Sunday, July 14, 2002		Life Ties

Betrayal of the soul sister
Taru Bahl

SEEMA and Kavita were together since kindergarten and those who knew them labeled them as soul sisters. They looked alike, echoed the same views, dressed similarly and spoke the same language. It was when they got out of college and went into different professions that their personalities blossomed fully. Seema took up a research-based job and Kavita entered the flamboyant world of advertising and public relations. Being a people’s person and high on creativity, Kavita took to the demands of her new job effortlessly. The contact between the friends, however, did not weaken even though Kavita made friends along the way while Seema felt that the comfort level that she shared with Kavita could never be reached with another person.

Kavita was the first to get married. Her husband was soon offered a foreign posting and she went with him. Their daughter, Ananya, was born in the USA. She came to India every two years and the friends would spend maximum time together.

Seema had a bad relationship which turned her off marriage. Besides, her job was of a solitary nature. She spent more time buried under books and hooked to the computer than she did with real people. Her parents had reconciled to her spinster status. What they did not know was that she was already involved with her married boss. This clandestine relationship changed her. She became secretive and vague, scared to divulge details which would help people piece together her personal life or give them the liberty to make a comment on her lifestyle. She distanced herself from Kavita. They met lovingly but the closeness was missing. Seema’s physical looks too had changed. She had let herself go. More than the weight and sloppiness, there was a pinched hunted look which made people wary of her. She had not aged gracefully.

When Kavita returned to Delhi after the end of her husband’s foreign tenure, she reached out to Seema. But she could sense that she was unwelcome. Whenever she asked Seema if something was on her mind, she would divert the subject.

A harrowing time began for Kavita when she started getting blank calls. The calls began hounding her at all times of the day and night. Clearly, someone was tracking her. She sought the help of the police but the caller could not be traced.

Simple routine things like driving, shopping, watching a movie, or walking with her daughter became nightmarish as she felt that dark shadows were ready to attack and harm them. The nature of the calls also changed. Now, a male voice would ask for her and when she would come on the line, it would use abusive language before abruptly hanging up. Her husband was in a touring job and would often be out. Although she was paranoid, she did not let fear get the better of her. She took a tough and intimidating posture enlisting help from external sources. But the tougher she got, the worse the calls became. A day came when the caller threatened her saying her daughter would be kidnapped if she did not terminate her relationship with Seema.

Kavita still did not suspect Seema of involvement. Her intuitive reaction was that her friend could be in trouble. However, one evening Seema called up sounding distressed, urging Kavita to meet her at a crossing near the house. She rushed out only to be intercepted by Seema and a hefty man. Before she knew what was happening, they had bundled her up in their car. While Kavita was driving, her male friend twisted Seema’s arm and in the most foul language asked her to get out of Seema’s life. After 15 minutes of nonsensical blasting, bordering on madness, hysteria and violence, the duo dropped a shocked Kavita at her doorstep.

It took her days to recover from the trauma. Nothing made sense. Finally, her father decided to do some tough talking. He had seen the girls over the years and had a fair understanding of human psychology to be able to draw his unbiased conclusions which he hoped would help his daughter recover and move on to a life without her best buddy. Her father made her recall how Seema had been obsessed with pornographic literature during her college days. It had made Kavita uncomfortable to such an extent that she had taken her father’s advice on it. Somewhere, the pleasures of the flesh had overtaken her friend’s other innate qualities. Her relationship with a married man was a clear indication of this. Obviously, the man was a bully and had a tremendous hold on her. He felt threatened by the fact that the two girls were close and if Kavita got wind of this illegitimate relationship she would wean her friend away. He used Seema’s vulnerability and dependence to twist her thinking further. Negative emotions of jealousy, resentment and anger were not difficult to arouse in her mind. Gradually, she learnt to hate her best friend and became a party to her boyfriend’s vile plans.

Surely, her father argued, Kavita did not want to hold on to a friend who resented her happiness and her family life. The relationship had died long ago and it had begun to stink. Kavita had to accept it and let her friend be. Some things, he said, are best left unaddressed. This was one of them. Just treasure the childhood memories of friendship and togetherness and obliterate the rest, he told Kavita.