Kajal was a dreamer. She was smart, well-educated, ambitious and had a great career. She always thought she would get married to her prince charming and lead a happily-ever-after life. She met and married Kamal, a young and promising co-worker. He was from her home-town in India and his parents belonged there. Kajal’s parents had moved to a metro city in India before her birth so she was born and bred there. The outlook of the two families was obviously different. She realized that in her new home, girls were treated differently than boys. Girls did not study to pursue a career instead just educated themselves as per the norms of the society to get married. If they did choose to work then they opted for professions like teaching which is considered a “woman’s” career choice. Kajal was still trying to understand her new family when they took a trip to Northern India to look for a suitable boy for her sister-in-law. Kajal was a pretty girl and she was working for an MNC, the perspective groom’s family was very much impressed by her rather than her sister-in-law who was average looking and depended on her father to provide for her. This did not go down well with Kajal’s in-laws whose attitude with her began to change after this incident.
Soon after, the sister-in-law’s wedding was fixed. In the wedding, Kajal was treated like an outsider, she was not allowed to pose for family photographs with her husband and in-laws. The elderly ladies in the family accused her of not being responsible enough. During the wedding, the mother-in-law refused to acknowledge her hard work for the family and said everything was done by her son. These incidents changed Kajal’s opinion of her in-laws. She felt that whatever she does, she will not be accepted as part of the family. She felt sad and explained this to Kamal who did not accept that there could be anything wrong with his family. Thus, began a tension in the marriage.
Kajal’s in-laws came to live with her and Kamal for six months. During these six months, they lived in her house as though they owned it. During their stay, Kajal was not at all at peace. She could not speak her mind, she felt suffocated. This affected her relationship with Kamal to a great extent. When the mother-in-law underwent an operation for her hip-replacement, Kajal took care of her like her own mother. They went back home few months after the surgery.
Kajal and Kamal had a strained relationship and could not have a child for seven years of their marriage. After Kajal had a baby, the in-laws came to live with them for a few months. They taunted Kajal even as she was recovering from child birth. They complained about her to Kamal who in turn blamed Kajal for things that went wrong. Kajal was devastated. She held on for the sake of the baby. But her relationship with Kamal had developed a crack. Kajal had to take medicines to keep her temper in control. They began fighting a lot more often and ended up at a marriage counsellor. Through medication, counselling and their own efforts, Kajal and Kamal reached a plateau in their relationship. They do not have a great relationship with each other but have come to terms with the fact that they will always be together – no matter what. As for Kajal’s relationship with her in-laws, its strained forever.
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