Whoa !!! Look at that girl, Ba” Ba means Elder sister in my mother tongue. My 9 years old cousin with “mouth open surprise” pointing towards a girl. I looked at my cousin and shifted my glance towards the girl she was pointing to. The girl was in a purple lehenga(Indian outfit) and talking to someone nearby. She was of my age mostly . “What she thinks from where she is, Hollywood??” I could not stop my laughter over this statement of my kiddo sister. Actually, the girl in purple was dressed bit bold for the place, her dress was completely backless till upper waist,her hair was perfectly permed and curled, she’s wearing matching purple eye lenses with the dress and face is painted with high effect make up. This was back in 2004, almost 16 years back from now. My country and most importantly my hometown knew only FTV in the name of fashion then😄😄😄.

That’s Sakshi !!! We met in a wedding function of my maternal uncle and we kind of hit it immediately. She was from bride’s side and I was from groom’s. As a matter of the fact, almost every person around was staring at her instead of bride or groom. She had that unique way of styling, way ahead of our time and a figure to die for. Also, she excelled in her academics, always a topper in school.In fact, I have to confess, I felt twinge of envy for such a personality like her 😄😄😄
Shakshi cracked medical entrance exam and got into medical college. Meanwhile, I also got admission in engineering and had to move to a different location far off.
We met again after an year or so. Shakshi was same fabulous with her standout styling and more fitter indeed. To my surprise, she told me she left medical college in 6 months only as she could not adjust in such environment. I was little confused. Those days and infact now also, medical profession is well respected in our society and it’s a dream for many people to get into govt medical colleges. I did not hide my curiosity and asked her upfront the real reason.
“You know me right babe, I was born and brought up in a city and my lifestyle is much uptown to live in such backward place of the college” She told looking into my eyes.
“But Shakshi, it’s a prestigious medical college and you could give some time to adjust, right??”
“Common Dear , how can a “daddy’s princes” degrade her standards?” Her eyes were full of mischief and smiling, “I was the zoo animal in college, all the students used to stare at me like they saw a “Polar bear” in an Indian jungle. Most importantly, how will I make friends with those people and how can even I trust someone there ???””
“Atleast she’s honest about her feeling” I thought to myself and replied back with a “ok” smile. She left for Bangalore after few days to study in a management college.

We met again after few years during our college days. She broke up with a guy recently and the guy happened to be my distant cousin.
“He’s a moron and he does not even realise how lucky he is to have a girlfriend like me” she was furious. I understand, breakup hurts.I patted her, trying to calm her down though I realised she was not crying actually. My cousin and her ex boyfriend indeed reached out to her asking for a second chance.
“How can I make a mistake again being with him again??? How can even I trust him anymore???” She is looking at me for my acceptance of her stated facts. I said nothing.

Time rolled on, seasons changed and we followed our lives after college.

My mom informed me about Shakshi’s wedding and asked me if I could attend. The groom was a professor in a local college and from a middle class family. Honestly, it was a bit of surprise to me and I asked my mom about it.
“It’s an arranged marriage, her maternal uncle fixed it up”
“But Mom, is she agreeing to marry a simple professor due to some family pressure??” I forgave myself for being bit judgmental.
“Yes, she is very happy and she already shifted here from Bangalore due to marriage” mom exclaimed.
Shakshi got married to the professor guy in a 5 days “Fat Indian wedding” ceremony. My cousins shared pics of her “wedding dress” as it was of a value beyond our imagination. I was happy for her and wished her for a happy married life though I could not attend it.

She broke off her marriage within 2 months !!! “She suspected her hubby to have an affair with his sis in law and left his house immediately after hearing some rumour about it” My mom informed me. The professor tried a lot to convince her saying she’s believing some unreal messages but all in vain. They got divorced in 6 months as she lost her trust on him totally. I did not hear much about her after this and got busy in my life.

“Viraj is the only one who can understand me totally and vibe with my feelings” Shakshi seemed to be happy at her second wedding when I congratulated her. I spoke to her after almost an year.
“I am so so glad that you are settled with the best life partner you deserve” I was really happy for her indeed. The ceremony was within family and close friends and I was amazed to see Viraj bonding with everyone so quickly. “She’s lucky to have someone like him” my mom commented. Though I did not agree fully but I just nodded.

India may have progressed a lot with emerging talents in science and technology, yet Indians are far behind the development in terms of mindset. “Divorce” is a completely impure word and divorcees are treated like aliens in our society. Millennials are much unbiased yet we need few more years to be completely logical about both marriage and separation.Our society still expects us to abide by unwritten rules irrespective of crucial circumstances we face.

Couple of years later, Shakshi was blessed with a daughter and our whole family was overjoyed with the news. However, fate had some other destiny for her.Viraj and his family didnot accept the girl child as they were expecting a son instead. Couple of months later, she left his home suddenly.
My mom as always explained me the whole incident.
“Shakshi was harassed a lot both mentally and physically at her husband’s place”
“But mom, Viraj seemed to be a very nice guy, why he’s so silent??? He was so happy to marry her” I could feel the fuming anger in my voice.
“I don’t know much, why don’t u call her once??? You are her friend and she’s family” my mom suggested.

Girl babies are still not desired in many parts of India despite many examples of women excelling in all profiles. The more disturbing fact is even in most educated families, they keep high hopes for birth of a son. To add to this poor mindset, everyone blames the woman only if she gives birth a girl. Dark and sickening facts of our society!!!

I called up her couple of days later and she burst out in tears just hearing my voice.
“I am tired, really really tired” her voice was broken.
“Shakshi,you have been a strong individual always. How can you be so broken ya, you have to fight with all odds and I am with you in this” I had a firm tone.
“No dear, It’s all my karma and I realised it so bad of late. All my life I have been in some sassy dreams and I always felt entitled. This was wrong, all wrong and I did wrong”
I am bit skeptical now “What are you saying and why??? Neither you nor the baby is at fault. This is the sick mentality of those people. Why Viraj is not saying anything??? Is he a coward to defend you infront is his family??”
“You know dear, what Viraj says??? He says how can he trust me??? He is aware of all my relationships and my previous marriage. He was the one I confided in and I shared each and everything with him. I felt that my search for the best life partner ended after I met him. He was the one who assured me not to hurt at any instance of my life and keep me safe always. Look now, to my surprise, he became the worst person in my life with a worst lesson taught”
I am literally in shock and speechless now.
She said again “He says how can he trust me??? How will he adjust with me??? Someone said very correctly, the person you trust the most breaks it definitely. I broke many hearts and now I realise how does it feel like. But I never thought my heart will be broken by the person I trusted more than anything in this world”
I have no answer, I could not hear anymore. I disconnected the call !!!

Is karma really a bitch??? Can we or should we really trust someone in life??? Does we always get back what we give to the world ???