They have lost their life partners, who became victims of ruthless militants at Chapnari. Khem Raj after entering into wedlock with Leela was returning to Prem Nagar from Malwa and was accompanying his would be brother-in-law, who was supposed to marry Raj's sister, Dogda, when the militants struck the marriage party killing both the grooms. For the two `brides', their long association with their life partners was cruelly scuttled by fate and they were left to witness the tragic scene of the bodies being consigned to flames. For them, life will never be the same again and another struggle for survival is what stares at them agonisingly.

Rigid beliefs in this part of the world have ensured that these teenage `brides' are up against aconservative system where deaths are not linked with destiny. ``She (Leela) has spelt doom for our family. Just one day into the life of my son and everything has been destroyed,'' fumes a wailing mother of Khem Raj. The mother, along with her relatives, believes the marriage had contributed in cutting short the life of the groom.

After the funeral, Leela was brought to the police lines following worsening of her condition and unwillingness on the part of her in-laws to accept her. ``We will send Leela back to her parents' place at Malwa Kadhlal since, as of now, it seems difficult that the in-laws would accept her,'' a police officer said.

The mindset of the residents is difficult to be altered and none is willing to believe that the girls were in any way not responsible for the incident. ``Why did the incident not take place before the marriage. She has been a curse to the boy's family,'' says Hakam Singh of Prem Nagar. He is not alone in the tirade which has been unleashed against the unfortunatevictim. A general unanimity is building up in the villages over the `evil eye' of the girl. Leela, on the other hand, seems to be oblivious to the happenings in the outside world. As she makes an attempt to speak her heart out, she is lost in her incoherent world, pointing towards the door when she is asked to react to a query. For Dogda, not entering into a wedlock actually still was far from helpful as the `stigma' has put an impression on her. Confining herself to a room in her house at Prem Nagar, she finds it difficult to make an eyeball-to-eyeball contact with the people living in her neighbourhood and she is aware of the problems that she would encounter given the rigid thinking in these areas. ``I know people would think I am a curse for the boy's family. But, what to do. I have to reconcile with the fate now,'' she says. Her friends, for whom Dogda was a fun-loving girl, refuse to believe that she was to be blamed for the tragedy but their number is far less. ``How can you blame Dogda for whathappened. After all, how can one change somebody's destiny,'' fumes Somi Devi, Dogda's childhood friend. But, Somi admits that she and her motley group cannot alter the thinking of the residents and her friend was facing a bleak future.

Some outgoing citizens in the area, who have been affected by the developments in the outside world are making efforts to ensure that the misery of these girls is mitigated to some extent. But, they too admit that it would be a Herculean task.