UN-RAVEL : The inner strength.....

UN-RAVEL 38.... THE FEUD WITH PAST...

UN-RAVEL 38....

THE FEUD WITH PAST....

"Your mom is an army officer." Zamira asks rehotericaly with a small smile as she feels a heart full of pride.

"Yes." Manik says with shine in his eyes. "When my grandfather died, bade papa ordered both his brothers to leave the house and be on their own without questioning him my papa left the house with dad (Abhinander) and they both stayed together. Papa was around 21 at that time and dad was still studying. Dad stayed in hostel and papa joined the army, after years of rigorous training papa came back and by then dad had started his own business. Papa got married to maa after one year of his training. Maa was just 20 at that time and she was happy to marry him. She belonged to a middle class family, her father my maternal grandfather was my dada ji's friend one of their relatives played the cupid and they got married. My nano was headmaster in the school of his village and has one son and two daughters. All her life my maa was taught how to be a good daughter-in-law, wife and mother, she had a degree of BA Literature in hindi but she admired all sorts of literature especially the romantic ones. Even though she belonged to a small village it was astounding how amazing and fluent her English was. She said she became fluent when she traveled with my papa. My parents didn't have a love marriage but honestly according to maa, dad and mom (Tejaswani), my papa knew how to turn an arrange marriage into love marriage, he use to say that doesn't matter whom you fall in love with you always need to respect the one who chooses to share the happiness and grief of your life and that is only a wife. After five years of their marriage they had me." Manik smiled looking at Zamira controlling his overwhelmed emotions. He took her hand in his and patted it lightly, "Maa told me that she had never seen papa more happier then the day he held me. He called me his pride, his happiness. A few months after my birth dad got married to mom and papa and maa got them married. Dad's business had flourished alot. He had fallen in love with mom who was his business investors daughter and he was happy to oblige to their marriage. Life was going great for them until one day they recieved the news of my papa being martyred in the line of duty. He was posted in the Punjab region near the border at Amritsar. He was martyred while he passed away while killing eight terrorist. He took the bomb and  it blasted with him. It happened during the time of recession. Dad's work faced the biggest jolt. Mom's father couldn't take the loss and passed away due to heart attack. Life took a 180 turn for all of them. Every body who came pitted my mom saying how will she raise me being a widow. They pitted her for having no money left. They sympathized with her for loss of her husband. My nanu didn't have enough money to support us he had invested his life long savings to develop a school for the children of village. The times went from bad and tough to worse and harsh. Till one day maa decided to take the biggest decision of her life. She decided to join the army. Everyone... believe me when I say everyone went against her and called her a fool. They told her who would look after me if she went away. They told her that army is man's job not a woman's job. But my maa is one of the most stubborn person anyone would have come across. If she has made up her mind she has made it up and she just didn't make it up without thinking through. She had thought through. Mom and Dad supported her. Dad told her to go and not to worry about me. He told maa that he will take care of me as his own son. Believe he wasn't wrong. At one hand maa went and adorned the legacy of her husband and on other hand mom dropped her hospital practice and joined dad to build up her father's and his business, though dad stopped her but she was no less stubborn she told him clearly that she has made her mind up. So with help of her brother and dad they started rebuilding the business. It brought a great fortune until one day dad told mom what he really wanted to do. He told her he wants to carry on the legacy of his brother and join the military. He was very nervous but mom wasn't she was rather very proud. That's how my maa and dad joined the army." Manik ends narrating.