On April 20, 2015, the body of a 27-year-old mother of two was laid to rest in a village in India. She had been admitted to the hospital ten days earlier, with bleeding in the head and a spinal injury that left her paralyzed. She told authorities she had slipped and fallen. Journalist Wilbur Sargunaraj had the opportunity to speak with three of her close friends, who said her husband caused her death. Family members would not comment. He will likely not face charges because in India, many people view domestic violence as a family matter and not a crime. Even the wife did not accuse him. So the truth may never be known. But her friends did share some things about this young woman. Here is her story. [Note: We are not using her name to protect her family.]
She was born in a small village in Tamil Nadu. Her father struggled to find work as he was disabled, so she was forced to look for work to provide for their family. She was very independent. She spent most of her teenage years working as household help for a middle class family in a large city. She would cook, clean, make afternoon tea and wash clothes. Sometimes she would get into trouble for bluntly speaking her mind. Yet the family that she served loved her as she loved them. She enjoyed nice clothes and a variety of dishes. Chicken curry with the fermented rice-lentil cake called idly was great, but even better for her was fish head curry. Nothing went to waste. She even loved those tasty eyes!
[For more of this story, written by Wilbur Sargunaraj, go to http://www.npr.org/blogs/goats...ions-without-answers]
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