Truth & Reality

It was a casual Sunday while I sat down and started sipping my cold coffee, well the summer in Delhi is always a turn-off.

Since I was bored and had nothing much to do, I switched on the TV and randomly picked up some old Bollywood movie and started watching while enjoying my coffee. As I was the only one left in my flat on that day and all my flatmates either left for home or were hanging around here and there, TV and movie and of course my coffee were my companions on that day.

As I got totally engrossed into the movie, I heard something, noise or an argument basically that two people were having some loud conversation, I lowered the volume and tried to eavesdrop but the argument was very mushy but I could only manage to hear mumbling sound, I suddenly felt it wasn’t right so increased the volume and tried to concentrate on the movie. After 5 mins, my curiosity overpowered and I just had one thought just chuck the movie and hear it out.

I suddenly lowered the volume to 5 and concentrated on the conversation, now I could hear each and every word as if the conversation was happening just on the other side of my terrace window.

What I heard was not good, a couple was fighting over something that who should leave whom. It went quite like this:

Man: I am done with you, there is no point in living like this when you don’t trust me.

Woman: Trust you? The person who doesn’t know what his kid wants to eat, in which school he studies, he has a woman waiting for him at home is questioning the trust word?

And then boom, there was a very loud noise as if something was broken, I could hear that sound followed by the weeping of the woman. She just cried and cried for another 15 mins.

My ears were shivering, by just hearing the kind of pain that woman was going through, I just had one thought -Are these issues that big that you want to hurt someone so badly, you want to punish someone physically by violence? Since she is a woman and cannot beat you hard, who gave you the right to beat her up with something so hard that the sharp cry is still echoing in my ears.

I simply closed my eyes and tears started rolling down my cheeks.

Soon, the doorbell rang.

Since I was not feeling well for a few weeks, so the doctor had suggested I stay at home and rest. I was still recuperating from typhoid as I forgot to mention why was I at home during day time.

So watching television, reading and napping became my favorite past times. I continued doing the same thing for the next day too, it was Monday.

I quickly switched on the TV and started shuffling across the channels and again I was interrupted with some conversations but this time they seemed to be sweet and full of laughter.

I strangely recognized the woman’s voice, she was the same one whom I heard yesterday.

I quickly lowered the volume and started listening to the conversation again, God knows why I was so eager to hear, but this time I wanted to hear as it bothered me a lot the day before that what would have happened to her.

But as a surprise I could hear only laugh, she was playing with her kid. From the conversation, I could easily make out that the kid was not more 3-4 years old, as he seemed very vibrant what I could figure out from hearing the conversations. I was relieved that at least the woman was smiling, laughing, and was having fun with her kid. I thought probably it’s Monday so her husband had gone for work.

But when the clock ticked at 7 pm there was again some noise, my roommates usually used to come by 9 pm. I used to make so much of my free time. I thought of reading something but again the loud noises of the fight drew my attention.

Man: I am never going to eat this shitty food.

Probably he banged the plate on the ground. I did hear the sound as if it was happening in front of my eyes. I was blank and started visualizing what was about to happen to her now.

And yes I was right, he again started beating her. This time she cried out loudly.

I just felt helpless and stupid that I didn’t have the courage to go out of my room and just check where this was happening. I was a COWARD. I felt numb, her weeping was very disheartening. She sobbed for another 10 minutes and then there was again silence.

The same continued for 4-5 weeks, my health got better but my doctor suggested me to work from home. Thus I continued working from home and heard the same screaming in the night and the same laughter during the daytime.

It became like my partner, I never had the courage to go and check on her or maybe just look at her face and console her and ask her why she was a part of such a relationship? The struggle was real, her laughter was real but her cry was more real.

The same continued for another 2 months and all the arguments and fights used to be on some simplest of topics like why did she added mirch in his sabzi, why did she not iron the clothes. It made me sick.

One day I decided to gather some courage and go and meet this lady or just find out where she actually lived.

I went straight to my local sabzi wala shop and asked him: Bhaiya yaha koi family rehti hai kya ? Unke yaha ladne ki awaaz aati har raat ko.

His answer was No.

I asked the same thing to a few more people like the Boutique place, ice cream vendor, and a general store. I was shocked that living in this huge society of Lajpat Nagar how come no one ever heard of her screaming.

Nobody noticed her screaming, are people seriously so deaf. I was surprised.

Suddenly I met one Aunty, who was living in this society was over 25 years. I quickly greeted her as she was also sitting on the same bench in the park, I daily saw her so thought to break the ice and maybe she could answer my question too.

After some normal chit chat and small talk, I jumped to the main topic.

Me: Aunty do you have any idea about this lady, I think she would be in her 30-35s, with a 3-4-year-old kid maybe. Her husband beats her up every day.

Aunty was shocked that how come I knew this.

Yes, I know her but when did you get to know about her? Aunty said in a shocking tone

Me: Aunty I have been hearing her screams from past 2 months, during the day she is all fine and jovial with her kid and during the night time she is all crying, I never got the courage to see her or talk to her even though I could guess she lived just in the opposite building.

Aunty just took my hands and said listen to what I am going to tell you, it might be devastating for you and you might be shocked to the core.

You are right beta, she used to live in the same building which you guessed, but she died some 3 years back in the same building.

I was shocked, I couldn’t hear any other word which Aunty said apart from this word that she was Dead, I couldn’t hear a single word. My brain, my body, and my blood froze.

How could she be dead? What must have happened? Why was I able to hear only her screams throughout these months. I was taken aback, I had tears in my eyes.

How could I be okay Aunty, I was part of her tragic screams throughout these months, how could I be okay, I kept on repeating this.

Aunty, do you know how she died?

Yes, I heard that one day her husband had beaten her up a lot, and left the house with her kid. She struggled a lot to hold his husband not to take her child, but he went out. Later after a few hours, she committed suicide.

But aunty, why was I able to hear her screams?

To which Aunty told me, I don’t know that beta, but I guess she wanted help during that period. She wanted someone to at least to interact with her, but she never got any support. I guess her search is still on.