Freedom sans and freedom much

It was a dark monsoon evening. The rain had filled up pits all over the roads and silence reckoned in the streets as a graveyard. A girl was running on the broken road splashing ankle depth water onto her tidy jeans. Her white top was torn in the arm region, exposing the wet white skin. At first lane after the VSS market complex, she turned and entered into the fourth house.  Struggling to grab the key from her bag, Ritu succeeded in opening the door to the house and soon as she got it, she locked the door. Trembling with fear, she kept on locking the entrance door and sat in the farthest room from the house entrance Shaking, heartbeat racing to earthquakes in the chest.

 The last time she felt such helpless when the dead body of her father, a brave soldier in the Indian Army, arrived at the doorstep. To compensate with the death of the bread-earner, the family now of 2 members became closer. Anita joined an NGO back then and in these five years, she has become the head there. Meanwhile the presence of her father was not a frequent term, so she moved on from the loss and became more serious towards her goals. To be a doctor and save lives; similar to that of her father.

 Now it’s her final year in high school and little freedom did her schedule give her to enjoy. Being the most beautiful girl of the township and a girl with high esteems and moral values, she had become an attraction as well as a dream for all youngsters of the town. Pritam was one such youth, who had made up his mind to win the heart of his lady love.

Just as the intermediate school board exams were over, Pritam gathered all courage to approach Ritu. He did and she laughed away, “Pritam, you are my friend. I am sorry these things are not of my stuff. And as a friend, I too suggest you do all these after you build a career”.

Pritam felt dejected. His academic performances displaying average intelligence started getting more and more into the shade. His father and mother both were in business and had no time to look after. Since it was 0.01 probable that he could make her agree, he continued learning high school in the same school. Failing constantly round the year, Pritam’s parents took him away from school and put him into their family business. He was happy at first when he saw the fruit of his hardwork, but then one day the family business drowned and Pritam was shattered once again.

Watching movies all day long and preoccupied thoughts started filling his mind that wining Ritu’s heart over will solve all her problems. He wanted a partner and the various emotions propelled between frustrations and happiness glittering on actors in movies made Ritu the target. It was a rainy evening when the tuitions and Pritam began to stalk her. Ritu was about to take the shortcut towards her home, which lacked municipal lights till some distance. She started walking into the darkness and all of a sudden a voice called from behind, “Ritu”.

She was thrilled. Turning back, she looked into the face of Pritam at the proximity of a hand's length. The street light above the head cast a shadow over his eyes; making the face visible.

“Pritam! You scared the hell out of me! Where are you these days? What is it? Say soon. It’s raining and I have to get back home fast”, she said with her expressions changing from anxiousness to smile.

“Ritu, I love you”.

“What?” A pause followed. She was taken aback by the words and her politeness turned into grumbling, “Look Pritam, I don’t have time for this nonsense now”, growled the girl with an umbrella in her hand. She then turned back and started walking away.

At this, he ran up to her, snatched the umbrella from her hands and threw it upon the muddy streets. He caught hold of both her hands and pushed them to the walls beside. Ritu’s eyes widened with fear. Her protests of “Leave me” were unheard as he said “You think this is nonsense, right? I will do such thing with you that will bring you to senses and consider what I have gone through for you.”

No sooner than he stated this, he went on kissing her neck forcefully. In a momentum, Ritu landed a tight slap which whirled his face roughly. Leaving the umbrella there, she took off racing.



The incident left her totally in shock. She couldn’t understand what to think and what to do. Locking the gate from inside and rushing into the farthest corner of her room, she sat there. Heartbeats were pounding like earthquakes and all the more, several states of thinking, confusion and fear altogether started attacking her. About ten minutes later, there begun a series of door bells. Ritu, at first thought it unsafe to get there incase Pritam would have come up. As the doorbells continued for a prolonged time, she brisked towards the door only to find her back.

"What are you doing, beta? Will you keep me standing here till it floods and I am drowned?", Anita said struggling with the swaying umbrella in her hands. Noticing the wet dress of her daughter, Anita imagined it to be behind the idea of lately coming to the door. Ritu, still in her fresh shock, had already decided to convey the incident to her mother. But no sooner had he arrived at the home, she started receiving phone calls from feminist leaders congratulating her on to help bring justice to a rape victim. Seeing her happy, Ritu gave up the idea to narrate the ordeal.

The next day, Ritu asked her mother to drop her at the bus stop for school. And while she returned, she asked a friend to walk to his home. Days passed and the horror of the evening gradually started fading. She thought maybe Pritam has realized what wrong he did and has exited the township.

Later on a week of the incident, while she was returning from the tuition, the same ordeal happened. Then, Pritam was there with two other friends on a bike.

Ritu started running without a second thought as she detected danger from a distance.  Panting for breath, she kept going till she made her house. This time she couldn’t stop crying. She was so afraid that she didn’t dare to unlock the door when her mother arrived from the agency. After Anita made a phone call, she collected up some courage to open the doorway. The door opened and Ritu hugged her mother and began howling. Anita was confused and brought her inside the house. When she narrated the ordeal, Anita was terrified. The mother could do nothing then, but console her that she is safe and promised she won't ever let anything happen to her daughter till she is there.

So from the next day, Anita took utmost care of her daughter. She started leaving Ritu at school and waiting outside her tuition classes till it ended, these had become a routine for Anita. On one occasion, Anita had to depart the town for a week on office employment. She had ensured that Pritam is working somewhere far from the town and Ritu could do her everyday chores without anything to vex. For two days, she lived freely and on the third day, she found herself besieged by three boys. Before she could understand anything, her dupatta was snatched. She counted down in horror and then saw it was Pritam and his allies.

There she stood and as the three advanced towards her, she screamed as loudly as possibly. A police vehicle was on round and was approaching that way. The three miscreants ran away. Taking in the NGO head’s daughter standing with her dupatta fallen on the earth, the policemen came to her and brought her to the police post.

Anita reached the police station the next morning, leaving her work in half progresses. The lady constable who too sat by her whole night, told Anita about everything. She had no words to articulate what she wanted. Lifting Ritu’s downtrodden face to meet with her eyes, Anita faced a serious question, “What kind of social worker are you if you can’t act to save your own daughter?”

At this, Anita’s face turned pale.

“Maa I told you in the first place because I thought you would help. But you sent a friend or came yourself to leave me school or tuition”, she started sobbing bitterly.

“Cause you have even the slightest idea how much I am afraid to enjoy my own freedom? I didn’t conceal you my fear, its fine. How can you turn blind towards my constant falling grades?”

 Ritu had much to say but the fact that her mother was fighting everyday to bring her up without any support, kept her numb. Meanwhile Anita was shaken. All her fear of the society’s thoughts and comments turned mute then. She cursed herself for not being able to take proper care of her daughter. An F.I.R. was lodged and Pritam along with his friends were arrested.

Still the fear in the mind of Ritu hadn’t vanished. Whenever she would sit to study and arrive at a doubt, her thoughts would fly from tuition to the suffixing incidents. She tried hard to focus on her subjects but mind wandered to the imagination what all can happen when her rivals are out of custody.

She failed in the medical entrance examination and her mindset was not to prepare for it again, but determined to give every girl the freedom she deserves.

So she prepared for the IPS examination. Her physical fitness together with mental strength grew to a level which she dreamed to get when she felt weak. It’s the much of freedom which deteriorated a life like that of Pritam and there was this what little she got, Ritu realized the need to explore her dream and channelized it for the welfare of others. In order to survive in this world, it’s not mandatory that one gets all what he wants. Humans are born with all distinct features, and the survival in life’s journey is governed only by the Darwin’s law: survival of the fittest…