story - 4

 

In the national level story competition, this time the jury unanimously selected Sharath's story as the story deserving of the award. The story chosen for the first prize was about an orphaned child. The child, who lost his parents in childhood, had a successful story of facing many blows in life, rising step by step, making a name for himself in business, entering politics and finally becoming the Prime Minister.

 

When Geetha, who was one of the judges, recommended this story, the others on the jury agreed. Geetha had also been selected for the same award by this organization 3 years ago. She was very impressed after reading this story, and when she read the name of the author who had written it, she was very disturbed. Sharath….. what a name….. is this not him? Several dilemmas started in her mind at once.

 

“Sir……” she approached the senior writer of the judging panel, Darshan, and said, “This story of `Sheela’ is quite good. Can I see the photo of the author of this story?”

 

“That’s not true, Geetha, as you know, it was previously stated in the press release that no one should send photos for this story competition. Otherwise, readers would doubt the transparency of the judging panel’s selection process and accuse them of awarding themselves.”

 

“Oh, sorry… I forgot that point……” she defended herself.

 

“But what’s the matter, ma’am?” he asked.

 

“It’s nothing important… I just asked.”

 

Geetha came home, but an unknown burden was on her shoulders. She tried to throw it off, but was that burden so easily removed? As soon as she reached home, her daughter Bhanu hugged her. But today Geetha's mind was disturbed. Should this name come back to haunt her for so long and call her a scoundrel?

 

Geetha had forgotten that incident by force.... It must be said that she had forgotten every word of that incident. Today, this name brought up that bitter incident and increased her anguish. Her headache gradually increased. Some unknown pain began to squeeze her chest. It felt as if the past was appearing before her. She never wanted to remember that past in the present. Even though she wanted to, those scenes began to imprint themselves on her mental screen.

 

The clock was telling her that it was 12 at night. Even though the previous day had passed and the next day had arrived, she could not sleep. Seeta felt as if she was still waiting for that person. He was only hers. But now I don't know where he is. For so many days, I kept looking at the clock, wondering if he would come today, tomorrow….. But that infatuated man didn't care about her at all.

 

Geetha, immersed in these thoughts, kept looking at the clock hands that were moving, got up from the couch, opened the window curtain and stared at the road outside. The longing that maybe he would be seen in the distance was still not far away. But like her empty mind, the road was also deserted. No one was visible for a long distance. It was around 1 am. Someone knocked on the door. When she ran in a hurry and opened the door, she was shocked and shocked to see the unbelievable sight. The man for whom she had been waiting until midnight had come in, drunk and staggering. “Did you come back drunk like this today?” Geetha asked, crying.

 

“Yes, I came back drunk. Not your father’s money…… with my own money!” he said, using foul language.

 

“Why are you ruining your life and health like this?”

 

“What is life….what is it….what is it?” A loud laugh escaped him.

 

“I….. I…. my…. married life, when did I ever find peace? Ever since you stepped into this house, my life has been a living hell!”

 

“What have I done to you?” she asked, surprised.

 

“You know very well what I want!”

 

“But what can I do about it? I have had my check-up done by the doctor. The test report says that I am fully fit to become a mother….. They kept telling me to get both of them checked up….”

 

……! She was slapped on the cheek, preventing her from saying anything further.

 

“So…..? I am a worthless….. helpless person! Are you saying that I am not fit to bear children?”

 

“Where did I say that…..? What if I say….”

 

“Explain…… you sinner……” Again he started to moan and use foul language.

 

“If you want me to be erect like everyone else….. quickly fulfill my wish….. it has been 5 years since we got married….. till now there is no child’s laughter in the house…. My friends play with me as much as they want. Your company has increased….. I definitely can’t stand you!”

 

“Why don’t you get checked…. You want a child from me…. Is this in my hands alone?”

 

“I don’t want all that! Do whatever I say and die….” His laughter could not stop.

 

“Why don’t we adopt a child from an orphanage?” she said while hiccupping.

 

“What? Tell me again…. A child from an orphanage?”

 

“What’s wrong with this?”

 

Hearing that, he took it out and hit her again and again. She started screaming helplessly. When his anger could no longer be contained, he dragged her out of the house. He punched her on the back and said, “Know that from today onwards, this house is closed forever! Go wherever you want, you bastard. I owe you and you… You bastard, you bastard…” Inaudible words kept coming out of his mouth.

 

His harsh words were like lead to her ears. She was still lying on the ground in front of the house, moaning and crying. Then suddenly, with the strength of her strong mind, she stood up.

 

Roaring like a lioness, she cursed him, “Oh sinner! Like a writer who cares about women…. Do you write about a woman at home, turning her into a woman and making her cry….. Every word you write melts a woman’s heart and brings tears to her eyes….. But for no reason have you made me cry and wash my hands of my eyes all the time…..

 

“This curse will not leave you alone. Do you cry like this and find a new story every day….. Write this story of mine, you will soon become famous. A woman is nothing more than a story for a man in this country….. Mine will also become another story for you. But remember one thing….. You learned brute! You will never have the happiness of a child…. Not one, even if you marry two more, it will be of no use, First go and get tested and confirm your manhood……

 

“It will be clear whether you are a virgin or not. Why are you throwing me out of the house….. I am going out of this puddle myself. You will go so far that I will never hear the sound of your footsteps!”

 

Listening to her words, he stood still like a stone. He did not try to stop her. She melted into that sword, searching for an unknown goal.

 

Today, after 14 long years, she saw the same name again. How much exile and fasting she had experienced in these 14 years…. How many conflicts she had faced…. Only she knows! She remembers every moment of all those sufferings. She knows how she rose step by step, sweeping the dust in each house, washing clothes, and raising children.

 

It was her good fortune to meet the veteran writer and critic Darshan. It was with his inspiration that she wrote the novel and succeeded in making her own mark in the world of Kannada literature. It was translated not only in all Indian languages, but also in many foreign languages, earning her international fame. She changed her pen name from ``Seeta'' to ``Geetha''.

 

She used the royalties she received from the publication of books mostly for the development of orphan girls. With the remaining money, she bought a house and was able to live with her head held high in Bangalore. She adopted a girl from an orphanage. After the arrival of Bhanu, happiness increased in her life. But that one name had uprooted her entire past.

 

“No…. No…. I don’t think I should be honouring the same cunning person on stage! Maybe he is another Sharath….. It is not uncommon to find many people with the same name these days,” she consoled herself.

 

Two weeks later, she received a phone call from the writer Darshan. He said, “The literary board has decided which person to give the award to. "You have to give it to them from your own hands," she was speechless after hearing this.

 

`Oh….. If she was to give the award to the same sinner herself, then there couldn't be anything worse, she thought. No matter how much she wanted to, people would push her towards that vile person. She refused, saying that she definitely couldn't come. But it had already been indicated by post that Geetha would be the one to distribute the awards to all the writers and dignitaries who would be coming to the meeting that day, and Darshan said, don't change it.

 

“Couldn't you have asked me once before announcing that?” Geetha asked.

 

“Oh! This is such a big deal…. People are waiting for a chance to get on the stage and appear before four people…. You are ours……”

 

“Sorry sir, I definitely can't come!”

 

“But I prepared the invitation letter like this, … Now what will be my prestige in front of that board… Now the invitation letter has been sent to all the members… Let it go, you are welcome!” When he sighed deeply and hung up the phone, she realized how bored he was.

 

After a while, she called him again and said, “Okay, sir, I will come… I will leave as soon as I give that award. I don’t have time for other programs, meals, etc.”

 

“Okay, … I have made up my mind,” she laughed. Darshan had always been an ideal person for her, so he could not take his word away. He considered Geetha as his daughter. So he could not take his word away. It was 7 pm that evening at the award ceremony. Just then, Darshan announced that the award would be presented to writer Sharath through Geetha. She came on the stage and looked at the person and was stunned… He also looked at her and lowered his head. Oh… Oh… That poor person, such a deed! She had wanted this terrible thing not to happen to her, but now it was obvious.

 

Anyone who believed that Seeta might have become an orphan somewhere after being separated from him, begging for alms or committing suicide with no other choice, could even imagine that today she would have climbed the Himalayas, reached the peak of literature, and earned the status of being awarded an award? He fell to the ground, feeling like a helpless, small animal like him in front of fate. If she had grown up in society and been respected like Trivikram in the sky, today he was very dwarfish and humble in front of her, and when he reached out to take it from her, her hand was raised. Unable to look at her, he lowered his head in an instant. All his arrogance shattered like glass hitting the ground. Just for the sake of formality, he had received the award plaque and letters from Darshan and was in his hands. Without stopping there for a moment, she walked downstairs and came back. For some reason, instead of paying homage to him, he lowered his head as if he had hit her with a slipper, forgot to thank her and sat down like a slob.

 

As she was coming down, one of the audience members requested that she sing a lyric. No matter what literary platform she was on, she had made a home in everyone's hearts by singing the lyrical songs of Kannada poets with all her heart.

 

Then Darshan also demanded that she recite her own poetry. But her mind was not there. She wanted to leave that place and go home as soon as possible. But how could she defy the words of such senior writers? When the audience asked, she said no……? `I sang with my heart full that day……’ She cried emotionally and finished singing, and when she finished, there was a thunderous applause! Then when she recited her own poetry, there was more applause, and when the senior female writer honored her with a memento, a bouquet of flowers, and a shawl, the entire hall was filled with applause again.

 

Her poems were filled with heartfelt pain. People were nodding their heads in fascination. When the writers on the stage stood up and applauded with ovations, that insignificant person, out of respect for the dignity of the assembly, had to applaud himself.

 

Having earned respect in every way, and having paid heartfelt respects to the assembly and the members of the stage, she came down and came back, there was another round of applause. After that, without staying for other programs, she left in her car. The other writers talked about how she left without even stopping for lunch.

 

When Geetha reached home, she wanted to cry bitterly. But no sound came out as if someone was pressing on her throat. While she was immersed in these thoughts, someone knocked on the door.

 

“Who is it…..?” she said, wiping away her tears, and instead of opening the door in the hustle and bustle, she opened the window and looked….. That wicked person! How did he get here? Why did he come? Seeing that man, she felt disgusted.

 

She became angry as soon as she saw his face, “What are you doing here?”

 

“I… I have come to apologize to you, Seeta…”“What Seeta? That helpless, helpless Seeta has been dead for 14 years. I am Geetha! I don’t know who you are. Get out of here!” she screamed as she said her last words.

 

“You must be going away… Tell me that you have forgiven me just once…” He knelt down and begged her, clasping his hands.

 

“I don’t know who you are… What do I have to do if I forgive you? Should I politely leave now or call the police?” She screamed, closing the window.

 

She sat there motionless for about 15 minutes. She thought he would have probably left by now. There was no sound of anyone moving around. It was good, why talk of forgiving him when there was no contact with the scoundrel? He has made her life hell, and now he is coming to apologize……then her inner mind scolded her….. wow Geetha wow….. has everything changed just because she became Geetha from Seeta? But how can you change your original femininity….. if you have completely forgotten him, then the necklace around your neck, the vermilion on your forehead…. who are these for? Take off all this now, the necklace…. Wipe off the vermilion, the spot on your forehead…. Why do you need all these symbols that remind you of Sharath’s arrest now? But you are not the one who does that…. Geetha, no matter how much you claim to have changed on the surface, can your mind forget him…..? No…. Never! Why is there so much pain buried in your lyrics? Why do you hesitate to recognize him anyway?

 

``No….. just shut up….. I don't want to hear anything from you anymore!'' Geetha told herself to her conscience.

 

Hearing her hiccups, her daughter Bhanu woke up from her sleep. She somehow managed to get her to sleep. But she was the only one who couldn't sleep. Memories of the old days overwhelmed her again.

 

It must have been 1 am, the phone rang. She hadn't even fallen asleep yet. She didn't feel like answering the phone. But when it rang again and again, she had to pick it up.

 

“Hello…. Who is it?”

 

“I'm Darshan, talking to you….” The voice from that side was very low.

 

“It's been so long…. Is everything okay?” she asked in a panic.

 

“Now I want to ask you something, I want to tell you the truth… Did you know this Sharath from the beginning?”

 

It felt like hot lead was poured into her ears… However, she managed to control herself and asked, “Are you asking such a question this late at night, sir?”

 

“Well, tell me if you know… or not…”

 

“Hmm… He was my husband once….” She emphasized the word was.

 

“He wasn’t then… Even now… Because you two haven’t divorced yet….”

 

“But… tell me what’s the matter?”

 

“Maybe he won’t survive now. It seems like you didn’t open the door when he came to your house yesterday. It seems like he waited there for a long time. But the door didn’t open. It seems like he looked back and left, thinking that you might open it in a little while. He was walking in a daze, so he didn’t realize that a speeding lorry was coming from the opposite direction… He suffered a terrible accident and suffered a head injury and bled profusely.

 

“Someone passing by noticed him and took him to the nearby government hospital. He only had a few moments left between life and death. The doctor said he wouldn’t survive. When I happened to come there to see our relatives who had met with an accident, I asked the doctor if he hadn’t paid homage to them yesterday.

 

“Since I regained consciousness, Geetha…. Seeta…. A famous writer….. He kept telling me something half-heartedly, saying that he wanted to see you. When I put everything you said together, I understood. If you come to this hospital near the market soon and see him once, that life can end peacefully……”

 

“But how could you tell me all this so casually?”

 

“Yesterday, you left for home before the program ended. Then he also followed you and came. I was a little suspicious. Because you used to get very upset whenever his name was mentioned. Remembering all this, I followed him and came. “He got off in front of your house. By that time you had gone inside the house. I stood away from your house for a while and started watching. After waiting for a long time, he started walking away, but by the time I got to the other side of the road and said, ‘Let me talk to you,’ a lorry came and hit him, and it was an accident! Then I brought him myself and admitted him to the hospital. The doctor said he wouldn’t survive.”

 

“I…. I… will come right away…” Geetha put down the receiver and got ready to leave. When she looked at her Mangal Sutra once, she saw that one of its links had been broken. There was no light on it… It was shining until yesterday, but today it was dull. She woke her daughter up, made her sleep in the back seat of the car, and turned the car towards the hospital.

 

“Mom….. Where are we going at this hour?” her daughter asked with sleepy eyes.

 

“To meet your father……”

 

“No… No… You yourself have said so many times that father is lost somewhere….” The child’s words were clear.

 

“Yes, mom… But now he is found……”

 

“And… How long will he be with us?”

 

“Yes,  It seems that way.”

 

“If so, it will be great fun, mom……” the child said happily.

 

“Okay… You go to sleep,  I am not used to driving at night….” When she said this, the child changed her mind.

 

As she entered the hospital, she saw Darshan in front of her. He was sitting in the inner lounge, dozing off. The familiar footsteps woke her up.

 

“Oh… Come on, … I have been waiting for you ever since…”

 

“Where is he?”

 

“He is in the ICU of the emergency ward. You can see clearly from the outside window. This way is the 2nd room….” He showed the way.

 

She slowly walked away. Her daughter followed her. She peeked through the window from outside and confirmed. She went straight to the duty doctor’s room and told him the matter. He came with her and took her inside the ICU room. They had stopped outside because they didn’t want a child.

 

She gasped when she saw him. His body was as thin as a log. He had regained consciousness. Seeing Geetha, his hands were numb from lying there unable to get up. She came forward and held his hands as if to console him.

 

“What is this…. Did you end up like this?” Her sobs were louder than her words.

 

“It’s all the result of my karma…. This punishment is right for me, let it happen as it should. This life only has a few more moments…. It has called me to go before you…. Please forgive me….” He collapsed again, folding his hands.

 

“No….. nothing will happen to you…. I have come…. I will protect you somehow….”

 

“Now no one can protect me, Seeta…. Tell me once that you have forgiven me….” Her tears were the answer.

 

“Where is the child……?” He asked as he peered through the window and saw the child. With the doctor’s permission, the child was brought to the patient who was counting down the last moments.

 

“My daughter….. I have adopted her….”

 

“You have done a good deed, Seeta….. You have done a great favor to me. You have done me a great favor by coming to see me in this last hour. I don’t want my body to become an orphan….. I have been suffering from this for the last 2 years….. I will close my eyes with peace of mind,” she said, calling the child closer and gently caressing its head.

 

She was truly neutral at that moment. When someone dies, where did the distinction between ours and others come from?

 

“I will say one or two words to you for the last time…. May this sinner be forgiven…. In your eyes, I have gone down to earth….. But Seeta, that curse of yours did not leave me untouched….. When I was young, I was full of ego….. After 50+, life taught me a lesson that I cannot improve again.

 

“A terrible liver cancer came, and even a woman….. It became difficult to drink even 2 drops of water. I suffered for 2 years for doing you an injustice that I shouldn't have done…. When I came for a last minute visit, I came looking for your house and today I am happily finishing my business.

 

“I did not follow any of the ideals that were shown in my writing. Tell me that you have forgiven this sinner who did you a great injustice….. Seeta…” Meanwhile, his head fell back.

 

The next day, in the presence of many literary figures, Geetha took him to the crematorium and performed his last rites. When everything was over and they were leaving from there, that face came in front of me again and it seemed to say, “Seeta…. Thank you…… You have brought perfection to my incomplete story today!”

 

She held her daughter's hand and got into the car. The cover in which he had given the letter in which he had made all his property in the name of Seeta for the child at the last moment was still in the car.