Companions In The Life's Journey

The train was speeding in the darkness of night. She did not know the destination, nor did she care about. All she knew was she was escaping from a nightmare. Kishore had extended his hand to save her, and she had no choice but to accept it. Though she loved Kishore, she would prefer a marriage with him, but fate had this in store. All the incidents in recent past played vividly in front of her eyes as she stared into the darkness outside the window.

Kumud had to take this bold step of eloping with Kishore that night. As such her uncle was putting immense pressure on her to get married to Shivam, the only son of a wealthy local businessman, from Kanpur. Her excuses not to marry but to continue with her studies did not withstand her uncles resolve. The wedding was going to be one month from now. To add insult to injury, Shivam told her 2 days ago,” thank you Kumud for agreeing to marry me even after knowing that I am not fit to lead a normal married life. My parents told your uncle and aunt about this, and they said you are agreeing for this marriage and all you wanted was to have a loving family and safety and security of normal family, which you are lacking. My parents are giving your uncle huge amount of money in gratitude.”

Kumud cursed her fate to no end. It turned out that her preference to stay with her paternal uncle and Aunt was incorrect. But she had no other option as they were the only blood relations she had, when she lost her parents in a major road accident, three years ago. She was the only child of wealthy parents and when the court gave her a choice, she chose to live with her uncle, though she had a suspicion that he was eying her property. But now it turns out that he was not only eying her property, but also was getting a big amount of money in return for getting her married to Shivam. She also knew that his uncle was capable of going to any extent to keep her wealth and may harm her. So, after a lot of deliberations she decided to take this giant step.

She knew Kishore for about a year and a half, when he helped her out of a small emergency. He told her that he was in second year of BA and was preparing for civil services. He was handsome and had composed looks and inspired trust in the people who came across him. Kumud as such was vulnerable and got attracted to him and fell head over heels for him.

When Kumud shared her plight with him he offered to take her away to a safe place” Look Kumud it was only a matter of time that we would be getting married. Soon after I completed BA and got selected in civils, I would have asked your uncle for your hand. Now we are rushing because of the circumstances you are in. Have trust in me,” So saying, he took her away from her home that night. They boarded a train and left for Allahabad. He took her to a small, nice house which he said, belonged to his friend. They both got married in a temple and spent time happily. It was most memorable time Kumud could ever remember to have had. After about one month, one morning Kumud woke up to find that she was alone in the house. She that Kishore might have gone out on some errand and would return. He neither returned nor answer her calls. His cell phone was switched off. In no time she understood that she was duped. Her grief had no bounds. She cried incessantly and was cursing her fate. Having lost her parents, there seemed to be no end to the misfortune heaped on her. She had nowhere to go and one day evening, as the sun was setting and appeared to be taking a plunge into the river, she walked along the river close to the place she was put up and was about to jump in when two powerful men caught hold of her and saved her from death.

She started crying loudly and said,” death is the only solution for my problems. Why did you stop me? What do you want from me?” she was scared of humans, having been cheated by her own relatives and lover. “Please let me die, I have lost everything in life.” The two men tried to console her and said, “please have faith in us and listen. We are going to help you and protect you. Just follow us.” So, saying they took her to a lady and said, “Dr. Reva we found this lady trying to take her life by jumping into the river. “They left Kumud in her custody.

To Kumud’s relief, she found out that she was in safe hands of Dr. Reva, a renowned Psychiatrist in the city of Allahabad. After a lot of coaxing and cajoling she opened up to Dr. Reva and told her the entire story. She again and again expressed her desire to put an end to her life. Dr. Reva it turned out would offer psychiatric help to the people who are driven towards suicide.

Dr. Reva consoled her and told her " I also have a disturbing past. The person whom I loved very dearly, took his life as he was unable to face the reality of life and was suffering from inferiority complex. He lacked confidence in himself and in me that I would not judge him and accept him for what he was. it was not my fault that I was intelligent and accomplished nor did I look down upon him for being mediocre. I had no role in his death, but I overcame my grief and the feeling of guilt and decided to help those who are unable to deal with the realities of life. Look as there are selfish human beings, there are also helpful people around us and you can be one of them. You are too young to even think about death. Pull yourself up and let your experience illuminate your path to help other needy and confused women. If you can help even few of the misguided and exploited women, you would have achieved some purpose and meaning in life.”

Slowly Kumud recovered from her grief and emerged as a strong woman. She took legal course against her uncle and took control of all her property. While she was fighting the case, she had to also interact with Shivam and developed good rapport with him. She continued her education and after completing her studies, started an NGO for women, in which Dr. Reva also offered her services. In due course of time, having come to know about Kumud’s good work, Sivam also showed interest in taking part in her work. “I could not have the good fortune of marrying you. Let me be a partner in your good work at least.” He said. Kumud let him be a partner not only in her work but also in her life. She had no interest in physical relationship, any longer. vHaing known Shivam as a refined and broad minded individual, she readily welcomed him into her life. She knew the value of companionship and also that he was also looking for one. She did not want to repeat earlier mistakes and at the same time did not want to be lonely. Life’s journey becomes easy and enjoyable if you have likeminded and good companions.