Mark of Cain?

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful lady named Nandana. She lived in Bangalore ( a city in India). She belonged to a conservative Hindu family. She got married to a man named Surya when at the age of twenty. As any young bride she looked forward to a peaceful and happy married life.

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Poor Nandana, little did she know what life had in store for her. Her married life was miserable. Surya  was coerced into marrying her by his parents. He started venting all his frustration on her by physically abusing her. As a typical Indian Hindu girl she could not go back to her parents as her husband's house was considered to be her home. The marriage never consummated. Her in laws did not spare her either. Post one year of marriage they started mentally harassing her to produce a male heir. She was always laughed at and snubbed in social gatherings. She was not given consent to meet her parents, siblings or friends. This continued for fourteen years. Years of torture mentally and physically had taken a toll on Nandana's mental health.

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 She started speaking to invisible people. She would laugh loudly in the spur of a moment. She would dance and sing with imaginary friends. She started showing symptoms of' "Schizophrenia". She was taken to the old family doctor. He claimed that she could be having a psychological issue. He suggested that she be taken to a mental health care center where the issue could be diagnosed and treated effectively. Sadly neither Surya nor his parents took Nandana to a mental health care professional, as they were paranoid of how the society would view them. For them it was a major taboo to have a mental ailment and to seek help to tackle the issue was out of the question. A year passed by, there was no improvement in Nandana's health. Surya's relatives started raising questions as to why he did not have a child post fourteen years of marriage. A crazy relative suggested that if the couple would adopt a child, Nandana's mental illness would go away! Surya and his parents went to an orphanage and adopted a baby girl.

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 Nandana was happy to see the baby. But in her disturbed mental phases she could not take care of the baby appropriately. In the beginning her in laws took care of the child but in a month's time they got fed up. Another crazy relative suggested that Surya, Nandana and the baby should live alone in another house. Surya's parents convinced Surya to move in an apartment with his wife and child. Surya adored the little munchkin. At times Nandana would also sing lullaby's to the baby. On an unfortunate rainy evening, Surya, his wife and child was enjoying the smell of the wet soil and the burst of fresh air in the balcony. Surya's mobile rang and he went inside to take the call. In the spur of the moment Nandana sat on the railings of the balcony with the child facing outward and she sang " Hush a bye baby on the tree top, when the wind blows the cradle will rock, and when the bow breaks the cradle will fall and down will come baby, cradle and all....." The unimaginable happened, Nandana dropped the child from the tenth floor. Nandana did not realize that she had dropped the child. When Surya returned to the balcony, he saw Nandana sitting on the railing and she did not have the child. Surya screamed at Nandana, and in the sudden shock she lost her balance and fell.

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Two days later at the funeral of Nandana and her child Surya's relatives were having hair splitting speculations of what might have happened, some claimed Nandana was possessed, some said she was under the influence of an unfavorable planet as per astrology, some proclaimed that she was cursed and some silently whispered that Surya would have pushed them both to get her property and assets.The old family doctor came for the funeral and saw and heard all what the people had to say. He  looked at the bodies of Nandana and the baby and silently thought "only if Nandana was given the right treatment, she would have been alive today". He shed a tear...

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Note : Mental health illness is just like any other illness. It would be utter foolishness not to seek appropriate interventions to heal the ailment. Mental health has stood the test of time, medications and therapies have been formulated over the years to help mankind. To all those who are reading this, take a heart to help a mentally ill person, he or she did not bring this illness upon themselves on purpose. Its a pity in today's world despite the rise in mental health care centers, hospitals and clinics, people seem to sympathize only with those who have physiological issues. Kindly note, the mentally ill are not branded with the Mark of Cain.

Disclaimer : All names appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblances to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.