She had been working with him since the past eighteen months, to be precise. Their institute was working with an Irrigation development corporation of a region in Maharashtra and it required them to travel frequently to the interiors, though their office was situated in Mumbai. She was the only one in their entire team who was unaware of the native language; she was the nerd doing the math part so her role didn't require explicitly conversing with the locals in the area. However, for convenience Maan had been her partner in the project ever since. Earlier, Geet being herself, she had let the insecurities creep in, she wondered if he was keeping any crucial information of the primary research from reaching her, but Maan being himself quite easily wiped away all her insecurities with the honesty with which he worked.
She hadn't made many friends in the city except for finding a home away from home in Maan's family. He had once invited her to his house for lunch and she was provided with much love and warmth from his family. Initially, she would hesitate when his mom invited her home, but the beautiful lady had asked her for one reason why she would say no for the lunch and something that she would approve. That was the moment Geet knew there was no winning, she gave in and ever since, visiting his house had become a relatively frequent affair for her whenever she was in the city. His family is an amalgamation of Gujarati and Marathi; He picked up well on his mother tongue Marathi, not so much on his father's. His mom has been the kindest to her and she gelled well with his father as he had worked in Kanpur for a few years, a city which witnessed her growth from an infant to an adult.
She looked outside the window of the local as she felt a strange sense of heaviness in her heart. The children in the train spoke a language unknown to her. In some while, she would be served food which she had never tasted before a year, there were movie posters with unfamiliar stars on them. Yet she felt a sense of ownership towards the city. There were many other lost souls like her in the city who had found a home in it. It made them feel safe despite the crazy hustle bustle.
She tried managing her hair which blew in all directions, thanks to the wind but failed. After a while, she let it be. "Finally, feels like an achievement." He murmured as he finally found a seat beside her in the local. The train was now relatively empty for it crossed the main junction.
"I haven't told my mom yet, that we are together." He looked at her as she tied her hair into a bun.
"Neither have I... told my parents. My mom is fond of you, but I'm a little..."
The nervousness within her body language didn't escape him, he put his hands around her, she looked at him and smiled, he was the best at giving assurances, even if he was unsure of certain things, he never failed to assure others that things would be just fine. Even after all these months, it was her most favorite trait of his'.
He quickly slipped his hands into his shirt pocket and removed a pair of earrings, the multicolored jhumkas she had been searching for since quite some time.
"Oh my, where did you find them? They are lovely."
"The guy was selling these at the last station. Remembered that you lost similar ones last month and have been searching for them everywhere."
"Thank you so much. "
After a few more stations, the local was even emptier. She laid her head on his shoulder and tightened her grip around his arm as they looked on through the window from the local. She loved him.
"I have been travelling in these trains since my childhood, never did I think that there would anything remotely romantic happening with me in them. That too with such an amazing background song, speaking about constants in life, this tune in local has definitely been one."
He crooned the jingle along with the speakers of the train "Baadshah rajwadi garam masala , biryani pulao, chole puri masala" she nodded her head as she joined him, "baadshaah masala, swaad sugandh ka raja...baadshah masala."They laughed as they approached their station.
The aroma of the food was all around and she could already guess that Maan's mom had prepared her favorite Puran Poli, Geet had tasted it for the first time at their home and it was love at first bite for her. Ever since, whenever she came to their home Aunty prepared it for her, without fail.
"Come, beta. We have been waiting for you since the morning. Uncle is out of station, he will back by tomorrow. You make yourself comfortable." The lady uttered as she flashed brightest of her smiles and hugged Geet. She had always gotten a grand welcome at his home. She had tasted so many Maharashtrian and Gujarati dishes at their home that she sometimes felt like an expert in these cuisines.
Maan's mother ran her hands through Geet's hair lovingly as his eyes fell on her neck. His mom didn't fail to notice either, his eyes widened as he gulped down his saliva. "Holy Christ ! This was going to be the end of him!" His Aai looked at him, could something swallow him already. There was nothing so pleasant about his Aai's eyes falling on the hickey on his girlfriend's neck. Heck, his mom didn't even know she is his girlfriend, yet!
Geet stayed blissfully ignorant of the entire drama which was being played out through the eyes of mother and son.
"You sit here, I'll arrange the food."
Maan quickly followed his mom to the kitchen as Geet walked towards the balcony. Their home was very simple in decor. Many houses in the city, as far as she had observed didn't have a balcony, so a balcony in this house was treasured by the family. They had a beautiful small garden of a few plants and a bench that would accommodate two people. The first time she sat on it, Maan quietly sat with her without saying a word. They spend all those moments in silence cherishing the monsoon until they were called for lunch. Monsoons looked prettiest when she was not on the road, tip-toeing around a pool of water to reach her destination. The place where she came from, monsoons weren't too heavy, so she enjoyed these ones initially but soon realized it was an art to survive the season. One needed an entire set of appropriate shoes, clothes and a mindset even, to fit them normally in their lives.
Maan, however loved monsoons like nobody's business. Their weekend getaways were most exciting during monsoons. He would say that western ghats could be witnessed in all their glory only during monsoons and he was right on that. The season made the hills look surreal. It was only from there, did they start sharing conversations and even silence, for that matter. After a long stretch of trek, they would sit at a point for quite some time and either chat without a break or not speak anything at all. She liked his impulsiveness, one thing about him that was quite contrary to her personality. He probably learnt it from his mom. When she first met his mom, she could see where his vibrant personality came from.
He cleared his throat as his mom asked him to wipe the wet plates. He went around searching for a dry cloth as he tried to break the silence. "Can't wait to taste the kharvas, you have prepared it after so long. His mom tapped his shoulder and placed the cloth in his hands. He smiled and cleared his throat, again. "Want some Vicks, son?"
"Aai, we were planning to tell you but.. "He hesitated only to be interrupted by his mother.
"But, what?"
She pulled his cheeks as he closed his eyes, "We have been waiting for you two to give this good news, since so long."
He opened his eyes as he sighed in relief, "But Aai, she is not pregnant!"
"I know that you use protection, son. I was talking about the other good news. I'm not expecting you to have a kid just by looking at a hickey."
He slightly hit his head in embarrassment, "Aai can we please not have this conversation?"
"Yes, yes. I'll zip it up. You were brought from a market, okay?" She smirked as she enjoyed teasing her embarrassed son, a little. "Awww! My son is in love or what!"
"Aai, if she listens to this conversation, she will run away from me."
"Accha, okay. Sorry. Now quickly, set the dining table. She must be hungry."
"Okay, boss."
"All your favorites, Geet She smiled as she served her the puran poli, first. "Now you have to tell Maan about you favorite North Indian dishes. I don't think he will mind learning some cooking. After all, he should take good care of you in the future.
Geet passed an awkward smile as she questioningly narrowed her brows at Maan. He winked at her, as he gave a thumbs up. She realized this lunch wouldn't be similar to the previous ones.
"Of course, Aunty. He could start from learning how to make sabudana wada, right Maan? And yes, some chapattis as well."
She smiled, it was her turn to give a thumbs up now.
Anupamaa
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