The First Wife

Grandfather had three wives
Father had two
I have but one -
And my son will have none
For, I have no son

Thus wrote Durga Prasad Choudhury, well-known author and winner of many academy awards, in the prelude to his autobiography. He was the scion of the zamindars of Nangia Gunj in Murshidabad district of undivided Bengal. The zamindari was given to his ancestors, in the eighteenth century by Siraj-ud-Dowlah, the then Nawab. And here he, Durga Prasad, was now writing the chapter on the first wife of his father under vastly changed circumstances, right at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Devoid of children, he was also sad that the illustrious family dynasty would come to an end after his time.

His grandfather had married thrice, only the third wife had survived for long. His grandmother, the second wife, had died while giving birth to his father. His father's young stepmother was a voluptuous woman from the poor class, earthy and clever in her own way.

Durga Prasad's father was forced into a marriage not of his liking by the grandfather. The latter had promised a close friend, when their children were small, that his son and the friend's daughter would be married when they grew up. Such was the custom in India almost ninety years ago. The friend demanded, when they attained maturity, that the promise be honoured. Durga Prasad's father had no other go but to agree to the marriage in order to keep the family's prestige in society. The bride, neither good-looking nor literate, was the unfortunate first wife of Durga Prasad's father.

His father, after marriage, never accepted her as his wife. The marriage was a service done to bail out the family from a sticky situation. He never consummated the marriage and the fate of his first wife, still in her teens, was sealed forever.

Her family background was such that she was extremely quarrelsome, that is, till she was subjugated by her young mother-in-law. There were bitter fights between the two in the beginning. The mother-in-law sought and got the support of Durga Prasad's grandfather and father in her mission to subdue her rival. She was attractive and crafty and had a way of getting her things done by men who were eager to cast their lot with her.

The 'first wife' lost both her parents in quick succession. Her roots having been cut off, the young mother-in-law found it all too easy to break her spirit, her resistance and cast her into isolation.

First, she was prohibited from entering the kitchen and then from supervising other household chores. She soon became an object of ridicule, a person who did not do any work and lived at others' mercy.

Marginalized and humiliated, she resigned herself to fate and lived a quiet life. She even used to look forward to the daily scoldings from her mother-in-law, once her rival, because it was an event in her otherwise eventless existence. The mother-in-law thus exercised complete mastery over her victim.

A couple of years after his first marriage, Durga Prasad's father married again; the girl hailed from an aristocratic family. She had no problem with her mother-in-law who had created favourable conditions for her. The mother-in-law allowed them to move into the annexe of the house, a little distance away from the main building so that they could live independently. They were blessed with two sons of whom Durga Prasad was the younger.

When his elder brother was about eight years old he was found visiting his stepmother in isolation. Children of such tender age have a strong sense of right and wrong and don't care for others' opinion while tackling injustice in their own way. Though his mother cautioned him, his visits to his stepmother became more frequent and soon a bond of affection developed between the two. Their friendship continued throughout his school and college days. It was a tearful parting for both when he secured a job in the US.

Durga Prasad's brother used to send small gifts to everyone from the US, including his stepmother. He was looking forward to his visit to India during the Puja season. This was not to be, as events proved later.

Tragedy struck the family, ironically when the most unwanted member, the first wife, passed away in her sleep one night. Durga Prasad's brother was so overcome with grief that he cancelled his plans of visiting India. He probably suspected foul play in her death. He wrote that he would not be coming home any more and no effort need be made to locate him.

Needless to say, all attempts made by his father went in vain. It was rumoured that he had married an American lady and settled permanently in the US; other speculated that he had become an ascetic and was roaming in the Himalayas in search of 'Truth.' Thus, Durga Prasad's father lost both his first wife and his first son.

In the end it was poetic justice - the atrocities and cruelty inflicted on their womenfolk had sounded the death knell of the Choudhury clan.