A Necessary Evil #JaaneDeMujhe

JaaneDeMujhe

It was dawn. My marriagt took the whole night. The eyes of my mom dad were exhausted, but they never expressed it in front of guests. My in-laws were also awake whole night witnessing our marriage. It was an arranged marriage and the stranger sitting beside me was pronounced my husband.
The Sun started going up. The cool breeze was hitting my face  and whispering in my ears. Good luck for your new life.
"You are allowed to complete your studies. Your father and in-laws have discussed this."said ma.
"Ma, I am not ready, I am just 21years. I want to do something in life."
"Kid, you are mature enough to get married. I was 19 when I got married. Do something and anything in your in-laws home to keep them happy."
I sighed remembering those conversation, in which they shut my mouth when I tried defending myself.
"But ma,how can I survive there. They are all strangers to me."
"When you went to school did you face difficulty in coping up? Treat it as same as your school. And yes, I don't want any complaint from your in -laws. When I was of your age I was not allowed even in the family discussions that took place. We are from a respected family and you should always obey their rules..."
The teachings started from the day my marriage was fixed and continued to this day. I was packing my bags and ma helped me. Bhaiyya carried the bags downstairs to place them in the car.
I was hungry. The fasting over the night was making my stomach more sore. It felt like I would throw up any moment.
"You have to obey what your in-laws expect you to do. Don't goof around. Help them in the kitchen...."
Some words hit me but others were completely ignored. She never even talked or adviced on keeping on my studies. She adviced me how to behave in front of my in-laws and husband.
"Don't get carried away when it comes to making love. Your husband will think you are desperate and you already had...."she said in hushed tone
"Ma, please"
She looked at me bewildered and again she spoke,"Don't raise voice in front of your in-laws."
This was becoming unbearable. I wanted to run away but I did not have guts. A girl in my neighborhood ran away because she was not allowed to persue her ambition, which turned out to be a lecture for me.
Do we deserve to be treated like this? We also have dreams, to fly high in the sky,just like our male counterparts. Why they are allowed to work outside?
The engine roared up to life indicating the time to go. My mother cried and sobbed. Silent tears left my dad's eyes. I sobbed too as all the exertions that filled to the brim erupted and I lost my time to stand up for myself.