Mother's Day has no meaning for Dr Nupur Talwar anymore. All she and her husband, Dr Rajesh Talwar, want is justice for daughter Arushi. MiD DAY revisits the Talwar home, now at a new address, about a year after the sensational twin murders of Arushi and Hemraj the family's manservant shook the nation on May 16, 2008
Mother's Day has no meaning for Dr Nupur Talwar anymore. All she and her husband, Dr Rajesh Talwar, want is justice for daughter Arushi. MiD DAY revisits the Talwar home, now at a new address, about a year after the sensational twin murders of Arushi and Hemraj the family's manservant shook the nation on May 16, 2008
Arushi had promised to make us famous and had said one day we would be proud of her achievements. We don't know whether she was referring to this kind of fame," said Dr Nupur Talwar, Arushi's mother, as she tried hard to hide her pain and stop the tears.
Even after almost a year of the 14-year-old girl's mysterious murder and a change of address to beat the ghosts, the pain of Arushi's death and the "harassment by media, police and society" that followed, haunts the Talwars. Now, they want only justice.
"We can't die till we get justice for our daughter. I don't know what punishment the killers could get, but death will be the mildest of all," they said.
On Mother's Day, as the memories became even more poignant, the parents poured their hearts out to
MiD DAY.
The Talwars are angry with the media. And expectedly so. "A year ago, no one was interested in understanding our loss and pain. Every newspaper and television channel had a story to carry.
Except a few, no one gave a compassionate thought to us. Even before the case could reach any stage, the media declared us culprits," said Rajesh Talwar, recalling the "insensitive" behaviour of journalists that continued for more than two months after Arushi's murder.
"Every one wanted to know how we felt after our daughter's murder and how it had happened. You have to be the parent of a young daughter to exactly know how it feels.
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It was so painful that we stopped reading newspapers and watching television," he added, pain and anger tingeing every scathing word.u00a0
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Hiding identities
A few days ago the couple shifted back to the South Delhi locality where Arushi was born 15 years ago. (So scared are they of being judged, that the Talwars want to keep their identities a secret in the new neighbourhood.)
"For us, life has become a constant death. We could not live in that house any more. It's like living two lives within the same life.
We moved to Noida just after Arushi was born so that she could be close to her grandparents. But after 15 years we have returned to the same apartment where we used to live before she was born. Her killers have taken everything from us," said Dr Nupur Talwar.
Though the new house is still being readied, every room has a framed photograph of a smiling Arushi. A room has been dedicated to her with all her belongings and photographs.
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'Dear ones deserted us'
Other than the media, the Talwars hold grudges against those who knew them and were "supposedly" close. "Even some of our neighbours at Jal Vayu Vihar, Noida, blamed us for Arushi's death.
We were victimised by the police, the media and even the organisations we worked for. Fortis Hospital de-panelled us after Rajesh was arrested as one of the prime accused in the case.
The hospital didn't even serve us a formal notice. What could be a worse insult?" asked Nupur.
Support from strangers
The Talwars feel unknown people supported them wholeheartedly and are thankful to strangers who understood the pain better.
"In the last one year we have met more people who treated us compassionately than who thought anything bad about us. Often we meet strangers who break down in front of us.
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We get letters and mails from unknown people expressing how bad they felt. All this while, my patients stood behind me.
My faith in them has only increased," said Dr Rajesh Talwar, who resumed his practice as a dentist within two months of returning from the Dasana jail.
Talwar can't forget the instance when they received portraits of Sai Baba and Arushi from an unknown man in Pitampura.
"We decided to hang the portrait in our living room. These things make us believe that people are still with us and we will get justice," said Nupur.
Meanwhile, Arushi's accounts on Orkut and Facebook receive daily messages from her close friends wishing her peace. "Her friends are still in touch with us and they send us cards and flowers on festivals like Diwali," Nupur said.
Life after Arushi
However, even this sympathy and support can't diminish the pain. "For 14 years our lives revolved around Arushi. Whatever we did was for her, be it our job or anything else.
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I wanted her to be a doctor and we had even planned our savings accordingly. Even she wanted to be a doctor.
On weekends, we took her to malls and she loved it. We didn't know any other way to live," said Rajesh, who confessed he submerged himself in work to fight the pain.
"I started working harder so that I could keep myself engaged and recall those memories less. I meditate and pray when I am not working. This is helping me in overcoming the tragedy," he said.
But the memories refuse to go. Their regular way of life has come to a standstill. They have stopped ordering pizzas as Arushi loved them.
Even Arushi's grandmother, who was very close to her since childhood, has stopped baking her favorite cakes. "Arushi's achievements kept us going.
Today, it's unbearable for us to cross her school and see children of her class in the school uniform. It reminds us of her," said Nupur.
Time for justice
Though the inevitable questions like "why us?" and "why did they do it (murder Arushi)?" haunt the couple, they have decided not to talk about the case.
"The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) is our only hope and we don't want to interfere with its investigation," said Rajesh. But that doesn't mean they don't want justice.
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"We can't die till we get justice for our daughter. I don't know what kind of punishment the killers can get, but death will be the mildest.
The killers should be hanged publicly," he said. The mother agreed. "They can't bring my daughter back so they too don't have any right to live," she said, the anger palpable in her voice.
The Talwars have organised a peace prayer for Arushi at Chinmaya Mission, Lodhi Road, on May 16.
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