Unveiling the Truth

2013 April

An exclusive interview was scheduled by a leading Odisha TV channel with Sonal at her parent’s home at 9 a.m. on Monday morning. As scheduled, the crew and leading journalist Suraj Kumar were ready for the live telecast. People throughout the country were anxious to see and hear from Sonal and to find out what exactly had happened to her. Opinions about her story were already split between the supporters of Mr Das and supporters of Sonal.

Supporters of Mr Das believed that Sonal’s story was a ploy by the opposition to tarnish their leader’s image, thus undermining Mr Das’s popularity. Since the election was near, Das’s supporters knew that only his opposition could have hatched such a low act on Mr Das’s part—with Sonal’s help, of course. They were certain that the truth would prevail and that their leader would be released from police custody able to hold his head up high. Das’s supporters also weren’t happy with the media and the way they had handled the matter since it had surfaced. They felt as if the media was trying to do the work of the judiciary, positing Mr Das as the villain and trying him in print.

The supporters of Sonal posed an absolutely different story. They felt that what was happening to Mr Das then should have happened to him long before. The Das family had ruined lives and had amassed considerable wealth by illegal means. Although the family had created numerous scams, they had escaped prosecution because of their political connections. Sonal’s supporters were hoping for otherwise this time. The Das family needed to learn a lesson, especially Mrs Das who was such an arrogant and greedy lady.

It was finally time for the live telecast.

‘Okay, Mrs Sonal. Please tell us when you’re ready and we can start’, Mr Suraj Kumar said politely.

Sonal was ready and said, ‘Sure, Mr Kumar. We can start now.’

Mr Kumar gave a thumbs-up to the cameraman, and the cameraman did the same. Mr Kumar held a notepad with numerous questions written down and was prepared to throw as many questions at her as he could once the show started. The cameraman turned on the camera and said, ‘Yes. We’re ready to go.’

Mr Kumar shook his head, and the live telecast started.

‘Okay, Mrs Sonal. First, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you on behalf of myself and our organization for giving us this exclusive opportunity to speak with you and to share your story with the people of our country.’

‘No problem at all, Mr Kumar. My pleasure.’

‘Just tell us about your journey and why you’re in this situation today?’

‘First of all, I would like to express my thanks for giving me this opportunity to let people know about my story. Well, it has been a long journey. Though I must say that I would not wish for anyone to end up in the position that I’m in today. Never in my dreams did I ever imagine that this could happen. Unfortunately, that is not the case.’

Sonal paused and then started to tell her story.

Chapter One

Sonal and Rajiv had known each other since their university days. Rajiv was a first-year computer engineering student in a reputed university in Odisha, India, when Sonal joined the university in the same department.

On the first day of her induction week, she walked around the campus with a few new friends. The students’ union had organized different events and activities for the new students which was handy because it provided important information that was much needed for a newcomer like her. Sonal saw new faces everywhere as she walked amongst the different booths to ascertain important information about the college. By the end of the day, she had made many good friends. Among them was Prerana, a girl who was one year ahead of Sonal. As time passed, the two girls got on very well.

Rajiv, on the other hand, was totally different and a bit unusual for a first-year newcomer. From his first day, a big convoy of boys accompanied him wherever he went. That trend continued for many days, but it eventually came to an end when the principal intervened. Anybody could figure out that Rajiv was definitely a big gun. Many students from his class and others were very eager to make friends with him because of his political status.

Sonal didn’t have any interest in that at all. Instead, she was enjoying her life at the university and was determined to do well academically. She was not afraid to dream and to yearn for everything that her parents would have liked to see happen in her live.

Everything was going wonderfully for Sonal. She bumped into Rajiv many times. He was well-recognized by everybody in the college. Rajiv was a good-looking young man with a large fortune. His dad was a minister in the state government, and Rajiv was also the state youth president of the ruling political party.

‘No wonder he roams around with so many of his supporters on campus’, Sonal told Prerana when Prerana told Sonal about Rajiv. ‘It seems that you’ve done significant research on him. Ha! Ha! Ha!’

‘Well, not only that. There are many other things being said about him’, Prerana said.

‘We don’t need to really know much about him. Instead, we should focus on our own business and why we’re here. I guess that’ll be beneficial to us’, Sonal said.

Sonal was a very good student academically, and she was barely interested in college politics. Even though Sonal and Rajiv both came from the same small town, Balasore of Odisha, Sonal didn’t know him very well. She had only realized who he was when they both had joined the same university and the same engineering department.

A year passed. Rajiv and Sonal bumped into each other many times in classes and at parties. Rajiv’s eagle eye had always been on her from day one, and he slowly started to develop feelings for her. Sonal never thought that way; to her, Rajiv was just a friend. Perhaps she didn’t realize that he meant for something else to be happening, although Rajiv made many efforts to get close to her.

As days passed by, getting Sonal to notice him became a challenge for Rajiv. Finally he broke the ice and they became very good friends. She didn’t even know when it all happened, but Prerana had repeatedly warned her to keep a bit of distance because of Rajiv’s flirtatious nature. Sonal ignored Prerana’s warning because she had always thought of him as only a good friend.

It was hard for Sonal to believe how quickly three years passed at the university, but before she knew it, it was time for her to say goodbye to Prerana. On Prerana’s last night before leaving college at her farewell party, Prerana again cautioned Sonal about Rajiv’s ill nature and made Sonal promise to keep distance between the two of them if she could. Sonal agreed and told Prerana that she would definitely take her words into consideration.

Nevertheless, as time passed, Sonal and Rajiv got closer to each other as if they were both destined for that. Both had a unique view to their friendship. While Sonal always saw Rajiv as a very trustworthy friend, Rajiv had other things in mind that Sonal was completely unaware of.

They started to see each other more frequently, and in between another year passed. But Sonal never encountered any unwanted behaviour from Rajiv towards her, making her believe in him more. It seemed to Sonal that Prerana had been wrong about Rajiv. I still need to keep her words in mind for the future, Sonal thought to herself. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?

Chapter Two

Years passed and all the exams were finished. The time had come for Sonal and Rajiv to say goodbye to the university. After completing college, both went back to their respective home, but they were in contact with each other throughout the move. Sonal started to feel the void of Rajiv’s absence. She didn’t realize that she had fallen in love with him. There was definitely something missing when they didn’t get to see each other every day. It puzzled her that she had any kind of feeling for him at all. What made it worse was that she didn’t know how he felt about her since he had never expressed anything like love towards her.

After leaving the university, Sonal and Rajiv both needed to find a job. Before finishing her final exam at the university, Sonal had a few job interviews, so she was absolutely certain that something positive would come from at least one of them. For Rajiv, getting a job anywhere he chose was not a big deal, so he had not bothered to take part in any interviews. His dad was a minister, and Rajiv knew that his dad would help him. Therefore, Rajiv left finding a job for him up to his father.

Rajiv also considered that with his father’s recommendation, Sonal could possibly find a job as well. However, there were various reasons why both Sonal and Rajiv didn’t want to pursue that option. First, it was Rajiv’s parent, and if they asked, he would find about their friendship, which Rajiv didn’t want to be open about. Second, Sonal didn’t want to because she was brilliant academically and was smart enough to get a job on her own rather than accepting a favour from someone else.

A month after leaving the university, Sonal got a call from an interview for the software developer job she had interviewed for while in school. She was on cloud nine after hearing the news of her selection for the job. Who else wouldn’t be? She began to get in touch with her other friends, including Rajiv, to see if they had found work as well. It was great to hear that most of her friends had found work. Unfortunately, Rajiv wasn’t on that list. Sonal felt very sorry for him.

Rajiv wasn’t concerned at all though. He had other plans in mind. Rajiv knew he could have any job, anytime, and anywhere. While talking to Sonal, Rajiv found out which company and in which branch she would be working. After gathering all the relevant information, he asked his dad to arrange something for him in Bhubaneswar where Sonal would soon start working.

However, his parents did not want to agree to this. After an intense discussion, Rajiv was given the chance to do any job he wanted to for one year as long as he agreed to return to the political arena at the end of that year. Once Rajiv agreed, Mr Das started to talk to his contacts at different companies. After a few phone calls, he secured a job for Rajiv on one of the MNCs in the same city where Sonal had gotten her job. Delighted, Rajiv called Sonal and told her the good news.

‘Be prepared to tolerate me again, as I’ll be in the same city where you’ll be’, Rajiv said in a lighter tone.

‘So you’ll be in Bhubaneswar, right?’

‘That’s right. You see, as I told you, I am returning to you again.’

Although Sonal didn’t express her happiness, she was glad to hear that news. She said, ‘That’s good, Rajiv.’

‘When will you be starting the job?’ Rajiv asked her.

‘Next month sometime, but I’ll know the exact date in a few days’ time’, she replied. ‘What about you?’

‘The fifth of January will be the start date. I’ll be leaving my hometown after the New Year.’

‘Hmm, good. And did you find out any accommodation yet?’ Rajiv asked.

‘Yeah, Dad has nearly finalized a working hostel for me’, she replied.

Both started their job as scheduled. Sonal left home and went to stay in the hostel in the capital city of Odisha. Rajiv moved to his dad’s bungalow on the outskirts of the same city.

A new phase of their friendship began and started to grow when they both moved to Bhubaneswar. They met more frequently than before for coffee and seemed to enjoy each other’s company a lot.

Sonal finally realized that she really had feelings for him. It wasn’t easy for her to live without seeing him, even for a single day. For Rajiv, however, it was a totally different perspective. As with other girls, he loved to flirt, but flirting wasn’t a big deal for him. He knew how to impress the girls, how to seduce them, and how to finally dump them once he had lost interest in them. He was handsome and a cool dude. And, most importantly, he was the son of a minister, and that always made his life easy.

Now he was all ready to pull her up. However, Sonal wasn’t aware of his intention. Rajiv used girls exclusively for sex and that was it. Even though he had been flirting with her since college time, he had never had the chance to take advantage of her for that purpose. Sonal knew very well where to draw the line in that sense, so it was a challenge for Rajiv to have her at any cost. To accomplish that goal, he began to pretend that he truly cared for her. Sonal’s feelings for him, however, were real.

Rajiv was always looking for the chance to take advantage of Sonal. Finally, on the eighteenth of January, 2010, he took his opportunity. He called Sonal.

‘Hey, how are things with you, Sonal?’ he asked.

‘Good, and you?’ Sonal responded.

‘Any plans for this evening?’ Rajiv asked.

‘Not as such. I need to finish the project I’m working on since the deadline is early next week. Hopefully I will leave for the hostel as soon as I can. Maybe by eight at the latest. After dinner, I will speak with my mom and sister. Then I’ll watch TV for a few hours before going to bed as usual, I guess.’

‘Hmm. Well… routine, huh?’ Rajiv laughed.

‘Yeah, that’s my daily schedule since I started work. It’s too busy over here really.’

‘Yeah, understandable. But you need to come off it sometimes and have a personal life as well. You know?

She replied, ‘Hmm. I suppose so.’

‘So can I ask the lovely lady for dinner tonight… if you have some spare time from your project?’ Rajiv asked without missing the opportunity.

Sonal didn’t know how to react to Rajiv’s words at all. They had hung out and had coffee many times before, but this was the first time he had invited her for dinner in all their years of friendship. For a few moments, she couldn’t say anything, although she definitely wanted to go. Questions filled her mind. Was this the right time? Did he think the same way about her as she thought about him? There were many questions without an answer. She paused for a few seconds before she could reply.

‘I would be very happy to have dinner with you tonight. However, as I mentioned, I’ll get off late from work. Can we plan for another day, please? Maybe one weekend if that suits you better? And by the way, thanks very much for inviting me to the dinner.’ She kept her options open knowingly as she didn’t want to lose the opportunity to have dinner with him.

‘Oh, great, will do. I’ll plan everything, and I’ll inform you well in advance. Thanks very much for accepting my invitation’, Rajiv replied.

Two days later, Rajiv sent a message to Sonal asking to plan for the following Saturday at 7 p.m. when he would pick her up from her hostel. He would drop her at home by 10:30 p.m., before the hostel’s gate closed.

Sonal was elated to get the message from him.

She had promised that she would go to dinner with him on the weekend, but she had not known that Rajiv would invite her for the very next week. Many questions popped up in her mind. Will it be right to go out with him? Well, I’ve been out with him for coffee many times, but I’ve never had any such feeling as I have now. Then again, I guess I’m mature enough. I know my boundary lines, and there’s nothing wrong with going out for dinner. Why should I be so worried about it?

Sonal seemed to hold the answers to all the questions that came to mind, easily escaping each reason to cancel. It took a few minutes for her to respond with her consent, and on the other side Rajiv was waiting for her reply. He knew she would have to reply something. He knew it couldn’t be overlooked. Finally she came out of her daze and replied positively: ’Yeah, that’s fine with me.’

Seeing the positive reply, Rajiv knew he wasn’t too far from reaching his goal. He knew he could run the show his way very soon. Great, Sonal. I have been waiting for this day these last few years, and here we are today. I know you made me wait for a long time but I guess it's worth it. I’ll remind you of those days when you made me kneel down before you. Now it’s my turn.

He sent her a message back. Thanks, Sonal. Be ready and I’ll ping you before I go to pick you up.

Sonal texted him back. Sure and thank you very much.

The following Saturday, Sonal was ready for the evening when she got the message from Rajiv. All ready to go, Sonal? I’ll be there very soon, so be ready.

She was excited to go out with him, but at the same time she was a bit worried whether she had made the right decision. There was no point in going back to the beginning and thinking about the same thing again and again. She believed Rajiv was a nice guy, and there was nothing wrong in taking a step forward in her relationship with him. While she was thinking about everything, she could see a text message flashing on her mobile. She knew it was Rajiv. She picked up the phone, glanced at the screen, and quickly moved out of the room without reading the message.

Rajiv was waiting outside the hostel in his car. She walked through the gate, rushed to the car, and took the front passenger seat. Then they drove off.

Not knowing where to start, Sonal sat quietly without uttering a word. Again the same thought came to her mind: Am I doing right? She never had any such feelings when she had gone out with him in college. That day seemed to be different.

‘I should take a break from such thinking’, she murmured.

‘Did you say something?’ Rajiv questioned.

‘Hmm. No.’

‘I heard you say something. Is everything okay?’

‘Yeah’, she replied.

To change the topic, Sonal asked if she could turn on the music player.

‘Sure, I hope you would like my collections.’

‘Let’s see.’ She grabbed a CD from the dashboard drawer and then put it into the CD player. ‘Wow! Beautiful songs!’

‘So you like it? Yeah!’ Before she could say anything, Rajiv said, ‘I’ve got many such collections, and I’m sure you will love those as well.’

Without saying anything, Sonal smiled.

Chapter Three

After 10 minutes of driving, Sonal and Rajiv reached their destination. Rajiv had already made reservations before leaving. Thinking it had already been a few years and that he couldn’t wait any longer, he went quickly into the restaurant. Sonal followed behind him.

‘May I help you, sir?’ asked the waiter as soon as they got inside.

‘I booked a table for two in my name, Mr Rajiv’. He and Sonal both waited.

‘Certainly, sir. Let me have a look.’

The waiter searched their system to find the information about the reservation. While he was checking, the manager came out and said, ‘Hello, Mr Rajiv. Please come in.’

The manager looked at the waiter and said, ‘You don’t know, Mr Das?’

The waiter couldn’t say anything and just looked at the manager while Rajiv and Sonal followed him to a private room for the dinner.

‘Please have a seat, Mr Rajiv’, said the manager. He laid the menu on the table and then let them settle in. ‘Please make yourself comfortable. The waiter will be here soon and will be looking after you this evening.’

‘Sure. Thanks.’

The manager left the room with Rajiv’s permission.

The room was well-decorated for the couple to have a romantic dinner. The table was decorated with a red velvet tablecloth. In the centre of it was placed a votive candle in a candle holder, which was softly diffused light through the room, creating ambiance and romantic mood. Also a short vase of red roses was placed on the table. The room had a coordinated palette with chairs and linen napkins that matched the tablecloth.

Sonal could now feel that Rajiv definitely had the same feelings as she had for him. She was happy, but she still hesitated, wondering if she was doing right.

‘Are you okay, Sonal?’ Rajiv asked, sensing Sonal’s uneasiness.

‘Yeah, I am’, she promptly replied. She wanted to hide and didn’t want Rajiv to know about her feelings.

Meanwhile, the waiter came in and said, ‘Sir, I’m here to serve you this evening. Are you ready to order?’

‘Hmm.’ Rajiv looked at Sonal