Sunita had been married for only a few months when she was widowed.
In Sikar, Rajasthan, tradition would have dictated a different path for her. But her mother-in-law, Kamala Devi, a teacher at a public school, decided that the pain of losing her son would not become the end of Sunita’s life. She treated her like her own daughter: she encouraged her to resume her studies, accompanied her to every exam and supported her until she earned a degree in Education.
Years later, Sunita graduated as a Grade 1 History teacher. And when the time came, Kamala Devi went a step further: she arranged her remarriage to Mukesh, a CAG auditor in Bhopal. She chose her daughter-in-law’s happiness over what society expected of a widow, giving her back a future that had seemed closed off.
