*Anirudh Pov*
After about an hour, I reached the house again.
Oh god! Please let my thoughts be wrong. Please save that girl.
I looked around the house but nobody was there. Oh no! I was probably right. They must have taken her to the cremation ground. I was leaving the place when I saw a woman in a white sari tied to a pole. I went to her and freed her. She looked at me and immediately fell on my feet crying and begging.
"Babusaheb meri beti ko bacha lijiye." She sobbed.
I bent down and held her shoulders. I asked her to stand up and patted her back to calm her down.
"Dekhiye aap iss tarah mere per mat pakadiye. Aap mujhe bataiye kya hua h?"
"Vo- vo log......meri bachi........Bondita.......sati........maar denge." She spoke trembling in panic.
"Dekhiye aap shant ho jaiye aur mujhe bataiye vo log kaha le gaye h apki be- Bon...Bondita ko."
"Vo log. Babusaheb vo log usse bhi sati kr denge uss buddhe ke sath. Meri bachi ko shamshaan ghat le gye h. Hume jaldi jaake use bachana hoga. Bodhi sari aurato ko chhodne gayi h unhone vapis aake mujhe dekh lia to fir baandh dengi."
I nodded my head and we both ran towards the shamshaan ghat.
*Third Person pov*
All the villagers were taking the corpse and his said widow to the shamshaan ghaat. The corpse was carried on a wooden bed(khatiya) and his widow in a carriage (doli). The chants of 'ram naam satya hai' could be heard.
Anirudh took Sumati there in his motor car. They parked the car near the ground and ran after the commotion.
Anirudh quickly ran ahead and came in front of the people carrying the carriage.
"RUKO!" He shouted but noone paid heed. "MAINE KAHA RUKO!"
They stopped. "Fir aa gya tu." One man said annoyed. "Ye aise nahi samjhega bhaiyo, maro isse."
The villagers attacked him with sticks in their hands. Anirudh fought against them. He successfully managed to get a stick from one of them and beat the others with it. He scared them by swinging the stick.
"Aage aana mat. Peeche hato. PEECHE HATO KAHA NA." He scared the villagers, swinging the stick blindedly.
The villagers, terrified looking at the mad man in front of them, backed off. Anirudh got near the doli and pulled Bondita out with great difficulty. Sumati too came running and dragged her away from the doli, hugging her and crying in panic.
Anirudh saw the fire torch attached to the doli for light and took it. He threw down the cans of oil that were taken to burn the deceased and set fire on it, creating a line of fire between the villagers and himself.
"Tum fir aa gye punya ka kaam rokne k liye?" Mama said angrily.
"Punya? Agar ye punya ka kaam h to main papi hi sahi. Khud ko iss ladki ke pita samaan mante ho. Aisa konsa pita hota h jo apni beti ko zinda jalane le jata h? " Anirudh shouted. "Itne patthar dil ho ki apni bhaanji ko marta dekh sakte ho. Lekin itni himmat nahi ki ek pathar utha ke uski jaan bacha lu. Napunsak hote h aise log."
"M kya kr sakta hu. Samaaj ki reet h ye. Vidhwa ko apne pati k sath sansaar tyagna padta h. Agar m himmat karke iske liye pratha tod bhi du, isse bacha bhi lu to aage ka kya. Iske bhavishya ka kya. Naa sir pe pita ka haath na pati ka saath aur na hi koi bhai h iska. To kiske liye jiyegi ye?" Mama said.
"Kisi aur ke liye kyu jeena h. Ye apne liye jiyegi."
"Ek akeli aurat samman se samaaj m nahi ji sakti. Pita, pati, putra, koi to chahiye samman ki raksha k liye."
YOU ARE READING
Dhanyawaad ( An Anidita Story )
RomanceBondita, a cold hearted 15 yr old and Anirudh, a jolly and passionate young barrister of 21, who has just returned back from London. Circumstances happen to make their lives entangled with each other. Will they be able to sort out their lives? Or w...
