The Father

Sugandha was crying like hell and was sitting in the corner of the room. The bedsheet was messed up. The things were thrown here and there. The room was speaking aloud about the domestic violence that just has happened. The sonakshi, a sweet little 3 year old girl, came to the room and walked slowly towards Sugandha and said in her utter childish yet concerned tone – 'Mom, don't cry otherwise the big beard baba will come and take you away with him. This brought smile on the face of Sugandha. She use to keep her daughter quite while threatening through this sentence. Kids are good learner and what they learn in their tender age stays with them throughout the life. She wiped her tears and got back to her routine work.

Sugandha was a woman in her early thirties who was married to 14 years older Sujan Singh. She was a victim of domestic violence. Sujan singh was harsh and rude on her in recent years. Things were all good before. Sugandha was second wife of Sujan Singh. However, Sujan Singh was utmost sweet and caring towards his daughter.

While watching the television in the noon time, Sugandha was lost thinking about her previous life. How happy she was with Sujan singh when they get married. How he use to give her beautiful surprises each day. The long drives in the night and then seating along the sea-shore till midnight followed by a lot of romantic talks and sweet pecks on cheeks. How sujan use to appear suddenly in the noon from office, just to be a little more with her. That brought an unwanted smile on her face. Suddenly, everything went wrong. She has not been able to figure it out till date – what turned him so devil and so monstrous.

She started thinking about the day when all these began, the domestic violence. That day – they came early from their long drive as Sugandha was feeling feverish. Sujan called the doctor at home. The doctor advised some pills and rest. He made her and his daughter sleep (a year old then). Next day, in the morning, Sujan shouted – Sugandha! Sugandha! You are sleeping till this time. It is already 09:00 o'clock. Her sleep interuppted and she in the sleepish tone said – what has happened to you? Don't you know – I am not feeling good? Sujan grabbed her hand and made her sit forcefully, and slapped her hard before she could react. This took sugandha by storm. She, never in her worst dreams even, thought of Sujan getting mad over her forget about hitting her. She resisted saying – have you gone maaa...but before she could complete her sentence, an even harder slap pushed her on the bed. She kept crying and sujan went away. From that day itself, her life became worse than hell. She asked so many times about his rude behavior, but all she got was abuses and slaps from Sujan.

Her thought process broke when bell rang. She went to open the door and it was riddhima, the next-door neighbour. She welcomed her in. While looking at sugandha's face, she got the idea that she has got beaten today! While occupying the space on sofa, she said – why don't you leave this man, sungandha? He has got insane. You must talk to your parents and break this relation. You have already suffered too much in this relation and the day is not far when you could be found dead in your own home. Speak it out, sugandha. It has already got too late.

Sugandha said – How can I leave him? Her daughter cannot leave him and I cannot live without my daughter. I have tried once and went to my mother's place, just three months back. But, sonakshi didn't eat anything and kept crying day & night and even my mother said – Fights are normal in relations. You should get back to him. I never talked to my mother regarding this post to that. I know she will take his side only. Riddhima said – I know sujan love her daughter like anything and he will do every possible thing in this world to get her daughter custody, if you guys go for divorce but let me tell you one thing – You are victim of domestic violence and court will always take your side for daughter's custody because court understands the mentality of the men involved in violence and will never handover kid to such a person. Riddhima continued – I don't understand when he is crying to get divorce, why are you staying back? Sugandha, in highly emotional tone and a tear in her eye said, I am just waiting for the day when he will get back to normalcy like the way he turned to evil. Riddhima, in a harsh tone, said – Not even in your dreams, Sugandha. He has turned in to a mad wild dog – he can only bite, he cannot wag his tail now. Riddhima went to her home after a little more discussion on the topic.

Sugandha kept on thinking whole day about what all Riddhima told her. In the night, when sujan came home, he was surprised to find nobody at home. He dialled the number of Sugandha but it was switched off. He contacted her friends, her mother and everybody but no one had any idea about where she was. When he went into the bedroom and adjusted the pillow to take some rest, he found a note lying there, which read -

“Sujan, I have always loved you. Loved you to the depth of my soul and core of my heart. I got married to you just because I liked the way you were. Beside being 14 year elder to me, it was your second marriage too. But, the love I have seen in your eyes for me, I have not seen in anyone else's eyes. Therefore, I got married to you even when my relatives were not happy with this relation. I have never enjoyed my life that much the way I have enjoyed it with you in the recent years of our marriage. Not to forget – my life as a bachleror was not lesser awesome. But with you, I found new dimensions of life. I can never forget the way you use to make me sleep while closing my eyes with a kiss on each of them. I can never forget the way you use to wake me up while hugging every inch of my body. I can never forget the amazing time, I spent with you. There were numerous incidents between us which made me feel like the queen of the planet earth and all those cannot be mentioned in a single letter and some of the feelings were that awesome that they can't be described in the words either. But, my life as a fairy received curse suddenly and it never became good since then.

The way I cannot forget your love, I cannot forget your brutality even. Your first slap when I was sick. The way you use to kick me out of the bedroom, each day. The way you never allowed me to play with my daughter when you were around. The way you use to abuse even If I take your name. I just can't believe how a man can become worse in a single night and that too for no-reason. I have got annoyed of this relation, and I will like to call it off in my style. It is the time for you to suffer. I am going to a place that you cannot find ever. I know you love your daughter like anything and you cannot live without her. Now, you suffer in the memory of your daughter until your death. Goodbye, Sue-Jan. Yes, I sue you off from my life!”

Sujan went mad after reading the letter and started crying like hell. Sujan tried every possible thing on earth to find his daughter but every effort went into vain. Sujan, in-shock and depression, went mad. He was sent to mental-asylum.

Rewind Back

The question is what made sujan to turn this much rude? The night when they (sujan and sugandha) came back early at home due to her illness, the same day, after making her sleep, sujan went into his son room. Yes, he had a son from his first wife. While going through his drawings, he found a diary. Sujan began reading that diary. He received the worst shock of his life – when he read about – how sugandha use to torture his son? Some of the incidents that mentioned in the diary were -

“ This is the third day in the row when I have not been given food in the noon. I just wish my father to come home in the noon to give my step mom a surprise, so that I can eat something in the kitchen. But, if I go in his absence to the kitchen. I will get struck by some or the other thing through my mom. The last time when she has not given me the food in the noon, i tried to get into kitchen to eat something thinking that she must be in deep sleep. But the noise from the kitchen wake her up and she threw a glass at me which hit my head and bloods gushed out”. She warned me not to say this to my father otherwise, she would keep me hungry for next four days. She made a story to my father that I had a fight in the school, in which fault was all mine, and happen to injure my head in the same. I was so helpless that I could not explain anything to my father. Food is always the first priority, respect in second especially in the case when you already had not given food in the noon for three consecutive days. My father shouted on me for the first time. I am missing my biological mom too much.”

Second Incident - “My father slapped me for the first time. Looks like – a lot many odd things are happening in my life for the first time. I should get use to hit as I can smell – This is just the beginning, worst things are yet to come. Why he slapped me? – off-course because of my mom. In the noon, while – I was having lunch, she told me to bring a glass of water. The glass slipped off my wet hands. She abused me a dozen time for this even though I cleaned the floor. All credit to my bad luck that one piece of glass remained there and happened to hurt her foot. She beat the shit out of me and in the night made a story to my father that I asked for food and she delayed in feeding me, so I got angry and hit her with a glass.”

And the last Incident was – 'I have already lost my mother and look like, I am losing my father too, though not practically, but affectionately. I can bear the slaps and the abuses my step mom is giving me but I cannot bear my 'Hero' (father) misbehaving with me. Although, it is not his fault because all he is doing is in the impression of my mom's false stories. It has been one and half year of constant torture and shame. I am not able to take it more especially after what has happened today – Her little sister has arrived to meet us. She is a kind girl and out of normal behavior, she said – I like 'Aastik', he is so good and calm. This irritated my mom and she sent her back to her home. Then she asked me – what you are doing to my sister? Why she is liking you? How on earth would I know – why does she likes me? And How can I stop her from liking me. She abused and hit me (I know this is everyday thing) but what happened next was bizarre – She told my father that I tried to physically harass her sister. My father threw me out of the house and I cried like a sad maniac for 4 hours in the cold winter night. He brought me in at 02:00 in the night, Yeah Tonight. I cannot handle it anymore, I am calling my life off. With the first ray of sun, I will sleep forever.

That was the day, when he committed suicide at the age of just 15 years. Sujan cried whole night after reading the diary. He kept on cursing himself. From that day onward he changed.

Fast Forward to 12 Years

Sugandha is living alone but in pain because her daughter hate her to the core. Today, her daughter slapped her for the first time because she restricted her to walk out of the house in the night. This made Sugandha realize – what goes around that definitely comes around.

Sujan turned devil in the memory and to bring justice to his son. He turned mad in memory of her daughter. We may not rate sujan as human, but we will definitely rate him 10/10 as 'The Father'.

Disclaimer – This story is work of a fiction and do not encourage any sort of violence in any sense.