Part XII
As it was getting late, the guests started slowly leaving till finally all of them had left except Prachi's immediate family. Ayesha and Milind were engaged in a deep conversation on what should the U.S. President do to pull his economy out of economic recession and speed up revival of the global economy.
"So do you think that Obama's stimulus package will have the desired effect?" asked Milind.
"Well, we are all hoping it would. The 'green economy' slogan has gladdened the environmentalists. But how we will get there still remains unclear. The European Union and others are not too happy with the 'Buy American' clause in the US bailout programme. This would mean that the infrastructure projects approved by the Government should only use US iron and steel."
"Yes, that would hurt exporters of steel to the U.S. like Germany."
"Precisely! Protectionism is what protracted the Great Depression of the 1930s as each country competed with the other to raise the tariff walls. But the U.S. Government is arguing that it wants to jump start its own economy first. People also find it difficult to palate the series of costly bailouts of large U.S. banks and financial companies. The new presidency is facing one of the worst political controversies when it came to light that American International Group (AIG), one of the companies bailed out, has rewarded executives with lavish bonuses."
"I read about it in the papers. I guess political controversies are inevitable in any country."
"Hope there is some quick fix solution to the problem but the laxity in regulation of the U.S. financial system had gone on for long, one of the many reasons why this crisis had broken out. Now the entire world is suffering because of it."
"Yes, many Asian economies, including our country, have strong and stable financial systems, thanks to some stringent regulations, and yet we too have been affected by the global meltdown because of our links with the rest of the world."
"So what is the news on the election front?"asked Ayesha curiously.
"Well, Mumbai is going to polls on April 30th, that is two days from now, but wonder what the response is going to be like. As you know the entire general election process is spread over five stages, taking four weeks and involving huge man power. There appears to be no clear favourites. Last time the present ruling party's mantra 'Aam Adhmi' (common man) found more favour than the then ruling party's mantra 'India shining'. With India no longer shining, thanks to the global financial crisis, the ruling party is harping on anti-terrorism. One has to wait and see how people respond to that."
Prachi walked up to them and smiled fondly, "I know the two of you cannot stop discussing politics and economics once you get started but it is really getting late, Di. Maybe you can continue the discussion tomorrow over breakfast?"
Ayesha couldn't resist pulling her leg, "Getting late for what? Planned anything exciting for your hubby dearest tonight?"
Prachi smacked her arm, saying, "You'll never change, Di."
Her husband's animated discussions with Ayesha reminded Prachi of the first time she heard them involved in a similar discussion and realised that her husband had more in common with her sister than he did with her.
Past (Prachi's flashback)
Prachi got up the morning after her husband's drunken episode and turned to look at her still sleeping husband. Even in his sleep he looked highly perturbed; his brows were furrowed and lips puckered. Clearly something was disturbing him a lot and she made up her mind to find out what it was before it became more serious. She quickly got up and finished her morning routine. After having her morning tea, she took a glass of water and added two teaspoons of fresh lime juice and one teaspoon of sugar to it. Mixing it well she took it to their bedroom. Leaving it on the side table she sat by the bed next to her husband, holding her cheeks in her hands and waiting for him to wake up.
She had to wait for two whole hours before he finally fluttered his eyelids open. He slowly sat up on the bed, holding his throbbing head in his hand. He turned his head to see his wife staring at him unwaveringly, an inscrutable expression on her face. He stared back in bewilderment.
Before he could say anything, she handed him the glass, grimly saying, "I think this should help you with your hangover."
He took the glass from her hand and was about to gulp the liquid down.
"Wait!" she cried out.
He stopped and looked back at her questioningly.
"Sip it slowly, don't gulp it down," she instructed.
He did as he was told, grimacing as the liquid washed down his parched throat.
He still felt a little groggy as he got up from the bed. She tried to steady him but he stalled her and made his way to the bathroom.
She waited patiently till he came out. As he sat back on the bed she asked him, "Do you want to tell me what is going on here?"
When he did not respond, she started to feel agitated. "It looks like something is bothering you, going by your drunken state last night. Are you unhappy in this marriage?" She came directly to the point.
He still did not respond. His head was bowed down as if in shame. Just then the front door bell rang. She went to attend to it and he followed her out of the room. The driver who had dropped him the previous night stood at the door.
"I came to return this and check to see if Saab has to attend office today also. Saab had dropped it in the party he attended last night," he handed her Milind's wallet. She turned around to see her husband. His face brightened up immediately.
"Yes, Prachi I had attended office yesterday because I had to tie up a few things relating to my project. My friends then insisted that I attend the bachelor party which could not be held before our marriage because of my prior business commitments. I got a little tipsy in all the merry making," he said by way of explanation.
She looked suspiciously at him, finding it difficult to buy such a flimsy story. "Why did you not call me and inform me you'll be late?" she said.
He looked guiltily away. The phone rang at that precise moment and she rushed to attend to the call. It was her mother on the line. She wanted to know if they will join them for the family picnic to a garden in Panvel. She had called the previous evening informing of their plan.
"Milind came in late from work last night so I couldn't check with him. Please hold the line let me ask him," she said over the phone and closing the mouth piece she asked Milind, "Do you have to go to work today also? Mama had called last evening to find out whether we would like to join them and Ayesha for a picnic."
Milind merely nodded his head. Prachi turned her attention back to the call, "Yes, Mama, we'll be joining you. We'll meet you at Shah House in say...an hour? (she looked questioningly at Milind who nodded) Yes in an hour's time we'll be there."
The topic of Milind's drunkenness did not come up again during the day although she was still disturbed by it. She could make out that he was not keen to talk about it. She thought that he could be telling the truth. The driver also corroborated the fact that he was at a party last night. Now why would the driver lie? Milind may have really attended the bachelor's party and genuinely forgotten to inform her. After all he had been leading a solitary life till recently and may need to get used to the fact that there was a wife at home waiting for him. His guilt may have stemmed from the fact that he had temporarily forgotten her existence and had gotten drunk. She tried to put behind the incident, hoping that things would improve. Moreover, she did not want to spoil the mood in the family picnic.
As she had promised her parents, they were at the Shah House in an hour's time. The Shahs and the Mishras then drove down to Panvel in two separate cars. At the picnic spot, they met up. Prachi and Ayesha spread the mats under the trees and invited the rest of the family to sit down. Inder and Milind were busy talking about their respective businesses - what works and what doesn't. Ayesha in the meantime enlightened her mother and sister about life in Harvard, her classes, her friends etc. Soon it was lunch time and Prem Latha took out the lunch hamper and served her family the food. She filled Milind's plate with twice as much food as the rest of the family.
Ayesha complained about it saying, "Mama, it is not fair that the son-in-law of three days is given more importance than me, the daughter of the house for the past twenty- eight years!"
Prem Latha smiled and pinching her cheek said, "We need to take good care of our son-in-law so that he takes good care of our daughter."
Milind looked at Prachi briefly and turned his head away. Ayesha was a real motor-mouth. She went on jabbering away even during their lunch. After lunch, Milind said that he wanted to have a stroll around the garden which was quite picturesque. Prem Latha asked Prachi to accompany her husband. Ayesha piped in saying she too will join them. Her mother tried to stop her.
"Why do you want to be a kabab mein haddi (dog in the manger)? The newly weds may like to spend some time alone with each other."
"No, Mama, nothing like that. Let Ayesha Di join in. She always enlivens the place," said Prachi.
Ayesha enthusiastically joined them. Soon she started bombarding Milind with a lot of questions. At first Milind gave answers in monosyllables. It seemed that he was still embarrassed by his behaviour of the previous day. But soon Ayesha and he got fully involved in discussing current affairs and politics. Prachi realised that though Milind appeared to be a man of few words, he was capable of long conversations provided it was stimulating enough for him. She couldn't recollect much of what they discussed as she wasn't paying keen attention to their conversation but the mention of two words made her prick up her ears. So this was what it was she thought.
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Bindi
