Lekhny composition -08-Mar-2022

                    DOES OBLIGATION ERASE ALL THE EMOTIONS?

 One fine day I went to the shop in the morning. I prefer shopping in small shops rather than in the malls. It is pleasant buying in these shops as I enjoy bargaining. When I shopped and was moving towards my car, I saw that a girl was following me. She wore torn clothes. Her hair was shabby, and it looked as though she had not eaten for many days. I ignored her and walked ahead. She was not begging but just following me. When I saw that she had followed me to my car, I turned around and asked her with anger what she wanted. She was timorous. Slowly she started moving away, staring at me with frightful and teary eyes.

I felt pity at her condition and called her back and gave her some money. She denied taking it. I asked her what did she need? Hesitantly she said that she wanted a job. She was ready to be a maid in my home. I was reluctant as she was a stranger and asked her how to trust her. She said in a shaky voice that she had nothing to prove her innocence. She was broke. She said that I could keep her in my house for a few days, and then if she were not reliable, I could throw her away. I somehow felt pity for her and agreed. She had grace and some sincerity in her. I took her home and asked her to take a bath. I gave her food and asked her how she ended up on the streets. Didn’t she have anybody as her relative? She started sobbing uncontrollably and began her story.

She said that she hailed from an impoverished family. They were happy. Her father was the only earning member of the family. Whatever he earned was sufficient for them to suffice the hunger for the day. Her mom made a little amount by cooking in a flat in a nearby building. She was the only daughter and was pampered by her parents. One day her father fell sick and suffered from severe stomach pain. He was rushed to a government hospital where he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. He needed immediate attention and a transplant of the liver, which would cost lakhs of rupees. It was next to impossible for the family. All of them were drowned in sorrow and had no idea what to do?

When they were submerged in a quandary about what to do, her mother got a bid from the lady of the house she was working in. She said that she did not wish to give birth to a baby because it would cost her figure, but she wanted to be a mom. The girl’s mom was surprised. The house lady continued that she could give them money if Neeta became a surrogate mom. Neeta was the name of that girl.  Initially, mom was hesitant. She told Neeta about it. She was taken aback. But they had no other option but to agree to the proposal to save her father. Neeta decided to rent her womb. The day they inserted the embryo in her womb was the day they paid for her father’s operation. Her father was treated, but he did not survive. He died after a month. But Neeta was kept away and was not told about the news. The elite family feared that it would affect the baby in her womb. The statement was so impactful that her mom died listening to the information. Neeta was oblivious of all this. She was always told that they were safe and healthy. After nine months, she delivered a beautiful and healthy boy. She could stay in the hospital for 15 more days to feed the baby until it was accustomed to the bottle. Then she was asked to go back to her house as if she was a waste piece. She was not given anything. According to the agreement, all the money was given to her father’s treatment. She went home to find that her parents were no more. There was nobody at home, and it looked deserted.

The owner of her house asked her to leave the house on a month’s notice. All the neighbors started teasing and taunting her that she was no more a virgin and had eaten her parents. She was alone and depressed. The mother in her began to weep. She wanted to go and see her baby for once. But she was insulted and driven away. She knew it was not right, but mom is a mom. Her heart compelled her. She just wanted to see her baby once, but when they denied it, she walked off.

Unable to bear the torture and loneliness, she wanted to end her life, but she had no guts to do so. She asked me whether she was wrong to see her baby. She wondered was she not a human to get emotionally attached to the baby. She said that she lost her respect, parents, home, and kid for nothing. She said that she was a virgin mom like Mother Mary. Then why is she criticized and blamed? She asked whether she had no right even to see her baby. She said that no one would marry her now, and she had no purpose in life. They drove her away from her slum, and she laid on the streets. She said that when she saw me, she felt an intense drive to ask me for help. That is why she approached.

Her words hit me very strongly. It made me ponder that we live in such a hypocritical society where women are worshiped as idols and criticized in person. It made me cry at that girl’s fate. She was left with no option but to take such a drastic step. Is the power of money greater than human emotions?  I failed to understand. That day I understood that obligations make us do so many things without our wish. Helplessness and poverty are such giant social evils. They compel human beings to take harsh steps. As socially responsible human beings, we need to drive away this evil by educating people and giving them equal rights.

                      …………………NOOR TABASSUM………………….