Unseen Face
- Writers Pouch
- Nov 19, 2022
- 10 min read
Disclaimer: For ages above 18 only.
Swetha’s thoughts had always been random. But a major chunk of her thoughts were fantasies that she often shared with her mother. She was Swetha’s best friend, and their shared kind of intimacy was envied, even by her friends. But when she announced that she would be studying Literature after her Engineering, her mother not only disapproved of her ideas but started looking for a suitable boy. Later, Swetha moved out of her house and joined a course in journalism, heeding the advice of her boyfriend. He told her that once she became a journalist, she would have all the time in the world and could do whatever she wanted.
The young man later felt that his life and Swetha’s would never fit in and proposed a breakup. It did not shock or surprise Swetha, as she knew that this was bound to happen, and she had to confront it with all her power. This incident did not shake her life, but she started doing what she was putting off for years. She started reading everything about love, every famous story, poem and newspaper article. This led her to the works of Nandini Priyadarshini, an acclaimed writer known for her poems and short stories, all about love and sharing souls.
Nandini Priyadarshini, who was regarded as the pioneer of the Women’s writing movement in India, had her share of troubles in life. But, she chose an outlet to vent them, a worthy outlet, and her feelings took the form of words, and they warmed millions of hearts. People fell in love with her stories first and with her later. Young boys and girls attended her workshops and queued in front of her book signings. All this faded into oblivion when she announced her marriage to some Karthik. In everyone’s eyes, he was a very suitable man. If only he was ten years older rather than younger than Nandini.
The poor love birds had to go for a clandestine wedding to avoid the glaring eyes of the media. But it did not stop there. She died four years after her marriage, and this gave enough fodder for the media to investigate her life more. Her husband was suspected, thrashed and accused of killing her, but when the reason for death was known to be cardiac arrest, they had no choice but to accept it.
Swetha could not help but take an interest in Nandini and Karthik’s relationship. It was when Karthik started publishing his own works, Swetha decided to meet him and get an interview. She gave herself the task of writing their love story and always wondered how someone like Nandini loved a person, accepted their faults, and still married him.
It was one of those routine press meets where Swetha met Naveen, who appeared to be more interested in Nandini-Karthik’s relationship. Naveen has been attempting to get in touch with Karthik, but he was, of course, a celebrity and whatever channels Naveen tried, they stopped dead at some point or other. Swetha thought, through Naveen she could find a way to meet Karthik, and the more she tried, the more she liked to fancy that she had met Karthik, and they spoke to each other like best friends, and their bond grew thicker.
Those days, she started questioning her choices and almost decided to quit her job as a reporter cum copy editor and convinced herself to go back to what her graduation degree offered. But when she saw the magazine Outpost’s cover page with Karthik and a caption at the bottom, ‘Interviewed by Naveen Chandra’, she saw a way in front of her eyes.
