From its very inception, Tatanagar (Jamshedpur) has been a hub of engineers, officers and managers. Every factory has its own colony for employees. There was prosperity, growth, peace and in the 1950s, a sense of well being among the residents.
There lived a family of nine members in the disciplined town of Jamshedpur. Mr M had two sons and five younger daughters. The eldest daughter Ananya had just completed her schooling and had been admitted to the Girls’ College for the Intermediate course.
The huge extended family of Mr M also resided in Jamshedpur as two brothers of the paterfamilias and a couple of cousins also worked in the same town and they all had great fun together. During the winter, Nirmala, Mr M's only sister visited the town and needless to say had a gala time meeting her relatives.
Among other things, she enquired of her brother his wedding plans for her dearest niece. She had broached the topic, she said because Ananya was now sixteen. She nagged her brother trying to convince him that if he did not start groom-hunting immediately, it would be impossible for him to marry off his 5 daughters during his tenure in office. But, Mr M did not pay any heed to her suggestion.
Soon the doting aunt Nirmala sent the details of Aditya, a suitable match for Ananya. Aditya was a professor like his father. The name of Aditya’s father brought back old memories in Mr M, Aditya’s father was none other than his favourite guide and mentor in college who was not only his Mathematics teacher but also his coach while playing football. There were no questions to be asked about the suitor, Mr M’s reverence for his teacher had stitched up his lips.
Mrs G, a neighbour of Mr M, now came forth to reveal that her nephew was deeply interested in marrying Ananya whom he had seen during a visit to his aunt. He hailed from a reputed family of businessmen. An attractive proposal it was especially for Mrs M who did not want her ‘ sister-in-law’ to brag about the wonderful match she had suggested, all her life.
This was a catch 20 situation. Her wise father sorted out the issue by putting the ball in Ananya’s court, indirectly. He called Ananya and in front of his wife and brothers asked her quite casually, “Which Goddess do you pray to more often Maa Lakshmi or Maa Saraswati?” Unaware that Maa Saraswati was used as a symbol for Aditya, a professor and the successful businessman was coded as Maa Lakshmi, Ananya promptly proclaimed, “ Maa Saraswati”. Her IA first year exams were fast approaching and she needed the blessings of the Goddess of knowledge more than anything else.
Mrs M lost her case. Ananya was happy to marry a professor of English with the expectation that her problem of getting notes for her English Syllabus was now over. Yet, she was apprehensive, what if he spoke to her in English, all the time?
The wedding was full of joy and festivity for she was the first granddaughter getting married, both from her maternal and paternal side. During the most charming ritual of ‘ Shubho Drishti’, the exchange of glances between the bride and the groom for the first time, the sixteen-year-old Ananya, felt she was looking at Lord Narayan standing before her. A bond of respect and love was struck immediately.
As the festivities ended, it slowly dawned to Ananya that all was not well with her mother-in-law. But those days were buzzing with activities. The newly-weds had to visit many friends and relatives for Aditya had to soon leave for another town to attend to his duties at the college where he was posted.
The day of Aditya’s departure was a nightmare for Ananya. She had already developed a great affection for her husband who was not only handsome but equally caring. His wisdom impressed her. He sang beautifully. He was a good cricketer and also played tennis. She was a coy, happy teen-wife. But staying away from her husband until he returned to her on Saturdays was not her only sorrow. Bidding farewell to her husband, as she entered the house she heard her mother-in-law howling, exclaiming that Aditya, her husband, was dead. Horrified, she ran to the little shrine at the north-east corner of the house to pray.
She noticed that her father-in-law and all the servants who consoled her were quite used to the statements her mother-in-law made. She was initially confused, then the truth started unveiling itself, shedding the layers gradually, sadly. Her mother-in-law was certainly insane.
She could not believe that her father had done this to her. She was equally angry with this much-revered Mathematician, an author of books on Astronomy, Statics and Dynamics, her father’s honourable professor, now her father-in-law. Her wrath for her husband knew no end. She felt no qualms in calling him a cheat, a traitor who had betrayed her. She wept her heart out and did not know when slumber had lulled her to deep sleep.
In the morning her father-in-law called her to his room. Her mother-in-law was quite normal now, though quite restless. Mr C told her how upset he had been the previous night when he saw his only daughter-in-law in such trauma.
What he said next was a huge shock for Ananya. He saluted her for her courage to agree to marry into a household like his. He also promised to help her in every possible way, always.
Ananya quietly went back to her room. She felt dazed. When had she agreed to marry a man whose mother was mad? Who would ever do that? Was she a mad-cap? How did this person get this crazy belief that she was aware of Aditya’s mother’s condition at the time of marriage? Living with a mad woman, he was also losing his senses.
Those were not the days of quick communication, no land phones except in offices, official residences and rich men’s homes. Mobile phones were half a century away. She could not clarify the facts with her father immediately. She would have to write to him, tell him what had happened and wait for his response. She was severely depressed and could not get herself to even write a line.
The days of the week rolled on sadly and very slowly. When Aditya came home, the pent-up emotions, the hurt and pain, poured out like a volcano. Between angry outbursts and tears, she well conveyed the accusations that Aditya’s family had cheated her and her father for she was sure that her father would not have pushed her into this hell, knowingly.
Now it was Aditya who was taken aback. On hearing of the proposal from Nirmala, the wife of his younger brother, Mr C had asked her to convey to Mr M clearly, about the state in which Mrs C had been since she had lost her elder son in a road accident when Anand was just sixteen and Aditya only ten. It was her fear of losing her (now) only son that often prompted her to behave in an erratic manner. Ananya did not realize that tears streamed down her rosy cheeks. She understood the trauma of the ten-year-old Aditya, who had not only lost a loving brother but a caring mother too. She vividly visualized Aditya’s painful childhood and contrasted it with her joyful days at Jamshedpur.
She now knew that the culprit was none other than Nirmala, her only aunt. She knew equally well what a shock it would be to her father to read all the sad details of her life in her in-laws home. She decided she would not tell her father anything about her mother-in-law in her future correspondence.
Soon Ananya realized that she was pregnant. When she regained stability after the initial complications, her doctor advised her not to go to Jamshedpur for the delivery as it involved changing trains and waiting for several hours at the railway station to board the next train.
Her desire to appear for the Intermediate exams was shattered. Within a span of three and a half years, she became the mother of three lovely daughters. Aditya and she decided to give the best of education and exemplary upbringing to them. In the meantime, Aditya had started teaching in a local college and the sole purpose of his family was to groom the daughters into three sensible and independent ladies.
The next twenty years passed almost in a wink. Education, music lessons, sports training, the parents and the grandpa put in their best. The results were undoubtedly joyous as the girls not only excelled in academics but were all-rounders, smart and disciplined. Yet, off and on, Ananya felt annoyed that she was not supported by her husband in pursuing her degrees.
Now that the girls were grown up, married and busy with their families and jobs, Ananya would in a pensive mood recall her early days in marriage and keep contemplating that her decision to choose Maa Saraswati was in vain, her learned husband and father-in-law did not care about her education.
After retirement, Mr and Mrs C shifted to Kolkata. In their new neighbourhood, the couple was well respected for their simple living and high thinking. Both spent their time together visiting flower exhibitions, going to theatres and enjoying tourist spots. Their daughters and their families made short trips to Kolkata to check on them. Life was good and smooth except for those pangs in Ananya’s heart for not studying to her heart’s desire and she bore a grudge deep within, against her husband. She did not want to take up a job, ever. It would also not be practical with her in-laws and three daughters to take care of. To be a graduate would be nice, a postgraduate, even better. But, alas….
Life has its own plan. And Ananya lost her partner for 56 years. Recovering from the initial despondence, Ananya took a grip on her duties. She felt it was her responsibility now to maintain all that her husband had created so lovingly and painstakingly.
She now paid her bills all by herself, went to the municipal office to clear the taxes and visited banks to manage her accounts. She planned her tasks meticulously and completed them independently.
On one such trip to the bank, she was seated in the manager’s cabin to sign some papers, a woman almost of the same age, came into the cubicle much distressed. Once she had calmed down, she narrated her plight. On the death of her husband, her nephew took care of the financial matters and the crook had slyly pilfered a lot of money. “What is the use of being a graduate? My husband never explained money matters to me. He pampered me and gave me whatever amount I asked for. See my state today. I am like a lost lamb,” she lamented.
Suddenly Ananya realized what her husband had done for her. He had given her practical knowledge, guided her with information and trained her to lead a life of confidence.
As Ananya went back home, she felt blessed. Entering her flat, she felt overwhelmed with emotions and sitting down before her husband’s photograph, thanked him for the tips to lead an independent life. Now, she learnt the meaning of true education. Degrees are mere sheets of paper, practical knowledge leads to wisdom, which develops confidence within and helps a person to be truly educated.
(All the characters and events depicted are fictitious. Any resemblance to a person living or dead is purely coincidental.)
