Seven Vows Part 1- Published

The Aftermath

As the whipping man untied Sreedhar, Sudhir and Tilak rushed to him. His blue shirt was soaked in blood.

" Bhaiyya I... " Sreedhar collapsed in his brother's arms.

" Papa take the car, we have to take him to hospital " told Sudhir as Rajasekhar rushed to take the car. Sudhir and Tilak carried Sreedhar from the hall. Maheswari caressed her son's hair as he passed her.

" Renuka you go home. Vindhya and Suman will be worried. Tell them everything is fine. We will be in hospital and be back soon. Renuka take care of Suman. She will be distraught. Vindhya will be managing. But don't allow the girl to brood or leave her alone. " told Maheswari. Renuka took the chauffear driven car as Rajasekhar was driving in their other car.

Mahantji was still glaring. He knew what has to be done. That girl has to be proved an evil. You took care of her today. But who is going to save her tomorrow from me. You are going to suffer in hospital Sreedhar Varma and I will make it look like it happened because you tried to protect Suman. But as he came out a man came running " Mahantji come fast, we are in big trouble ". " What trouble" asked Mahantji

" Mahantji we will have to go to police station immediately and meet the officer . Things have turned to ugly. "

" Police station, but why " asked a startled Mahantji

" I will tell you on the way Mahantji now please come with me" Mahantji followed the man. What has happened for him to be worried like this.

Rajasekhar was shouting to Sudhir in the car " Sudhir I thought you were mature. Do you even realize the danger you have put Sreedhar in. He is young, immature and in a fit of empathy have taken the step.But you.. "

" What was the need of this bravery. You don't know Mahantji and his power. They will harm Sreedhar, they can even try to kill him and put the blame on Suman"

" Papa so what you expect me to do. Allow that poor girl to get whipped"

" Sudhir if she was whipped the matter would have been closed there. Now Sreedhar's life is in danger. As a father I am concerned "

" So you are only Sreedhar's father, not that poor girl's . She is your bahu Papa. Have come into our family trusting us. Isnt she our responsibility. By fearing Mahantji we should allow her to get whipped thus going with the society that she did something wrong. Suman didn't do anything wrong Papa. She came to protect Sreedhar. That's the truth. We cannot support a lie fearing a backlash. Myself Tilak Bhaiyya will see what needs to be done to safeguard Sreedhar's safety " told Sudhir

" Sudhir you are not understanding a father's pain and fear " told Rajasekhar

" I am very well understanding the pain Papa. I am also a father. But unlike you, I am a father to the girl. My daughter Nami ties Rakhi every year to Aakash and Adwaith. If tomorrow they come and stand before me telling if they go to protect her, their life will be in danger I will be disappointed. Then what is the point in Nami tying Rakhi to her brothers which is done with the trust that her brother's will protect her. And if they have to protect Nami tomorrow, we elders have to show them path . Suman is my sister. Though she has not tied Rakhi for me I am responsible for her and I will do everything in my power to protect her. " told an angry Sudhir

" Sudhir you will be only disappointed in Aakash and Adwaith. But if they do like that ever in their life I will break both their legs and arms. There is no use having them" told Tilak in a firm voice to the startled Rajasekhar. " I am also a father. But I wont make my sons coward. I wont make them cow before traditions. It is better they die a hero's death, than die thousand times a day in the name of tradition "

" How long we will live in fear Rajasekhar. You know Mahantji has ulterior motive. Yet you wanted Jagratha. You know Mahantji will try to harm. Yet being fearful you are only protecting him. Appreciate Sreedhar Rajasekhar. Appreciate what he has done. Our son has made us proud " told Maheswari

Rajasekhar sighed. Yes it was true. People were admiring Sreedhar. What he done was exemplary. Beyond a father's fear he has to recognize his son, who was now lying semi conscious in his mother's lap. They reached hospital and Sreedhar was quickly moved to ICU.

" Suman Chachi, Vindhya Chachi" come down fast. See the TV." Came Aakash rushing upstairs. Suman and Vindhya rushed downstairs. Suman stared wide eyed. How did this happen. The TV was showing images of Jagratha, interestingly 2 men intentionally untying the chandelier, then trying to hold, she pushing Sreedhar, committee meeting verdict and finally Sreedhar getting whipped. Suman cringed seeing the blood stains on his shirt. Her face was blurred as if they didn't wanted to share her identity.

" Now we take your attention to the bizzare incident in Jaipur which our sting operation has uncovered. Once again it shows the so called Kangaroo courts give scant regard to our IPC. Superstitions rule and the religious leaders use it to torture people and create unnecessary taboos. To know the details of this incident let us go to our reporter Aleena Mathew. So Aleena please tell us in detail about this incident "

" Prashant once again it is all about tradition and religious dictomy. As you can see in the video we see 2 people intentionally untying a chandelier and a young widow coming to save a gentleman standing under the chandelier. Now this young widow is charged with adultery. But most interesting point is the gentleman she tried to protect took the punishment on himself telling she is not a bad omen."

" So Aleena does it mean an intentional attempt was made to show the young widow a black omen"

" Exactly Prashant. That is what has happened. You can hear in the video the family members of the widow telling they kept her at terrace because they were expecting a molesting attempt on her . It seems such incidents has happened in the Jagratha in the past also "

" Aleena do you have the name of the young man who stood up for the widow today ".

" Yes it is Sreedhar Varma the widow's brother-in-law. This young man today was interestingly asking a question in the Kangaroo court, why all the married woman are standing there , if they consider the widow a black omen"

" Thank you Aleena. So viewers this incident once again brings to fore the superstition in our society associated with widows. To deprive them of fundamental rights, economic rights, property rights and right to live a dignified life such attempts are made to show them black omen. We will be discussing this issue in detail today in Maryada or Bandhan. Before we move to next news let us take a short break "

As the break rolled Shekhar Srivastav's face came into picture, " Is widow a black omen, or someone makes her a black omen, does widow have a right to live a life of dignity, why still widowhood is treated as a misfortune than a sad incident in a woman's life. What all people do in the name of tradition to oppress woman. To watch this discussion and more with our expert panel watch Maryada ya Bandhan today with Shekhar Srivastav at 9:30 pm.

Meanwhile if you support Sreedhar Varma's action today send in your wishes in the toll free telephone number 1800-0967-4567. You can also send in your questions to us in the toll free number 1800-0968-4568. Lines are open till 8:30 pm today. "

" I want to see Mahantji's face " told Tilak looking at the big screen TV in hospital waiting room. People were crowded in the hall and reporters were flowing from other network to know how is Sreedhar Varma and Sudhir was trying to control them. Doctor had informed Sreedhar was stable and Maheswari was with him.

Mahantji and his man sat in police station " Mahantji it will be better if you keep quiet and don't dare to go near that boy Sreedhar Varma at this point. Also give money to those henchman who are seen in the video to tell only they did it and you have no connection. Stay low for sometime" told the police officer

Mahantji clenched his fist. How did this happen. How did the media get in. How did they do sting operation. But he had no option at this point . He had to listen to them.

A woman from Raichur dialled the toll free number from a telephone booth shown in the promo. Shekahr picked the phone " Can you give justice to Mahima Das my dead daughter , the same men showed in the video gangraped her 5 years back "

Shekhar's ears perked. This was explosive " Madam please tell your details. We will have our people at your home. Speak during our programme Maryada or Bandhan. We will do everything in our power to give justice to your daughter who is no longer there"