Strength to Say No Read Online Free Page B

Calcutta.’
    â€˜But you don’t just leave your family and your wife on a whim,’ my father put in.
    â€˜Of course not. She’s lying. She must have done something that annoyed him,’ Ma shouts.
    â€˜I didn’t do anything wrong, Ma! I obeyed and did everything they told me to do. I cooked and did the housework without ever turning a hair or protesting … and now I’m ruined. Nobody else will ever want me.’
    Josna is in tears. The marriage was consummated, she is impure. No other man will want to marry her. Personally I am very happy that she is among us again, but I quickly understand that she will never have a family.
    My furious mother, shocked at my sister’s return, takes Baba’s arm and says, ‘Let’s go and see the family.’
    Ma orders me to go and find her scarf. When I give it to her she strides down the main village street in the direction of the house of Josna’s in-laws.
    My sister refuses to speak to me. She is curled up on her straw mattress inside the house to escape from the shame. The first neighbours stroll past our house to try to find out more about what’s going on. I don’t say a word to them.
    When the parents return my mother is even more furious than before. My father has a gloomy expression. Not only is their daughter no longer a virgin but the dowry money was wasted even as Baba has gone into debt to pay it.
    My mother went to see the
panchayat
, the assembly whose role it is to sort out differences between individuals and villages. She explained the situation to them, but there was nothing to be done. The son disappeared with the money and his parents had no news. They were sincerely sorry about the situation and they knew that their reputation was now sealed and that no one would trust them ever again. Their other sons won’t find wives unless they search several dozen kilometres from their village. The local police suggested putting the missing husband and deserter on the list of wanted persons, while explaining that there was almost no chance of finding him if he had taken refuge in a big city like Calcutta. If he had left the state of West Bengal there was no chance of tracing him.
    After that Josna cried every day. During a long period of depression she refused to eat. She grew visibly thinner. Every day my mother cursed all the men on earth. She stopped eating, too. Anger and bitterness gnawed away at her.

    Everything changes when Badhari’s father comes to knock on our door and asks to speak to Baba.
    â€˜
Namaste
, Karno. I am coming to see you because I hope to find a wife for my son Badhari. Do you know him?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜But you met him at the weekly market. A big, strapping fellow, very fine. He is the biggest of my sons.’
    â€˜I don’t see very well, but never mind. What makes you say that he could be suitable for my daughter?’
    â€˜He was the one who spoke to me about it. He asked for my permission to marry her. I don’t have any objection. Even if she has already been married …’
    â€˜Yes, it’s an unhappy experience that the gods put in our path.’
    â€˜How much is her dowry?’
    â€˜Not very much, I’m afraid. I can offer only ten thousand rupees. But my daughter is still young. She is only twelve and a half years old. What’s more, she is beautiful and a good worker. She is employed in a brick factory. She would be a very good catch for anyone who wants to marry her.’
    â€˜Then ten thousand rupees it is! It’s a deal! He’s my last son and I would like to see him start a family before I depart this life.’
    It is nothing short of a miracle that has just happened. Ma announces to Josna that she has finally found a husband – a godsend so soon after the first misadventure. My sister, however, remains cautious and is afraid of another unpleasant experience.
    A few months after the marriage Josna has some