Present day Sanour
Gulaal was staring at his protrait''.silent tears roll down her cheeks remembering the moment vasant put her hand on his'..strange but her and kesar's souls were always entwined it was then it was now.
Here kesar was sitting in the office he was unusually quiet dark gloom surronded him '..with a sudden knock kunal his manager and childhood friend walked in the cabin he looked at kesar and said "kesar tu jo kar raha hai sahi kar hai parjaiji ko bahoot khushi hogi kesar"..men teri saath hun
Kesar looked at him and nodded his head kunal left'..kesar shivered "will she really be happy? Does she want this? Will this bring the smile on her face? the smile tht he always carved for'. the smile tht died a silent deadth after vasant died'..after the sudden demise of his brother his family was shattered they were torne into pieces the pain was unbearable and the loss was immense''everyone was vunerable except gulaal who played a great role in bringing her family out of this trauma'wht they would have done without her? rather wat he would have done without her'how he would have survived' he was so engrossed in his sorrow tht he almost forgot the pain and the torment tht befall on her but she never displayed it never infront of him instead she was present like anchor like a guiding star''..
She not only supported them emotionally but look after the finances as well''.. though she passed matrics only but still she managed to look after business very well her success and her strong will irked many'many ppl raised their eyebrows the society tht is male dominated for them it was hard to accept a independent strong woman''jamuna kaki and jigarkaka sensed the concern voices of the ppl and finally they got the chance to lay their hands on vasant's property
8 years ago sanour (punjab)
sarpanch house
jamuna kaki "aap log kuch karte kyu nahi, dekha naa apne abhi sirf chaar mahine hi hue us gulaal ko yanha aaye hue kaise wooh vasant k vyapar mein kundli maar kar beith gaayi hai'.kisi ko kuch karne hi nahi deti humn kitna kaha aurat ho ghar k char diwari mein raho yeah vyapar yeah zameen jayadad k dekhbhaal dushyant kar lega'' par nahi wooh kisi ki sunati hi nahi hai"
sarpanch "par wooh vasant k patni hai"
jamuna kaki "haan par vasant to is duniya mein raha nahi aur din hi kitne hue hai use yanha aaye hue kaise vishwaas karle uska''chalo maan lete hai gulaal ka maksad nek hai par phir bhi wooh ek jawan vidhwa hai kaam k silsile mein kitne paraye aadmi se milti julti hai kahin koi ounch neech ho gayi to'kahin koi aur uski jeevan mein aa gaya toh kya hoga is ghar ka biji ka kesar ka'.. is jayadad ka aakhir kitna bharosa rakhe hum ek parayi aurat ka
sarapanch looked at him in suspicion jamuna kaki quickly changed her expression she said in the soft tone "waise mein janti hun gulaal dil k boori nahi hai mera to kaleja phat jaata hai uska dard dekhkar'..kash uski zindagi sanwar paati''''
sarpanch asked "aap kehna kya chahti hai jamuna"
jamuna kaki "matlab ekdum saaf hai sarpanchji sadiyaon se humara yanha karewa (chadar dalna) k parampara chalti aa rahi hai sirf isliye taaki vidhwa k jeevan waapas se sanwar sake aur purokho k zameen jayadad parivaar mein rahe koi manmutav naa ho"
sarpanch said "haan janate hai par karewa kaise sambhav hai kesar to shaadi layak hai nahi hum kaise yeah sab"
jaumana kaki intervene in between "mein kesar k nahi dushyant k baat kar rahi hun haan janati hai hum door k rishtedaar hai par hain to apne aur dushyant gulaal ka devar hai is naate uska karewa/chadar dalna ka haq banta hai sarpanchji, aap bas is vivah k anumati de dejiye dekhna gulaal ka jeevan wapas se hara bara ho jayega"
sarpanch was in deep thought and then he called his servant to call biji and gulaal
later gulaal and biji were standing in the panchayant
biji asked "kya baat hai sarpanch ji apne hume is tarah panchayat mein kyu bulaya hai"
sarpanch said "parjaiji yanha aapse bahoot jarori baat karne k liye bulaya gaya hai aap to janati hai parjaiji humara gao aapke dukh mein behad dukhi hai apke aur gulaal k bhavish k chinta hain hume'..hum is gao k mukhiya hai is naate hume apne logo k bhalai k liye faisla lene ka poora haq hai"
biji said "haan par'."
sarpanch said "abhi baat khatam nahi hui hai parjaiji humara samaj vidhwa k dard ko samajhta hai aur hamesha humare samaj ne yahi kosish ki hai ki ek vidhwa ko uska jeevan jeena ka phir se mauka mile'..aur isliye hum chahte hai k gulaal ko bhi uska jeevan jeene ka mauka mile aur is naate humne'he took a pause and said "humne tay kiya hai ki uska karewa (second marriage) ho"
gulaal was shocked she was stunned
biji was equally perturbed she said "karewa par kaise mumkin hai"
sarpanch said "mumkin hai dushyant vasant ka bhai tha is naate gulaal dushyant se karewa kar sakti hai isliye humne tay kiya hai ki hum gulaal ka karewa dushyant se karva denge"
gulaal eyes widened in the shock horror paralyzed her limbs she looked at jamuna kaki and dushyant who threw a trimphant glee at her
gulaal yelled with all her strength nahi hargiz nahi mein yeah shadi nahi kar sakti bilkul nahi
sarpanch replied gulaal hum tumse apne rai nahi maag rahe hai balki yeah is panchayat ka faisla hai ki tumhara karewa dushyant se kar diya jaaye
gulaal retorted "par yeah jyaadati hai bina meri marzi ke apko yun mera karewa nahi kar sakte"
sarpanch said gulaal yeah humari parampara hai humare gao k riti aur rivaaz tumhe manane hi honge yun is tarah tum iska apmaan nahi kar sakti
gulaal was shattered she said "nahi manti mein aapke yeah faltu k riti rivaz niyam kanoon nahi manti mein"
jamuna kaki interfered dekha sarpanch ji mein kah rahi thi naa iski niyat mein khot hai dekha kaise humare riti ko faltu kah rahi hai and she threw cunning smile at her
gulaal was completely blank
here sarpanch said in the firm tone gulaal yeah hum sab pancho ka faisla hai sadiyon se is gao mein karewa ka silsila chalta aa raha hai arey shukr karo k tumhara devar aage badhkar tumhara haath thaam rah hai warna kaun poochta hai vidhwa ko gulaal tumhari liye hum apni parampara nahi tod sakte karewa is samaj ki parampara hai aur agar tum is parampara aur rivaz k khilaf gayi to hum tumhara aur tumhare mayaake ka hukka paani band kar denge yeah is khaap panchyant ka antim faisla hai'''..
with tht her fate was sealed her destiny was decided wat a cruel decision it was she wasn't even allowed to make choices she was only asked to accept the cruel decision of the panchayat in the name of rules and tradition
gulaal fell on the ground lifeless dushyant and jamuma kaki were extremely happy their plan to inherit 50% of the property was finally going to be sucessful'dushyant walked towards her he sat besides her and said in low tone "tayyar ho jaa gulaal tujhe mein apni raaton k rani banaunga"
gulaal looked at him the lustful glance he threw at her made her shiver in fear
after tht day gulaal sat mostly on the her room quiet and contemplating'''on one hand was her family whom she had to protect at any cost on the other hand was her honor her pride at stake she would wither at the thought of marrying dushyant the one whom she loathed whole heartedly days passed in this agony and confusion finally the judgement day arrived
the villagers have gathered around vasant;s house to witness the the karewa of gulaal and dushyant'..dushyant was wearing wedding sherwani he ego blotted with pride and triumph jamuana kaki and jigarkaka sat near dushyant they were floating in ecstasy
Biji and gulaal's family was also present there they were disheartened and sad but they chose to be silent as they thought was best at tht time biji who had suffered the pang of windowhood knew how difficult and tough it was for a woman to survive alone in this harsh world she was content somewhere as gulaal could lead a married life again though she wasn't happy with the choice of her husband but still tht was best for her she thought and took a deep breath
kesar wasn't aware of all these rituals all he knew tht after some customs his gulaal could wear the colorful outfits again and he was genuinely happy for her'''..only if he had known his life would change forever after this event'''.
Gulaal was sitting in her room she was looking at her wedding dupatta the dupatta tht dushyant would put on her forehead and will ruin her and her family;s life forever
(karewa or chadar dalna a common custome prevalent in punjab haryana and rajasthan it is the custom by which the brother in law marry their sister in law it's the custome with the double advantage tht allow the brother in law to inherit the widow's property and in turn provide support and care to her it is effected by the men throwing a red chunar or wrapping her forehead with the red cloth and later on putting chura or the wristlet on her arms)
she was in the deep thought suddenly she stood up as if she had got some strange power to fight with her destiny with firm and resolute steps she came outside she looked at kesar
she walked towards him everyone else was busy gossiping and talking they overlook gulaal and kesar'..gulaal went near him and said "kesar tujhe bharosa hai mujhpar"
kesar looked at her confused "yeah kaisa sawal hai gulaal yeah bhi koi pochne k baat hai"
gulaal continued "mein jo bhi mangungi dega mujhe?"
kesar smiled and said confidently "maag kar to dekh"
gulaal took a deep breath and said to "phir yeah duppata le aur odha de mujhe" chunar daal de mujh par kesar'..she extended the duppatta the same dupatta tht he had threw at her at the fair the same dupatta tht fell on her forehead the same wedding dupatta
kesar looked at her confused wht does tht mean? He couldn't decipher
gulaal looked at him with firmness "dekh kya raha hai kesar odha de mujhe'''chadar daal de mujh par kesar"
kesar looked at her though he knew not wat was going on but he had a immense faith on her he took the red dupaata and put it on her forehead'''..and he married her with tht auspicious piece of cloth
the ppl who were present their were shocked they were stunned at this gesture
dushyant was unable to react and jamuna kaki was furious she walked towards him and she slapped kesar hard and yelled "yeah kya kiya tune sharam nahi aayi tujhe"
she was going to slap him again just then gulaal come forward and stopped her "jamuna kaki khabardaar jo kesar k upar haath uthane k koshish ki"'.kesar who was shaking in fear clung to her and hide beside her
jamuna looked at her with hatred and said "dekha aap sabne is besharam ne kya kiya''kahin ka nahi choda hume'koi kuch kehte kyu nahi"
sarpanch who was too shocked too react finally shouted gulaal yeah kya kiya tumhe kya kiya'.
Gulaal looked at him and replied confidently kyu sarpanch ji kya kiya hai meine'meine to sirf aapki baat maani hai aapne hi to kaha tha riti aur rivaaz nibhane ko mein to bas wahi nibha rahi thi"
Sarpanch interfered "par tumhara karewa dushyant k saath tay kiya gaya tha par tumne to kesar ko chadar dalne ko kaha"
Gulaal replied "meine jo kiya riti aur rivaaz k hisab se kiya rit aur niyam yahi kehte hai k pati k maut k baad uski vidhwa se shadi karne ka haq uske pati k sage bhai ka hota hai ise naate mujhpar is gulaal par pehla haq sirf aur sirf kesar ka hai" she said with firm tone
Kesar who was standing beside her looked at her in shock "wat was she saying? did he had a right on her? Did she belong to him? His mind was processing fast'..
Biji interefered "par kesar bacha hai gulaal wooh sirf 15 saal ka bacha hai gulaal"
Gulaal looked at her biji with tearful eyes she folded her hands and signalled her to remain silent to have faith on her
Sarpanch looked at biji and said "parjaiji sahi kah rahi gulaal kesar bacha hai tum uske saath yun shadi nahi kar sakti
Gulaal said "mana sarpanch ji kesar aaj bacha hai par kal kya hoga jab wooh bada hoga tab wooh apse sawal karega ki mere rehte aapne gulaal k karewa kisi aur k saath kyu kar diya kyu mujhe mera haq aapne nahi diya tab'tab kya jawab hoga aapke pass sarpanchji"
Sarpanch remained silent he was thoughtful
Jamuna kaki intervened "aur agar iska ulta hua toh agar keasr ne yeah kaha ki meri marzi k bina aapne mera karewa kaise kar diya tab kya jawab hoga humare pass"
Gulaal looked at jamuna kaki and said "tab k tab dekhi jaayegi jamuna kaki filhaal kesar chota hai sirf isliye use uske haq naa mile yeah sahi nahi hai" with that she threw a victory smile at jamuna kaki
Jamuna kaki was amused at her attics she thought her to be a weak fragile lady but gulaal emerged as strong iron willed woman who wouldn't give up at any cost gulaal's move was calculated either the case she will definetly win''
Gulaal referred back to sarpanch she said "meine apke kah anusar riti nibha de hai ab faisla aapke haath hai sarpanchji yaa to mujhe vasant k vidhwa bane rehne de yaa phir kesar aur mera karewa ko sweekar kare"
Sarpanch and the other panchayat member engaged themselves in discussion and after few minutes sarpanch spoke" kafi soch samajhane ka baad humne yeah faisla kiya hai ki gulaal ne sahi kiya kesar vasant ka saga bhai hai is naate gulaal ka us par pehle haq hai isliye kesar aur gulaal k yeah shaadi panchayat ko sweekar hai saath mein panchayat yeah bhi manati hai ki kesar ki umar abhi shadi layak nahi hai isliye is karewa ka antim niraya wooh kesar k haath mein saupati hai jab kesar bada ho jayega tab usko poori azadi de jaayegi ki wooh yeah karewa sweekar kare yaa phir is bandhan se azad ho jaaye agar kesar is bandhan se azad hona chahega to wooh gulaal ko uska hissa dekar usese apne saare sambandh tod lega tab tak gulaal kesar k patni k roop mein is haveli mein rahegi"
Everybody clapped at this decision it was the wise decision dushyant left the spot with the vow to take revenge with her, biji was griefstricken she was so emotionally drained tht she was unable to react and gulaal was quite her destiny was changed forever
Kesar was too young to understand anything yet the two words "shadi" and "haq" engraved in his heart forever
The two words tht messed their life big time
Kesar remembered the day and closed his eyes in desparation
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