অন্য পৃথিবী

Growing up with life!

Although she was growing rebel but this was not her primary character. She was a very kind little girl who with time realised that probably the stray dogs and cats are her best friends. They never judged her, all they wanted was her attention and love. During the summer vacations she used to visit her relatives and cousins and share all the stories of her pets she had. She knew all the corners of her neighbourhood and when her relatives used to visit her she used to take them to the most beautiful places she knew. There were paddy fields, small parks, ponds, tribal villages and huts, large grounds where local kids used to play bare foot, the paths across small size jungles, the dam where hydel power station was set up by a Govt. firm, the sunset from the dam, the boats sailing on the river and a lot more. All these were just like postcard pictures. She used enjoy each and every bit of it. When she was around 12 or so, never even thought of going anywhere else out of this beautiful place. In fact even today the small town kids are not aware of the hustle bustle of the metro city life, I personally feel they are still wrapped inside the 90’s era of Bollywood. Young boys and girls run away from homes to probably the love of their life, or feel good with simplest pleasures available there and stay happy. Arisha was no different. She loved being in her shell, enjoyed her home, the surroundings, the early morning sun rises with local temples and their Gulshan Kumar bhajans, traveling 2 hours to attend her school, the summers and holidays when spent time with friends throughout the day without worrying for a smallest thing about the thing called LIFE. The summer vacations were amazing there! All day fun, play in the paddy fields, going to neighbours house and steal the mangos, or tamarinds or blackberries from their trees without their knowledge. Some one from the group of friends used to carry black stall, chat masalas and then all of the kids having the stolen mangos etc together. Those fun-filled days are unimaginable, in fact i am sure a metro city kid never even tasted a mango like that. The monsoons just after the summer used to bring greener happiness around. Most of the time due to road conditions the school bus either used to get delayed on the way to school or stuck and come back. These were picnic days! There were students from 5th standard to 12th standard who took the bus for school and if there were such days then all of them used to have fun and pray that they do not have to go to school. they all were given minor pocket money to fight these situations however, preferred having roadside chat, panipuri, cotton candies, finish the tiffin and come back home after the surprise picnic. Well, this was also the time to fall in “first love”. As I already said the small townies were anyway living a life portrayed by Bollywood in the 90s, and FORTUNATELY Arisha was a kid of 90s. But she was a tomboy, never really was fascinated by love, or may be she was scared to be scarred. Although she loved playing the cupid for her friends and did everything possible to help them in love. And she was brozoned by all the boys of her school. Meanwhile when Arisha finished her 10th, she fell in love with bikes, but motorcycles were not ordinary there so learning and riding one would be quite a taboo. Her mom tried to make her understand first but it was of no use. So finally she found a new friend and a passion for lifetime. Arisha soon started riding bike around the town and was certainly the talk of the town. This was not because she was a rider but for the reason that how will she ever get a husband to marry her. Her mother Ishani was surely worried inside but noticed her daughter happiest with the bike so did  not really want to discourage her. So when she was about to join her +2 classes, probably first time she noticed a boy who was also probably at his teenage, a little older than her. Guess that was the first time she did not want to be brozoned so took all the pain to strike a conversation with the boy. As I had mentioned earlier it was truly a 90s Bollywood. Love without any communication but just like the films in this case the eyes spoke a 1000 words. They never met in person even after noticing each other, days, weeks and months passed and finally one day Arisha gathered all her courage and told her first love and said “kya aap mujhse dosti karoge” (will you be friends with me?). This was the beginning of their love story. The 2 years were really beautiful, all they did is to look at each other, exchange a glance, smile when no one noticed and that’s it. On completing the 12th board she wanted to pursue her dreams and for which she had to move out of the dreamland and step into the real world. It was the hardest moment for her to move out of the comfort zone, the house where she grew up, the roads where she used to ride her bike, the sunset points, the paddy fields, the summer vacations, monsoons, rainbows, the winters everything that was familiar to her. Leaving the luxury of known to travel to unknown was the next junction of her life. Meanwhile the silent love story was also not going anywhere, although she was ready to fight the world but she was uncertain of her first love’s expectations from life. Hence she decided to move out of her comfort zone and take up real challenges of life. Arisha was heart broken and terrible upset that she was leaving behind the childhood but she was more hurt for her love which remain unanswered. She chose to be brave and this was the time to keep her feeling into a shell to protect them.

परी सि है...

सपने जैसा सपना...

A rebel was born...

The journey of Ishaani and Arindam now was turned to an unfamiliar direction. Ishaani is now a lone fighter in the battlefield of life and she had to protect her little daughter. All she could think of is to make her daughter a fighter to beat the odds of life and bring back the joys to their lives.

Ishani knew that the next few episodes of her life is going to be bit tougher but she had no idea what is there in store of her future. It was a remote place in the map of India and living there on her own was not really an easy one. It was an underdeveloped small colony town where there were no good school, college, market or even hospital for that matter. Ishani had no intention to let her daughter study there but, she was left with no choice.

As time was passing by Ishani’s daughter was about to be 10 years. She underdstood that Arisha needs correct guidance to grow in life, but there were no opportunities. Arisha was very sharp and intelligent from the beginning but she was unable to even clear her class examinations. She was falling behind in terms of her studies. Ishani was not able to give her daughter personal care as she herself was not sure where is she heading. Due to political influence Ishani’s workplace was too tough for her. And yes Arisha was neglected!! To be precise the little girl was not only neglected but also went thru molestation by her own relatives, at times blood relatives.

The child knew that she is not secure even at her own home. Unfortunately no one was there to save her. Whenever she wanted to scream for help the demons were laughing too loud or pampering her with their bad touch. The bubbly little Arisha started becoming introvert, she hated guests coming home, she hate visiting relatives. Arisha was unaware that what was happening to her was a criminal offense. She started believing that that if she were a boy probably she could have a better life. She could play with anyone without being asked, she could go out with friends or come home late without being scolded by her mum.

Arisha always wondered if outside world is nasty, if the men who are not ashamed to touch a girl wrongly then why the girl is questioned or asked to stay “safe”. The safety was unsure. Her mum used to drop her at her neighbour’s house so that her safety is ensured but she was never safe.

A bubbly, chirpy girl had become introvert. And no one noticed !! Arisha thought may be her mum will ask her one day but Ishani never realized when she changed.

Ishani’s mother was going thru major illness at hearing the sudden news of Arindam so Ishani had to run to see her mother. Ishani then had to actively help them financially and take care of her medical expenses and other expenses too. Ishani now was the cash cow for the whole family. Ishani became so busy and involved into pleasing the family around that she started becoming distant from Arisha. Arisha still tried to protect her mum with her tiny hands, and … ocean of love.

Arisha still could not bridge the gap…. She was a lonely soul, and an unapologetically rebel kid.

Aami Naari!