Urmila's Honeymoon

Preamble: For the  Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day. 

As they had planned since a long time, Urmila and Vivek took the flight for their honeymoon to the "Paradise on Earth". This nick name was earned by the Kashmir valley on account of her stunning natural beauty characterized by lush greenery, snow capped mountains, serene lakes. houseboats and vibrant culture.

 Urmila and Vivek had fallen in love while in college. Unlike an earlier generation for whom "Love was blind", being representatives of the intelligent "New Gen", they went in for a 'planned' love affair. Both of them made sure that the other was from equally strong financial background, from the same caste and educated equally as they were pursuing engineering in a reputed college in Kochi, Kerala. This way, there could not be any objection from the parents to their union. 

As expected, they got the green signal for the wedding without any hitch. Being from business families, there was not even a delay on account of the need to secure a job. Vivek was slated to take over his father's business. Therefore  the wedding was fixed shortly after they became qualified engineers. Urmila and Vivek were excited to go to the Kashmir valley for their honeymoon. It was a dream they had discussed many times during the courting period.

As the day of the wedding neared, Urmila was in a state of day dreaming, wild imagination, full of excitement and wonder. Oh the seven heavenly nights prior to the wedding! Nights engaged in dreaming with hardly any sleep! And the pictures in  the dreams were the same; fun and frolic with her beloved Vivek- throwing snow balls at each other, skating together, drinking warm ginger tea from the same glass. 

Finally,  the wedding ceremonies were over; the guests had left and it was just the two of them on the flight to the valley of their dreams. On the first three days they had so much fun. It was to put it mildly a 'heavenly experience' exactly as Urmila had imagined. They explored the capital city of Srinagar visiting the lovely Mughal gardens of Shalimar Bhag, Nishat Bhag and the architectural wonders such as Jama Masjid and Shankaracharya temple. The lovebirds took a ride while in Gulmarg on one of the highest cable cars in the world with a panoramic view of the snowcapped mountain peaks. More fun and adventure were planned for the remaining seven days of the honeymoon. 

On the fourth day, they had joined a group of tourists to explore the scenic landscapes of the Pahalgam town and also experience pony rides and nature walks. The guide advised the group to stick together.  "The bus will leave sharply at 4 PM. It gets dark after that and it is not safe for tourists to be here", he said. Urmila and Vivek were so immersed in themselves as they walked hand in hand that they were oblivious of the time. Before they knew it, it was already 6 PM and the bus had left.   

Then it happened. A group of masked men approached them. Vivek, the coward that he was, simply ran away leaving his newly wed wife to fend for herself. The next day, the brutal gang rape was reported in all the major newspapers. Vivek, now wanted divorce. But then, Urmila had already made up her mind. "Who would want to live with such a man even if he had wanted to continue the facade of a marital relationship?". For Urmila, a joyously planned event had turned out to be a nightmare. Its tremors would remain whole through the rest of her life. 

NB: This post is a part of  challenge #BlogchatterA2Z