Part 50
The Godh Bharai ceremony was planned for the following weekend. That night after dinner Riddhima had eagerly shown Linda all the bangles she had bought for her and Linda 'ooohed and aahed' at them, much to Riddhima's pleasure. She made Karan call up his Indian friends and invite them for the function as five married ladies were needed to put bangles for the pregnant girl. Karan somehow managed to rope in two aunties and two of his friends' wives. Some of their American friends who were interested in knowing about the Indian traditions were also to be invited.
"We are short of 1 lady" Riddhima lamented.
K: How Perima? Jyoti aunty, Anu aunty, Pooja, Sheetal and you. That makes 5.
Riddhima looked down at the floor and said "I can't be a part of it. Only ladies who have children can do this ceremony." And before anyone could argue on that she said "Maybe we could ask one of Linda's friends to do the needful. She only has to imitate the others."
"Perima, if you are not going to be doing it, we won't have the function at all." Karan said very firmly and decisively. Riddhima looked up shocked and said "I'm saying it for your child's welfare only. It needs the blessings of other mothers." Then she looked towards her athaan as if seeking his help to convince Karan. But before he could say anything Karan said "So I was wrong all along. I always compared myself to Lord Krishna thinking I too had two mothers like him. I've never heard about Yashoda ever denying that she was Krishna's mother. Maybe I'm not worth being called your son."
"Karan" Riddhima cried aloud and hugged him. Both mother and son shed tears. After a few minutes Karan moved a little away from her and holding her chin to make her look at him said "I've always considered you more my mother than my mummy. That's what Perima meant to me. A greater amma, not just an older one." (The fact however was that Riddhima was younger than Karuna, as Karuna and Armaan were of the same age. She was called Perima only because she happened to be Armaan's first wife.)
She was speechless. Only the tears continued to flow non-stop from her eyes. Then pulling his head down she kissed his forehead saying "You've made my life worthwhile today. You've wiped away all the scars that people caused in my heart by calling me a barren woman. I cannot thank God enough for giving back my son. I'll stand foremost and conduct this function just to show everybody how proud I'm to be your mother." He smiled and nodded at that. When he turned towards Linda, he saw her wiping her eyes. And when Riddhima turned towards her athaan she saw him also flicking away the tears from his lashes.
To change everybody's mood Riddhima said "Ok, ok I still haven't shown Linda something." She then brought out a box and opened it to exhibit a beautiful Kancheepuram silk saree. When she hesitatingly asked Linda "Will you wear it for the function?" She spontaneously answered "Of course Perima, I'd love to." Riddhima beamed at her with joy but suddenly her facial expression changed. When the others looked at her questioningly she said "How will we get the blouse ready in 3 days?" That put the others in tension too.
Suddenly Linda said "I could ask Pooja. She's more or less my size and has many silk sarees too. I'm sure she'll have a maroon blouse to match this border." Riddhima was happy again and said "Do that first thing in the morning tomorrow." Linda smiled at her child like enthusiasm and nodded in assent. All of them retired for the night on that exciting note.
Riddhima tossed and turned in the bed unable to get sleep though she was physically exhausted. She sat up when she saw her athaan go out of the room. He returned in a few minutes with a bottle of water. Handing it to her he said "Have a sip and just lie down closing your eyes. It might take a couple of days for your body to get used to the changed timings. It's called jetlag.
When Riddhima woke up the next morning the room was still dark as the thick curtains were drawn across. Finding her athaan not there next to her, she picked up her mobile to see the time. But it still showed the Indian time and by the time she calculated the American time, she was quite confused.
Anyways she went into the washroom and freshened herself before walking out. She saw her athaan stretched on the sofa, watching the TV on very low volume. He gave her a warm smile and said "so finally you managed to catch up with some sleep." Riddhima looked up at the wall clock and gasped asking "Is it really past 10 o'clock? I've never ever woken up so late."
A: You fell asleep only at dawn. You needed the sleep.
R: What about you? Did you get sleep well? What time did you wake up?
A: I managed to sleep for a few hours. I got up around 7.30 - 8.
R: what time did Karan and Linda leave?
A: They were just leaving when I woke up.
Then he got up and going to the kitchen picked two coffee mugs, put some instant coffee powder and milk in them and put them into the microwave. Riddhima stood watching him wondering what he was doing. When he took out the mugs and handed her the hot coffee the next minute, she was surprised. "This is called a microwave" he explained. Then gave her a brief instruction on how to operate it and also which utensils were microwaveable.
Sipping the coffee and scrunching her face she asked "Can't we make it a little hotter?" he just smiled at her and asked her to put the mug in for 30 seconds more, letting her do the needful so that she could get a hang of things. When the microwave beeped she opened it and took out the cup. She was happy to see it steaming. Like a child excited with a new toy she said "It's so easy to operate na? Only you need to know the time setting."
Another surprise was in stock for her when Armaan poured some batter in a baking dish and pushed it in, saying "Our breakfast will be ready in a few minutes, maam."
R: What's that?
Armaan opened the shelf above the microwave and showed the packets of Indian ready to eat vegetables and snack mixes that Karan had stacked for them.
A: This is rava idli which needs to be soaked for 30 minutes and cooked. As he doesn't have an idli stand here, I poured it in a baking dish.
When the machine beeped, he opened and pulled out the dish. It seemed to have cooked perfectly. But when he put in the knife to cut out pieces, it came out with some raw batter sticking to it. He made a face and she suggested maybe it needs a few more minutes to cook. So they put it back in and set the time. When they took it out later the knife wouldn't go through at all. The surface had become so hard. They just looked at each other and had a hearty laugh.
"It's going to be a good learning experience operating this" Riddhima remarked. "Yes, through trial and error method" Armaan added. They had to make do with only bread and sauce for breakfast. Later they rummaged through the fridge and found some frozen vegetables and even shredded coconut in the freezer. They took them out and left them to thaw.
Karan called to ask how they were managing. Riddhima narrated to him the story of the stone hard rawa idli and they had a hearty laugh over it. When she told him that she was planning to make some poriyal (dry vegetable dish) with the frozen beans and peas, he said he'd come and take them to the nearest farmer's market, so that they could buy fresh vegetables and fruits of their choice.
That evening Riddhima finished cooking before Karan came home so that he'd be free to go shopping with them. She had made pulav with lots of vegetables. Armaan had dissuaded her from cooking for Karan and Linda saying they might not like it. But she insisted saying they wouldn't know their likes and dislikes until they tried different variety. She also kept the dryfruit ladoos that she had made Saroja make and brought for Linda, on the kitchen platform. She even called Linda up and asked her have it when she came home from work.
But when they returned from shopping she found that Linda hadn't had the ladoos. When she offered them to her she said she'd just had some pasta, so she wasn't hungry. She refused the pulav also for the same reason. Riddhima's disappointment was evident to her athaan even though she smiled through the meal and appreciated the freshness of the vegetables they had bought.
Later that night, in the privacy of their room, Armaan had very nicely explained to her that American children were given the right to make their own choice from a very early age. So they didn't feel the necessisty to obey their elders blindly. She therefore shouldn't impose her choice and preferences on them.
That's when Riddhima understood how children in India were by far more obedient to their parents, though parents kept complaining that they didn't take their advice. Not that all American children were revolts but they had more liberty than their Indian counterparts. In India parents tended to impose things on their children, which they felt was for their child's benefit.
But that didn't stop her from giving suggestions. One day when Linda was lying on the sofa and reading a magazine. Riddhima advised to sleep on the side as sleeping on the back would push the child upwards and she would have difficulty during delivery. Linda just got up and left from there and soon Karan also followed her. "Her doctor must have told her all the dos and don't's. what the need for you to interfere and then you get hurt." Armaan reprimanded her. She said "as elders it's our duty to point out what's right and what's wrong. I'm not forcing them to follow all my advices and neither do I feel bad if they don't."
Inside Karan tried to reason with his wife. "Linda you shouldn't have walked away like that. Perima would have felt so bad. You had promised" But before he could complete Linda barged in saying "I agree I promised I'd be polite with your Perima, but she sometimes begins to get on my nerve. It really scared me when she said i'd have a difficult delivery. Don't I have a gynac to advise me and instruct me about everything? The way she talks as if she has mothered 10 kids." She noticed the sudden change in Karan's face and realized she had gone too far. She didn't want to displease him. So she said "Ok, next time I'll try not to be so rude. Do you want me to go and apologise to her?"
K: No, no, just leave it. I can understand your fear also. Just be a little more diplomatic the next time.
Though Riddhima found the American lifestyle different, it was a good learning experience. She enjoyed it especially because her athaan was always by her side to patiently explain everything to her. She even admired the accent which her athaan put on at times, when he spoke over the phone.
On Saturday night Riddhima informed Linda and Karan that they would have to wake up early the next morning and have bath as they had to go to the temple. Linda at once said "Sorry Perima, weekend is the only time I get to sleep till late in the morning. Can't we go to the temple a little late?"
R: But the mahurat
K: Please Perima.
Immediately Riddhima smiled at them saying "Ok fine. Anyways we are in a different time zone so the Indian Mahurat time won't be applicable." Then going to Linda and holding her hand said "It's very sweet of you to have agreed to the function in the first place. Your convenience is our prime concern. Let us know what time we have to leave, we'll be ready accordingly."
Linda just kept staring at her for a few seconds and then hugging her said "Thank you very much Perima for being so understanding." The men just stood staring at the two ladies. Armaan happy with the way Riddhima handled the situation and Karan wondering whether Linda was really touched or putting on an act?
Book Talk
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
37