Stepping Stones

Ah! Adharv,

Can't link an insipid fb with Adharv who is now well known for her colorful and action packed fbs. Anyway, let us see if this story strikes a cord with our sisters on this forum.

 

Agree with you, shravs.
For some, marriage becomes a trap. Walking out of it with dignity is still difficult and very few people support such women. For this, the insensitive and prejudiced society is also to be blamed.

 

Thank you, dear Sinant, for this enthusiastic fb. I hope that I have constructed a convincing storyline on marriages struggling due to faulty expectations.

 

Awww...kkrish, you are being generous! Thanks, dear.

 

Thanks, HP. You too are in a generous mood! I hope I meet your expectation.

 

Part 2 of 3




Chitra had found it tough to answer. He had said all the right things but his timing was all wrong. Bringing a child into the world meant too many sacrifices and compromises. As such, her days were busy as a homemaker and as an employee of an advertising agency. Apart from that traveling in a metro like Mumbai, consumed a lot of her time. Two years since her graduation she had hardly painted. Now when Nitin had established himself a little, she had contemplated on resigning her job and picking up her paint and brush. At such a juncture, Nitin had come up with a veiled demand! It was not that she did not want to experience motherhood, but before that she wanted to satisfy her creative urges and establish herself too. Motherhood had to be a planned journey. She wasn’t ready for it yet; mentally, emotionally or physically.


She had firmly protested, “No, Nitin it is not a good idea. As per our understanding, I had to work for a year or two and then pursue my profession as an artist. Now you are pushing me further into the household. Parenting would become a full-time job in itself. I am not ready for that kind of a commitment as of now. I need to satisfy my creative hunger first. Please understand!”


But Nitin had persuaded her, “Darling, why are you trying to differentiate between us. Don’t you want to be a part of this unique creative journey? Aren’t you a part of whatever I do? If we had to think of ourselves as two different entities, where was the need for a marriage? At such an important phase in our life, you are trying to be selfish. A child is the end product of this creative journey. How can you say that only my work would be creative and you would be heaped with all the responsibilities? With such mistrust, does our marriage have any future?”


Chitra was speechless. Logically he was so very right but his proposal was unfair to her.


Nitin had said further, “Just think how many artists get such opportunities and how many children get their moments in their mother’s womb immortalized by their parents! Chitra, we would be gifting ourselves and our child, the fame of a lifetime! I would be devastated if I miss that kind of glory in my life. Who knows what turns our lives will take and we may never get to do this unique experiment again. You know very well, we artists survive on our inspired moments to bring out our creativity. Would you be able to forgive yourself for losing such a wonderful opportunity? Honestly, I won’t be able to forgive you and still stay married for the sake of the world!”


Nitin had successfully cornered her. After several days of arguments and cold wars, Chitra had to agree to be Nitin’s muse. Her negative answer would mean to alienate Nitin, fritter away their marriage and their future together. A compromise or sacrifice from her alone could hold their marriage together at that stage. She recalled her mother saying; “When a relationship snaps, the weaker partner gets hurt the most…” Chitra knew that in their marriage, she had turned into a weaker partner by design or destiny and she had to bear the brunt. As she had rebelled against her parents to marry Nitin, her pride wouldn’t allow her to face her parents with a failed marriage. She wanted her marriage to succeed at all costs. After considering all the issues, she had extracted a promise from Nitin that after the birth of the child they both would work at the studio alternately for only six days a week and the seventh day would be devoted wholly to the family. That would mean equal work and equal responsibility. Nitin had agreed wholeheartedly.



When work started, romance and togetherness were at their best. Nitin was extraordinarily loving and tender to her. He took special care of her as she went through the different stages of pregnancy. As a pregnant, Chitra faced many health problems. Her pregnancy and commitment to Nitin had to constantly battle with her suppressed creativity and reluctant compromise. While Nitin was at his creative best working endlessly giving forms to his novel creative ideas, Chitra hung on to a thin thread of hope that soon everything would go her way. Finally, even on the day of the delivery Nitin was present in the labor room to record the entire birthing process of their child. They had named their child ‘Srujan’, meaning Creation/creativity, as the child was the result of their combined creative energy!


Following the birth of their child, Chitra was totally lost in a world of maternal duties. She had to fight a number of health complications that she and her child suffered. Rizwan and his wife Anjum were her only supporters. Srujan died when he was barely two weeks old due to a complicated congenital heart disease. While Chitra went through a roller coaster of negative feelings-loss, guilt, fear, and uncertainty, Nitin was busier than ever during the same period completing his last work of the series- The birth of a Mother! A month later a grand exhibition was organized and it gave Nitin national level recognition. With this, Nitin became a celebrity overnight; everybody spoke of his vision, originality, and creativity!


As Chitra struggled to move on, Nitin had blamed her mental resistance for Srujan’s death and her own illness. He had redeemed himself and isolated her by saying, “Mind has immense power to control everything in its environment. I was positive and I achieved success. You were negative and fickle; you alone are responsible for Srujan’s death and all the mess around you.”


Ever since Srujan’s death and the exhibition, Nitin had started distancing himself from her. Success and confidence had done wonders to his personality. He was now flamboyant and self-assured. He had now befriended Sonalika, a woman who could help further his career and for Sonalika, he was the new toy-boy! This new development had been hidden from Chitra but her womanly instinct had sensed something amiss!


When the party was hosted by Sonalika to celebrate Nitin’s success, he had dissuaded Chitra from attending the party. He had said that she would be a misfit and would be lost amongst strangers at the party. But against his wish Chitra had attended the party with Rizwan to witness Nitin’s success. But she was immensely hurt as Nitin hardly stayed by her and chose to totally ignore her. Looking at Nitin’s indifference, Rizwan had taken upon himself to keep her company. Chitra found it heart wrenching to see the intimacy displayed openly by Sonalika and Nitin. Chitra could see all her dreams and hopes crumbling right before her. During their days of courtship, while meeting him secretly, watching romantic movies with her head rested on his shoulders or during their creative discussions… she had always seen and admired him as an idealist and a leader with excellent oratory skills and she had never doubted his idealism or ambition. She always supported his goals and had molded herself to be his perfect partner. Nitin had various ways of convincing her. Sometimes it was an eloquent talk on altruism, at other times it was in the name of love or even an emotional blackmail! She always succumbed to his talks and gave into his demands, but it was too late by the time she realized that he was simply using her, her innocence and her deep-seated insecurity; her desperate need to prove to the world especially, her parents that she had indeed taken the right decisions and had a successful marriage! What a mirage her dreams of an ideal life had been! She had believed that together they could fight any storm. Now she knew that she had to fight it all alone!

*********************End of part 2*********************


*The images have been taken from the internet for representational purposes only, no copyright infringement is intended.