What U Believe Is What U See

Savitri was 17 years old, young and beautiful girl. She had just finished her PUC. Though she wanted to study further, she was forced to marry a person who was 10 years elder to her. Her parents always thought, if she completes her graduation, it would be difficult to find the right alliance for her marriage. They also felt she was their great responsibility and they need to get her married as quickly as possible. If she is married at an early age, she'll adjust to whatever situations comes in her way without any questions or complaints.

After the marriage, Savitri couldn’t express her views or opinions due to the age gap. Her husband always taunted her saying she was very young to understand many things in life. She struggled hard to be the best wife and the daughter-in-law. But she was still being judged in her every step. Her husband was a businessman and earned well. The family had their own set of beliefs which they adored and followed. They always pressurised her for a boy baby. Within a year she was pregnant, and she gave birth to a girl child. No one was happy in the house. As soon as they stepped inside the hospital room, they started scolding her for this misfortune and how she brought all the bad luck into their home. But her eyes were stuck at her baby. She was filled with enormous joy. She was so lost in her innocent eyes and beauty, that she never bothered to hear what others were talking about. She swallowed their blames, screams, taunting as a bitter pill and promised her daughter that she'll never treat her as a scare of her life. Instead, she'll raise her as a beautiful angel and named her Pari. When her husband or his family scolded Pari, she carried her and wiped her tears and said, "It's OK baby, everything will be fine", and Pari used to smile and hugged Savitri tightly.

Soon, Savitri realised that she was wrong. Though she wanted to give Pari, all the right things in this world, her husband never showed that affection towards her. He always nagged about the unnecessary expenses for her grooming. Somehow, she managed to guard Pari against getting hurt by all these negative talks. When Pari was 2 years old, Savitri was pregnant again. This time it was too pressurising as they had warned her, if she gives birth to a girl child again, then she'll be sent home permanently. Savitri prayed all day and did all the rituals as advised by her relatives, pandit and family members which would help her in getting a boy baby. But soon, she gave birth to a girl child again, and this time her husband didn't even come to see the baby. She was told to go back to her father's house. Even her parents were disappointed. They blamed her for becoming their biggest burden now, as they need to raise her 2 children and get them married.

This broke all her belief system, and she questioned her existence. She started getting all the wrong ideas about leaving this world to end her sufferings. Pari, who was silently seeing all these emotional dramas happening in the hospital room, was scared by their loud screaming and saw her mother crying and couldn't understand why. She saw a continuous flow of her mother’s tears rolling down from her pretty eyes which she loved dearly. She ran quickly and sat on her mother’s lap and wiped her tears, kissed her cheeks and said, “It’s OK amma, everything will be fine" and gave her a tight hug.

Savitri was shaken by Pari’s soft touch on her skin which made her come back to her senses. She looked at Pari and saw compassion and love which she wanted to share with her mother. Soon, her newborn baby cried for attention. She looked at her newborn baby who was so innocent and not even aware of what was happening around, who was just eagerly wanting to feel her mother’s warmth. Savitri felt as if the baby was asking her "What did I do amma? Why everyone is angry with me?" and as soon as Savitri carried the baby, she got cosy in her arms as if she found her world and slept silently.

That very moment, something changed in her. She felt a strange power inside her which buried all her agony and sufferings. She looked at her two daughters and promised them and said, “I'll never leave your hands. You both are not my burden but my strength. I promise I'll raise you both with all the capabilities. So that in future, you'll never be treated as a burden by anyone." She named to her second daughter ‘Shakti' as she felt enormous power the moment she carried her.

She requested her parents to give them shelter for a few months until she could go for some work. Then she'll shift out and will never cause them any trouble. After a few months, she started working in a retail shop as a sales girl. She joined Pari in a government school, and with the help of her old lecturers in her college, she applied for distance learning course to complete her graduation. Looking at her parents constantly nagging about her fate, she soon found a small house which she could afford and shifted immediately. She didn’t want any negative talks to sabotage her confidence which she had earned after crossing a lot of struggles. She was happy in her new life. Her focus was just to see her daughters stand on their feet. In a few years, she successfully completed her graduation and joined a better job. Now her life was dedicated entirely to give her daughters .a good life.

She firmly believed in herself that she could do this all by herself. She went by saying, "What you believe, is what you see”. So, she worked hard and believed that she could achieve her goal. She neglected all the negative comments passed by her neighbours and only saw the positive opportunities around her. Which she ceased and climbed step by step. As she found her flight of stairs to a good life, her husband saw the dawn fall. He had remarried but his second wife was very selfish and ran away with a person who was much more successful than him. After which, he couldn't concentrate on anything, and gradually his business was going down.

Years went by, and now he was in his late 50’s. Due to his failure in his personal life, he had lost confidence in him which affected in his business a lot. He was cheated big time by one of the local goon and made him taste the bitter side of life. He had lost his property, house and peace. One day, when he was wondering on the streets lost and thinking about his condition he came in front of a car all of a sudden to commit suicide.

But he saw Savitri sitting inside the vehicle. She had worn a nice saree and was looking beautiful. But before he could say something, the car had hit him. He was seriously injured and was immediately taken to the hospital by Savitri.

When he regained his conscious, he saw Savitri was happy to meet him. He felt ashamed of himself for not treating her well and apologised for his behaviour, and when he asked about his daughters, she pointed at the doctor standing next to her. He was shell-shocked to know that the doctor who saved his life was his daughter, Pari. She also introduced her second daughter who was a lawyer. His tears rolled down and bowed in front of Savitri for underestimating her calibre.

Soon they learnt about the cheating done by the local goon. His second daughter fought for him legally in the court, and they won the case against the local goon. He got back his lost property. He realised that a girl child can also make you proud if you just give her a chance. Savitri forgave him and helped him to regain his life back.