The life we live is supported by our beliefs. These beliefs we carry paint a picture of understanding the world in our own vision and we live and breathe in it. Even though we aren’t a being of divine or almighty nature, yet we are the creators of our own world.
Everything is fine as long as everyone is content with it, however the lines begin to blur when people start to forget that no matter how attached they are to their world, it is not something they can force upon someone else.
Nandini was born in a joint family, a happy one, less complex than many. Her grandparents were extremely happy with the first grandchild of the house and they wouldn’t stop speaking about her to anyone they would come across.
Nandini’s aunt, Mrs Gupta was part of the same family. She was deeply religious, God believing and fearing. She would go to great lengths to go through all the associated rituals and expected others to follow. Other family members did it in good faith. Positivity in any form is welcome after all.
However, for some reason Mrs Gupta felt Nandini needed a good amount of religious teachings and that it should be instilled in her from young just like Mrs Gupta’s mother did with her. Thus, from a very young age Nandini was part of it. No one minded, in a way it did bring a form of discipline and positivity in mind, and Nandini always had a smile on her face. But the smile did not stay for long.
As children grow and realise there is a whole vast world out there, they begin to wonder and imagine and they need that space to do so and Nandini needed it as well. It was starting to become a bother, all the timely prayers, rituals, special days, this and that. Nandini’s parents did not say much in the matter but Nandini’s grandparents did object and Mrs Gupta wasn’t liking it very much.
Then it came, it was a day of religious relevance, not so relevant otherwise, but for the devoted it is a different matter. Nandini, now in ninth grade of school, had gone to her friend’s house. She completely overlooked the timing when a certain ritual was to be performed and she returned home where her aunt was waiting to burst out in anger. Nandini had slowly diverted her river of life in a different direction.
It was not one of the finer days for the family. A lot of verbal arguments pursued, accusations were made, things got worse over the days and months and Nandini’s aunt and uncle walked out of the house one day never to return to stay there like before.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
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