Everyone gets married like this. You're not special.' " Talking about it — it's all suddenly too much for Durga. She buries her face in a pink scarf she's wearing and stifles a sob. "Please," she finally whispers. "I don't want to remember. Sometimes I think, 'Did that really happen?' " Durga, now 21, was angry at her father for forcing her into the marriage: "I thought, 'How could a betrayal like Hollow Bottles.
The whole ceremony felt like a bad dream, she says. She was too upset to speak, to brush her hair — even to change into her dress. "So they just pulled it on me, over my regular clothes." And she was so angry at her father. "I thought, 'How could a betrayal like this happen?' " But what she didn't fully realize at the time was that her father, Lumbaram, felt he had betrayed her as well.
Watching the ceremony, he was overcome by a growing sense of guilt. In keeping with village custom, Durga and the groom had been introduced to each other only hours before. Yet when the moment came for their hands to be clasped together and wrapped in a cloth, this man seemed to be taking advantage of the ritual to feel Durga's hand in a way that struck Lumbaram as just ... sleazy.
Lumbaram reads aloud to Durga from a philosophy book. Since he started his effort to rescue her from her marriage, the two have grown close. "He couldn't even join hands with her without being creepy," Lumbaram recalls. "I thought, 'This guy is bad news.' " As soon as the festivities were over, Lumbaram pulled Durga aside and made her a vow. "I will fix this," he said. That was six years ago.
The whole ceremony felt like a bad dream, she says. She was too upset to speak, to brush her hair — even to change into her dress. "So they just pulled it on me, over my regular clothes." And she was so angry at her father. "I thought, 'How could a betrayal like this happen?' " But what she didn't fully realize at the time was that her father, Lumbaram, felt he had betrayed her as well.
Watching the ceremony, he was overcome by a growing sense of guilt. In keeping with village custom, Durga and the groom had been introduced to each other only hours before. Yet when the moment came for their hands to be clasped together and wrapped in a cloth, this man seemed to be taking advantage of the ritual to feel Durga's hand in a way that struck Lumbaram as just ... sleazy.
Lumbaram reads aloud to Durga from a philosophy book. Since he started his effort to rescue her from her marriage, the two have grown close. "He couldn't even join hands with her without being creepy," Lumbaram recalls. "I thought, 'This guy is bad news.' " As soon as the festivities were over, Lumbaram pulled Durga aside and made her a vow. "I will fix this," he said. That was six years ago.