City girl loses love that knew no boundaries

THIS IS AN ARTICLE IN TIMES OF INDIA 18/6/08..
A VERY TOUCHY AND SAD ONE......

MUMBAI: Asha Patil’s struggle lasted longer than her triumph. The young girl whose quest for love led her to take on the governments of India and Pakistan from her modest apartment in Mira Road, lost her husband to a heart attack last Thursday.

Two years ago, in June 2006, 26-year-old Asha became the symbol of Indo-Pakistan reconciliation when she attempted to cross over to Pakistan to meet Mumtaz Khalid, a 28-year-old stockbroker whom she had met online and later married.

Their courtship lasted five years. After refusing to recognise the long-distance marriage and denying them visas, the political leadership of both India and Pakistan temporarily buried their differences and allowed Khalid to come to Mumbai to fetch his bride.

Now, after a lasting two years, Asha finds herself thrown in the deep end once more.

Her 30-year-old husband died after suffering two massive heart attacks last week, leaving behind a young widow who is expecting their child. Asha is currently in Lahore and is scheduled to return to India upon completing the funeral rituals on Friday.

“I have no reason to stay on in Pakistan anymore,’’ Asha, now Ayesha, says over the phone from Lahore. “The man for whom I crossed the boundaries of religion and nationhood is no longer by my side.’’ The very Lahore she so desperately wanted to make her home is now the city she wants to hastily depart so she can come to terms with her loss.

The shock is palpable in her voice as she recalls the end that came without warning. The couple had travelled to the home of Khalid’s sister in Faislabad to convey the good news that Asha was expecting.

They were returning home when a sharp shooting pain gripped the 30-year-old on his left side. Even as a panicky Asha gathered him into her lap, Khalid passed away. A man who had hardly complained of a headache before this was now snatched away in his prime.

“In fact, it was I who had been ill throughout our marriage,’’ recalls a broken Asha. “My first-born died a premature death because I had suffered a bout of jaundice during my pregnancy. And just last week, I suffered a brief stroke of paralysis.’’

As they exchange painful details over long-distance telephone calls, Asha’s supportive family back in Silver Park apartment in Mira Road anxiously awaits the return of its youngest daughter this weekend.

“She is still an Indian citizen so coming back to us will not be a problem,’’ says mother Suman Patil, a traditional Maharashtrian housewife who, like her daughter, now speaks Urdu and explains government policies.

“In fact, she visited her ailing father earlier this year and was set to come back in July because that is when her visa expires.’’

Khalid had accompanied Asha on her recent trip in February, affably addressing his mother-in-law as aai and eating with her in the kitchen. This time, the daughter of the house will come back alone and defeated, knowing she loved and lost.

gisjul

Hi Gisjul,

I read this article on TOI website. Too bad govts give easy passage to terrorists & common people suffer.

Don't know if you have seen that movie "Mammo", it deals with the same subject.

Regards,

Corallux

I read this in the newspaper today. This article reminds of the dialogue of Tabu in Cheeni Kum when her father object her from getting married to Amitabh who is elder than his would be father in law. The Dialogue goes like this:

"Dad, is age the factor. What is the point of living with a man whom I do not know and love and spending my beautiful life in waste. I would rather spend it with the man I love and treasure those days forever. I will be able to live the rest of my life in peace with the satisfaction that I had my loved one with me".

She will also be happy after some years cherishing the good days she spent with her loved one. It was indeed unfortunate to lose him, but few things are in the hands of God and we are just watching helplessly.