Her eyes welled up with tears. There seemed to be no effort put in to control them as they flowed freely down her cheeks. It was the last time she was going to see her parents and siblings. The Ambassador chugged off, with her gaze locked into her parents' eyes through a blur of tears.
Saanvi, a cheerful young woman in her early twenties, was heartbroken. The suddenly-brought up topic of marriage had crushed her ambitious dreams. Being the first and only literate person in her huge family of sixteen, it was hard for her to persuade them even for higher studies.
Her demand had been answered by a cold, stony silence. The sight of her father repenting over his decision of granting education to his daughter and the loud wails of her mother weeping on the telephone to her aunt annoyed her.
After a series of heated arguments, she made up her mind and left for the University of Delhi to pursue her dream of entrepreneurship.
The months she spent at her university were the happiest of her life. She was always in high spirits and worked hard on honing her skills. She always managed to be an extraordinary performer and emerged with flying colours in all her examinations. "Just a step more and I'm going to be there", she told herself.
Time flew by as she relished every moment of her freedom. It was finally time for her college life to end. She was just a day away from her final examinations.She was all set to spread her wings and soar in heights.
The day that she had always dreamt of was here. Like any ambitious student, she was confident that she would be able to crack it. She was ready to encounter the challenging life put ahead for her and carve a niche for herself among the competitive world.
It seemed like fate had other designs. On the day of her final examinations, she was dragged away by her furious father in full public view. She pleaded and begged her father with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Her sharp ears caught a conversation floating in and out. She was to board a train to Bikaner, her hometown to meet her prospective groom she was supposed to wed.
A strong person she was, she was shattered.
What was once a feeble sob broke out into a loud wail. She shuddered at the thought of how her picture-perfect life turned upside-down in a jiffy. She could not accept the harsh blow of reality slapped on her.
Months flew by. Saanvi, once a bold personality, had shrivelled up into a withered flower, dried up with no life. She could be easily mistaken for a middle-aged woman. Her life held nothing that she wanted it to. She was hopeless.
Soon, she was married off to an old chap who was easily twice her age. She felt she was doomed. Her lifelong dream of carefully building her professional future with her own hands had crumbled into pieces. Her freedom had been forcibly snatched away from her by the very demons she had wanted to slay.
She was to live in Ahtushi, a sleepy hamlet where her husband and his family belonged to. Sooner or later did she get to know that he was a drunkard who spent each day melting away money from his share of wealth and property for his daily alcohol.
Saanvi was restless. Her mind was engulfed in gloom ever since her return to her hometown. She desperately wanted to keep herself engaged. She was tired of her strenuous daily routine of cooking, fetching water a couple of kilometres away, cleaning, listening to her in-laws endless criticism and rejection, etc.
A job. That was what she wanted.
Saanvi, a cheerful young woman in her early twenties, was heartbroken. The suddenly-brought up topic of marriage had crushed her ambitious dreams. Being the first and only literate person in her huge family of sixteen, it was hard for her to persuade them even for higher studies.
Her demand had been answered by a cold, stony silence. The sight of her father repenting over his decision of granting education to his daughter and the loud wails of her mother weeping on the telephone to her aunt annoyed her.
After a series of heated arguments, she made up her mind and left for the University of Delhi to pursue her dream of entrepreneurship.
The months she spent at her university were the happiest of her life. She was always in high spirits and worked hard on honing her skills. She always managed to be an extraordinary performer and emerged with flying colours in all her examinations. "Just a step more and I'm going to be there", she told herself.
Time flew by as she relished every moment of her freedom. It was finally time for her college life to end. She was just a day away from her final examinations.She was all set to spread her wings and soar in heights.
The day that she had always dreamt of was here. Like any ambitious student, she was confident that she would be able to crack it. She was ready to encounter the challenging life put ahead for her and carve a niche for herself among the competitive world.
It seemed like fate had other designs. On the day of her final examinations, she was dragged away by her furious father in full public view. She pleaded and begged her father with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Her sharp ears caught a conversation floating in and out. She was to board a train to Bikaner, her hometown to meet her prospective groom she was supposed to wed.
A strong person she was, she was shattered.
What was once a feeble sob broke out into a loud wail. She shuddered at the thought of how her picture-perfect life turned upside-down in a jiffy. She could not accept the harsh blow of reality slapped on her.
Months flew by. Saanvi, once a bold personality, had shrivelled up into a withered flower, dried up with no life. She could be easily mistaken for a middle-aged woman. Her life held nothing that she wanted it to. She was hopeless.
Soon, she was married off to an old chap who was easily twice her age. She felt she was doomed. Her lifelong dream of carefully building her professional future with her own hands had crumbled into pieces. Her freedom had been forcibly snatched away from her by the very demons she had wanted to slay.
She was to live in Ahtushi, a sleepy hamlet where her husband and his family belonged to. Sooner or later did she get to know that he was a drunkard who spent each day melting away money from his share of wealth and property for his daily alcohol.
Saanvi was restless. Her mind was engulfed in gloom ever since her return to her hometown. She desperately wanted to keep herself engaged. She was tired of her strenuous daily routine of cooking, fetching water a couple of kilometres away, cleaning, listening to her in-laws endless criticism and rejection, etc.
A job. That was what she wanted.
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