MUKTA

'Parijat!!! Also called 'Parvati ayi cha phula' (Goddess Parvati's flower) has its own distinguished essence. Its fragrance captivates your soul indeed!!! ' saying I bent to smell some freshly plucked flowers from the tree in our garden as the young teen kids kept blinking as I kept explaining them the uses of these flowers.

But when I saw their blank faces I understood nothing went into these 'english medium babies'!!!

'Nyctanthes Arbor Tritis!!! It's botanical name... commonly known as the night flowering jasmine, most easily available around us yet most ignored when it comes to making perfumes or fragrances. Roses and Jasmines are always given utmost priority because of their variety and popularity but our homegrown Parijat is always ignored!!! Do you know it's oil not only helps you relieve joint pain or fever but also is used in making medicines for arthritis?' I asked and now their pens were faster on their writing pads!!!

Wooow!!! They just want facts and Baba wants me to tell them more about 'Ayurveda'!!! I rolled my eyes and simply continued grinding some fresh white sandalwood paste with the fragrant oils I created from kevda flower making a paste which helps relieve headache.

Yup!!! Ayurveda is vast!!! And it's only now when there is buzzing craze for these wild flowers, perfumes, organic soaps and bathing oils is when we are slowly being recognised! However I hate it when these half baked knowledgeable 'kids' or youngsters visit us only for filling up their books so they can submit their projects every year and my father gets excited everytime thinking their this research paper would bring more people back to villages recognising the age old talent and finally give credit to the much awaited age old 'Ayurveda' which is only a fancy term for many today who try to go 'organic'!!!

But for me and my father this is as divine as praying to my Lord Khandoba (Lord Shiva's other name). But my father is a noble man, he tries to explain everyone about what he knows...

'Spread the knowledge Baala (child)' is what my father always says and I roll my eyes.

'Thank you Di (sister)' they said to me and I smiled back.

'We will visit again post our exams' they said and I faked another smile knowing they never come back. Oh come on!!! You don't want to visit to promote something which doesn't give you anything in a random village where a old man and his daughter are the only ones trying to extract age old Ayurvedic medicines!!!

And honestly!!!
I didn't need this fake appreciation!!!
I know the quality of my father's medicines. The knowledge he has been passing onto me is vast!!! And I am working my very best to make sure my father's knowledge spreads across the world!!!

I was hoping that 'Fragor Corporation' accepts my proposal. I kept browsing on my desktop for the 7th time since morning hoping for their response when I felt a hand on my shoulder..I turned around to see my father Chandrakant Joshi smiling at me.

'Baba it wi'

'Bala (child)...they didn't respond! Accept it and move on!!!'

'But Baba'

'Mukta...accept the fact that it has been rejected darling. You were supposed to get a response on last monday. It's a week now Mukta...it's fine let go' my father said and I was still not convinced. I really hoped this one gets accepted.

I kept refreshing my inbox when my father held me by my shoulders and said...
'Look Bala... doesn't matter if it's a big name or a small name, if our products are helpful to these villagers or become world renown, what matters is it should help the mankind' and although I nodded I didn't very much agree with his thought process.

I was infact against him giving away secrets of his medicines to many of his friends and visitors who simply used them for their benefits specially after what his friend Mr Deshpande did to us. He not only gave away the accurate portion values of how to extract medicine from the rare gilloy leaves which Mr Deshpande sold to one of popular medicine producing companies and not just that he even patented it on his name and today he is minting in crores doing nothing and here my father and me, we are still struggling to pay the loan my father had took from the village sarpanch (head) to revive our botanical garden and business which was completely tarnished post last year's unfortunate flood. But triple the interest rates and my father is drowning in loans so badly that even this house which is our only shelter is now for a mortgage.

No way that I would let that happen but the evil Sarpanch's evil ambitions were only known to us now when we found out that he wants to a acquire this house and his brother who is almost my father's age is eying on me. It came as a complete shocker when last month they came home with a proposal. That man is in his 60's and I'm 27!!! What were they even expecting!!!

'Chandrakant your daughter is still unmarried! After Sunil rejected her she seems to have never got a proposal!!!' and I shot them a death glare and stood straight. I was going to blurt out when my father asked me to get them some coffee'

I hated the topic of that cheat!!!
I never loved him!
Heck I wasn't even interested in him!
He was the one who proposed a marriage and my father happily agreed to get me married to him as Sunil was an engineer, he had a decent job in Pune and was settled too. His parents were also happy with this proposal. We spoke every night and just when I thought I may have got lucky there was a flood last year with which my father and me, we lost our everything except this home. And suddenly Sunil and his parents colours changed.
He broke the engagement. Ignored me and now I hear that he is married to some rich independent working woman in Pune.

Won't lie! It hurt me!
But then it's not like I was in love with him but yes!!!
I don't trust men so much after that!!!

Now I only have one dream! That is to make sure my dad's medicines, products go world renowned. I was striving day and night for this. I got numerous rejections but I still haven't lost hopes. I will still continue pitching this at any and every business meet possible.

But then when the Sarpanch loudly proposed his brother's proposal to me my father was furious and ever since then we were getting deadlines and warnings to pay the loan. He knew it would take time for my father to arrange the amount hence he asked my father to sell this home which I would never allow!

This is the house where my aai (mother) breathed her last! My childhood, my memories with her and Baba are all that I have as a treasure. Never will I let this house be sold. So I decided to apply for jobs and I finally got a job in an organization in Mangalore. It was 1400 kms away from Phulvaspura and it meant me staying away from Baba but I was ready for it. He however wasn't!!!

'I don't need this house Bala...you are not going away from me!' he said and I held his hands kneeling down infront of him and said...

'But I want this house...this house, your medicines and these products ...I treasure everything Baba... above all I treasure you...I can't let it go...never!!!' I said and he kept shedding silent tears.

I had to report to work on Wednesday which means I had to leave to Mangalore this weekend. My new organization had offered me a stay as well for a month till I find my stay. And the relocation amount 1 lakh rupees was the amount I had thrown on the Sarpanch's face and he was fuming. I knew I had to still return 19 lakh Rupees more to him with crazy interests which would only go sky high but I was determined. I was only waiting to get this job post which I would apply for a loan and slap the money onto his dirty face.

But then not everything happens according to our wish!

All hell broke next day morning when I saw my father didn't wake up from his bed. I checked upon him and found his body was cold as ice. Upon getting the village doctor he confirmed that I lost my father in sleep last night and my heart stopped.

I couldn't cry a drop as I couldn't accept my happily gleefully smiling father had left me alone in this cruel world.

My neighbors helped in the last rites while I was still trying to accept the fact that he is no more and I must spill out my grief and my tears but no!!!
Nothing really came out!!!
I didn't cry a drop!
I was numb!
I couldn't believe it!
I was orphaned overnight!

Just when I thought this was worst 2 days later is when the Sarpanch called out for a meeting announcing to take over my home blaming my father didn't pay him any money since a year which was a clear lie!!!

My father paid him interests every month but couldn't pay the principal alone because of high interest rates but he lied and unfortunately I didn't have any proofs to prove my point as my father paid everything in cash and I didn't have a bank transaction to prove my point.

However when I thought they stooped low there is always a new low...he proposed saying...

He would completely let go the loan amount if I agree to marry his brother! And my eyes were burning in fury when I saw that old lusty man's eyes on me!!!

I definitely didn't want to be his third wife! I shouted and fought against it when the Sarpanch tried his illegal ways to stop me and the village who was helpless due to either they being under his debts or scared of his goons no one really objected this!

My neighbours felt bad for me but they could do nothing. I would do anything but marry that old fox!!! So I knew what to do! I called up my friend Fari who was practicing as a lawyer in Mumbai and told her the entire situation. She asked me to be brave and told that she will apply for a n appeal to fight the case against my house which they illegally occupied and also that she has already informed the women's helpline number and the police should be on its way to the village to help me.

But looks like some goons heard me talking to her and snatched my phone. I was supposed to marry that old hag tomorrow afternoon but they preponed the marriage for tonight and
I was dressed up in a navvari saree (maharastrian style saree) and decked up with jewellery to marry that old hag!

I was a born rebel!
The hell I would bend!
So I ran away from the wedding but unfortunately they kept following me.

Currently I am in the jungles of Phulvaspura escaping and running from Sarpanch and his goons, I was looking for a place to hide and that's when I saw a huge grey colored vanity van like vehicle parked in the corner. I was having second thoughts before jumping into the van but then my eyes fell on the goons who were desperately looking for me in the woods and every time the emergency lamps fell on me I kept running.

I knew I can't keep running like this!
So I decided to take a CHANCE!