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A Love Jihad Story

Literature & Fiction | 21 Chapters

Author: Souwmiya Dhinesh

777 Views

While the cases on Love Jihad are increasing exponentially, the liberal bandwagons and the ‘secular’ squads are trying to frame up this ‘force-induced or influence-induced religious conversion’ on the pretext of marriage, like various other interfaith marriages. Contrary to their belief, there are a few heart wrenching instances of Love Jihad that exposes the real façade of religious conversions, thus making the inc....

Know That Your Voice Is Of Value

This story revolves around a twenty-one-year-old woman, who has always dreamt of reaching the stars. As a little girl, she imagined herself having borne with wings so that she might easily reach the stars someday or the other. She was such a dreamer that her dreams have no limits. But then, she was not only just a ‘dreamer’, she came with a full package. Yes, she was a bright student and a performer in her academics; she always dared to do things that even the boys of her age think twice to attempt. She is brought up that way; her mom is the very reason for her bold and courageous nature. To be raised by a single mother has its own good; Sharadha is a typical Indian woman, who loves to wear a sari all the time, especially the linen ones are like an energy booster to her everyday routine. She is very confident, even in her fifties, which makes her stand out in a crowd. She always has her own magic touch that adds a pinch of creativity into her daily mundane life. She tries new recipes, collects unique plant seeds from across the world, or buys something elegant to decorate the walls. That quirk is what sets her apart from the rest of the women of her age. She rose from zero to someone who can earn thousands, own a bungalow, an expensive car, and other luxuries. In addition to being a parent that can provide financial backup, she devoted her life to educating her daughter to live an independent life. Sharadha imbibed in her daughter the lesson that, Aditi should never be dependent on anybody and should know how to fend for herself.

Sharadha lost her husband when she was in her twenties; she never could have thought she could raise her little daughter all alone. But then, she knew she was not a coward. Being married outside her community and losing her husband all of a sudden to cancer with a three-month-old baby, was quite a heartbreak for her. Never once she dared to seek help from her parents or in-laws. Back then in the 90s, inter-caste marriages were unforgivable. Since parents don’t give their consent, the lovers had to elope and if they get caught by the village men they will be killed at first sight without any second thought. They usually justify this act of honor killing as the victim has brought dishonor upon the family’s reputation and the only way to face the rest of the people in the village was by murdering the girl and the boy. So, by any chance they discover Sharadha’s existence, they would have murdered her and the baby. Therefore, she had no thoughts of going back to her village. In India, marriages signify a union of not just two individuals, but two families. Couples from different castes or religion, who move out of their families for marriage, face a lot of struggle for acceptance in society. Not just the couple, but their entire families are boycotted from their communities and they will have to face the social ridicule forever.

Sharadha lived with her husband, Ashok for a year in a small rented apartment in Anna Nagar, once after they eloped. Her husband took over a private job and admitted her in a college for she was determined to complete her final year of graduation. It was quite a struggling start for the newlyweds, but since Sharadha got admission in a good college through scholarship and the timely financial help from the good hearts in their neighborhood, it did not feel quite a burden for the two of them. After twelve months of alternating happiness and struggles, they lived a very content life, until Ashok was diagnosed with cancer. Before they could realize the threats posed by cancer, he was gone. Her life was completely disrupted; she felt that she had failed miserably. The last words he had spoken to her were all that she kept mumbling for the next two to three months together.

‘I’m sorry, please take care of Aditi. I love you Sharadha’

And then he slept his ‘final sleep’ altogether. Sharadha was so mad at God for letting this happen to her. But then, after some months, she realized that wallowing in her misery will sort nothing, the only way was to deal with it. Times were hard, but then it was temporary. She never gave up on anything. She always voiced out her needs and her daughter inherited this one good quality of hers. Yes, to have a voice of her own.

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Excited For The ‘First Flight’

When Aditi was five years old, her mother told her that one day she will wake up to fly on her own; her wings will have grown to full length like that of a dove. Aditi completely believed that this is the day she has grown her wings to the fullest, to take her first flight.

Aditi was in a rush that morning; she has to be in her office for the orientation program by 8 AM. She had set the alarm by 6 AM the previous night, but then for God-knows-why reason, she snoozed it off for another fifteen more minutes, which is why she has to skip her breakfast to reach office on time now. Taking a quick bath, she was in smile all the while, as it’s going to be her first day in office. She was quite excited for the day that she couldn’t stop thinking about it the whole night. She was pondering over how she managed to get through the campus interview very easily, unlike her friends who had to burn the midnight oil for three exhausting rounds of campus interview selection. Aditi was the topper in her department; as per the instruction from the placement department, the first three toppers of every department will be exempted from aptitude and group discussion rounds in the recruitment process. So, Aditi could effortlessly pass the oral interview round like a breeze. She was very joyful and grateful for everything that had happened as the way she always dreamt.

With all these thoughts lingering in her mind, she was looking for her lucky yellow dress. Yellow uplifts her mood, if Aditi is extremely happy or she needs the luck charm to work, she chooses yellow. Otherwise her wardrobe is full of blacks and whites. Today, she is wearing a lemon yellow kurti set with embroidered white dupatta. It was simple yet elegant and it’s always Aditi’s type. She was ready in a minute’s time; she took her backpack in which she had carefully packed her laptop, certificates for verification, her mobile and a wallet. She came out of her room in a hurry to find her mom setting the table for breakfast.

‘Mom, I’m going to be late already, can I skip breakfast for just today…’

‘Aditi, just five minutes, have some Idli before you leave. It’s ready’.

‘Mom, please pack the breakfast. I will eat it on the way or during break’

Sharadha made a puppy face and Aditi had no other way other than to give in.

Sometimes you never know who the mother and who the daughter is.

‘Ma, you always do this. Okay, just one Idli please.’

Sharadha happily fed her daughter while she was busy packing stuff. Aditi gulped a glass of water after three full spoons of idli sambar, her all time favorite food. She wore the backpack, took the car key from the key hanger and happily waved at her mom. Sharadha came running with a Moti Laddu, which has become a tradition in their home over the years, to celebrate every new beginning with a traditional sweet.

‘All the best, Kanna’, Sharadha kissed her forehead, when Aditi clicked a selfie, to share their happiness with her Instagram friends.

She captioned the post,

New beginning, celebrating with mom’s special Moti Laddu!

‘Enough of Instagram Kanna, now drive safe and don’t even dare to take your mobile while driving’

‘Mommm! Sure. Stop worrying’ she said in an assuring tone.

The way she dragged and emphasized MOMMM made Sharadha realize that Aditi is a grown adult now and she doesn’t need constant reminders like, ‘Keep oil, drive safe, don’t use mobile while driving, ’. Though Aditi was raised as an independent child from her teenage, sometimes the motherly pampering seems to pop in, but Sharadha always limited her love and attention because she believed that too much pampering might spoil her emotional independence and make her child a stubborn oversensitive brat. Sharadha always believed in the fact that a good mother should know when not to cross the line of pampering, she should choose to pamper without spoiling the self esteem of the child because in case of excessive pampering, the child might become emotionally weak, rude, looking for emotional favors from every one, and not learning the values of life and those who love them. But today, Sharadha couldn’t help it, because it’s her daughter first day of her dream job. Pampering, in fact, has no expiration date.

Aditi drove happily only to reach her office in Old Mahabalipuram Road, after ten minutes long wait in the traffic signal, causing her a twenty minute delay for the orientation program. By the time, she arrived at the parking lot; she could hear that the session has begun. She cursed herself for snoozing the stupid alarm to get that extra fragment sleep. She felt worse when the late comers were asked to join the session only after the first break. She was blaming the clock for having that useless snooze option and then she instagrammed,

‘Not hitting the snooze again. The best amount of snoozing is zero, dear people!’

She was very exhausted waiting outside the orientation hall for a full hour. She saw at least ten of them accompanying her in the waiting room for the orientation session. They all just shared a smile and continued to remain glued to their mobiles. Aditi had no other go, other than looking at her notifications of the Instagram posts. There was a comment from her high school friend, ‘Hey! You look cuter than you were in twelfth grade’, which brought her a teeny tiny smile, forgetting where she was for a moment. Another notification popped up with the comment, ‘Age is just a number for both of you – mom and dot, and she couldn’t help but keep smiling after reading the comment.

That’s when she realized someone from behind was gazing at her. You know that feeling when you are suddenly gazed upon by someone from the crowd a little further away or sometimes even behind you. It sends you sudden chills down the spine. She turned back impulsively, to find a charming guy, certainly of her age, dressed in a blue denim pant and a casual white shirt, with a well groomed beard that suited well with his jaw line. He looked a little casual for the orientation program, which came with a professional dress code for the Freshers, but then he had this i-am-so-cool attitude. She turned back and broke the gaze that lasted for less than a second. He shifted his gaze to left spontaneously to keep it cool. Aditi took out her mobile again, to check for more notifications, she zoomed the picture with her mom that she posted some while ago to find a little chunk of Idli still sticking to her lower lip. She then took out her wipes and cleaned it off without disturbing her lip gloss. She patted the tissue onto her lips giving it a clean finish. Suddenly, she sensed that the same beard guy gazing at her from behind which pushed her to an awkward emotional state. She mustered some courage and looked back to find the beard guy smiling at her now. Aditi went all red in embarrassment.

‘Oh my god, he caught me wiping the chunk of Idli and now he is all teeth’ she could hear her inner voice mock at her frowning face.

She tried to look away from him, covering her face out of self-consciousness, but she realized he was still smiling at her. She tilted her face downwards to escape the momentary awkwardness, but a tiny bit of smile stayed stuck to her face, which made her rest of the day, beautiful.

The first break was announced and everyone in the orientation session left the room for tea break. The late comers in the waiting hall were allowed in after a small boring lecture on how punctuality plays a significant role for a working professional to gain the long term trust of their employer. The Orientation Head seemed a little off after finding some late comers dressed very casual for the occasion, even after repeated instructions through e-mail. He questioned some of them, and Sameer gave him some lame excuse, but assured to wear formals for the next day. They were then asked to form a queue to get their certificates verified. Sameer walked towards Aditi and stood behind her carrying the certificates in one hand. He leaned towards her in such a way that she could literally feel his breath on her.

‘Have we met earlier? You seem familiar to me.’, Sameer grinned when Aditi turned back only to give him a perplexed look.

‘What?’, she asked him in a whispering tone.

‘Do you remember me?’ Sameer is not giving up.

‘Yeah, sure, Mr. Smile-for-no-reason’, how could I forget? I meant the embarrassment!’ she stopped walking and stood there facing him, right into his eyes.

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Literature & Fiction | 21 Chapters

Author: Souwmiya Dhinesh

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A Love Jihad Story

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