What is a “Socially acceptable conduct”?, Who really passes for a “Reputable woman”? These question have been circling my head like some ghouls from the day my skirt’s length was coercively extended from my knee to my ankle. Akashini is a 64 years young widow who is normally called as a ‘granny’ or a little too rudely like ‘an old hag’. Look, what I’m about to disclose now might make you as baffled as the people I have shared this with. Well, this old hag is intending to make someone her significant other. You heard me right! She is gonna be married soon to a guy who is about 3 years older than her. Like a swarm of ants that surround a sugar cube, everyone has started nitpicking her not long after they heard the news. Even the people who have ignored her for years have probed her name from their library of acquaintance to reach her with poisonous tongues. This Dampness no longer disgusts her, as though she belongs here. The ambrosial world around her is no different except of the fact that they muffled up their hypocritical stench with layers of fragrance, Yet the filthiness is too evident to be kept under wraps. I bet even the combat level radar would admit its inefficiency before these inordinately attentive criticisers. Calling her a slut or an immoral woman will not change the fact that she has a heart to love even after the bruises it has endured. She too was once a submissive wife of a man whose hands had strings to control her actions, whose words were equivalent to the verses in Bible. He tied 3 knots of trust which eventually turned into a slithering snake throttling her neck. She lost herself in the venture of attaining his needs. But when she looked back the road, she could find no sign of self-identity. They had no children to lessen the distance between them. Even in the closest proximity, they grew apart. She had ample of reasons to leave him but I guess she was stupid enough to choose the worst option of serving him till he drew his last breath and her life embellished with silky lace and glimmering shingles was actually stinky like a foul food. All for what? For the society. For the credibility certificate from this damn society. She was too dumb to realise that the society would treat her like an outcast no matter how hard she tries to satisfy them and she had to learn it in the hardest way. As her conviction of abiding by their stupid rules has worn off over the years, she now firmly and unabashedly stands for herself. The society pitied her after her husband died. They mourned that a garden like her has sadly turned into a graveyard without having anyone to stand beside her. And the same society is ridiculing her for actually finding a person she can happily be with. If living her life with her own norms would make her look like an unethical woman, she would gladly accept the disgraceful garland on her head.Â
An Upbraided bride
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