She was a woman in lower middle class, uneducated and married at a very young age. She was a mother of 5. She had faced lot of struggles in life, but one of them is something that out stands all of them.
Her husband lost his left limbs in paralysis. He was dysfunctional. He could merely speak. She served him for 19 years incessantly in the same way. She used to work from morning till night in his care. She would make him tea early in the morning with some biscuits and repeat making tea for another 3-4 times, whenever he demanded. She used to then cook food for him and take a nap in the noon. She used to clean his shit everytime he used the loo. She used to bathe him every morning. She would help him walk around the tricky corners of the house and assist him to sit on his asana all day where he would be visited by lot of ongoers in the neighborhood. He was man spoken of being very strong in his youth and hence lot of followers.
She did this irrelevant of her feeling unwell. She never travelled to far land lest he would be alone. She never went away for her relaxation. For 19 years every single day, she was with him. She took care of him.
She never complained much about her condition, however she felt tired of the work and might weep in hours of dismay in discussions with daughters in her neighborhood. But she never ever left him. When time called, he had to leave her alone. He went on his path to heaven. World spoke of the freedom, she got after his death and how peacefully she can live there on. Little did they know what would follow.
After his death, she lost her health. She became weak and soon she was diagnosed of cancer. She followed him to heaven within a year.
Was it his love for her that kept her alive ?
Was her love for him that kept her alive ?
Was it her worry about him, what would happen of him after her, that kept her alive ?
Was her pain in love stronger than the pain in her body, that oversaw what was happening to her and kept her sustain it ?
Was it mere coincidence ?
Did he call her to after-life !
What was that made her love him unconditionally for so long ?
Was she devoted to him and was it her devotion to see her husband as a God ?
She was a woman with some virtue in my eyes.
What is she to you ?
Bhanu..
It starts with one person dying and it eventually causes the death of two. Understanding such feelings between the people really exists at this level.. the cause of first death could be of number of illness, but the cause of 2nd death that gives it its name (heart disease, cancer.. anything. ) Some people are dying of a broken heart than others. There is no doubt that loss of spouse at the end of long relationship is stressful. Have you ever felt that way about another human being or experienced another person feeling that way about you? It’s something everybody hopes for, but deep down, we can’t make it happen, which is what makes it so special when it does.
It’s not something we choose who we love or who is loving us in return. It’s no skill here, a feeling!
The only best thing that we can do is to reconize if it comes our way, then take care of it.
If I look at this deeper in psychological way, and if I do, I believe it happens in almost any stressful situation.
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Wow… Supreme kinda love…
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Yes when you have grown up seeing such deep emotions and love, it becomes difficult to understand why people break in love !
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I loved the way you portrayed the feelings and deep thoughts !! Well done
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I am glad. That is my wish to be able to portray feelings and deep thoughts in a very precise way. Have some more posts of various other modes of feelings and love.
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Beautiful !!
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My comprehension or the woman or the love ?
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Actually all the three, because all are related.. Anything that had honesty and unrequited love is painful …but has a sense of satisfaction!
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Thanks for completing your thoughts 🙂
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I loved your posts… That’s a fact from the bottom of my heart!!
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It means a lot. Helps me continue my work 🙂
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You’re comments means a lot to me as well…
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I think we are going to reflect to infinity now 🙂 Cheers.
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Though tragic, but great writing. Very well written Bhanu.
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Thank you luvdiaries.
What if I say this was a true story ?
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Loyalty and devotion are great virtues, and many may not have them. I have seen wives who think looking after a husband is drudgery. Both deserve love, compassion, devotion from each other, and that is what marriage is about in the real sense between two people.
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True that. Cheers to your spirit and outlook. There is a new post on marriage/divorce, it would be interesting to see your views on that. It will help lot of other souls, who commented. 🙂
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Perhaps it was her love for her husband, that she had to take care of him, that kept her alive… 😦
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sometimes it the fact that you have something to do which keeps you alive. Keep doing something for 19 years….and suddenly take it away. It leaves a feeling of emptiness and hollowness which cannot be made up. That can be debilitating.
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May be all the time while taking care of her ailing husband she rarely took time to care about herself. Devoting all her life for her love for him, she failed to listen to signals given by her body. And when he left her, it all came to surface, she withered more in his thoughts and atlast left to join him in heaven, to lead a happier life which they never experienced on Earth.
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Yeah, sometimes while caring for others women forget to take care of themselves. And when one day it all comes to surface, it is shocking how she sustained it all for so long, how sometimes heart beats the body.
Does heaven exist ?
Should we crave for a life beyond earth ?
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Heaven is contentment. When desires last they happen to take form again to fulfill those. Till there exists desire, they will come back again in some form.
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Wow. Strong notion and beliefs. That is one beautiful emotion. Thanks for your expression mysticity 🙂
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There was a purpose all along, once the purpose was lost, everything seemed unimportant including the meaning of life…
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Yes, purpose defines life and supersedes lot of aspects.
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The Indian wife who suffered for too long with or without emotions . God sees the truth but waits .
Would love to see you read my Book on short stories : Journey from Guwahati to Machhiwara , available from Notion Press online , Flipkart , Amazon . Now Book being read in 12 countries , 75 libraries . A few of Blog readers too .
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Thanks for your feedback.
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great write up. tragic though.
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As tragic as it can be. Life is made of various flavors, isn’t it ?
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yes, all the colours make life.
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🙂
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A beautiful and sad piece.
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Tragic in the end ?
Or sad the whole time ?
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All of it was sad. Well, the loyalty was lovely, but still had a certain sadness to it.
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What if his death took her will to live? That he gave her a reason to carry on, but that reason disappeared when the man died.
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Yes it can be many things, left to the musings and understanding of the reader.
I wonder what those “confused feminists” will have to say on this !
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