Politician's daughter

When I was working in the corporate I was the domain and process trainer. Whenever any new member would join our team I would take care of their training needs extensively. I remember once a group of 5 individuals have joined our team. One of them was a remarkable girl whose name was Shilpa.

Shilpa appeared as if she was a girl next door, but in reality she wasn't. Shilpa came from a politically connected family. She was wealthy. So rich the her pocket money from the college was much higher than the corporate salary that she had been getting. She would come to the office in a chauffeur driven BMW car. Everyone had been wondering why she had even been working in the corporate at all.

Once we all girls had been sitting together and discussing our future plans. Shilpa did not hesitate even for a second while she revealed her plan to marry a politician. I was surprised with how direct she was. I admired her for the clarity she had at the age of 25. When I expressed this to her she told me, "I come from a politician's family so it is obvious that I would marry a politician. I am working here only till my marriage gets fixed. I am not fond of working and I am just hoping that my marriage gets fixed soon so that I can leave the job and enjoy my life".

Shilpa's dream and aspirations were very different. She aspired to become a housewife. She wanted to stand next to her husband on the stage when he would deliver his speech in the rally. She wanted to have a family. She wanted to leave her life in the city and move to a small village. She wanted to start her own small business. Her aspirations were expensive and could have been fullfield only by a wealthy family. Whenever Shilpa would tell me about what she wanted to do in the future I would sit and wonder if this girl is out of touch with reality or if I am a girl from middle class family who does not know how to dream.

Finally the day arrived when Shilpa's wedding was fixed. One day Shilpa came to the office wearing a ceremonial saree and jewellery. I joked and ask her if she got married before coming to the office. To my surprise she responded, "today my wedding was fixed. I am getting married this year, maybe in December. I have come today to resign. I am so glad that my freedom begins now". She told me that she had found the groom who was from her native town and she was going to leave Mumbai forever.

I was happy for Shilpa but also I was shocked at what she mentioned by her freedom was going to begin. I could not believe that she was considering getting married was a path towards her freedom. But in I decided to brush off my thoughts. Because I was completely unaware of a life of the daughter of a politician. I wondered that maybe her life required a lot of restrictions because of her family background and after the marriage she was going to get the freedom that she craved for all these years.

The last time I met Shilpa was on her last working day. After that Shilpa never stayed in touch with us. She disconnected with all friends and social media. But what we had heard from her parents was that she was happy and thriving with her husband at their home town.

I remember her every now and then. Even today I am still hoping that one day I would see Shilpa on the stage in a rally while her husband delivers his message.