Seven Vows Part 3 -Part 259 Page 147 - Page 93

Chapter 243- The room

Rajasekhar opened his mother's room. He had not come to this room post her death. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to. The guilt of not able to tell his Maa her second daughter was alive somewhere stopped him from entering that room. Till her last breath Rajalakshmi Varma had lamented about her inability to protect her second born.

There were many times during her final days Rajasekhar had felt he should tell her the truth. But he was afraid what if his mother asked him to bring her child home. Chitra didi was dead to the world. If it is known she had run away with a man faking her death that too a man who didn't belong to their caste what would be the reputation of the family. His father had gone extremes to protect family honor when he bought back Tilak. He didn't had it in him to see the society drag the name of their illustrious family in mud.

But today, when Suman went hysterical talking about the torture something snapped inside him. For many years he had believed it was because he supported Chitra didi to run away , his younger sisters Neelima and Chandrika couldn't live a life of luxury. The stain of Chitra didi's presumed suicide ensured no family of name and fame came to marry the daughters of Varma family and they had to be married off to households that wanted Varma money. It had taken his father a lot of effort to gain back the lost reputation in the society and he had followed rules of society strictly to ensure the family reputation intact so that his sons get good alliances and the family is good socially.

Yet he was not his father. While his father never hesitated to take tough decisions he always had conflicts but was forced to choose what his father wanted till that day in Jagratha where Sreedhar walked to the stage and stood in front of Suman.

He sighed. Today it was not the image of his younger sister's luxury less life that came to him, nor the ways and means his father took to protect family reputation. But it was the image of his mother standing in front of kitchen with kerosene poured all over her body and the bodies of Neelima and Chandrika , a match box in hand screaming if he wanted to marry Neelima to the forty year old man instead of bidaai in that house, funeral of three people will happen. He was very much terrified that day.

His father had to relent because immediately post Chitra's death three members of Varma family dying was not good for the reputation of the family. Yes that day for his mother death was acceptable than pushing her daughter of thirteen years to live a life with a man of forty years.

Death was acceptable to Chitra didi than her marriage. He knew if she couldn't run away she would have tried to do what Suman had wanted to do.

Death was acceptable to Suman than marriage to his son. But why she didn't wanted to marry Murali. He was not forty years. He was just twenty five years. He was good looking, well educated, well behaved with no bad habits of smoking or drinking.

Maheswari had told many times she was not comfortable with Murali wedding. She had talked about the screams she had heard when Suman spoke to her mother. Today her instincts were proven true. Suman was a girl who had suffered so much torture at home maybe she feared the same in her husband's house. Maybe like her father her husband will abuse her. Maybe this family also will kill the female child in her womb. He could never believe what he heard about Rajput family. They were a model family which propagated progressive ideas and inside that family such things happen. He shook his head in disgust. Killing the baby in mother's womb. He couldn't imagine that.

As he looked around he knew he had to find her. Yes even now somewhere his mother's soul would not have found peace knowing her daughter is still not given the rightful place in the family. He had made some enquiries. He knew that Chitra didi was in Agra with her husband and at that time she had a daughter and was expecting her second child. From there they had gone to Lucknow. He was unable to get any information of them from his Lucknow contacts. He thought he should tell it to Sudhir. Maybe his sons can get information. He went to a closed trunk in that room and opened it. From that he took a faded album where he knew his mother had stored all the photos of Chitra. If it has to be told to his sons these photos should also be given to them so as to help them with their search.

" Maa I promise you I will bring back Chitra didi wherever she is. I will give her the rightful place in this family. I am sorry I couldn't tell the truth to you. Hope you will forgive me " told Rajasekhar as he gently closed the door and walked to his room with the album.