Episode 41 | Just When I Thought Things Were Finally Changing…

A Quick Recap of Episode 40

My daughter and I were living in Flat 171, while my husband had fraudulently sold Flat 172.

Mr. Timbe had prepared the Possession Letter, Electricity Transfer and 21 Set papers for me. I met my husband at Swagat Hotel, where he signed them. He kept telling me that everything would be fine, that he would bring the money back, and that I should not submit the papers to the society yet.

Around the same time, Karnani started talking about selling Flat 171 as well. I refused clearly. I told him that my daughter's name would be on the flat and that I did not want anyone else's name involved. He suggested that my husband, my daughter and I could buy another house together and sell this one.

I refused and told him not to contact me again. After that, I never spoke to him again.

I then met another lawyer, Advocate Kannan, through Visham. But eventually, I became uncomfortable with his behaviour as well and decided to take my file back.

That was when another chapter of my life began.

A New Lawyer

Indra Teacher had an elder sister named Prabha. I contacted her and learned that she too had been fighting a case against her husband for almost 15–20 years, without any real success.

I asked Prabha if she could introduce me to her lawyer.

She spoke to him and gave me his number.

We decided to meet at a restaurant in an area away from my home.

The lawyer came there with his wife.

He was Advocate Mr. Chandak.

I told him my entire story.

I explained everything that had happened and told him that my file was still with my previous lawyer. I told him that because of the situation, I did not want to continue with that lawyer anymore.

But I did not tell Mr. Chandak the truth about what had happened with my previous lawyer. I simply told him that I would bring my file.

I went back and got my file from the previous lawyer.

Mr. Chandak told me that a Vakalatnama would be required, signed by my previous lawyer.

So I collected the Vakalatnama from my previous lawyer and gave it to Mr. Chandak.

His drafting fees were different for different matters—₹20,000 for one, ₹15,000 for another, and ₹25,000 for another.

For every court date, his appearance fee was ₹1,500.

Since my previous lawyer had already drafted and filed some of the cases, only the Consumer Court case remained to be done by Mr. Chandak. The Domestic Violence and Family Court cases had already been filed by my previous lawyer.

Mr. Chandak took up the Consumer Court matter and also appeared for me on the court dates.

The case began.

I started going to every hearing.

I Wanted My Daughter to See the World

During all these years, I had hardly taken my daughter anywhere.

Because of everything that had happened in my marriage, and because of the deep hatred and disruption caused by my husband, I had never really been able to give my daughter a normal life.

I had not even taken her properly around India.

One day, I told her that I wanted to take her somewhere.

I asked her to choose the destination.

I wanted her to have some happiness.

I wanted her to have memories that were not connected to court cases, betrayal, fear and problems.

We decided to travel through Kesari Tour, a well-known tour company.

We chose Thailand.

By then, I had already reduced my conversations with my husband almost completely.

I did not want unnecessary communication with him anymore.

The arrangements were made through Kesari Tour.

And finally, our Thailand visa was approved.

Our First Beautiful Journey Together

Before the trip, my daughter and I went shopping.

I told my mother and my brother about our plans.

They told me to stay in touch with them.

There was also a mobile number of someone from their neighbourhood whom they could contact if they needed to reach us.

Then the day of our journey arrived.

We went to the airport.

At the airport, we met a lady from Pune who was travelling with her son.

My daughter and I were also travelling alone.

We became acquainted with them.

Our journey began.

We travelled to Pattaya and Bangkok.

For the first time in a long time, I experienced something different.

We had an amazing tour.

My daughter and I made beautiful memories together.

For those few days, life felt lighter.

There were no courtrooms.

No arguments.

No betrayal.

No fear.

Just a mother and daughter travelling together and enjoying their time.

Eventually, we returned home.

And once again, our normal routine began.

Then the Society Turned Against Me

But the problems had not ended.

A notice had already been sent to the society through my lawyer.

The society informed my husband about it.

And then my husband filed an objection notice.

He claimed that the papers were forged and that he had never signed them.

But I knew what had happened.

He had signed the papers in front of me at Swagat Hotel.

I had obtained those documents properly.

Yet now he was saying that his signatures were not genuine.

By then, I had already understood that many members of the society committee had taken his side.

I had spent years compromising, staying silent and trying to protect my daughter.

But whenever I finally tried to stand up for myself, another obstacle appeared.

It made me think about the society we live in.

A woman is often expected to tolerate everything silently.

She is expected to compromise for her husband, for her family and for her children.

But when that same woman finally decides to stand up for herself and fight for her rights, people suddenly become uncomfortable.

It seemed as if the fact that I had finally found the courage to fight for myself was something they could not tolerate.

I had already lost so many years of my life.

But I was no longer ready to lose the rest of it.

To Be Continued — Episode 42

AWARENESS MESSAGE

Sometimes, the hardest battle is not only against the person who has hurt you—it is also against the people and systems that refuse to believe you.

Never be afraid to stand up for your rights simply because you are a woman, a mother, or because society expects you to remain silent. Protect your documents, understand your legal rights, keep records of important transactions, and seek independent legal advice when necessary.

Standing up for yourself is not selfish. Sometimes, it is the first step toward protecting yourself and your child.