She immediately held his collar, "k..kya keh rahe hain ap apko pata hain?" Her voice broke while she almost choked, her lips were shivering so much that her voice was unclear, she smiled in pain, "a...ap mazak kar rahe hain na mere sath?" She laughed with tears expecting him to laugh back and say it is a joke.

He looked away and closed his eyes but she cupped his face and made him turn towards her forcefully, "ap meri ankho mein dekh k ye dobara kahiye".

He remained silent and removed her hand but she cupped his face again, "ap chahe meri jaan mang lijiye par ye mat mangiye".

She was acting like insane, a mental person sometimes laughing thinking it to be a joke then again crying. She started laughing then her laughter turned into a cry of agony.

Putting her arms around his neck, she snuggled in him, "ap please keh dijiye ki ap jhoot bol rahe hain. Ap mere sath itna bara anyai maat kijiye".

Her tears made his shirt wet. For the first time, he didn't reciprocate the hug as her hand were beside him and he was looking up trying not to break down in front of her. He tried to separate her from him but she wanted to stay like that and only murmured while crying, "please ap mere sath aisa maat kijiye".

Closing his eyes and mustering up courage, he pushed her away with a force leaving her in a state of shock, "mere paas maat ao, na tum meri mohabbat ho nahi patni".

She held the table for support when her feet trembled hearing this and she was about to fall.

"Maine bass tumse ek choti si chiz manga hain, ek dastakhat, ye hain mera Gurudakhshina" he said sternly, rather heartlessly.

Even after seeing the person in front of him was broken, shattered, and ground into the earth. It is so easy to break a person, it takes so very long to repair.

He kept the paper on the table and left the room. She slowly sat on the ground, her head resting on the table. She had no expression on his face, emotions in her eyes and movement in her body. The river of tears in her eyes had dried up. She kept staring at the front wall without blinking as if it is not her eyes but a glass pane with no vision. Anybody would mistake her with a dead for sure.

Unexpectedly, kaka slapped Dada in front of everyone leaving us in shock. Actually Dada and I left everyone in shock. His eyes widened as he held his face in disbelief. Kaka raising his hand on his eldest son was shocking.

"Kaka wo" I was about to speak but he showed me his hand and shouted ferociously at me, "Chup! Ek shabd aur nehi".

"Kaka maine jo kiya soch samajh k Bondita k bhalai ka liye hi kiya" he said boldly, removing his hand from his face. "Ek shabd aur nikla tum dono k muh se to mujhse bura koi nehi hoga Anirudh, ek naya fitoor sabar hain uspe apna ghar todne ka" Baba shouted at us.

"Kaka Bondita ko mein apni patni nehi manta aur Batuk pyar karta hain" he looked at me, "Ha kaka aur Bondita ki haa hogi tabhi...."

"Arrey dimag thik hain? Wo insaan hain khilona nehi" shouted kaka.

"Kaka Bondita k liye har faisla mera tha aur aj bhi ye mera atal faisla hain par agar Bondita dastakhat karti hain tabhi, mein ussey zabardasti nehi kar raha".

Kaka calmed down a bit and placed his hand on Dada's shoulder, "thande dimag se sun meri baat, ye Roy Chowdhury haveli mein aj tak sirf mard the. Teri maa k jaane k baad mala toot kar saare daane bikhar gye the. Tum baccho k saar se maa ka saya chala gaya, Binoy kaam mein vyast ho gaya. Hum ne tum tino ko paal poske bara to kiya par ek mard ek aurat ki kami kabhi pura nehi kar sakta kyuki mamta sirf bhagwan ne aurat ko diya hain. Tuney bachpan nehi dekha, pyar aur lad k bina bara huya hain par fir humari bahu ayi aur is bikhre huye mala ko ek dhage mein piroya. Tum baap bete ka rishta sudhara. Jo parivar kabhi ek sath kahne par nehi baitha unhe wo 8 saal ki bacchi ne hasna sikhaya.

Mamta sirf aurat mein hoti hain chahe wo kitni bhi choti ho.pehli baar is ghar ka khana koi prem se banaya. Jab hum gussa karte the, wo bacchi mujhe apne hatho se khilati thi ek maa ki tarha, maine dekha hain tujhe bhi apne haaton se khilate huye. Jo pyar aur lad ki kami maine zindagi mein dekhe the wo bharne laga dheere dheere bahu k karan.

Pirhiyo k baad ek aurat ayi is vansh mein aur sabko apne achal taale, pyar dekar lad dekar is parivar ko savara. Badle mein kya manga usne?" Kaka looked at me.

"Kuch nehi" I murmured.

He again looked at Dada, "humey to wo pehele se nehi jaanti thi, tu bhi anjan tha fir kyu kiya usne aisa. 8 saal k umar mein apna parivaar chorke ayi thi ek anjan admi k bharose aur uske parivaar ko apna liya."

"Kaka isiliye to, Bondita deserves karti hain ek accha jeevan sathi, aur Batuk se accha koi nehi hain" said Dada.

"Ha kaka aur divorce k baad Koi rishta nehi rahega indono ka to mere aur Bondita k rishte mein koi rukawat bhi nehi rahega" I said.

Baba would have thrashed both of us but Som Dada held him.

"Tum dono samjho..."

Just then we heard the tingling of payel. From a distance walked a feminine figure in the dark. As she came closer we saw Bondita but changed. She wore a dark coloured saree, a black Bindi, her hair flew everywhere like a goddess. Her walk was not a soft, subtle one rather like a queen. She was not looking broken rather she held a wave of anger, with head held high. She walked like a lioness. Ignoring every one she simply stood in front of Dada and looked straight into his eyes.

"Bahu hum samjha denge in dono ko" kaka was speaking but she ignored everyone.

She simply forwarded a paper, "apke har faisle mein mein apke sath thi, apke muh se nikla har ek shabd divya vaani hain mere liye, ap mere guru ho aur ye raha apka Guru dakshina".

"Bondita tum bhi bewakoofi maat karo" said Som dada.

Every single person requested her but it seemed as if nothing was reaching into her ears.

She turned towards me and with no expression, she stated, "abh koi rishta nehi raha inka aur mera, mujhe tumhara prastav bhi manzoor hain".

I smiled and looked at Dada but he was not smiling instead I saw tear brimmed eyes. Wait what is happening?

A few second back he was arguing with kaka right? He looked at her sign with teary eyes.

She turned around flipping her long hair, and walked a few steps away but suddenly stopped. Without turning towards us she said one thing before marching away to her room, "pandav 5 the par 5 pandav milkar bhi ek Daraupadi k maan ki rakhsha nehi kar paye".

I saw her burning, in pain, in anger but she is, unlike others, she is a phoenix. Like a phoenix burns down and is reborn from his own ashes in the same way Bondita burned down and rose from her ashes.

This is what he wants then fine...aj tak har faisle mein apka sath diya aj bhi dungi. My hands were trembling, I was unable to hold the pen but managed to sign somehow.

I was acting like a living corpse when I slowly poured the water on me and watched reddish water draining on the white floor. Redwater dripped on my face. Every ornament I took out was like taking out a piece of my soul.

I looked at myself again and again in the mirror unless I broke it with my shakha pola. The shakha pola and mirror broke together.

Then again I looked at myself and a crack was formed on my reflection.

Perfect!

Now it Perfectly reflected me, Broken!

After handing him the papers I was sitting on the floor with my feet pulled closer to my chest. Every time I looked at our picture, my heart started aching.

VankimChandra Chatterjee( writer of national song Vande mataram) unka ek kahani hain, kopal kundala jahape ek kapalik ek bacchi ko pal poske bara karta hain taki jab wo bari ho jay to maa kali k samne usiki bali charha sakey.

I was in the same condition, he mended me to break me.

Although I acted so well downstairs, I cried profusely in my darkroom. I looked at my hand which had his name....he is no more my pati babu.

Kitna ajeeb hain na? Kaise kuch mard milke ek aurat k zindagi ka faisla le lete hain. Mein apse dur chali jaungi, vivah bhi karlungi, apke kehne pe apne zindagi k sath juya khelungi par dekhte hain kaun jeet ta hain... Kyu ki kehte hain sab jayas hain Mohabbat aur jung mein aur mere mohabbat ne ek aisi kimat mangi hain ki har dehleez langhi hain aur mein ye kimaat chukaungi kyu ki sab jayas hain.....choro aur pyar ki baat na kare to hi sahi, uspe se to bharosa hi uth gaya.

Over!

Ap vaada todna jante hain par mein nehi. Apne sath rehne ka vaada karke usey toda par mein apna vaada nehi torungi, apne jo manga wo apko milega...Bondita apko kabhi nehi milegi.

I looked at our childhood picture. Kitni choti thi mein aur khush bhi thi. Tabh sab sahi tha, na pyar tha nahi dard. Issey ye sabit hota hain pyar sirf dard deta hain.

Kash mere pas koi aisi sakti hoti ki mein bachpan mein laut pati.

Kash mein keh pati, "chalo phir se dhund laye hum us masoom bachpan ko, jaha sapna sajaya tha, jaha bachpan bitaya tha, jaha pero k saye mein garonda banaya tha".

I laughed at myself and smacked my head, "tu hi buddhu hain Bondita. Bhul gyi bachpan mein bhi galti ki thi na tuney pyar karne ka, kya huya tha? Unhone dusra vivah karke tere atma ko jhalli kar diya fir bhi tu nehi maani isiliye kisi pagal ne tujhe apharan kar liya jiske wajase teri nind chali gyi...ek galti kyu daurata hein tu Bondita? Kyu?"

Just then kaka Sasurji came and sat on the floor in front of me. I was going to put my pallu but he stopped, "itna samman maat do hummey, hum uske layak nehi" he cried.

"Ap aisa maat kahiye"

"Bahu tum batao humey tum kya chahati ho, sach sach batana, tumhare kaja Sasurji wahi karenge"

"Mein wahi chahati hu wo pati...Barrister Babu chahate hain" I said.

"Bahu? Ye kya keh rahi ho tum?".

I looked at the paper. I knew meri Bondita samajhdar hain. Usey pata hain mein uske liye humesha sahi faisla leta hu. Now that she had broken all ties and all set to tie knot with Batuk, a person who loves her truely, I was happy.

A rocus noise from the kitchen disturbed me. I ran towards kitchen and saw Bihari crushing pappayas wildly and Koyli was requesting him to stop.

"Bihari kya kar rahe ho ruko!" I shouted at him.

"Papita pis rahe hain" he replied back rudely.

"Itna pisoge to karwa nehi ho jayga?"

"Ha to insaan ko bhi itna pisenge ap to wo karwa nehi ho jaygi"

His words hit me hard.

I was happy that Kaka finaly agreed for the marriage but also suspicious ki ek raat mein aisa parivartan kaise?

"Kaka mein bohot khush hu" I hugged him in excitement.

"Ha Anirudh tum sahi the" said Baba, "par hum logo ne bhi ek faisla liya hain".

"Ha kuch bhi faisla lijiye" I said happily.

"Sun to le" said Kaka smirking, "vivah k paschat tum aur Bondita ek dusre se kabhi nehi milenge".

My smile fadded away and I looked at them in shock. "Batuk aur Bondita Calcutta ja ke apni zindagi bitayenge, aur tum dono k zindagi mein ek dusre ka koi nishani nehi hona chahiye"

I stepped backwards, "aisa kaise..."

"To tuney kya socha, vivah k baad bhi pehele pati k sath rahegi?