The other woman…..
      

                            

        A week had passed in this new house and yet I was a total stranger lost in the house full of relatives, guests, family members. Elders in the house were bidding adieu to the guests who finally realized that one week after the wedding it was time for them to go back home. Far in the other corner of the house, the younger lot were unwrapping the gifts and gossiping about the big day celebrations. Outside in the verandah, the kids were busy playing and discussing the games they would play with their new aunty. Amidst all the hustle-bustle, I stood quietly in my room, still trying to make out who is who, when he came and stood in front of me.  He was standing barely 2 feet away from me, his dark black eyes staring at me. It had been a week since we took the vow and we became man and wife, but not once had we got the time to sit alone and talk. 

        Ours was not a love marriage, it was a match arranged by both set of parents, and so I had suspected that I would have goose bumps at his first stare but surprisingly I stood calm and composed. His eyes read not of love but of trust, which left me in a state of confusion. Before I could figure out what was happening, couple of his sisters, unaware of the word “privacy”, pushed themselves into the room and dragged him away. His eyes still trying to convey something that my mind failed to read.

           Later in the evening we escaped the pondering eyes of the family and met at the terrace. He stood there, his eyes staring at me yet again, forcing me to figure out what his heart wanted to convey. Strange as it may sound, I realized he wanted to talk about the “other woman” in his life. Ever since our first meeting, I was aware of this other woman in his life. The other woman, here being, none other than his motherland. I knew since day one that however dutiful a wife I become, I will never be his first love for he had already promised his life and death to another woman.

        My mother was not particularly happy with this match, because any dotting mother in her right senses would not want her daughter to marry a man who constantly lives under the shadow of death. But I instantly fell for this army man, in fact it was his love and loyalty for the other woman that attracted me towards this man in uniform. I was well aware that my life would not be like other Indian wives but I was not expecting him to leave me for his first love within a week of our marriage. His heart was torn between his duty towards the nation and his responsibility towards his bride. While the dark clouds of war were taking the entire nation under its wraps, I knew country needed this man much more than I did.

        Next morning while everyone in the house gathered to bless him and pray for the safety of the nation, our eyes met again, this time his eyes urging me to have faith in him. I wished him luck not knowing if I would ever see this man again. In the days that followed, my huge family tried to pacify me and I too tried to keep myself occupied with the household chores. Every time the door bell rang, my heart skipped a beat, praying that the person on the other side is not carrying the worst news of my life.

        Sometimes sitting alone in the balcony, tracing the narrow path between the lush green fields, hoping to see him come running from the far end I think was it a wise decision to marry a man who I am sharing with another woman? But the thought would vanish in no time, making me feel proud of the man who is so loyal to the country, to his duty, to the other woman that not once did he think of taking a step back. 

        On one hand are handful of monsters who murder innocent people, who shamelessly rape girls, who steal common man’s bread and butter and on other hand are men like my husband who serve their motherland selflessly, who leave their family to protect zillion of strangers out there, who without slightest fear are putting their lives at stake for the safety of fellow countrymen.  As much as I think of him, I fall more and more in love not just with him but also with the other woman in his life. His unconditional love for the nation where he was born, his unquestionable devotion to the land of his dreams, his unrestricted patriotism for his motherland, gives me the strength to share my man with this other woman. 

        While he is earnestly fighting for the safety of the other woman, I am faithfully praying for the well being of my loving husband, his companions and for the woman herself. I SALUTE the brave- hearts who fearlessly face the enemies at the borders and I also SALUTE the wives of these soldiers who like me are sharing their husbands with the motherland and giving them the strength to be real heroes of the nations. Here I am still waiting for him to run through the green fields and hug me tight.   JAI HIND!!!