Turning the Page

Part I: Madhu

As I lay on the backseat of my car, watching the passing trees of Amboli Ghat through the sunroof, I felt at peace after what felt like ages. I was on the way to Goa for a vacation with my family.

“Look, we’re passing by your brothers!” exclaimed Dad all of a sudden. With my childish curiosity I got up as always; to my dismay, to see Dad pointing at monkeys feeding on fruit by the roadside. This one never got old, Dad still didn’t seem to wanna give up on irritating and mocking his now 31-year-old daughter. Whenever I reminded him that I’ve grown up now, he always gave one answer– “Tum abhi bhi mere liye choti si bacchi ho, aur hamesha rahogi,” with his charming smile.

I wondered how my little sister Sanya and her husband, Rakesh, were doing. They were to meet us at our resort in South Goa later that evening. They got married a year and a half earlier, after being together for nearly three years. I was so happy for them.

As we entered Savantwadi, we saw the beautiful lake, unchanged as always, studded by the jewel like lamps on its periphery. It was serene peace within the busy city life.

It was 4pm by the time we reached the resort. The sun was still shining bright, and the weather as humid as ever in the March heat. As the bellboy guided us to our rooms, we were greeted by an excited Sanya and Rakesh waiting outside by the poolside for us.

As Sanya pulled back from a tight hug, she looked into my eyes and asked, “How are you holding up? Any better?” I smiled and said, “Loads.”

That night after dinner, I and Sanya took a long walk by the roaring yet tranquilizing sea to catch up.

“Rakesh kaisa hai?” I enquired. “He’s fine Di. Everything is going well for us,” she smiled.

“How’s your writing going?”

“Great, it’s never been better.”

“When are the court proceedings ending?”

I could sense she’d been waiting to ask me this for a long time.

“By next month end.”

“Why don’t you come live with us for a while thereafter? We would love to have you over! You could write and publish from there!” She added eagerly.

“Sanya, as much as I would love to accept the tempting offer, you know how much I love the comforts of home at Pune. But I’ll definitely come visit you in June.”

“Deal,” she laughed excitedly and fist bumped me. For the rest of the night we recounted numerous memories from our past.

Part II: Sanya

Madhu Di has always been my hero. She has always been strong, yet so kind-hearted and caring. She loves her space and independence. Since we were little, she was always the fun and responsible one, and I was the frivolous and naughty Drama Queen. She taught me to never let my shortcomings overshadow my excellence. She always has my back in every new step and endeavour I undertake in life.

Di did once, long ago, decide to get married to Adil, with whom she was for a long time. However, Mom and Dad didn’t approve of the match and he has stayed a close friend of hers since then.

She got married to Shekhar a few years ago – Dad had found a ‘perfect match’ for her. Little did he know how perfect it would turn out to be. Di agreed to the marriage only to keep Mom and Dad happy.

Part III: Madhu

One Month Later

Today was the end of court proceedings. I was finally getting through with my divorce with Shekhar. All the instances from the past three years flashed before my eyes as Adil drove me to the court in his grey Wagonr.

It was the day when Shekhar’s family was going to come over for lunch the first time since we rented the 2BHK in Khargar. I had to quit my job in Pune so we could relocate in Mumbai. I had prepared a variety of dishes- from shahi paneer and biryani to gulab jamun and kheer.

When Shekhar entered the kitchen, he scrunched up his nose in disgust after tasting the food I’d made with so much effort. “This is what you’re going to serve my family? Is this what your Mom taught you? Even the roadside urchins will not eat this! Throw it all away!” I was taken aback. It’d been a difficult first few days of marriage, but this was not what I’d expected. When I didn’t move a muscle, he personally began to dump it all in the dustbin angrily, waiting for me to follow suit, but I was paralysed. He then ordered food from a nearby restaurant.

Mom and Dad asked me not to worry; marriages after all were relationships, they were bound to have their ups and downs.

Things didn’t improve though. They just seemed to get worse by the day. A few months later, I ran back home to Pune after a fight with Shekhar. We had an argument about me taking up writing as a profession. That way, I could take care of the house and earn for myself as well.

“Why do you want to start another new fad of yours, huh? You can’t cook anything properly, let alone manage the house. Now, if you start doing this who will take care of everything? Has your mother taught you nothing about being a good wife?”

He looked at me angrily, and before I knew it, he pushed me. I hit the corner of the dressing table and fell to the floor with a bleeding head.

“Serves you right,” he said and stomped out of the house.

Mom and Dad still didn’t want me to give up on my marriage ‘so easily’. But I needed help to sustain through this torture (which is what life had started to feel like those days). So, I turned to Sanya and Adil. Though they wished to interfere and put a stop to all this, I requested them not to for my parents sake. A lot of fights followed at home thereafter between my sister and parents. However, I asked them to just support me through this, talk to me, so I could forget about the way my life was for at least a part of my day. Ever since, both Sanya and Adil call every day to find out how I am once Shekhar has left for office.

About a year more of dragging the marriage and things straying out of hand further, Adil called one morning as usual. That day, Shekhar hadn’t left for office yet, and unfortunately, he was the one to hear the phone ringing while I was in the kitchen, trying my level best to make him some breakfast.

When I walked to into our room to hand him his plate of upma, I saw him scrolling through my call list and instantaneously knew something was wrong. “What are you looking for in my phone, Shekhar?” I asked gently.

The next thing I knew, the breakfast plate was yanked out of my hand and thrown to the floor. He was holding me mercilessly by my hair. “Who is this Adil, huh? Doing things behind my back, are you? Just wait and watch, today I’ll teach you a lesson.” He threw my phone on the floor and it shattered into pieces.

What followed thereafter, I cannot describe. It still horrifies me. After what felt like ages, Shekhar finally stopped throwing me to the floor and beating me blue and black. I tried so hard to protect myself, but the pain weighed me down. I was numb, I couldn’t feel anything. My lower lip and right hand was bleeding from the glass of the shattered dressing table mirror, lying on the floor. Everything seemed blurry, and things were shifting in and out of focus.

He left me there, on the floor, bruised and bleeding, and left for office after picking his pack of cigarettes off the shelf in the kitchen. I got up to clean the mess, all the while, sobbing hysterically. All of a sudden, things blacked out.

I remember only flashes of what happened next. Strong hands picked me up; next I was in the car with my head on a crying Sanya and a man, who seemed like Adil, holding my hand. When I finally regained consciousness, I was in the comforts of Sanya’s home, my right hand and head bandaged. Mom and Dad had arrived too.

Part IV: Sanya

I was on my way to office that morning when Adil called. He sounded all hasty and worked up.

“Sanya, Madhu isn’t picking up my calls or responding to my messages. I’ve been trying to contact her all morning. Will you please check in on her?”

“Adil, relax. Maybe she’s busy elsewhere. Don’t worry, I’ll check in on her and call you back.”

I tried contacting Madhu in all ways possible. As a last resort, I dialled her neighbour’s number which I luckily had from the last time I was at Madhu’s place and had the fortune of befriending her. Her neighbour told me that there had been some commotion that morning, which sounded like a fight as usual, so she hadn’t interfered. After the commotion died, she saw Shekhar leaving. Everything had been quiet since.

I dialled Adil’s number and informed him of the events of that morning.

“Sanya, please go check on her in person, there’s definitely something wrong,” he pleaded. “I’m on my way to Mumbai now, please, reach Madhu as soon as u can. I’ll keep trying her number till then,” he said and hung up.

I immediately dialled back the neighbour and asked for her assistance, but she said there was no way she could help. She didn’t have the spare keys Madhu had given her anymore; Shekhar had taken it that morning on his way to office.

I reached Madhu’s flat in about 45 minutes and ran up to her house. Rakesh, who I had called, had reached there too. After many doorbells, shouts and deliberation, we decided to climb into the house from her neighbour’s balcony without much ado. Rakesh climbed over and luckily found the balcony door open. He opened the flat door.

Madhu was sprawled across the floor, unconscious, and blood was all over her hand and chin. We immediately lifted her and put her in the car, by which time Adil arrived on the scene.

We took Madhu to the nearest hospital. When she regained consciousness, Mom and Dad had arrived, and Mom was frantically sobbing and Dad was in shock. They apologised profusely promised her to help get a divorce with Shekhar. All this while, Adil never left her side.

Part V: Madhu

Present Day

The court proceedings were done and over with. It felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I and Adil were headed home, and we stopped on the way to pick up some biryani for dinner from our favourite restaurant, Blue Nile.

When we reached the gate of my parent’s house, we got out of the car to exchange goodbyes. He hugged me very tight, and didn’t let go of me for a long time. Everything felt so peaceful in that moment.

“You’re safe now”, he muttered, and kissed me on my forehead, something he hadn’t done in all these years. He looked me in the eyes and smiled. He stroked my chin, took my face in his hands, and all of a sudden, kissed me.

When we broke apart after a long kiss, for a second it felt like life was back to when we were together, and these horrible years had never gone by.

Part VI: Sanya

While Di was gone that morning, I arrived in Pune to surprise her. As I walked up to the front door after parking my car, I could hear Mom and Dad talking from the open door.

“Today, our Madhu will finally be free of the terrible decision I made,” said Dad ruefully. “I just wish I’d never made the mistake of misjudging someone so terribly, it ruined her life.”

“Don’t blame yourself, I was part of it too,” Mom added, her voice cracking from trying to hold her tears back.

“Sometimes I feel like we should have made the choice which was right in front of our eyes all this time – Adil. He is so right for our Madhu. He treats her like his equal,” said Dad, almost in tears. “Do you think he will forgive us and take our Madhu’s hand?”

“Of course he will!” I shouted and entered the house, jumping frantically. I hugged Mom and Dad. “I love you both. You are the best parents ever!”