Hope

The Departure

With a lot of pride and sense of accomplishment, my grandfather announced that he'll be going overseas for a job and told his wife to take care of the kids while he's gone. He told her that he'll be back very soon in order to take her with him, and the kids, as soon as he's able to settle in the foreign land.

He had hoped for a spark of joy after this announcement but what came later was only, fights, pain and agony. While he had hoped that his wife will be excited that she'll get to travel with him, she had seen the true reason behind my grandfather's excitement which was to break free out of this chaotic situation.

They had enrolled the four kids in a government affiliated school whereas the other two would go to a slightly better school than them. While the four of them were fed chapatis made in the morning, stuffed in a tiffin, two each for everyone, the other two kids would get fresh chapatis and rice with the best curry and dessert, and the food had to be made by the eldest sister, Ishika, as grandmother would be off to her daily routine where she'd meet her friends, try to browse through some business ideas, make a few sales through her handicrafts and then come back home only to yell at my grandfather as she wouldn't let him go to abroad, leaving her behind to take care of six kids by herself.

This has become the norm until one day, when he finally left the country, and his children to suffer even more. Grandmother started spending her days by calling over her sisters, friends at home and distributing the chores among the four kids, where she'd make sure that her children were well provided for, and the other four had enough to survive by the day. She would also teach the girls some of his crafts in order to take their help for her business and then would leave them be, while she trotted all around the city, building a social life for herself and her own two kids. 

A few months passed by, there was no source of contact with my grandfather, so she decided that she'll go overseas by herself, and make sure that he didn't ended up having another affair, just like he had with her when he was previously married. She contacted a few people, got her passport and visa done, and left with both her kids, leaving the other four behind, telling them that she'll be back soon and that they were to watch the house in her absence, as if she'd return in just a few hours.

My father was around 13 years old at that time, weeks passed by but there was still no contact from overseas regarding their parent's return. The children had spent all the money that the grandmother had given them to spend for the time when she won't be here. They had bought all kinds of delicious food, CDs to their favourite movies, etc., which they wouldn't get to taste normally. But now, the money was gone, and it was expected out of such young kids who obviously wouldn't know anything about survival and savings.

So my father decided to sell newspapers in order to make some money. He borrowed a bicycle and asked for the job from the local newspaper seller. He would get a very basic amount of money to throw papers in the morning and that would help them buy groceries for the day. Another month passed by, there wasn't any form of contact through their parents, the rent was due, and neighbours started getting suspicious of their situation. Everyone would wonder why four small kids would be living in a house, all alone. So they decided to contact a few relatives who would help them out of the situation.

In a few days, the parents finally returned, and what little freedom these kids had tasted was all gone again. They were again made attendants to the grandmother's kids, and were treated like servants because if they were going to live in that house, it will definitely not be for free.

After a few years, grandfather was still very much settled abroad, and grandmother would come and leave ever so often in order to keep everything and everyone in check. The four kids were now ready to graduate from high school which meant, they'd now be entering college. When grandmother thought about the expense, she thought it'll be best if they got rid of the eldest daughter, Ishika by getting her married.

Grandfather agreed and they started looking for suitable matches for her by spreading a word out that their daughter is now ready to be married. By some miracle, it wasn't easy to get her married with just a high school degree, so they allowed her to pursue an undergraduate through correspondence. It worked out for everyone as the course was cheap and she would remain at home most of the times due to correspondence and would train to become a good wife, just like my grandfather's first wife, in her free time.

During this, grandfather sent my father to another city to pursue a degree so that he'll be able to find at least some job, and then they'd think about his marriage as well.

The day finally came when they had found a perfect match for my aunt, a guy who had no job security, was a freelancer in some creative profession, and lived in a huge joint family where my aunt could happily die, suffering, cooking, and starving.

But any hell was better than this one, so she accepted and went along her way.

And now, it was my father's turn..