Stranger
I was skeptical about this new employee; something was amiss, very difficult to point out the problem but, my sixth sense was giving me alarms. I posted him at our new branch some miles away from me… I did not want my negative feeling to ruin his work or color his image for others. he indeed was highly qualified and most suitable for this job. all said and done, he was a person… worth second look, smiling –charming and mannerism that would melt any tough cookie!! he could have tried his hands in advertisement industry if not in films….
his looks – credentials still did not impress me…I was unaware of the reasons but the more I tried to distance him from self more he got attracted to me. in all our regional meeting he would come and ensure that he spends some time with me. he would always keep the professional distance, never talk about his personal life nor would he ask or probe into my life.
After six months also, I was yet to give him clean chit! Why was I so reluctant? Was my sense of judging people so correct and strong? Had I not failed miserably in my earlier attempts to judge people and claim that I knew how to judge people? Knowing well that “judging” is not ethical!!
My last attempt of judging an employee was real eye opener for me, I trusted this employee who was not performing well and constantly needed reminders. He had shared some of his personal problems with some of us at office and once while giving him feedback he cried like a small kid… my heart went out for him, and though there were issues about his integrity, I convinced management to be lenient towards him and he later; in no time he joined our rival company!
Almost everyone mocked at me and at my claims of knowing personnel management and my claims about all psycho therapies! I was low profile afterwards but not out of circulation! Judging people and dealing with them was part of my profile.
When he joined the company, I was the only one who rated him high and yet could not trust him. His work experiences were very different, if one was to believe him every 12 months his profile changed. Needless to add there seemed growth and precisely this was the reason for my doubts for him.
He made good start in our organization too and his popularity was soaring daily… was I nervous? Or was I desperately trying to find faults and prove my point? Popularity in management parlance is due to sales figures he managed and targets he achieved. Tough he never was threat to me; he was much junior in age and at least couple of ladders below in management titles that are more of decorative pieces than of any other uses.
Now, we were to meet again at or regional training center popularly known as MDC. MDC has its reputation for quality inputs, infrastructure library and faculty. I wanted to avoid him. I ensured that our rooms were poles apart at MDC and I took train to reach MDC. My staff was surprised by my decision of not flying in and kind of loosing around 28 hours in this journey. I was sure that I did not want to reach earlier and spend time listening to him!
Was I insecure? Was he playing on my mind? Was he becoming a threat to me and my knowledge about people? Clueless me and strong fixed ideas….why was I spending so much of my energy for him; to prove him wrong or to prove me right?
I started my train journey, though it was 2nd AC I was bit uncomfortable… for past 10 years I had never travelled in train. It all started with my trips abroad and soon it became a habit… trains were outgrown as a teenager outgrows into motorbikes from bicycles!!
Train was comfortable but my mind was busy comparing it with business class. Compartment was not so crowded and in my aisle I was the lone passenger! I decided to catch up on my sleep to distract my mind which was comparing speed of train and aircraft!!
I must have slept for good two hours and when I woke up I found one more passenger …
This lady smiled and greeted me… was I dreaming? Why would any stranger smile and greet me? I instantly got up… trying to avoid looking at her, I picked up my bottle and started drinking water as slowly as possible and trying look out side window and presuming that it was sunset time and sun looked so beautiful… knowing well that it was just late afternoon and good 3 hours for sun to set… suddenly I felt I saw him… his reflection in the window… I was so shocked that I lost my control and I dropped the water bottle… my reflexes were slow… my one hand was trying to pick the bottle and another one was trying to find napkins and papers to clean the mess…and profusely apologizing to the family.
He said “that’s alright sir! Are you all right?”
Now, I looked at them… to my surprise he was the one, to avoid him I had taken the train! He was saying something… his words were falling on my deaf- ears… making some sense… I had to recover and behave! I smiled and in my mind started thinking about how will I respond to his questions…
He continued… I told Manpreet… It has to be him only… but I could not have removed blanket to see your face to I had to wait for you to wake up! I never take flight, as Manpreet also joins me …. We always take the train.
Manpreet chipped in, sir- I have heard so much about you… and when he saw your name on the list while boarding the train… his joy was boundless… he is like a small kid… he switched on lights and tried to make some noise… but you were fast asleep.
What has she heard about me? Does he talk business at home? Is this being professional? All sorts of questions were crossing my mind…I was trying to show my initial surprise as genuine surprise and I made a story about my train trip as one which would help me catch on my sleep.
We still had 20 hours of journey left and I was already thinking about alternatives? They both were trying to make me as comfortable as possible. This was making me uncomfortable.
For the sake of continuing conversation I asked them, “where will you stay mam”… she replied instantly “rest homes” at railway station – cheap- safe and comfortable”!! I just smiled... (She said I have seen many railway stations in my life now... and they both had good laugh!) Wondering why is that it necessary for her to join him during all such meetings?
She must have read my mind … and answered, initially I was too afraid of staying alone and now it has become more of a habit than comfort.
How does your family take this…? There was pin drop silence for a while…
She said; we do not have kids…. And
Our parents are Hate us!!... He completed.
The pause seemed too long, I was reluctant to start any conversation, and yet I was curious to know about their past.
She was the one to take the lead again,
We are married for 20 years now! They really did not look so old…
We got married when I was 17 and he was 19! For 3 years we were absconding and our parents and police were searching us throughout this country….we spent those 5 years in
We joined college and completed our education, got married again, and now have Nepali passport!!.
How did you mange college admission? Before I could complete my thought or question… he started narrating those days…
I was the “Hero” in that small town and most people from
It was a rain soaked day, my driver was missing, and I was craving for him to look at me… I was hoping that my driver would come and I would be able to offer him lift… and we will be together in car.. My romance with my thoughts got disrupted when he came on his scooter and told me about flat tyre of the car and driver unable to leave the vehicle and reach college to pick me up…
I reluctantly ( though I was craving…) followed him and may be that was the day I fell for him…My father was the industrialist and richest farmer in the entire district… like most girls I too was wanting to get married to him…. The HERO …but our communities, casts, were different, life styles were different and the voids were such huge that no amount work could ever bridge the gap…
It took us only 8 meetings and 3 months to commit for life… someone from my father’s business partners had seen us on the day it was raining and I was on his scooter to reach our car… I got a warning from my father about this… driver lost his job, one escort joined me for my daily trips to college… and his family was given one ultimatum!!
I just could not tolerate this act of my father, how could he insult people, so what if he was rich and controlled the community. Others too were respected citizens. HERO – till than I never knew his name… was also a different kind of boy… he never miss-used his looks … was ethical- helpful and was doing well in studies – so what if he was poor… My arguments were seen as act of “my love” to him and his influence on me…and he trying to eye our property…. I was the only daughter of my parents none of my siblings born prior or after me had survived- I had special place- in my house… but this was not acceptable to my father… But I was not in love… I had just met the boy once and that too because driver could not reach the place…Environment at home was suffocating for me… I met him once to inform him the repercussions of that rainy day…
I saw him for the first time… so closely… his golden skin… his soft hair… and his smile… well built body and gentleness in his voice…. I knew from that day, my heart was not mine anymore… I started loving him… but could not confess... till next 2 months… My body guard dutifully reported this meeting to my father… who threw a rage… not only my college was stopped for a week, he too was attacked, He fought them bravely and like a true Hindi film hero… was the winner in the fight!!
My father could not take this insult…
His father who was proud of his son… had one more reason to smile… his son was not only obedient but also a brave heart who fought 15 men single handedly!! He was proud of his son .. But was demeaning my family…
My father planned my marriage and his father planed a trip for him to Mumbai for his career in films…we met once again and decided to elope, not realizing that we were underage and our actions could put us in more troubles…
The day he was to go to Mumbai, I was to see a boy from another rich family as my prospective groom, I was given ultimatum from my father,” if the boy who was to come a see me… says “yes” I had no options… but to get married at the first instant… choice was for boys … they could say no to me… he wanted me to get married before my ‘love story- nonexistent- which was more in his minds than ours…becomes public!! And I lose my character!!
She became too emotional… and stopped… I did not know what to do next… silence was deafening… train was moving and life was still…
After a while he stared… I had never liked her actually… but my heart fell for her, for the first time I saw beauty in her… when she was narrating things that she suffers because her father feels that she loves me!! I said to self… this person needs help…
I was planning for my trip to Mumbai as I wanted to try my luck with films, I actually could go and stay with dhramji…though for a day..Yes, from our village… anyone could go to his house and stay for a day… and if the person wanted to try his luck in the film industry than stay was up to 8 days!! But no recommendations!! Only talent and willingness to slog it out!! I was sure I would make it in the industry… I had that scope…
As part of my shift to Mumbai, I had collected all my certificates, copies of mark sheets and I asked her too to keep things ready… why was I doing this I was not very sure… but I had my basic papers including copy of my ration card.
The boy who was to come and see her… was my friend… he helped us run away…
Many marriages took place in my village wherein bride and groom were underage and it never struck us that we could be in trouble…we just escaped the village that evening, with help of the friend who was her prospective groom!!
We decided not to go to Mumbai… from
Her mother suffered heart attack and her father who was furious already… took pledge to kill both – me and his daughter… who kind of defamed the family and brought the ill luck- health to the house… He also went the same day to my place, insulted my parents… tried to through the belongings out, … community and sarapanch was the people who helped my family and they forced my father to lodge a complaint against him!!
This changed the entire focus…. And soon our age became the matter of discussion and with in no time police issued search warrant for us… we needed to leave
At Amritsar railway station we banged into this couple who was from Nepal, and we kind of told them that we were on our way to seek blessings from lord Pashupatinath- post our wedding a custom… we reached Nepal without any hassles… this couple extended their invitation … and took us to their home… Next day we were at pashupatinath temple…. We got married their… again…. But this time with some rituals… no one asked us any age proof or anything…
I tried to call my friend… from
The old man suffered heart attack and I had to rush him to the hospital, may be because I was young and could lift him…or may be the seriousness of the matter forced me to get into this act… I am not sure… old man was in hospital for 10 days… in these 10 days we came to know about voids in their life and they came to know about our truth…
Once home , this old man tried to call … my friend was still not reachable… I tried my father in his college… and was horrified with what he shared…. My friend was now in jail… her father had filed a case against him for kidnapping his daughter and selling it to me!! He had given ads in paper with our photographs and news papers –public places were full of our photographs and there was a prize of rs. 20000/- if someone could bring us back to village… a team had gone to Mumbai also and checked with dharmji… My fathers requested me not call again… and stay away for some more time wherever I was till all this subsided…. I could not inform him that I was in
Old couple somehow convinced Manpreet to stay with them and stay- study in Nepal…We now stayed with this family… and we started our education… courtesy this old couple…Our marriage had not consummated yet… this old couple explained the “ concept called marriage_ institution of marriage” importance of being self sufficient… All seemed fine as we had no contacts with our parents back home…
My next call to my father was after 3 months, the minute he recognized my voice… he said admission dates were over and if you keep calling us again and again… police can trace your number and reach you!
I understood what he meant… last call to college was heard…/ traced… and police was now waiting for some more clues… I cried like a small baby that day… old man kept moving his fingers in my hair… till I slept… I wanted to go back…
I wanted to fight this… I wanted my pride back…
Manpreet wanted me….She hated her father even more now…
After almost a year , I tried to contact my father aging… this time the old man had called up, as if he it was a proposal of marriage for me… The version he got from my father was scarrier…
His son had abducted a girl… and now this was a CBI case!!
Thankfully no one had seen – heard about us being in
I completed my graduation… I enrolled myself for Masters in the most prestigious
We decided to return to our village …
Our new parents were with us… they were to be the mediators…. We reached the village… we were in a taxi, like every village, taxi here speaks volumes …police followed us before we could reach my home and I could meet my parents, or they could even realize that I had come back… or who was the couple accompanying me/ us… we were taken to police station… her father too was their… our marriage certificate and date of marriage on certificate proved that we were legally married and this was not a case of abduction … Manpreet publically accepted that she willingly left with me and is major enough to marry a person of her choice and this marriage took place after she was major… and there was no force…
Police could not do much… they tried to pacify my father… in rage he announced that he will kill both…Manpreet tried to talk to her mother… but she was helpless.. And mute spectator in the whole drama… I decided to leave immediately with our new parents! They were aghast… speechless and trauma was such for them that he complained chest pain…
We left the village , rather we survived the chase… our vehicle was fired by her father and bullets brushed past us! God saved us…. But the old couple took this to heart… they did not want to stay a min in
We now got threats in
We could have continued, but another passenger walked in… the 4th passenger… there was pin drop silence…
I could notice uneasiness on Manpreet’s face… she was nervous, wanting to switch off lights and sleep…she took her asthma pump… she did look breathless, and he started to smoke! What combination… after a while she started complaining about her health…
He got up and approached TC for a seat change! They moved to AC 1st class… without even acknowledging my presence- as if I was STRANGER….
After they left, the passenger who had walked in , because of whom they had left… started communication with me… I was in no mood… to talk to him… I was constantly thinking as to why they left… what was the reason… was health the real cause? If she had asthma attack why did he start smoking…
But the person- co-passenger now was so eager to talk to me… said… I know the couple who just left… I was in jail because of them for almost 2 years… I thought he was the friend who helped them run away….
Before I could say anything…
Stranger continued; Manpreet comes from a rich family, she married this “hero” of the village much against her father’s wish… but being only daughter parents accepted this alliance after their first son was born. ”hero” had never seen money in his life… after his this marriage both his parents died soon… so he shifted to be with Manpreet’s family… slowly he took over the family business…
Suddenly the style changed for this “hero” and he was now in-charge of finances and money that he had never seen. New cars and mega expensive life style, foreign tours were a vicious cycle. People took advantage of this and fortune started dwindling… in 10 years. The son was now in Hostel in
He was not there for the meeting at MDC, this puzzled me more, where could have he disappeared? Was he afraid to face me? Why me? Why did he share his story? Many thoughts were bothering me and all questions were unanswered, till in a fortnight we received his resignation, he was joining as MD of a new company…. One more journey….
