Here goes the write up of Anidita's journey together.
They called him whimsical, they called him crazy as he posed the biggest threat to their orthodox, regressive mentality. He opposed the evil practices in the name of age old traditions. He was the revolutionary who sought to bring a change in the society. He returned to his country after completing his education with flying colours with the sole aim of working for the upliftment of the oppressed gender, the women of his country. He was Anirudh Roychowdhury.
She was outspoken in an era when women were taught to be meek and docile. She asked logical questions regarding the inequality and injustice suffered by women in an era when women were taught lessons in boundless tolerance. Even though she was just a little girl, she wanted to live life on her own conditions in an era when women were expected to live for othersโ happiness and mould themselves according to their husbandsโ and in lawsโ conveniences. She was Bondita Das.
It was by sheer accident that these two human beings with extraordinary mindset came together. Or, maybe it was predestined for these two rebels to come together to bring about the much needed change as the letter Bondita wrote, stating her conditions for marriage, reached Anirudh instead of her intended groom. Anirudh encountered the ghastly scenario where a child was being tied in marital relation with a man older than her grandfather when he attended his friend Sauravโs wedding. He protested against the injustice and in the midst of the turmoil the agedโgroomโ breathed his last. As per the evil practice of Sati, the innocent,little girl was carried off to immolate in the funeral pyre of the dead man. Anirudh stopped them and in an endeavor to protect the girl from the scorching flames of tradition, he married her and declared to support her not only in light but also in darkness.
He fought against traditions. He fought against his family.He fought against the society. And he fought against the evil intentions of Saudamini,the girl who was his childhood friend and whom he intended to marry. All these just to give Bondita, the girl he had to marry to save her life, a proper education and a better future. He protected her from harm again and again even if he had to put his own life at stake, may it be from rescuing her from being sent as a child widow to Vrindavan as planned by his father or from the clutches of Tarabai who was the uncrowned queen of Hiramandi. He solved her problems too which even her own mother ignored like her bed wetting issue and gradually became her savior, her โRakshak Babuโ. He was the one person who would answer all her questions and quench her curiosity. His deeds, in turn,generated unwavering trust and respect in her heart for him. Going through the struggles together, they came closer and became staunch friends along with mentor and mentee. If Anirudh could go to any extent for her, Bondita was no less. She saved his life from a vengeful Munshi with her sharp intellect and presence of mind. She understood and supported his ideals and made his dream to make her a barrister like him her own. However, Bondita swayed under the influence of the elders in the family and peer pressure. She began to act out of Anirudhโs comfort zone and demand rights of a wife that he was unable to give her at the moment, something that would prove to be detrimental to her well being, both physical as well as psychological. Their bond suffered a harsh setback and Anirudh committed a grave mistake. He introduced Manorama as his second wife even though the marriage was fake. However, he gradually realized his mistake and offered an emotional apology which Bondita accepted. They had to break off their marriage to set an example against child marriages but their bond only went on strengthening with each trial and tribulations they faced. After annulment of their marriage, Bondita went to live with her father's family. The head of the family, her father's aunt and her grandmother, was downright regressive and orthodox. Once again Anirudh and Bondita had to struggle hard to continue her study and eventually they escaped another child marriage arranged by Bondita's grandmother for her. He left her in a reputed school in London with the dream of fulfilling their mutual dream of seeing her as a barrister.
Time flew by and finally, Bondita's wait to return to her 'Sakha Babu' reached its culmination. Eight years had passed and Bondita had completed her education with flying colours. Her eagerness to return to her country and most importantly, to her 'Sakha Babu' knew no bounds. She was unaware of the formidable changes wrought by time in the life and personality of the one man she worshipped above all. She was unaware of the ambience of animosity prevailing between Krishnanagar, the village of her father's family and Tulsipur, the village of Anirudh Roychowdhury. After returning she made several failed attempts to meet him. He, on the other hand, was determined not to see her face as time and dreadful events had compelled him to don a stony exterior and he knew that one glimpse of her would weaken his resolve. Their last meeting where he broke off all ties with her broke her spirit and rendered her lifeless. However, Bihari's request to bring the original Anirudh back rejuvenated her spirit and she entered his life under the disguise of Vaijayanti, a Tamil family friend's daughter. As Vaijayanti, she achieved what Bondita couldn't have. She gradually made Anirudh come out of the shell in which he had retreated as a mode of self defence against several physical and emotional onslaught and confess his real feelings. Anirudh confessed what Bondita meant to him. To her misfortune, before Bondita could confess, Chandrachur, the man who instigated the entire enmity between the two villages, played his cards and exposed her. She came across as a traitor and was punished by the Panchayat. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Like always, the afflictions suffered by her returned her 'Rakshak Babu' to her. Anirudh broke out of the shackles of responsibilities imposed by the enmity and once again emerged as Bondita's Rakshak Babu by saving her from a heinous punishment. However, his inability to express publicly his love for her and his conviction that she wasn't a traitor shattered Bondita's will to keep fighting for them and she decided to give up, to distance herself from him. This was the much needed shock that effectively freed Anirudh from the remaining shackles that had been holding him back and the original Anirudh Roychowdhury returned. He declared in front of all and sundry that he believed in Bondita's innocence. In the midst of this turmoil, he realised his love for Bondita. He went to apologise and confess his feelings for Bondita. But just as earlier situation wasn't in favour of Bondita, this time it wasn't in favour of Anirudh. Just as earlier Anirudh was bound by the shackles of responsibility, this time Bondita was bound by the shackles of an oath. She had sworn on Anirudh's picture that she would neither meet nor talk to him ever on her mother's insistence. After several failed attempts, Anirudh did confess his feelings and ultimately, seeing his tears, Bondita did melt and reciprocated. After all how could she see the man she loved the most in tears? They eloped. They were about to marry when Anirudh had to abandon her and return home due to the evil ploy of his uncle who blackmailed him with his sister's child marriage. He was even threatened with child marriages of all little girls in his village if he ever returned to Bondita. However, he did go to her and revealed his helplessness. Like always, she yet again proved herself to be his soulmate by understanding his dilemma. However, she wasn't ready to give up on them and hence, devised a long term solution by advising him to end the enmity by using their love as a weapon. And they did try to spend the message of peace, friendship and non violence in their respective villages. However, Chandrachur, who never wanted this enmity to die down as he wanted Bondita for himself and it was only possible with animosity burning in the hearts of people of both villages which would prevent Anirudh and Bondita from uniting, tried to instigate villagers of Tulsipur again and Anirudh's brother, Somnath, retaliated by setting Das Mansion in fire. Anirudh rescued the members of Bondita's family from the clutches of imminent death. This incident served as the much needed reality check to both villages as well as the heads of Das and Roychowdhury families. This time when Anirudh and Bondita stood strong against the enmity, both Kalindi Das and Trilochan Roychowdhury gave in as they, too, had realised the formidable consequences of this animosity. Trilochan Roychowdhury proposed marriage of Anirudh and Bondita and, much to Chandrachur's chagrin, Kalindi Das accepted. Soon, celebrations began in both families and amidst festivities as well as glitches caused by Chandrachur the auspicious day arrived when two soulmates, two like minded persons would tie the knot and begin a journey of togetherness, to love each other as well as to fight against the injustices and evil practices of the society together.
Let this new journey add even more glory to their already glorious journey from Strangers to Soulmates.
The End
Edited by Nandini25 - 4 years ago
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