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The Second Choice

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Review and Interview Interview - iSahitya Review - Mouthshut

Interview - MuseIndia Book Review - MuseIndia Another Review at my unfinishedlife.com

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(A Serial Novel - By Lakshmi Menon)

Chapter 1

Pavithra sat on a wooden chair in the veranda, her head bowed, holding her four-year-old daughter Anu on her lap. She pretended to listen as Anu chattered about amusing stories from school, though her mind was elsewhere.

Her father, Narayan Nair, stood quietly behind her for a while. She didn’t notice him until he softly called her name. Startled, Pavithra rose to her feet and stared at him. His face was pensive, weighed down by thoughts he struggled to voice.

Narayan Nair caressed his granddaughter lovingly before settling into a chair with a newspaper in his hand. He gestured for Pavithra to sit opposite him. Lighting a cigarette with deliberate slowness, he seemed to search for words she would not want to hear. Pavithra watched him silently. Dressed in his khadi jubba and dhoti, his hair neatly combed yet streaked with grey, his face bore lines of strain. Though only fifty-four, life’s worries had aged him beyond his years.

“Pavithra,” he began, looking straight into her eyes, “you must give me your consent today. Day after tomorrow, Ram Pillai will be here for your answer.”

Her heart quickened. Words deserted her. She felt tongue-tied, knowing well her father’s pain. No father could easily speak to his widowed daughter about remarriage, especially when he knew how deeply she had loved Anand.

Just yesterday, over lunch, he pleaded again: “Won’t you agree to this marriage, my dear child? If you don’t… I’ll never be at peace again. Won’t you, Pavi?” His voice, full of hope, betrayed how much a refusal would wound him. Pavithra had said nothing then, though her tears had spoken for her. Rising abruptly, she had carried her unfinished plate into the kitchen.

But Narayan Nair would not relent. “Pavithra, it’s time you made up your mind,” he urged. “Think of your plight if something happens to me. Sometimes we must compromise in life, whether we like it or not. Please remember that.” His words still rang in her ears.

“Daddy, please… don’t bring up this topic again. I can manage as a single parent,” she had pleaded, covering her ears with her palms, her eyes drifting to the bluebirds outside. She had wished she could be one of them—free, unburdened, able to fly away from pain.

He had only sighed, returning to his newspaper. “I hope you understand me, my dear.”

“I do, Daddy,” she had whispered, tears streaming down her face. “But please… leave me alone.”

Narayan Nair put down the paper and studied his daughter. Her face bore no kumkum, no mangalsutra. Fate had played a cruel game, leaving her widowed at twenty-three with a small child. He understood her grief, her loneliness, her refusal to forget Anand. But he could not quiet the relentless worry gnawing at him: her future, and Anu’s. Since Anand’s death fourteen months earlier, sleep had eluded him.

“Being a young widow, how long can you pull on like this, Pavi?” he asked gently.

“All my life,” she replied firmly.

“Have you thought of your daughter’s future?”

“I’ll find a job, Daddy. I can raise her alone.”

He sighed deeply. “It’s easy to say, but hard to live. The world is not safe for a young woman alone. You have no degree, no skills… What kind of job can you find? And how will you guard against the eyes of wicked men?”

Pavithra bit her lip, unable to respond.

“You’re only twenty-three,” he pressed on. “Your daughter’s future rests on the decision you make now. It’s not easy for a young and beautiful woman to live without support.”

Her tears welled again. “For heaven’s sake, Daddy, don’t force me.” Choking, she turned away, retreating to her room.

She flipped through a magazine, pretending to read, but the words blurred. Restlessly, she pulled out her most cherished possession—her wedding album. Page after page rekindled memories: her wedding at Shiva temple, Anand standing beside her, his eyes full of promise. How happy she had been that day, the luckiest girl in the world.

But widowhood had aged her, stealing her glow. Her reflection in the mirror revealed a woman weighed down by sorrow. She wept, clutching the album to her chest.

Her mind wandered to her love story with Anand: their college play where she, the princess, and he, the prince, had fallen for each other; their whispered promises; her father’s reluctant blessing. Anand had been brilliant, ambitious, preparing for the IAS. She had been the admired beauty of the college. Their marriage was a union of love, celebrated grandly by her father.

But fate had been merciless. Anand’s sudden death had shattered her world. She relived the day: the strangers at her door, her neighbour’s tearful voice, the sight of her husband’s lifeless body carried from the taxi.

Her scream had torn through the air, her world spinning, collapsing into darkness. She had fainted, leaving little Anu crying in the arms of strangers, unaware that her father was gone forever.

*****

The full story (33 chapters) is published as book, and available for purchase, as mentioned above.

18/10/2025

This whole story will soon be published as an audiobook in youtube. You can read/listen to it for free.

Reviews for The Second Choice

Review received on 23/10/2013 from KP Gopalakrishnan-

The novel itself is a tribute to womanhood in her roles as daughter,husband, mother, step mother and her responsibilities to the world at large. It deals with the struggles Pavithra has to undergo to achieve her life's goals (where fate also plays a major part) in present day society.When her efforts ultimately leads to fruition she surprises everybody by her rather weird choice of an untrodden path. By now the lessons of life has transformed her to a woman of strong will for whom the mundane pursuit of worldly pleasures has lost all meaning. A very serious theme deftly handled in lucid,fast paced style that compels readers' attention till the very end .A 'must read' for all lovers of fiction at its best.