Puro waves goodbye to her family
with a heavy heart and returns back to her house with Rashid. As they take
their road home they see several people like them, torn families, broken
individuals and a general question regarding the goings on.
Iqbal and Seema were married in
Undivided India. But with the communal tensions flaring, Seema’s natal family
chooses to move to India with whatever little they can gather. Their young
child, Ramin, has a hundred questions. He asks whether at all he’d see his
maternal grandparents; whether he could visit them, write to them. Seema has no
answers to the questions herself. Ramin questions how he—a combination of Ram
and Rahim in his name—can hold multiple faiths in one and not the people. Iqbal
is rendered speechless at these words and believes that they should now leave
the question of right and wrong to one’s own Almighty.
Puro (now Hamida) and Seema (now
Zoya) exchange smiles at this conversation, hiding multiple shards of pain,
anger, loss and helplessness they themselves carry within them. They talk about
their daily chores and recipes and expertly silence the storms raging within
them. Ramin soon forgets the conversation and skips and swings between Puro and
Seema all the way back home.
Ramin’s question is not completely forgotten
though. While Puro cooks and serves Rashid with hot rotis at dinner, she cites
the question evaded earlier in the day. She wants to know what they would tell
their children if they asked them the same. Rashid ponders over it but has no
answer. Puro has a sleepless night over the seemingly innocent question raised
by Ramin.
Over the next few days, Lajjo,
Trilok and Ramchand walk back and reunite Lajjo with her mother. Ramchand is
heartbroken over Puro’s decision and there is no night that passes without him
reminiscing the time he spent with Puro. Lajjo and their mother see the pain
but no words can console him and they really have none. Each one of them has
suffered.
Lajjo leaves with Trilok for their
new house. All along, Lajjo feels eyes on her and whispering about her
abduction and forced marriage in Pakistan. She feels humiliated and no amount
of Trilok’s reprimanding the people can alleviate her pain. The shame is
accentuated when her parents-in-law refuse to acknowledge her. Their distrust, disgust
and neglect add to her trauma. They ask Trilok to refuse to accept her as his
wife since she is now defiled. What was most shocking was Trilok now had no say
over what his parents said. His silence and suspicion in the eyes broke Lajjo.
She is asked to leave the home at the earliest and no amount of her pleading
would make them change their minds. Lajjo is furious on hearing this from a man
whom she loved deeply and had waited patiently to be rescued for. In hot
furious tears, she challenged his integrity and education if he had such a
narrow mind. She does not want to spend another day in the house where she had
no respect.
Lajjo spends the night in the park
nearby and is woken up by people pelting stones and shaming her. She is saved
by a wealthy Parsi couple, who take her home and tend to her bleeding wounds.
The Zaveris give her a patient hearing and kind-heartedly invite her to stay in
their house as long as she wanted.
Puro and Rashid now have twins.
Lahore is now divided between people who hate India and between those who are
still hopeful and looking for a bright future. Puro tunes in to the radio each
day to hear about India. The two newly-formed countries do not share cordial
relations and she wonders how her infants would grow up to think about India
and Hindus.
Puro learns of the Pakistani attack
on Kashmir and India’s retaliation and changed relations. For the first time,
Puro questions her decision to stay back in a place which will now never have
the same relations with India. Never once though does she repent the decision
of choosing to live with Rashid. She may not be rich but Rashid treated her
with utmost dignity and care.
Year 1950...
Lajjo stays with the Zaveris in a democracy
now. The Zaveris have come to appreciate Lajjo’s learning and opinion. They
believe that she would make a significant contribution as a civil servant. They
encourage her to take the Union Public Service Examination and sure enough she
clears the examination. She defies all social norms now to hold an office that
can serve the people. Trilok learns his quiet lesson from the sidelines.
Lajjo visits Lahore in official
capacity and makes it a point to pay a visit to Puro. Puro is proud of Lajjo
and shocked at her family’s behaviour towards Lajjo. Lajjo though confesses
that she now knew that it was wise on Puro’s part to choose Rashid for the
human being that he was rather than judging him on the religion he belonged to.
Puro smiles knowingly.
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