Untold Ail

It is a combination of imagination, narration and facts and possibilities. The main plot is the love story of Raju and Lily who start a liking for each other in a railway carriage while traveling. The girl was quite indifferent and unaware of the boy's liking of her but was induced to return the boy's affection due to his continuous visits to her, talks and timely help. Both were away from homes for studies and work and find enough time to spend together. They go to tours with other picnic groups and visit historical places depicting cultural and artistic spots of significance. They take resolution to get married though both knew that was not easy as they differed in religion, culture and mother tongues. But they knew each other for three years and was not easy to part with. When Raju finished his BDS and Lily still doing B.Ed. course the former left for his home and parents who were Hindus bluntly opposed his desire to marry a Christian girl. Lily continued to work as a teacher away from her state, quite hopefully to unite with Raju in marriage though he did not contact her at all for ten months. In those days the main means of conveyance was only mailing postal letters. Hardly any home had a telephone. To her desperation she got a reply letter from Raju stating that he was married and the father of a baby daughter. Lily was bitterly sad, upset and repugnant. She could not take the message in the letter as it was Raju who was bent on stabilizing their relation. She was angry more than being sad and went her way to agree with a marriage proposed by her parents. In those days, say four or five decades ago ninety percent of the marriages in India were arranged. Even to this day the same tradition is going on mostly. The two proposals of Vinatha and Masood Mahmood brought for Raju and Lily respectively are interesting and good ones but rejected by both. Indian marriages are arranged even to this day but are not made marriages like the time old ones. The boy and the gir