He knew that I was upset. He tried talking. I responded curtly. After reaching home, he tried kissing me and to behave as if it was all normal. But I was nowhere close to normal.

On hearing this, Ruchi's face became red with embarrassment, and her brothers looked strained. Her sisters-in-law looked at them with contempt; her mother was anyway not in her senses.

There are many, many girls like Seema who are stuck in loveless, abusive marriages; the abuse can be verbal, emotional, physical, financial.

If in-laws treat their daughters in law differently, it can certainly lead to a very traumatic and sticky situation in the family.

The sindoor that marks a married Hindu woman signifies complete control on the woman by her husband and in-laws, yet women fall for its allure.