Asha – the dawn of new Hope

Asha – the dawn of new Hope

Everyone in the Ghosh family loves Asha. She is the centre of attraction in this family of lawyers. Subarnalata Ghosh the sixty year old matriarch of the family fusses about her the most.

Subarnalata’s typical day starts early. After her daily worship in the natmandir where the family deity is kept she rushes to the kitchen to fix breakfast for the little girl. Asha must have this, she must not have that, she needs to drink more milk, eat less of candies, have green vegetable soup, blah, blah, blah...  The instructions have become almost sacrosanct to the kitchen staff that they can talk about them on and on ad infinitum. That too verbatim!

The Ghosh family is a very prominent family of South Calcutta. Nilendu Ghosh the grand-father of Subarna was a barrister who practiced alongside the likes of Gandhi and Nehru. He took part in the Quit India movement and had even courted arrest. His son Madhav Kanti Ghosh followed his father’s footsteps and earned fame as a lawyer in the Calcutta high court.

Madhav Kanti had no son. His wife Sudeshna bore him two lovely daughters Subarnalata and Snehlata. The daughters when they grew up kept the family tradition alive by studying law. After her marriage Snehlata settled in the US to work for an international law firm.

Subarna was always the maverick. Her father would jokingly say “Subarna you wear the pants in the house.”  During her college days no one dared pick on her.  The boys literally trembled in her presence. Famous for her oratorical skills and razor sharp mind her teachers and colleagues did not shy from consulting her in many matters. She stopped entering college competitions for fear of gaining a walkover!

Subarna never married. She knew from an early age that she was never cut out for this game. For the likes of Subarna life is too short to be wasted in such trivialities. They are made for bigger pursuits of life.

After her father passed away Subarna become the face of the family. Completing her law degree she started practicing in the Calcutta high court. She had a sharp eye for details and a keen sense of justice. She would never argue a case for the wrong person or for the wrong reason. She turned away many high profile cases if she did not believe either in the case or the person.

Her passion to fight for the poor and the needy took up most of her time. She was their messiah. Every morning before going to court she would meet people for an hour or two. These meetings were highly sought after, and people would come to them from far off places. They become so popular that everyone lovingly called them her “durbar.”

She met Asha in one such “durbar.” Catching her mother’s sari pallu in her mouth, the little one looked at Subarna with her big kohl rimmed eyes. She was terribly filthy and flies swarmed around the corners of her mouth. Yet there was a spark in the girl’s eyes that immediately attracted Subarna.

Both the mother and child seemed hungry. They also needed a proper set of clothes. Subarna instructed her secretary to take care of their needs and asked them to come the next day. She also gave the mother money for the to and fro travel.

The next morning Subarna asked her secretary to cancel all her appointments. She was in her lawn glancing through the morning newspaper when the secretary informed her that the pair had arrived. She asked her secretary to make sure they had breakfast etc.

The mother looked slightly better that day. The little girl’s eyes were red and puffed. It seemed she had cried the entire night. Subarna could not control herself anymore. She asked the mother to narrate her story.

Parnami was from a remote village in 24 Parganas, a district in West Bengal. Her only claim to fame was a one acre land which her husband had left behind. Four years ago he fell prey to an unknown illness and was found dead in a field by fellow laborers. She was then expecting this child.

With her husband dead and no one to turn to; she realized how fortunate she had been so far. Not that there was any love lost between them. The husband drank, beat her mercilessly; at times would bring other women home; yet he also provided a roof and two square meals a day. 

Women of her ilk do not expect much. They are sold off in marriage at a very young age by a father who considers them to be a burden and is happy to wash his hands off. The husband (so called) who buys her is only interested in her physically and cares hoots in according her the status of a legally wedded wife. With no education and no social support; women like Parnami resign themselves to their fate till one day they wake up to find that their own fate has also discarded them.

Things changed for Parmani completely the day her husband died. His funeral pyre was still alight when someone knocked at her door. It was eleven in the night. She opened the door thinking it would be another of those elderly dames coming to console her. She was shocked to see the village money lender. Reeking of alcohol he barely managed to hold himself straight. He pushed the door open and barged in.

This was nothing new. The money lender had been making advances at her even when her husband was alive. He was a   powerful man and no one dared question him or his activities.

That night Parnami pleaded with the money lender to leave her alone. The husband’s pyre was still burning and she wanted to mourn. But the money lender had something else in his mind.  As he moved towards Parnami she screamed as hard as she could and pushing him aside and ran out of the room to the street outside. Hearing her shrieks the villagers came out.

The night the money lender left; but Parnami knew that he would come again. She dreaded their next meeting.

The next few days were unusually calm. Parnami slowly picked up the threads of her torn life. Asha was born. Money was always a scarcity yet Parnami somehow managed to eke a living. She worked as a causal labour when work was available and during times of no work as a domestic help. Her sole possession was the land. However that too was pawned with the money lender.

One day at work Parnami fainted. Initially she thought working in the sun must have taken its toll. However when it started happening almost every other day she got worried. The local doctor referred her to the city hospital.

Carrying her little savings and Asha in tow Parnami came to Calcutta. Her test results were not very positive. There was a malignant fibroid which had to be removed surgically. The cost – INR one lakh!

Narrating her tale so far Parnami fell at the feet of Subarna. Didi you are my last hope. I have heard a lot about you. Had I been alone it would not have mattered if I died. But the thought of leaving my Asha behind – no I cannot even die in peace.

Subarna helped her get up. Asha by now had started crying. Subarna very lovingly picked her up. Summoning her secretary she asked her to take care of the little one by taking her inside the house and making her comfortable.

To Parnami she said. Do you want me to lend you money?

No Didi, no I do not want any money but if you help me win my land back; I can sell it off and pay for the operation. Parnami was fighting a losing battle with her tears.

Yes I can help you with that; Subarna said putting an arm around Parnami.

But Didi I do not have a single paisa for your fees Parnami said with downcast eyes.

Oh! That is okay – don't worry. Anyways could you tell me in detail about your land? So saying Subarna took out her notepad to jot down all details.

The very next morning Subarna filed a case against the money lender. It took just three hearings. Subarna was so good in court that the judge had to exclaim that this was her best case ever!

But fate had other things planned. Parnami had to undergo three major operations to remove the fibroid. The doctors tried hard however were not able to save her. The fibroid had turned very nasty and spread to all her major organs. She died.

For the first time in her life Subarna seemed worried. For the next couple of days she cancelled all her appointments. Even with her own family she turned very aloof. She shut herself up in her room and only came out for her meals.

At the end of almost two week she surprised everyone by calling a press conference.

On the conference day in the room full of journalists and on live TV she said - Folks I have called this conference to introduce you all to my daughter - Asha Subarnalata Ghosh.

You could almost hear the silence in the room!

But that is so typical Subarna.

And that is how she has been throughout her life…!