Chapter 17: chapter 17

Jamuni and Jogya reached the holy city of Rishikesh on the way to their destination.As Jamuni sat near the mighty river Ganges or commonly called, "Ganga" she felt the deep soul connection with the river, whom she called her mother.Jamuni cupped her hand and filled it with the icy cold water of Ganga and sprinkled on her body.She took a holy dip in the river chanting, "Har Har Gange!"She could feel the current of the mighty river running through her body while cleansing her mind, heart and soul.Jogya took a holy dip in the river and bowed his head to Sun, Ganges and the universe which has blessed him with love, friendship and companionship of the most wonderful person on this earth called Jamuni.After changing their clothes, both of them sat near the river and felt the cool breeze caressing their faces as if telling them that they both were welcome there!Jamuni wore a lemon yellow lukhnowi chickenkari kurti with white churidaar. She was wearing silver hoops earrings in her ears which gave her a traditional look combined with modern design.They ate kachori and spicy potato curry and distributed the same among all the children.A little girl smiled at Jamuni while eating kachori.Jamuni said to Jogya,"You know, she reminds me of my own daughter's smile before...."She had tears in her eyes!There were so many things which she wanted to share with Jogya, but could not do it.Jogya looked at her as if asking her to complete her sentence!She told him,"Please don't ask me to complete my sentence as I can't reveal this secret to anyone in this world!""Listen, Jamuni I believe that sharing your painful memories with your loved ones is the best therapy in this world...When you share your feelings and emotions with someone without holding yourself back then you can look at the big picture in the end.You are already taking medicines and if you will continue sharing your experiences without any fear of being judged by others then it is going to be the best therapy in this world!Please feel free to share all those scary and crazy thoughts which had transformed your life and turned it into the strongest version of your previous self."Jamuni took a deep breath as if she was bracing herself before spilling the beans about her turbulent past."Jog, a woman goes through a lot in this world. People expect her to give them love but they don't try to understand her needs, her dreams and her aspirations in life. They want her to be an epitome of sacrifice as she is considered to be a weaker person between both the genders and obviously, weak people can't assert their rights. Our society never forgets to point a finger at her if she fails to perform her duties but never criticises a man who has an extra marital affair with another woman even if she is married!He says that it is his duty to support a woman who is needy but ignores the needs of his own woman at home.If a woman supports another man then she is conveniently labelled as characterless.When Neelesh had an affair with Maya, he forgot that he was a married man at that time and he should have broken all the ties with his past girlfriend Maya who was married to his best friend Sumit.When I left my house and broke my marriage, still he did not break his friendship with his girlfriend who was the reason behind our painful divorce.I divorced Neelesh and asked Jiten to marry me before having a relationship with him. He told me that he never wanted to get married as he was scared of commitments in his life.He told me that his father had divorced his mother when she was expecting him saying that she was not the same girl with whom he got married earlier and got married to his own secretary.His mother brought him up with lot of struggle but in the end Jiten inherited everything owned by his father when he died in a car accident with his second wife leaving no one behind except Jiten and his mother.He got his father's money but not his love and he never wanted to be a father like his own father. He told me that he had decided that he would never get married in his whole life!So, I left him and joined a company where I worked hard to buy a house for myself.I was promoted for my work and I visited many countries as a part of my job's perks and benefits.I never received any message from Neelesh or Jiten for many years after that." Jamuni paused to catch her breath as she was tired after reliving her old memories.Jogya told her,"I can understand, why Jiten was reluctant to get married to any woman including you.When you left me, I was angry and depressed for a long period of time. I wanted to seek revenge from you, as I felt that you were responsible for her death!"Jamuni covered her mouth with her hands as she was too shocked by the sudden revelation of Jogya!She asked him,"Jog, please tell me what happened when the wild and ferocious tiger attacked me in the jungle on that fateful day!"Jogya covered his eyes and started sobbing like a little boy as he said to her,"I lost my mother in that attack!""Jog, please forgive me, I have forgotten everything about that day and I could never say sorry to you in person for my grave mistake. It was my idea to cross the river and bring back my goat from the other side of the jungle. I did not realise that a tiger was watching me and was about to pounce at me like a shrewd predator! I was about to cross the river with my goat when I heard a noise and an ear deafening roar of the tiger echoing between the mountains and the valleys like a thunderstorm which ended up changing my life forever!" Jamuni shared her thoughts with him about her scariest and one of the most painful memory of her life.