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Stories
Partition, its aftermath and then Ravi's postings had intervened. Not only Independence, even the new Republic was no longer new.
After the fuss that she
had made to go home, Geetli expected a festive welcome. As she neared the old haveli, there were none of the sounds of a joyous welcome or the rumbustious playing of children. Instead, when at last the children did emerge to greet her, they immediately pushed Geetli into her stepmother, Laajjo's audience chamber. But Laajjo, the lady of the house was strangely listless, almost indifferent to everything, even the rather disheveled attire of the little girls, Geetli noted with surprise and foreboding : " Something is wrong here ". It was eventide before Thakurda came home. Geetli heard his gaadi and ran out to meet him; and stopped in sudden shock. It was as if some unknown giant had landed her massive father one solid punch and sucked all the air and the life out of him; her baba had aged so visibly, bags under his eyes and emaciated jowls, flesh hanging loose and stooped. -- " My Thakurda is stooped !!" There was consternation in the thought and Geetli's stomach wrenched with dismay, " He knows that he's been betrayed." The realization of her worst fears-come-true shook tears from her eyes as Geetli embraced her father, clinging to him wordlessly. But dinnertime brought a greater shock : The children took their places strictly in order of seniority. A servant led a little one down to take her place after Geetli's five year old Baby. The question froze on Geetli's lips when the little one turned her face to her. Apparently Thakurda had not needed to be told of the betrayal by his beloved Laajjo, the little one's face told it all !!
Deliberately Geetli
injected hostility and accusation in the eyes she turned to her
stepmother. For once in her life, Laajjo's gaze dropped before Geetli's. " Did you see ? In any case, she could not have hidden it. But I had known as soon as she got pregnant, that she had been unfaithful; I knew because I had had a problem and Vaidji had separated us for weeks before that. And she had the temerity to claim that she submitted to him only to save my daughters. That scoundrel has ruined your life and he must be making Prema's marriage hell too. All my fault for believing, like a big fool, that good families breed good men. I could not have been more wrong. What will become of Laajjo when I’m gone?” Geetli gave him a startled look and marveled at the blindness of the man. Even now, with the new senility of the sorrow of Loss, Thakurda could not see or recognize his own son's obvious anguish. Dada was his eldest born and more Laajjo's contemporary than Thakurda, more than 20 years her senior. Blind to all but the treachery of his beautiful young wife, Thakurda had failed to realize why Dada had left home to precipitately to join the Army immediately after Prema's doli left. " I wonder what she will get up to when I am gone " Thakurda repeated. "Don't utter such rubbish " Geetli rebuked sharply. " Nay, we are all to go one day, some early, some later. My time is come. I was only waiting for you, Geetli, to make my peace with you." Wordlessly Geetli stood up and cradled the massive grey head in her arms and tried to find a lost peace. She never really felt happy or at peace except in the presence of her beloved Thakurda. True to his word, Thakurda had waited only to see her. That night, he died quietly in his sleep. Looking down at the beloved still form Geetli's mute heart wailed. " Why, Thakurda, Why ? You were always so strong. why did you allow this bastard to weaken you ? Why did you not avenge your honor and killed him with your strong bare hands. You would have released me from this heavy sentence : " ta zindagi, umar kaid " as his wife." Later in the day, Geetli took a silent vow at her father's bier. " No more bowing to his tyranny; he has destroyed my father; I shall destroy him, whatever sacrifice it may ask of me. If it turns me into a shrew, so be it ". Dada saw her standing in concentration and raised his eyebrow in query. Later Geetli told him all. Not that he was unaware of the raucous flirtation that Laajjo had had with her son-in-law, Ravi, Geetli's husband during the nuptials of the younger sister, Prema. Dada himself had been present and subject to an emotional churning which wrung out an unspoken confession " I love my mother. not as my mother." He had left abruptly, before too many persons realized that he carried that torch and was unaware of the aftermath of that flirtation : the birth of Baby Latika, cast in the mould of her father, to announce her bastard and the betrayal of Thakurda by his young wife and his son-in-law. " Will you back me now on ?" Geetli demanded " Absolutely." there wasn't the slightest hesitation. " What do you want me to do ?" "We could not save Thakurda; but we can save the honor of his memory. Ravi has never seen the baby. Laajjo and the little one have to go. No-one, especially not Ravi, must ever see them here." Dada was caught off-guard by the gist of Geetli's demand. |
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It had been almost five
years since Geetli had come home. 
