Meera's Destiny

                                   

Nine-year-old Radha belonging to a remote village in India was the eldest of two brothers and three sisters. They all lived in a joint family. Radha’s father was an uneducated farmer. Radha’s mother worked in the village factory to support her family. Radha’s grandparents were very old. Her brothers attended the school, located in the adjacent village. Radha did not go to school. In another few years, she will be married. Her mother wanted Radha to learn cooking and become an expert in household management. Radha helped around the house and took care of her younger sisters and grandparents.

Radha was used to seeing strange people from the city come to her village from time to time. When that happened, Radha’s mother had to take leave from the factory and take the children to a camp. Radha was adept at hiding in the bushes with her friends to avoid visiting the camp. One day while Radha was milking the cow someone called out to her. There was a strict looking women standing outside her hut. The women asked, “What is your name? Why are you not in school?” Radha, trembling with fear, replied that since the school was in another village she could not travel that far. Very soon, Radha and her sisters started going to school. Children did not have to walk two kilometres to attend school in the next village anymore. Now Radha’s village had a new school. All her friends became her classmates. Her parents could now save some money as this school provided free education. It also provided free lunch and Radha and her siblings never went hungry again. They loved going to school.

Radha’s sister “Meera” was very good in studies. The teachers always praised her. One day, their uncle who was a widower in the city offered to further Meera’s education. Now Meera went to a government school in the city. Radha and her mother were against sending Meera to the big city but their father let her go. Meera felt fortunate but also intimidated by the city life and her rich fellow students. She had to suffer snide remarks on her lack of knowledge in English, personal appearance and practices. Even the teachers had favorites. They mostly liked students belonging to rich families. Overwhelmed by the new experiences, Meera started performing poorly. She felt alone and stranded. Owing to her poor marks, Meera received an appointment to visit the school guidance counselor. She poured out her worries and insecurities to the kind woman. Her section was changed and now she was in a class where she had some girls hailing from villages. Surprisingly, these girls were friends with the elite. Slowly Meera learnt to mingle with everyone. Her grades and lifestyle improved. She marveled at the amount of information and knowledge that was at her disposal. She enjoyed her education. As time went by, she got the news that her sister Radha was getting married. Meera attended the wedding and her father proudly showed her off to everyone. She was the first girl in her village to get a city education.

When Meera attained puberty, it was another setback. Her kind neighbor, who was also a nurse, was very helpful. Meera had a new perception of the world around her. She became aloof. She felt shy of the boys in her class. She did not know how to embrace this change. Her uncle was of no help and she found it difficult to continue to live with him in his small house. Sometimes, she felt her uncle behave strangely around her and felt scared. The nurse advised her against living alone with her uncle anymore. Soon Meera visited her village and informed her family that she had attained puberty. To her astonishment and embarrassment, they celebrated this occasion and called all the villagers to a small get-together. They performed a ceremony for her and her marriage was set to happen in another few years. They tried to force her into quitting her education and stay back in the village. Her uncle intervened and pacified the family and Meera continued her education. Her city friends became the strongest source of support.

With her getting older, Meera experienced a sudden interest in the opposite sex. On receiving encouragement from her friends, she openly displayed such feelings. She spent hours in front of the mirror and took special care in her appearance. She loved to watch romantic movies and dreamed of marrying someone who was like her favorite hero. She liked it when boys noticed her. One day Meera got the news of her father passing away. Meera did not know what would happen to her and her family now. Her uncle consoled her and promised to help her family as much as he can. Meera found solace in pouring out her heart to a boy she liked in the school.

One day after school, Meera was caught by a teacher talking to the same boy in a lonely corridor, she was oblivious of what was about to come. The teacher told the boy to leave. Meera received endless shouting, and her character was in question. Her uncle had to come up to the school and speak on her behalf. Her school, which offered guidance from a counselor for poor performance, failed to offer her the much-needed guidance when it came to the matters of age. The boy’s version was accepted without question and he walked out of this incident untainted. Meera experienced endless humiliation at home and at school. Her teachers completely avoided her. Some male teachers even passed raunchy remarks at her. Meera’s encouraging friends distanced themselves from her as the news had reached their families. Meera struggled to finish her education and passed out with minimum marks.

She went to her village and lived with her family for a while. She slowly expressed a wish to graduate. Her family wanted her married. Her elder sister Radha was already a mother of twins. Meera threatened her family with hunger and suicide. This fight went on for days with visits to the hospital and intervention from the village elders. Meera’s mother could not understand how Meera can be so selfish. With the passing of time, Meera’s 45-year-old uncle offered to marry her and informed that, this was his intention all along. He also pressurized the family by quoting the degrading incident that happened at school. He offered Meera a chance to enter college after marriage and promised to continue to assist her family in the village. He also offered to take the responsibility of getting the youngest sister married. To save her education, Meera reluctantly agreed.

Today Meera is a single mother and has two children. She teaches in the village school and supports her family. She never graduated. Her mother and brothers take care of the farm. Radha died in childbirth. She left behind four children. They live with their aunt Meera and grandmother. Radha’s husband remarried and has a new family of his own. All the children study at the free village school. Radha’s youngest sister Pushpa, studies in the city after having received a scholarship. Her aim is to be single and work for the upliftment of women in her village.