Marriages are Made in Heaven
It was the peak of summer, too earlier than usual . All the colleges in Banars ( Varanasi ) were closed two weeks ahead of scheduled summer vacation . All young boys and girls packed their luggage for the journey to their native places .
There was a group of four students from erstwhile undivided Bihar . They were four , three girls and a lone boy Rakesh. Usually they used to travel by train and they booked tickets together . One of the girls was Shabnam from Ramgarh Cantt . Other two girls Kamini and Tanuja were from Ranchi . Rakesh and Shabnam were most active in the group and mostly Rakesh used to book both ways train tickets for all . This year also Rakesh had already booked their tickets on the date of scheduled closure of the college . As the college was closed earlier due to sudden heat waves , no berth was available in any of the trains . They decided to travel by Taxi .
They booked a Maruti Ertiga cab . All of them with their luggages could be easily accommodated in this cab. Rakesh was sitting on the front seat by the side of the driver . All the three girls were in the rear seats. It was a long journey by road . Banaras to Ranchi by road is nearly 430 km and normally it takes 10 hrs.. Ramgarh Cantt. was on route to Ranchi and it comes 40 km before Ranchi . They started their journey on a happy note . Due to the delayed arrival of the cab driver they could leave Banaras in the afternoon around 3 pm . They were expected to reach Ranchi at midnight .
Rakesh was scolding the driver fort late arrival , Shabnam told him “ Let us start our journey peacefully . Heaven is not going to fall if we reach there a few hours later .”
Kamini also supported her and said “ Take it easy. This delay may be better for us as otherwise we had to face the summer heat for the whole day . Now it will be evening after a couple of hours and we can have some relief from the heat .”
After nearly a 3 hour drive they reached Dehri on Sone . Shabnam said “ Let us have a break here . We will have some snacks and tea at the roadside Dhaba .”
Then Shabnam asked the driver to stop at a good looking Dhaba . They ordered some snacks and special tea . While they waited for their delivery Shabnam said “ Do you guys know that once upon a time this town was a major Industrial town in India and was home to some of India's big industrial houses , the Rohtas Industries. There were cement , sugar , paper , biscuits , chocolate and some chemical plants here . My grandfather used to work here . But it stopped in the 70s . “
Others also nodded and said “ We too have heard about it .”
After about 45 minutes they resumed their journey . Their next destination was Ramgarh Cantt. where Shabnam was supposed to drop by. It was about a 4 hour journey left for her . But before that they stopped again at a Dhaba at Jhumri Telaiya for dinner . It was already getting late so they got some sandwiches and tea and proceeded further in 30 minutes. The atmosphere was better in the night, especially when passing through lakes and hills . They were expected to reach Ranchi in another 3 hours.
As they were approaching Ramgarh Cantt. all were very happy as they had covered most of the journey . Shabnam was getting ready to drop at Ramgarh Cantt. They had to face a traffic jam due to a Baarat party . The people in the Baarat party were dancing on the road to Bollywood tunes and were firing crackers . They cursed the Baarat party blocking the road . They were just behind the party whose members were firing firecrackers by the side of the road.
What happened nobody had imagined, there was an explosion in the car . The car exploded with a bang and all the occupants were thrown away . After some time an Ambulance arrived from the Cantonment . They were rushed to the Ranchi medical College Hospital .
At the hospital, the driver , and the two girls Shabnam and Tanuja were pronounced brought dead by the doctors.. All died due to the explosion and severe burn injuries. Kamini had also burn injuries but she was alive .Rakesh was least affected and escaped with fractured left hand and some burn injuries at some places ,but his burns were not of serious in nature . Both Rakesh and Kamini were unconscious when brought to the hospital . As per police and some eye witness reports , immediately after the bang of the explosion the front door of the car flew open and Rakseh was also thrown out but he possibly landed on soft soil. The exact cause of the explosion will be known after investigation. Prima facie it is understood that the CNG kit might have some leakage and some spark of the firecrackers might have ignited the gas which led to the blast . Bodies of the deceased were given to their relatives after postmortem.
Rakesh came to senses first . He gave the phone numbers of all friends to the police . Police informed all the houses including Rakesh’s . He felt terribly sorry for the death of friends and the driver. Kamini was in a separate burn ward , she was still unconscious and undergoing intensive care. Kamini became conscious after two days but no visitors were allowed near her. Doctor said her burn was second degree and could be treated but recovery will take some time, maybe a couple of months. But her face was badly affected and will have permanent scar marks on it.
Rakesh sustained some first degree burns on face and legs . He was discharged from hospital after two weeks with follow up advice .
After discharge the first thing he did was to visit the house of his deceased friends . Shabnam could have reached her house but could not because of the road jam by the Baarat .
Rakesh joined his college after summer holidays but he missed classes for a month . He too had burn marks at a few places on his face but the doctors said they will gradually fade with time . His left hand also could not be properly aligned after fracture . Kamini could have joined college after four months but she was ashamed of her burnt face . After lots of persuasion she agreed with parents ' advice to join a local college . Kamini missed one year of studies .
Subsequently Kamini completed her graduation and B.Ed and joined as a teacher in a school at Ranchi . In the meantime Rakesh passed Jharkhand State Public services and was posted as a Circle Officer at Chandil , two hours drive from Ranchi .
Kamini lost her father after a year . Rakesh used to visit Kamini’s house frequently . Her mother also was not keeping good health . She had cancer and the doctors gave her six months time .
One day when Rakesh went to her house he found both Kamini and her mother crying together . He consoled them and asked for the reason . Her mother said sobbing “ Today the doctor said that I have only two months time . “
“ Let the doctor say , he is not God and he can’t predict your lifespan . Destiny can’t be changed but let us live a life till we are alive. “ said Rakesh
“ How can I live ? I can’t die in peace . No boy is ready to marry my daughter due to her burnt face . Kamini will have none of her parents when I die .“
“ Mummy , marriage is not a necessity of life . I will prefer to remain unmarried .” said Kamini
Rakesh said “ No , I too have been rejected thrice by girls due to burn marks on my face and my twisted hand . Though I agree with you that marriage is not a necessity but it makes life pleasant . Why can’t we be life companions , if you agree Kamini ? “
“ Is it possible ? “ mother said with tearful eyes .
“ Of course . “ said Rakesh
“ It’s rightly said - marriages are fixed in heaven and celebrated on the earth . Now I have no worries , Kamini will have a nice man to take care of . ” Kamini’s mother said with tears of happiness in her eyes .
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Note - This story is a short fiction .
