ANTH BHALA TOH SAB BHALA
“If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm, O thou of evil luck, with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart and let it burn alone.” - from Tagore’s ‘Ekla Chalo Re’ M alia* is a distant niece of mine. She was also my student many years ago. She was a beautiful soul, well-mannered, very articulate and, above all, God-fearing. But, then, her only major ‘sin’ in life seemed to be her falling madly in love with the young man who belonged to a different religious faith! Now, I called it Malia’s ‘major sin’. because, her parents did not approve this relationship. It was any boy from her own faith or none at all. Silly and medieval it really seemed… months of fierce arguments followed… The parents refused to relent… and Malia refused to relent either…Finally, against her parents’ wish, she married the boy she had loved… With that, the doors of her parents’ house – and hearts as well – permanently closed for Mali...