Sunaina, she was eldest of my five daughters, very cute and intelligent. We were going through a very tough time. I didn’t had enough money to send her to best of schools. But she never complained. Instead she was topper of her class in the government school to which I sent her.

Poverty makes a child mature at a very early age. From a very small age she helped me in my business. Most of the household cores were left for the other four daughters and she devoted most of her time with me in business.

Since she helped me and also because whole day she was with me after coming from school she became most lovable of all. I don’t know when a dear a child becomes our dearest and we start to differentiate-but this happens when there are more then one Childs.

It’s said that boy and girl are same. But they are not. You can’t always keep her with you. You have to leave her on her fate. Time comes when you have to decide and select a boy who can take better care of her then u can. My case was no different.

I knew that fun and happiness that was a part of everyday life is not going to be there for the long time. No matter how much tired I was when I saw these girls playing, laughing and singing together I felt very happy. I house was like heaven. I can’t imagine how someone could kill these girls while they are in mother womb. Couldn’t they just imagine that this gift of a girl child from the god is to make someone happiest person in this world. No matter how old they get, how far they go-there care never dies for their parents. They are always worried more about the health of their parents then anything else. Like boys they are never going to wish our early death so that they can share property and lead a happy life with their wives. For boys we matter only till we earn after that nothing else. After that we are just a load and expenses. Medicine, doctors, regular checkups irritates them. They just wish an early death and a free life.

From an innocent child she had grown to be a young beautiful girl. Now I was worried about her marriage. I wanted a good family for her. But that needed money and I wasn’t having much money. I was worried. People use to call me that “Naina is intelligent beautiful and a girl of good virtue, she is going to get the best house.”

She never said anything about her choice. For her whatsoever was mine decision was her too. I was worried; I didn’t wanted that because of mine one bad decision she should ever suffer.

Sunaina deserved a life full of comfort. I wanted a good house for her. No matter how beautiful a girl from poor house is the rich families comes only with those boys who weren’t able to find a girl from a family of their status. I rejected several of such offers. Then an offer came from Delhi. It came from a very good family. They had a good social status and were economically sound. The boy was handsome and a perfect match for my daughter. I readily agreed. But I had a question in my mind, “Why a rich, good looking boy with a good family will ever want to marry a poor girl from a small town.” At that point I didn’t dare to ask such a question.

In few sittings date of marriage was finalized. I wasn’t able to make the arrangement up to their standard-but they never complained.

I had inkling that they wanted the marriage to get over as soon as possible.

In just few days time came when Sunaina had to leave my house. Happiness of my first daughter going to good and rich family was unbearable and so was the pain of separation. I have never understood and I will never understand, “How we agree to send the daughter, whom we protect everyday to someone who is completely unknown to us?”

After few days Sunaina rang up. Everything was not all right. She didn’t said what was wrong. She was a matured girl and she knew that the truth will be too painful for us.

But truth can never be hidden. One day a relative told us all things that were happening with Sunaina. The facts were also the answer to the question that was coming again and again in my mind at the time of Sunaina marriage. Now I came to know why they wanted to get their son married as soon as possible.

Gagan, Sunaina’s husband had a loose character. He was having pre-martial relationship with a girl that was outside of their caste. Actually more then Gagan he was in love with his money. So they wanted to get Gagan married as soon as possible. Anyone who knew the fact wasn’t ready to give them their daughter. No one told us; hence Sunaina was trapped in this immoral game of theirs.

She was having terrible days out there. Gagan never came home before 4.00 or 5.00 in the morning. He treated her like a paid servant, someone who was just there to take care of his food and clothes and his satisfy desires. Most of the times, she was alone in his room sobbing, crying and thinking about her difficult future ahead.

She was never able to get closer to Gagan also because of his mother-in-law. Gagan even though he was from a very strict family had a modern nature. He wanted for himself an educated, good looking and modern girl. But just for the mother’s sake he agreed to marry with Sunaina. Sometimes he thought about his wife, thought about the trouble that she has to go through because of him. He wanted to take her to the movie, to a good restaurant, to a good place for honeymoon. But his mother-in-law was not willing to do so. She always wanted to dominate Sunaina. She knew that if she agreed for all those things that Gagan wanted- Sunaina will no longer be a willing servant who is just there to do the house chores, to take care of the children and his husband. Because of all this she was never able to come close to Gagan.

When I came to know all these I cried like a child. I never thought that this will happen and that too to my Sunaina. I told Sunaina that if she likes she can come back. Sunaina had taken it now as her fate. Even though he was not happy but all his three children’s were.

Inside, I didn’t want that she ever come back. Our society is such that it is very hard for a divorced woman with three children’s to get settled again. Now the future of her children’s was also on stake. She was now just a scapegoat being punished for my decision and for her in-law fault.

Gagan always showered his three children’s with costly gifts. He always made sure that they get the best education possible in the costliest of school. He knew that one day he will get dependent on Sunaina and her children’s. So he was clever enough to have a good influence on his children’s. Never thought once in giving them what they wanted. It didn’t bother him much that these things are spoiling children. Sunaina always tried to stop these things and because of that children though her to be too strict and not good enough for the gratitude that they should have given her. They were so much influenced that if they were given choice they would surely had leaved her. For her, a hope from even her own children’s didn’t materialize.

As Gagan was getting older he showered more love towards Sunaina. He tried his best so that Sunaina forget about the past and just accept what was going on. It was needed at that point of time. When you are young, nothing matter, society, family, nothing. You are fit enough to answer all those question related to yours character or you can just ignore them. But once you get old, society comes again with all those questions. Now you can do nothing. You have to be accountable for your deeds. Now Raja, Sunaina’s eldest son was of marriageable age. When ever they thought of finding a suitable girl his father’s character always came as a big hindrance. He was made to feel sorry again and again. He got irritated and shamed at all those past things but now he had to ripe what he had shown. He had to find a way out of all these things.

He told everyone that he is going to expand his business and therefore he have to open an office in Bombay. Everyone agreed. Now he came just for one or two days to meet Sunaina in a year. Soon we came to know that he was not there in Bombay just for business. But he was staying there with that other woman who was working there in some serial or commercials. He had found a way. There was nothing much to be done. It was better for him and others to get out of his children’s and Sunaina’s life.