Written by, May 3 -- Alankar Kaushik

Guwahati has spent the last few days doing what modern cities often do with human tragedy-turning it into something to consume. The Bhavana Sharma episode first came as breaking news, then became social media outrage, and soon turned into a flood of speculation, whispered accusations, moral judgment, and voyeuristic discussion. Television studios found their dramatic angles. Facebook found its instant experts. WhatsApp found its ready-made verdicts. A deeply private collapse was quickly transformed into a public spectacle.

On the surface, it looked like yet another domestic tragedy-a fractured relationship, suspicion, emotional volatility, violence, and a woman at the centre of an unfolding scandal....