingled less with her friends, preferred to stay alone, unlike kids of her age. She confided in Madhvi all her secrets but gradually she stopped that too. She kept to herself, withdrew into her shell and rarely came out of it. She needed psychological treatment but her parents, completely ignorant of her being, found no need to take her to a psychiatrist. Moreover that would have meant juicier stuff for the media, who were perching like ever before, in search of a lone opportunity. By the time she was sixteen, she had become a total recluse……..an absolute loner, who preferred to spend most of the time in her room. It was during this time, when Madhvi died of a car accident. Abhilasha was completely devastated. She kept mourning for days and refused to come out of her room. She was an average student but gradually her performance declined to a greater degree. Her teachers scolded her and asked her to bring her parents. Abhilasha was helpless. How could she bring her parents to meet her teacher, when they rarely could manage time to meet their only daughter? Abhilasha was absolutely clueless about what she should do. Her progress report bore evidence to her deterioration and she was too embarrassed to display it before her parents. She sought mental solace from the drugs, which she had acquired from an intimate acquaintance of hers at school. The confused teenager recollected the wonderful moments spent with her nanny Madhvi, her closest confidante, in her childhood. The sweet reminiscence brought tears to her eyes and made her nostalgic. She wished Madhvi was there to console her and ease her pain. The new nanny hired in place of Madhvi was a stricter one and imposed stringent discipline upon her. Mansi, the new nanny, was intentionally hired by the Mittals to straighten their otherwise reckless and undisciplined daughter and to keep an eye on her unrestrained life. Mansi had no intention to become an ally of Abhilasha and listen to what she had to say. She simply performed the job she was assigned and imposed harsher methods to bring Abhilasha on the right track.
Abhilasha was a painter par excellence and a poet as well but her talents went unappreciated and eventually she gave up everything. Her flaws were highlighted more than her potentials by her nanny and her teachers. Everyone hated her. Her parents disliked her too. She was frustrated with her life and desired to end it someday. The eternal perdition concluded with her slashing her wrists and thus terminating her agonizing subsistence in the world. Her body lay swathed in a pool of blood. The last expression on her face was that of the excruciating anguish that pierced her heart, soul and mind. However this was not enough to stir her parents who went on throwing mud on each other and playing the blame-game. None of them realized the torment Abhilasha went through during her last days. They were too busy putting the responsibility of their daughter’s loss on each other. They believed they had no reason to stay with each other any longer because the binding force forming a nexus between them was dead. Immediately they filed for divorce and their high-profile lawyers saw to it that their respective clients had no trouble in acquiring it right away without further delay. Hence a mutual divorce was obtained with settlements done outside the court and not making a public show of it. Without more ado, Perizaad left Aditya’s palatial residence and left for her own place, “The Kashyap Mansion”.
All these events received a lot of media attention. Abhilasha’s death flurried the electronic and print media and stirred the nation for a while. However, the focus shifted in no time towards the much hyped divorce case of her parents. There was a lot of hue and cry and speculation going on in the various television channels about the prospective reasons for the much talked about divorce of the high profile couple. The newspapers spent a lot of print in making the divorce, breaking news in public. Lots of juicy gossips about a probable extra-marital affair of Aditya Mittal with an upcoming model flooded the magazines and generated much of the hype. However all the buzz died down with time and the media circus finally came to halt.
Time took its own course and things were not the same five years after Abhilasha’s unfortunate demise. Post her only daughter’s death, Perizaad shifted to her own place and immersed her into an ocean of work to get over her misery. A deep realization set into her. She felt guilty and held her own self accountable for the miserable end of her budding teenage daughter, who could never see and enjoy the beauties of life anymore. Perhaps if she had given her more of her time than committing herself totally into business, she could have saved Abhilasha from such a dreadful end. She felt it was her own fault and no one else was to blame for her own child’s ill-fate. The more she thought about her, the more miserable she became. Finally, she decided to get out of the place, even the country, with a hope that the memories of her daughter won’t haunt her anymore. She moved to USA and settled there permanently. She resided in the palatial mansion owned by her father in New York. But, ghosts from the past kept visiting her. She felt her daughter was ubiquitous and discovered a vague façade of her in every child she met. She founded an orphanage in Abhilasha’s name and drowned her grief in the sea of kids who sought shelter in her comforting and protective arms. She loved them all and sought mental solace in their presence. She became a caring mother to those unfortunate children, who shielded them all from the adversities of life. She also opened a drug rehabilitation centre for all those teenagers, who had lost track of their lives for some reason and had entered into the appalling and ghastly world of drugs. She herself participated in all those seminars and meetings that were held for the parents of the addicted teenagers and explained to them the significant role that they can play in curing their children. She enlightened the distressed parents on the importance of love, care and attention that really worked wonders and in fact were even more effective than mere medicines. She elucidated the magic of love and affection through instances from real life and explained to them the difference that they could make in their kid’s life through this sheer emotion. The pernicious addiction was after all, curable. Perizaad wished that her daughter was alive and wondered if she was watching her mother’s heartfelt endeavors in saving thousand of misled kids like her, from heaven.
Things were however different for Aditya. He was also guilty conscious. He could never forgive himself for his loving daughter’s tragic departure from the world. He regretted for the lost time during which he could provide company to his daughter instead of making million dollar business deals. He repented for making his teenage daughter suffer through hell during her last days. He realized that he had actually missed the growing up of her kid girl………..he missed her first walk, her first cry, her first day of school……………he had in fact never noticed her with greater attention than he did when she lay on her death-bed, numb and dead, her face ………a picture of remorse and agony. Pangs of guilt pierced his heart when he grieved over her angel like kid girl. He was mentally torn apart and had to seek psychiatric help. But nothing could bring back his mental peace; nothing could calm his aggravated soul. The prized treasure of his life was lost forever and was never going to come back to him. His precious daughter had disappeared from his world perpetually, leaving him all alone, without giving him a chance to make up for his sins. Perhaps Abhilasha could never forgive her poor father, who now lamented and mourned over her dead soul. It was the beginning of an ordeal; the prelude to a life of eternal agony and affliction; it was the beginning of the end for him. He began living a reckless, unrestrained and undisciplined life. Separation from his wife was no less traumatizing for him. He was absolutely devastated. He felt he had lost the battle of life and was entirely shattered. He was a tormented soul lost in the dense forest of life, not knowing what to do and who to ask for help. He was torn into pieces. He plunged himself into the sea of alcohol. He was a regular customer at the Royal Casino where he drunk to the brim and spent heavily on betting. He loved gambling but lost millions in the process. Yet it gave him great pleasure. He never won a round but derived extreme delight from his defeat. Strangely, it seemed that he never played with an intention to win. It was, as if he wanted to lose every time he put his money on a bet. Oddly, the monetary loss was like a source of mental bliss for him. He was not sad. He was in fact delighted to be defeated……….it was sheer ecstasy for him. It was like he was penalizing himself for the sins he has committed. He felt sadistic pleasure, every time he lost profoundly. He felt his daughter was looking down upon him from paradise. He imposed self–penance upon himself and delighted from the profound and severe pain acquired in the process. He was intensely perturbed but was helpless. There was no redemption for him.
In the meanwhile, Aditya’s father died of a sudden heart attack, as a consequence of which, he became the sole owner of the entire property owned by the Mittal Group of Industries. The sudden demise of Harsh Mittal proved to be devastating for the company. Aditya had begun spending heavily on stocks and shares without even consulting his assistant managers. His company was completely submerged in debts and loans, which were almost impossible to pay back, considering the state of affairs going on then. His company was running under total loss but Aditya chose to remain ignorant about it. He went on with his rash lifestyle and his indecisions in all matters pertaining to business, led to total ruin of the Mittal Group of Industries. Alarmed by the advent of a probable downfall, the Board of Directors met and unanimously came to a conclusion. The probable onset of the imminent storm was enough to stir them and hence they decided that something ought to be done about it, else the impending devastation was not going to spare them too. They had no inclination to perish along with Aditya Mittal in the forthcoming disaster and so they approached him with their final statement based on the unstable circumstances. They asked him to sell the property to the Oberoi Group, while there was still time to protect them from the catastrophe that was going to hit them sooner or later. They warned him that time was running out and if the company was not sold while the Oberoi Group was still interested and the company had still something left, the upcoming calamity was going to take away everything, including the reputation of the Mittal Group. The media was waiting for the complete debacle to occur and once it is done, they would not hesitate for a moment before publishing severe and harsh comments about the person who was the only one to be blamed for the misfortune. His image in public would be vilified. Aditya knew that he was the only one responsible for the total mess but the thought of putting up a company, setup by his father and bearing evidence of his sweat and blood that went behind its success, up for sale, was too much for him to bear. But he had already messed up with the hard-earned assets that belonged to the company and there were no means left, by which the company could be revived from the adversity. So he succumbed to the mounting stress that was making him mad with anxiety and decided to go with the decision, made by the Board of Directors, in behalf of the company. He decided to sell the firm to the Oberoi Group for a handsome amount, the figures determined by mutual consultation of the Oberoi Group and the Directors of the Mittal Group.
Today Aditya was alone; everyone had deserted him including the Almighty. He never believed in God but today he felt the existence of a Supreme Power ruling the lives of mankind. He realized the immense authority of the Supreme Being and the role, destiny played in shaping our future. He did not know what fate held in store for him in the days to come but was definitely not expecting a miracle to happen and save him from his misfortune. He wondered if the open lid of the Pandora’s Box was ever going to close. Astonishingly, he managed to put up a brave front in public, in spite of the severities that life confronted him with. Today was the day when his royal past was over; his days of luxury were ended forever. He had finally signed the deal that took away his company from him; from under his sole authority, forever. He felt like a part of his body had been amputated and yet he felt no pain. It was as if he has lost his sensation and could not appreciate the seriousness of the circumstances. He felt detached from everything and wished to remain disconnected from the worldly things.

The deal was finalized in the morning. In the evening, Aditya felt he was going to become crazy if he spared a single moment more within the boundary of the four walls of his desolate and dismal residence. The solitary existence made his life no better than hell. The new home was a simple and austere in strong contrast to his highly embellished palatial mansion, which he owned in the past. Secluded from public attention in a remote corner of the city, Aditya was gripped by nightmares that haunted him day and night. He was drenched in extreme depression and felt as if, even the walls of the house were also rebuking him for the sins he had committed. He dreamt of his daughter accusing him for her premature decease; his wife reproaching him for their miseries. He was paranoid. The onus of blame was awful; it was unbearable. In despair, he headed for the Royal Casino that had been his only shelter in the past months of great distress, leaving behind the haunting premises of his new home.
At present we find him in the domains of the gambling house, betting, drinking and putting up a public-show of euphoria and jubilance. Behind the fake thrill and excitement, lay deep sadness that has crushed his mental bliss. His eyes are betraying him though…………they are revealing his intense pain, lying deep inside the core of his heart. He is vying with his own self trying hard to conceal his real expressions. The Aditya Mittal gambling here tonight is a phony one, the real Aditya was lost somewhere in the fatal twists and turns of life.
After losing an enormous sum, he was done for the day and stepped out of the casino in wobbly steps, blabbing and swearing oaths unnecessarily. After strolling about aimlessly for a while, he took the straight path that led to his home. The perennial sadness for losing everything in his life kept lingering on in his mind. He stumbled upon a rock that lay on his way and brought back his conscience momentarily, if not perpetually. He tried hard to clear his vision by rubbing his eyes fiercely. He found a faded image of a woman standing in front of him. When his vision became clear, the apparently hazy image became prominent before his eyes. The obscurity of vision, created by the intoxicating effect of alcohol was reducing. The mysterious woman gradually emerged from behind the miasmic veneer and stood right in front of Aditya. Aditya could now fully comprehend what was actually going on but could not actually comprehend the reasons for a scantily clad young woman to appear right in front of him at the darkest hour of midnight, when rest of the world was lost in deep slumbers.
The once reputed ladies’ man was apprehensive by the mere sight of a woman at night! The woman was young and attractive and was wearing heavy make-up on her face. Her cheeks were deep pink by the effect produced by some cheap rouge, her lips were blood red and her eyes were darker than the night and enhanced the mysteriousness surrounding her even more. Her long and dark hair was tightly tied back and adorned by flowers, the fragrance of which was intoxicating. She seductively played with the end of her dupatta, revealing the cleavage from behind her low-cut blouse. The sensuousness of her body features could not be concealed by the transparent veil that she wore around her body, or perhaps she had decided to flaunt her assets. Aditya was spellbound. He was greatly attracted towards the girl and yet there was something in her nature that repelled him. He was dumbfounded and could not utter a word from his mouth. He lost his speech at the mere sight of a 25-year old woman, who stood before him and stared at him with her deep and expressive eyes that were just lethal. Finally it was Aditya who began the conversation, reviving from the momentary shock.
Aditya asked the girl, “What are you doing here and what do you want from me?”The girl was taken aback by the sudden utterance of words amidst deep silence that prevailed between them, a while ago. She spoke in clear words, “There is nothing that I want from you but I can provide you company if you want, because that is my profession.”
Aditya hesitated for a moment, his face not revealing what was going on his mind, and said, “Look here lady. I am in no mood to talk to you and I don’t desire to be in you company.” Aditya heaved a sigh of relief immediately after announcing his disapproval of the girl. The lady was flabbergasted and perplexed as well by the harsh rejection meted out to her. Yet she did not give up. She too felt attracted towards the man whose magnetic presence was simply irresistible. Aditya was in fact the first man she met, who was not interested in exploiting her. Aditya’s declaration made her desperate. She was strongly fascinated and astounded as well by his denial to be in her company. She knew a lot of men who simply hovered around her and craved for her company. They could do anything for her and pay her whatever she demanded in exchange of her company. They showered her with expensive gifts and presents just to be with her for a mere hour. She was awed by the attitude of a man, who treated her as a human being and not as a commodity of pleasure. Bewildered as she was, yet she said, “Sir, my name is Chumki. I am a call-girl, more precisely, a prostitute, by profession. I don’t do it for pleasure but because I’m the sole earner in the family comprising myself and my 6 year old daughter, Radhika. I was brought into this profession not by choice but because of extreme penury that rocked my family when I was 16 years old. I do not know, why am I saying all these things, but please listen to me, sir. My father died due to lack of treatment. He was suffering from a terminal disease, lung-cancer. Extreme poverty did not permit us to pursue with the expensive treatment. Medicines could not be afforded, leave alone the chemotherapies. Soon after my father deceased, my mother also passed away. The sudden bereavement of my mother made me an orphan. I was at a total loss feeling like I have been thrown in the midst of a deep sea from where no land was visible.”
Aditya was silently listening to her intriguing tale and could not take her eyes off her. She was a mystical beauty. She was an absolute killer and was capable of mesmerizing the senses of her audience. Aditya’s sensations were numbed by the total atmospheric effect created by her presence and of course, her story. He realized for the first time that there was perhaps someone in the world who was more disturbed than him; whose problems were even more complicated compared to his own. He was baffled by the girl’s firm determination and courage with which she was dealing with the unfavorable circumstances of her life and never even thinking of fleeing away under pressure.
Chumki continued, “For a long time I felt that my soul was dead; my tears were dried up. I forgot to cry. I didn’t know what to do. The landlord threw me and my kid brother out of the house because of the mounting dues and there was no means by which I could pay off his rent. Everything that we had was exhausted in my father’s treatment. There was nothing left. We were starving. How could we afford to pay his rent?” At this moment, tears dropped from Chumki’s deep eyes. Aditya was amazed to find the façade of innocence that swathed her face now, in contrast to the seductive charm that had fascinated him earlier. He found a docile young girl standing before him instead of the wild mysterious beauty that had allured him like some deadly magnetic force toward her, a few moments ago. His eyes were glued to the moist eyes of hers, still radiating an unusual scintillating glow. Her beauty was not marred by the sadness engulfing her. Her cheeks were flushed with grief, yet her radiance was unblemished. Her purity of soul was manifested in her being. It was needless to know who she was in reality; her soul was still untarnished. The uncountable men who might have raped her, couldn’t rape the chastity of her spirit. She was still a virgin in her soul.
Wiping off the tears, Chumki went on narrating her tragedy to an absolute stranger. She said, “I felt like I was going to become crazy. Our neighbors arranged the money for the cremation of both my parents but none of them agreed to bear my responsibility or my 5-year old kid brother’s. We set off for the unknown destination without a penny in our pockets, expecting the worst. For days we slept on the pavement, starving, begging and wondering if God would ever take us in his safe refuge. But it seemed God never gave a shit about us. Soon after, my kid brother died due to starvation but miraculously, I survived. With the negligible funds that I could arrange by begging, I cremated him. So the Almighty was gracious enough to take my brother in his secured haven but not me. I cursed myself for all the miseries. I continued sleeping on the side streets, spending the entire night waking and staring at the glittering stars in the sky and wondering which one of them was my mother, my father or my kid brother. Soon it was the end of summer and time for the monsoons. My condition was still the same and I had no hopes for its improvement, someday. I thought I was going to die someday like my kinfolks. Things became hard because I had no place to sleep at night and hence, I had to be drenched in the rains all throughout the night, which seemed never-ending. Never had I imagined a survival so hard without my parents, without shelter, without food to eat and no clothes to wear. Besides all these, there were always the lustful eyes of the greedy men who looked for an opportunity to grab me by the arm and quench their animal desires. I knew it all and was cautious all the time yet scaring what the future had in store.”
“The chilly winter came and brought more hardships along with it. Perhaps God was testing me by putting me to various trials and tribulations. I wonder how I managed to endure. My struggle for survival continued and I never perished. Perhaps I had grown stronger by then; it was a supernatural power driving me and making me subsist…………I don’t know. Then, came the nastiest night of my life. I was shivering in cold sitting on the street-side. I had no blanket to shield myself from the awful weather, which was draining my senses and making me numb with cold. It was close to midnight and the roads were completely vacant. Suddenly, a horrible looking man came and stood right in front of me. I was taken aback but was too weak to even look up. I had no vigor left in me after starving for 3 days in succession. My vision was blurred. I was scared. The man ruthlessly dragged me by the hand and took me to a strange, dark and terrible place. I couldn’t recognize where I was because my sensations were dead by then. Only an obnoxious smell kept my senses alive, partially. Then suddenly, without even a word of warning, the brute started raping me. I was so helpless. I tried to shout and resist, but all my efforts were futile. I was a victim of the cruel animal’s savage and primal instinct. The cold-blooded, heartless beast went away soon after violating my modesty. I remained unconscious for days in that dark pit. Finally when I got back my senses, I was too frail to stand on my own feet. I lay like a corpse with my clothes lying tattered all around. There wasn’t a shroud to protect my modesty. I was beginning to lose my sanity. I felt so unclean; so impure. I was yearning to die but couldn’t. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Gradually, I rose up to gather my clothes. My head was burning feverishly and my fragile legs were still incapable of bearing my weight.”
“I felt anemic; as if someone had drained the blood out me. I felt like killing the savage monster but my feeble hands did not comply with my thoughts. The merciless animal had robbed me of my only possession. What was I supposed to do? I had nothing left. My only treasure was taken away by the pitiless swine. I never aspired for more but did I deserve this? My thoughts were abruptly disturbed with the noise of the morning siren. The harsh noise interfered with my thoughts and I could no longer bear the awful confines of the bottomless pit. I came out of it and walked along aimlessly. I reached the railway station. It was starting to get dark. I sat on a bench reflecting on my tragic future that lay ahead. I had a long journey to undertake and it was full of adversities. I mulled over by future course of action but couldn’t decide any. I kept contemplating about my tragic life and if it was ever going to end. Amidst sheer distress, reminiscence of the happy days of my life brought a tinge of smile and hid the pallor of my face, momentarily. I fancied if everything could again be so perfect like before. We were living in extreme poverty but we were contented to be in each other’s company; we craved for no greater wealth than each other’s company which was so precious to us. My rendezvous with my past did not last long. Suddenly a heavy set woman neared me and sat beside me on the bench. I was still conjuring up a picture of my family in my mind and visualizing the moments spent together in happiness; the poverty prevailing over us was immaterial. The woman pushed me in the arm and asked, “What are you doing here all alone in a railway station? Going somewhere?” It was then that I carefully looked at her and scrutinized her from head to toe. She was wearing a red sari; the fragrance of some cheap perfume irritated my senses. Flowers adorned her long braids. The rosiness of her cheeks seemed artificial and her dark red lips seemed smeared with blood. Yet there was something in her that made me feel secure. Her sympathetic words sounded gently in my ears. I was immediately moved and confided in her my miserable plight. She empathized with me. She said, “If you have nowhere to go, you can come with me and stay along with me. At least you will be safe from the lustful eyes of the herd of animals hovering all around you.” I glimmered with joy over her proposal. Finally I have got some roof over my head. Her thoughtfulness and compassion was absolutely soothing at such a difficult phase of my life. The roughness of circumstances was smoothed to some extent by her humanitarian attitude towards me. I agreed to her proposal and went along with her.”
“It was almost dark when we reached our destination. The place seemed a bit weird. But I didn’t bother about it because of the care I received from the woman, which I thought I wouldn’t get elsewhere in a world infested with wild animals. The woman’s name was Meena. I called her Didi. She had bothered to care for me just like an elder sister. What else could I ask for? We stepped inside her home where I found more boarders, all women, who were all dressed in a similar fashion. They were jeering at me, making fun and laughing among themselves. Meena Didi admonished them and asked them to go to their own works. All of them went away to their own rooms, still giggling and chuckling. I wondered what was so funny. Meena Didi’s residence had a number of rooms, all of which were occupied. From behind the closed doors, noises of constant giggling and chattering emanated, confirming the presence of a man as well in those tiny quarters. I was seriously befuddled but hesitated to ask anything. Didi realized the uncomforting situation I was in. She took me to her own quarters. It was a neat and clean room. I sat on the bed beside her. Ultimately I dropped the veil of inhibitions, unable to bear anymore and curiously inquired about the peculiarity prevailing in all quarters of the house. Didi explained, “Listen to me my dear. This is a brothel where men come to satisfy their deepest desires in exchange of money. All my girls have been in this trade since years. They are all orphans and have been victims of the lusty world at some point of their lives. Even I, myself have been a prey to these hungry beasts. But things are different now. I am no longer helpless like before. I have provided refuge to them all and they work for me. There’s no shame in this. After all we are not robbing or stealing. We are pleasing our customers and at least getting paid in return. We can work according to our own will; nobody can dare to force us. This is business. You too have to do it, if you want to stay alive in this jungle like world. I know you are nervous but after you get used to it, all your awkwardness and reticence are going to flee. Believe me dear.” I felt like I was brought to a new hell from an older one. The world was really small. I was back to where I came from. My hopes of starting a new life were shattered. But there was no other alternative for a poor orphan like myself. Where should I go? Everyone had rejected me; there was no one to shoulder my responsibility. At least security was one thing that I could be assured of besides a roof above my head. I was already robbed of my modesty, so how else could anyone rob me of something which I had already lost. I had nothing more to lose. I was so impure and nothing could sanctify me again. Surprisingly, I was no longer embarrassed to strip off in front of an absolute stranger. I joined the business.”
“After years of practice, I became a star in the trade. Meena Didi was pleased with my service and so were my customers. Cash was flowing in incessantly. Everyone wanted to spend sometime with me. They craved for me. The baton was finally in my hand. I was using men and they merely wagged their tails because I was the one who ruled them; I was the one who controlled them; I held the key to their satisfaction. I owned them and used them as it suited my interests. They showered me with wealth and expensive gifts. I could have been no better but inside I was lonely. They touched my body but my soul remained untouched and unmoved. I was like an object providing pleasure to them; I was like a commodity up for sale. However much I pretended to be happy, a deep void was building within me. I knew I was the one ruling those herds of animals but a voice from somewhere within me told me that I was the one who was been used and thrown. No body loved me. They just loved my body which they used like a ‘thing’. Nothing satisfied me and gave me solace until the emergence of someone special in my life.”
“I wished for someone who would love ‘me’, not my body, care for me, and care for my little needs, marry me and have a beautiful child with me. I knew I wasn’t demanding much but cogitated if my dream was ever going to turn into reality. A ray of hope appeared in the form of Manish, the man I truly fell in love with, the man who loved me, the man for whom ‘I’ mattered more over my body. Manish was the one who actually cared for me. I submitted to him totally. He owned my heart, soul and mind. I belonged to him, only him and no other. I gave up meeting other customers and waited all day and night for him. Manish worked in a bottle manufacturing factory and came to me at night. He was not interested in the other girls who literally vied among themselves to spend the night with him. He was undoubtedly an attractive young man. But I was all that meant ‘world’ to him. He came to me every night, assured me to take care of me till the last breath of his life and of course, marry me. He was my world too and I trusted him completely. In the meanwhile, I became pregnant with his child. Radhika came in my womb. Just at about the same time, someone from his village brought the news of his mother suffering from a critical disease. He was supposed to leave to meet his ailing mother in his village. He told me he will be back in a few days. I trusted him but at the same time, was afraid of losing him. So I told him, “Lets get married right away. After you come back, we can start a new life together, like a family.” Manish seemed unhappy at my abrupt proposal. He said, “Don’t you trust me honey? I promise I’ll be back soon and then we will definitely get married and by then we will have our child too to fulfill our lives.” I was not glad to hear this but I loved him too much and couldn’t defy him. I complied with whatever he wanted; whatever made him happy. I just wanted to see him happy. I couldn’t be apathetic towards his mother suffering from an acute disease. Suddenly Manish came up with an idea that had us both beaming with joy. He realized the feeling of insecurity overwhelming my own self. We decided to get married on the day he was supposed to leave. We decided to get married in the temple in the morning and then he would board the evening train to his village, Rampur.”
“Finally the morning arrived and brought blooming hopes and expectations along with it. Blossoms of a new beginning filled my soul to the brim. I couldn’t be happier. Love was in the air. It was everywhere; all around me. My prince charming was coming to marry me and someday he would take me with him to a far away land of dreams and aspirations. I envisaged a picture of happiness in my mind frame. I envisioned a prince riding a horse and coming up to me to take me away from this hellish life and bring a perpetual end to my distress. My heart was beating rapidly with anticipation. Finally my days of suffering were about to end. Every one in the house was happy. The girls dressed me up like a queen. I was a princess in red, adorned with flowers and ornaments. Meena Didi was happy too. She was glad that I was finally coming out of my misery and was about to begin a new life with the person I loved the most in the world. She blessed me, “Chumki you have gone through a lot at this young age. You have suffered a lot. But now you must forget everything, start a new life and make your husband happy. He is now everything for you, your first and only priority in life. Make sure you never hurt him and do obey him. He’s your God from now on. Worship him, revere him and he will love you and keep you happy forever. I will pray to God to fill your conjugal life with all the happiness of the world. May you, Manish and your child be showered with prosperity, opulence and may your all desires be fulfilled. May there be no dearth of affluence and exuberance in your lives. May God bless you my child.” I felt I was not alone. Didi’s presence had substituted for my mother’s absence. I’m sure my mother would also have told me the same if she had been alive to see this day and had had the opportunity bless her only daughter. I was so moved. The girls’ excitement knew no bounds. All of them were laughing, chattering, teasing the to-be-bride and having fun. It was time to go to the temple. I marveled at my own image at the mirror and couldn’t recognize myself on this auspicious day of my life. The bridesmaids accompanied me to the temple with exquisite garlands and vermillion and other items necessary for the wedding. Meena Didi preferred to stay at home.”
“It was near time for the wedding to take place. The propitious moment was running out. But Manish was nowhere. The girls waited for long and finally had to leave because they couldn’t keep their customers waiting. I hanged on. It started getting dark. I had no strength to rise. I sat on the steps of the temple and stared faraway looking for Manish; expecting him to come any time soon. People came with thalis in hand, offering prayers and went away. Soon after, the priest of the temple left too and the doors of the temple arena were closed for the day. I sat there on the steps immobile and petrified, staring at the sky and looking at the glimmering stars. I had no idea about how long I had stayed like that but my trance was finally broken in the morning by the sound of the local vendors selling flowers, dhoop, sweets and other ingredients for the puja. People were starting to arrive. The sun was high in the sky. The temple bell rung stridently and suddenly, I was brought back to the harsh reality of world. Manish never came. I didn’t know where he was gone or where to look for him. My tears had dried on my cheeks and my head was severely aching. I set for my home-the brothel. This was the only place on earth that belonged to me and was my secured haven. Meena Didi was standing at the doorstep with a worried face and concerned expression in her eyes. No sooner did she see me, than she embraced me with a tight hug. She had already guessed what had happened. I kept my head on her bosom and cried for a long time. She took me to my room and laid me on my bed. My head was burning with fever. She called the girls and asked them to look after me while she went away to call the doctor. The doctor arrived and prescribed some medicines. I was feeling a bit better then before. The girls left the room one by one and so did Didi. Finally I was all alone in my room. I cried to my heart’s content and released the burden on my soul. I was a victim once more. Manish had betrayed me. I bore all distress with patience and perseverance. I resolved to stay firm because I was not alone now. My life was now associated with a little one’s, growing inside me. Soon after, I revived from the shock and Radhika was born from my womb. Her birth was like a miracle in my life. She was my only happiness in the world. I decided to educate her and keep her away from our dirty world of prostitution. She must grow up to be a big person someday but I didn’t want her to hate me for my profession. I knew someday I would have to confront her, tell her about her father, about me, my profession and I was sure she would understand my predicament, the trouble undertaken by me to bring her up in this nasty world of lustful creatures, hovering all around us all the time. I had tried all the time to keep her away from the lustful eyes of the customers, visiting the brothel. I’m still trying but she’s gradually growing up and I’m not sure how long I would be able to resist those animals and protect my innocent daughter from their grasp; from their monstrous seizure.”
Aditya interrupted at this moment, “But what happened to Manish? Didn’t you hear about him again? Didn’t he ever return to tell you why he abandoned you at such a critical juncture of your life?” Chumki sighed deeply and said, “A man from his village said that he was happily settled in Rampur with his wife Manju, a girl from his village and they had a kid too. I got to know about it three years after that unfortunate incident in my life. What could I do? I couldn’t force him to come back to a prostitute leaving his wife alone in the village. Love can’t be acquired by force. I thought he loved me as much as I did. But I was wrong. I misconstrued his momentary desires for true love. Prostitutes are after all not supposed to involve in matters relating to the heart. They can never love anyone and they can never be loved by anyone. They are paid for their services. They are paid for using their bodies to provide satisfaction to the men. Love is a worthless term in their lives. I never met Manish again. I want him to be happy with his wife and kid. God bless them. Love is all about sacrifices and compromises and I’m proud to have done my part and don’t regret for whatever happened between us. He has given me the best gift in the form of Radhika. I don’t deserve this happiness. But he has made me feel worthy of love. I’m grateful to him. I don’t want more but if I ever meet him again in future, God forbid, I’ll ask him why he did that to me? Why did he forsake me at the moment when I was about to receive the greatest happiness of my life? He could have told me the truth and I would have forgiven him easily and released him. Well, I have never bound him to myself. I know prostitutes can’t be introduced as wives in the society. I wouldn’t have minded. Like all others he has also used me which does not hurt me but what genuinely pierces my heart is the fact that he had broken my trust. He had lied to me. He had betrayed me when there was no need to do so. But I will never curse him for his sins. May be, he had his reasons. So I forgive him. A woman can do anything for the man she loves. She can even sacrifice her life if required. What I have done for my love is nothing in comparison to what I could have done if demanded by the situation.” Tears flooded her beautiful face. A sheer spiritual aura surrounded her being. She could be no less than an angel in disguise of a mortal being. She was so pure…………a picture of calmness and serenity……an idol of divinity.
Aditya had been listening all along with great devotion. His eyes were moist. He could not hold back his tears any longer. Hot tears flushed his cheeks. Suddenly he became aware of himself. He blushed for a while, for losing his composure before a woman. It was almost the end of the dark night and a new morning was about to begin shortly. He rubbed his eyes and asked Chumki to take him to her home, where she lived. Chumki was surprised but silently led him towards her shabby residence. There was something in Aditya that made her tell him everything because he was a man who inculcated a feeling of trust and security in her. Aditya’s compassionate eyes revealed his goodness of heart and a deep pain lying deep within the core. He was sympathetic towards her plight; his benevolence and kindness was a mere reflection of his munificence. A benign man as he was, Aditya was the one who aroused the same feeling in her just as it had been when she met Meena Didi. She felt something good was about to happen. Their days of darkness was about to end. Radhika deserved a better life. Maybe this man could help her to see the bright light of a new day; a new beginning. Chumki’s eyes glistened with tears. The feebly shimmering stars led the two beings towards their final destination, for the night was about to end soon.
When they reached the doorway, Chumki asked Aditya to wait outside. She said she would be back in a minute with her daughter. She wanted Aditya to meet Radhika but didn’t want him to view the nastiness of the place, where they lived. Aditya complied with her request and waited impatiently at the entrance to the grungy brothel. The surroundings appalled him greatly but he was dying to meet Radhika, the kid girl of the prostitute. He wondered at the dreadful plight of the mother and daughter. The despicable thought of the torment, daily borne by them, repelled him. Finally Chumki arrived with a little girl, an aura of innocence surrounding her amidst all the nastiness of the hell. Radhika looked at Aditya with eyes wide apart from astonishment, for meeting a man at such an odd hour of the day. She was purity personified. Her naivety was untainted. She was unblemished in spite of living in this malicious world for six years of her life. Her pristine childish charm was a picture of spotless and flawless pulchritude. Her untarnished, gleaming smile at the sight of Aditya bore testimony to the sanctity of her immaculate soul. Her gullibility and innocuousness bore further evidence to her unsullied years of childhood in the brothel. Aditya was completely speechless at her sight. He felt his own daughter, Abhilasha, whom he lost years earlier due to his own fault, was standing right in front of him. Her startling resemblance with Abhilasha left him absolutely stunned. An elusive façade of his own child seemed visible in the daughter of a mere prostitute. A subtle nexus lay between the two girls which was intangible and indescribable. It was so mysterious that he couldn’t decipher the truth from behind the thin veil of obscurity. It was like………he couldn’t unravel the riddle, placed before him by twists and turns of destiny. Fate has given him a second chance to make up for his sins and he didn’t want to lose the golden opportunity this time, granted to him, at any costs.
Aditya was absolutely enchanted by the mysteriousness of the turn of events. He was enthralled by the abruptness of the incidents which took place in succession, post his wonderful meeting with the angelic lady. She was no less than a blessing to him. She had given him all the happiness that he craved for. She must be a representative of God. She had captivated his soul like nothing else could ever have done. It was entirely breath taking for him. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He was mesmerized by the charm casted upon him by the phenomenal experience of his life. It all seemed like a fairy tale. The connection he felt with the kid girl was something more than mere propinquity; it was aesthetic. The girl was like a paragon of virtue amidst the vicious world around her; she symbolized all goodness and righteousness that was still not dead in this world.
He took the girl in his arms and told Chumki, “I want you and your daughter to come with me. I want to take care of you both. From now on, you both are my responsibility. I’ll take good care of your daughter and educate her. I have lost my own daughter because of my own mistake but I don’t want you to lose Radhika because I know how precious a daughter is to her parents, especially to a mother who bears her in her womb for nine months and takes all the pain in bringing her to this world. You don’t worry. Come along with me. You both will Live with me in my small but spacious home, where there is enough room for everyone. If you are scared of the society I’m ready to marry you but I promise never to interfere in your life. I respect you and will always throughout my life.”
Tears of joy rolled down Chumki’s flushed cheeks. She was glowing with immense delight. Her gratefulness knew no bounds. She said, “Sir I will remain indebted to you till the last day of my life. I’m sure you’ll take good care of my child. I know you’ll love her like your own daughter. You are the only one with whom I can trust my kid. Radhika is a piece of my own heart. I’ll always be with her wherever she lives. But I can’t go with her. I have to stay here and die in this hell.” Aditya was baffled at her reluctance to go with him and start a new life far from this hell.
Aditya told her, “What is inhibiting you to come along with us? I told you, I’ll stay away from you and I really respect you a lot. I give you my word. I will never touch you ever in my life. You come with us and be a part of our new beginning. I promise to look after your daughter but she will also need her mother. I can fulfill her father’s place but she will need her mother’s love and care too. Why are you so hesitant?”
Chumki restrained her tears or at least tried hard to fight the dilemma going on within her. There was no way for her out of this hell. She had to live here and die here. She had lost her chastity and couldn’t go back to a normal life like before. The thought of mingling in a society so different from her own world, terrified her. She couldn’t leave the grungy brothel but her daughter surely could because she deserved a far better life than the one she had been leading all these days. She couldn’t deprive Radhika of the joys and luxuries which she deserved. She was proud of having a daughter like Radhika and the thought of having to live far from her made her cry like a baby. How could she live away from her own child, whom she had borne for 9 months and nurtured for 6 long years, protecting her and sacrificing her own self to give her a good life? How could she leave her in the hands of a stranger? But Aditya was no stranger. He was more than just a stranger. He was the only ray of hope in their dark and shabby lives and who was ready to offer a promising future for her girl.
Chumki controlled herself. She held back her tears and said in a quivering voice, “Sir, please don’t worry about me. I am fine here. I have been burning in this fire for years but I don’t want my daughter to burn in this hell. You take her away from here and give her a good life. I’m sure you will. That’s enough for me. The thought of my daughter living a secured life is strong enough to keep me going. Maybe, someday I’ll manage to do something, which would make her feel proud of me. I’ll come to meet her. You don’t trouble yourself thinking about me. Just take my kid away, far away from this nasty world. I’ll always be grateful to you.”
Aditya tried his best to convince Chumki, but she did not change her decision. This increased his respect for Chumki even more. Chumki hailed before him like a Goddess. Chumki had decided to engulf all the poison of this world herself to make this world a better place for her daughter. His own shortcomings became even more poignant to him. His heart was refilled with shame. Now, his only path of redeeming himself was evident before him.
Now he couldn’t afford to lose Radhika for anything in this world. She was the greatest treasure for him. So he told Chumki, “God bless you Chumki. You are an angel who has taught me the meaning of life today. You have given me a purpose to live. You have given me a hope, that perhaps someday, when I will meet my daughter, I will be able to tell her that her father was not only that abominable being, whom she had had the misfortune to suffer. There is nothing in this world that I can give you in return to this gift that you have given me today. I can never repay you. I’m indebted to you for my whole life. If, at any point of your life, you require anything or if I can be of any help to you, please promise me that you will ask for it. Never hesitate for a moment before asking for something from this friend of yours, who will always pray for your well being till the last breath of his life. I never thought you were impure. Your purity of soul is so evident to me. I respect you as a human being. I respect you for the courage that you have shown throughout at this young age and have brought up your daughter so nicely, shielding her from the gluttonous eyes of the beasts surrounding her and all the evils of the world. The filth of this evil world could neither touch you nor your daughter. You both are as pure as the Ganges. Trust me. Your daughter is my responsibility from now on. Whatever I have belongs to her from today. I promise to give her a good life and make her a big person someday. She will make you proud with her achievements, someday in future. Pray for us. Be happy wherever you stay. God will be there to protect you always. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring an end to your days in hell. May be you couldn’t trust me that much with your own self as you did for your daughter. But I promise never to let you down. I’ll tell Radhika about what a wonderful and brave mother she had, when she grows up. She’ll definitely understand you and your predicament that led you to this profession, someday. She would never hate you. She’ll be proud of having a mother like you. I’m sure you are best mother she could ever have. Never have I seen a mother doing so much for the sake her own child.”
Chumki replied, “Thank you sir. I trust you. But it is my bad luck that I’m not competent enough to live along with you. I don’t deserve so much good. But my daughter does. I wish to stay alive to see her beam in success and glory someday. I don’t ask for more but my daughter’s happiness. I haven’t got anything I have desired for but I hope she gets everything she deserves. She’ll be fine if she stays away from me, from my dirty world. I have never asked God for anything but today I ask him to bless you. I demand nothing from Him but the happiness for you both. I’m sure you’ll be a good father to my kid. I don’t know whether we will meet someday but I request you not to tell her about me because I don’t want her to feel embarrassed about her mother’s life and profession. Maybe she’ll understand someday. But promise not to tell her about me unless she demands it from you in future. I’m sure she’ll forget me with time. My memories will fade away as time passes. With your love and care she will never have to think about her mother. You will fulfill her need for both parents. Take her away from me with you before I become weak.”
Radhika couldn’t understand all the mature talk that was going on between her mother and the stranger. Her sparkling eyes were wide open with bewilderment. Her mother kissed her for the last time and told her “Be good to your father. This man’s your father. You have been asking me about him all this time. Now look he’s here to take you with him to the land of fairies where there are no tears but only joy. Don’t be naughty and never disturb your father. God will always be with you and so will I. I’ll always be in your heart and so will you be in mine. We can never be apart. Be happy. God bless you.” Confused about the happenings around her, Radhika opened her mouth for the first time, “But Maa, are you not coming with me and Papa? We will be so happy together.” There was sheer delight emanating from her cute face. Chumki explained, “No my darling. Go with your Papa now. Go to your home, your real home, where lots of surprises are waiting for you my dear. Good bye honey. Take care and remember me.”
Radhika cried loudly and tightly held her mother. Chumki freed her from Radhika’s tight embrace and handed her to her new father, Aditya. Radhika’s new guardian couldn’t hold back his tears at this moment of separation. Chumki was prepared for this inevitable moment of her life when she would have to bid farewell to her only daughter. She faced the moment bravely as always and bade them good-bye. Aditya held her own daughter, Radhika, in his strong arms and set for a new journey; a new beginning was about to commence from this very hour. He was ready for the journey of his life. Tears of happiness wet his cheeks. He bade farewell to Chumki and moved forward, not looking back at Chumki’s somber eyes, lest he might become weak.
The sky was red indicating the start of a new day. The screeching of the birds aroused the latent world from their deep slumbers. It was a new morning; a new beginning for the father and daughter who had been separated for sometime but had reunited again. The laughing and chattering of the girls in the brothel faded away in the distance. The feebly twinkling stars bore witness to the union of the long lost father and daughter and led them to their new home in some faraway land of fairies………………………………………………

THE DARKEST HOUR IS JUST BEFORE DAWN……………………………………………………………………..

From The Author's Desk: The story is entirely a figment of my imagination. The characters are all fictitious. Any resemblance with any person living or dead is purely coincidental and unintentional. Please read it and post your honest comments about the story.