Humanity & Human

Miracles in Daily Life – 5

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Sarkar, the great grandfather of Arif is the founder of Sarkar family.

He was the youngest of four brothers and three sisters. Their house was situated by the sea coast. There was always poverty in the family of seven siblings. That’s why their father put all his sons to some sort of work for earning money from their boyhood.

After long day’s work, young Sarkar used to sit on the coast looking towards the passing ships and heaved long sighs. Then one day, he got a menial job in a big ship and left home unnoticed.

He estranged all connection with his own country and everything he called his own. He made the sea and the ship his way of life.

He went to the sea as a young deck boy of a big ship and came back as owner of a ship at his post mid age. He brought along a wife of Malay race with two sons.

Instead of returning to his coastal parental property, he bought a big chunk of land in the city and built his own home, ‘Sarkar Villa’.

Hard earned money gave him name, fame and high place in the society. 

But the hard destiny robbed off a great chunk with a single stroke one day.

Their private car carrying his wife and elder son collided head on with a loaded truck right in front of Sarkar Villa and took their lives.

Youngest son, Salam Sarkar stood by his bereaved father.

But Sarkar could not bear the bereavement longer; he took his last breath before the turn of the year.

Shell shocked Salam Sarkar continued with his father’s business.

Salam Sarkar begot two sons, Shahed Sarkar and Shahid Sarkar. Age gap between the brothers are about thirteen years. When his elder son reached twenty five, Salam Sarkar died.

Besides continuing with his studies, Shahed took the helm of his father’s business. He reared up his younger brother Shahid Sarkar and made him attain the highest educational degree. Having handed over the entire business, Shahed Sarkar migrated to London.

He did not come back and settled there permanently.

Shahid Sarkar had two sons, Araf Sarkar and Arif Sarkar. They were twins with fifteen minutes age gap. They looked alike. All mistook one with the other always.

Two brothers were good friends. They read in the same class. Their mother Salma Begum always dressed them in the similar cloths.

Similar in everything as they looked but so far nature was concern, they belonged to opposite poles.

Araf was extrovert, whimsical and happy go like, putting his own interest always first. To the contrary, Arif was reticent and always concerned about others.

In their house lived Jamila, daughter of a distant maternal uncle. She was two to three years younger than them.

Jamila was brought by Salma Begum, wife of Shahid Sarkar from her parent’s area to help in house hold chores. But Salma Begum took good care of Jamila as her own daughter and used to dress her accordingly.

Jamila used to call her mama. Salma Begum assured Jamila’s father, Badsha Mia about the safe grooming up and good marriage of Jamila, headache for any father with financial hardship.

Salma Begum kept a house tutor for Jamila to ensue minimum education required for her to become a good house wife.

Badsha Mia, Jamila’s father was a distant cousin of Salma Begum. They lived in same area of the small town.

Badsha was few years younger than Shahid Sarkar. He used to frequent to this house every now and then and the whole family members used to take good care whenever he visited.

Badsha Mia was cunning in nature from his boyhood. He did not study much, but owing to his association of a deed writer, Badsha Mia also became a deed writer himself.

Badsha Mia was greedy in nature and always eyed for the properties of Shahid Sarkar deep in his heart. He hatched up a plan to grab Shahid Sarkar’s property by using his daughter as bait.

But Shahid Sarkar and his wife never conceived of any ill motive of Badsha to grab their property in their worst nightmare.

Araf and Arif completed their Secondary School final examination and were waiting for the declaration of result. At that time, Jamila embarked on a mission of making Araf falling in her love, pursuant to pressure and counseling of Badsha Mia.

Being influenced by Badsha Mia, his wife also convinced her daughter, Jamila that ‘none of the brothers will fall in love with her. Even if some of them fall in love, their parents will never accept that’.

So, she advised Jamila that ‘one of them has to be trapped’.

-Happy go like Araf fits in accurately for the purpose. Jamila’s mother tipped off her daughter.

Jamila started entering Araf’s room every now and then with some silly pretext. In the process of making his bed, she intentionally revealed her body in an awkward way.

It was raining that day since morning. The sky remained overcast. All went to their room early. Jamila entered Araf’s room in the pretext of some work.

Araf was reading under a table lamp. Main light of the room was off.

-Do you need anything? Asked Jamila.

-No, nothing. Araf answered keeping his eyes fixed on the book.

Jamila kept standing hesitantly leaning lightly against the wall adjacent with the reading table.

Araf lifted his eyes. Jamila was standing with stooped head revealing her plump up breast.

-Do you like to say something?

Jamila did not answer.

A spell of silence fell on them. Araf gulped in hesitation. He stood up and went close to her.

Rest happened completely out of their control. They stayed almost the whole night together.

Setting aside all shame, Jamila narrated the whole episode to her mother. Her mother’s greedy eyes glistened with avarice. She encouraged her daughter to continue with the same then on.

Badsha Mia and his wife kissed their daughter terming her as wife of a big family and congratulated her for being pregnant by Araf.

In the process of continuing with their regular physical love, one night Jamila told Araf about her pregnancy. She did it as per advice of her parents.

Young Araf lost all his physical strength, chill went down his veins numbing his limbs.

-What is he going to do now, what would he tell Jamila?

He never thought of this hard fact.

Next day Badsha Mia along with his wife went to Sarkar House. Both of them wore an affected sign of helplessness and pain on their face.

Salma Begum got a shock seeing them in that plight.

On hearing them, Salma Begum and Shahid Sarkar were totally flabbergasted.

Sky was still overcast with pitch black cloud and gusty wind blew sporadically. Nature seemed to be fully primed up to wreak its wrath and put everything upside down.

-Sister, you assured us by taking her full responsibility, now, what I am going to do with the wretch? I know, she is to be blamed only, please give me some poison so that I put that in her mouth by myself and bury her in the darkness of night.

Jamila’s mother fell on the ground and was about to lose her sense, as she spoke.

Salma Begum tried hard and got back her normalcy. She stood up from her chair, sat beside Jamila’s mother and put her hand on her head.

Jamila lived there for last over two years since she was twelve. She was the eldest of five children of Badsha Mia. Her bulky body belied her actual age. She looked two to three years elder than her actual age. In view of two young sons of Salma Begum, Jamila’s mother declined to send her daughter initially.

Salma Begum appreciated the concern of Jamila’s mother, but she had enough faith on her sons. She smiled and tendered full assurance to Jamila’s mother.

-Think that Jamila is my daughter as well and we will keep her that way. Your house is only half an hour walking distance, you may come daily to see your daughter.

Poverty stricken family of Badsha Mia, passing days hand to mouth, her daughter would at least get square meal here. Thought Jamila’s mother. She in turn convinced her daughter to stay there and accordingly handed her over to Salma Begum.

Jamila was happy here. Due to the motherly attitude of Salma Begum, Jamila adjusted herself as a member of this family. Every now and then, whenever Jamila’s mother came to see her daughter, went back smiling seeing her daughter happy and healthy. Her eyes used to be teary after every visit and she profusely prayed for this family.

Jamila’s mother got shock and vehemently protested the ill proposal of her husband. She tried her best to desist her husband from such an abject venture. But her cunning and greedy husband convinced her with the dire fact of rearing up and arrange marriage of three of their daughters and also to grow up two small boys.

Jamila’s mother was convinced by her husband with the simple mathematics of easy solution of a complex problem.

Having learnt about the unethical plot, Jamila screamed and cried. She termed that as a felony and refused straightway.

In view of the simple calculation of getting a bright future of all siblings by just one simple action on her part, Jamila would do a great favor to the whole family. Jamila could not give any satisfactory answer to her parents.

After experiencing heavenly pleasure out of making physical love with Araf for the first night, she in fact forgot about the plot and continued night after night giving preference to physical pleasure.

But when the stark fact stood before her and made an inroad in her body, a deep sense of crime fraught with uncertain future was trying to choke her.

Jamila came with head stooped.

There sat her parents, Shahid Sarkar and Salma Begum. She stood silently shedding tears non-stop. Her bosom was rupturing in agony seeing the helplessness of Shahid Sarkar and Salma Begum.

-Mama, it’s all my fault, I’m going do something about it. None of you have to do anything. Jamila sobbed out her words.

Everyone got a jerk by her words. A girl of her age, vows to solve a big problem herself shouldering all responsibility.

Jamila stood petrified. She did not betray any fear or emotion.

Salma Begum drew Jamila close to her and made her seated. She started passing her finger through her unkempt hair in motherly affection.

-No one need to discuss or do anything about it, I would do whatever needs to be done.

Salma Begum tried to diffuse the tension.

Jamila went to Araf’s room on that night. Narrated everything to him.

-You need not to worry about it, nobody will know anything, I would do whatever necessary and in time.

She assured Araf and left silently.

Araf did not budge a bit nor said anything. He sat like a statue, looking at the departure of Jamila.