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Chapter3 : Ranjishein
The bright sun rays entered the room disturbing my sleep, I opened my eyes slowly and sat up resting my head against the bed. My eyes travelled across the room, which seemed to be hit by a storm. Shattered picture frame, broken wind chimes, cracked mirror and candles scattered all around. The room was indeed in a mess so was my life, within minutes things had turned from good to bad and bad to worse. Having a splitting headache I pulled open the side drawer and took out an asprin then stood up to have a glass of water just then the door to the bathroom opened and she came out with my red towel wrapped around her head. We stared at each other, the fury of last night came back to my eyes while hers tried to appear calm and unaffected. Deep down I blamed her sister and her for creating a havoc in my life, for playing with my feelings. Turning my head away from her I had water and popped the pill in my mouth then began walking towards the bathroom, she hurriedly came up to me and lowered her posture, I looked down in confusion, she was removing the glass pieces coming my way, I shook my head in irritation, one sister had broken my dreams and the other one was gathering its pieces, she raised her hand to pick supriya's fallen picture but before she could do that I kicked the picture frame to a corner, showing supriya her right place and went to the bathroom without bothering to look back.
When I came out after freshening up, I found my blue pathani suit laid out on the bed along with my wallet and watch. I curled my fingers in a fist and turned to glance at the door, she was coming in with a tray carrying tea, she kept it on the table and said without meeting my eyes," sahab ..chai." with slow and firm steps I walked in her direction and stopped close to her, this time she couldn't stop from being unnerved by the proximity we were sharing, her downcast eyes were scattering the floor, I lifted my hand and pulled down my towel covering her hair, at once her long black tresses came cascading down to her shoulders, startled by my act her lowered eyes tried hard to move up but failed miserably as I gritted my teeth and said," aye ladki.." she whispered back softly yet firmly," nakku..mera naam." Which angered me more, she has the courage to correct me? I wrinkled my nose and spoke this time more harshly," khabardar jo meri cheezon ko haath bhi lagaya toh." No one dared to touch my things and she was no exception. I moved towards the bed, picked up the clothes she had taken out for me, my eyes trailed from the suit to her face then without breaking the eye lock I dropped the suit aside and went to the cupboard to select what I wished to wear. Gazing at the various suits hanging before me, I heard a knock at the door, turned to look into that direction and found madhu standing, I went back to picking my clothes when she asked," yeh kya vaheni ..aapne abhi tak purane kabde pehne hue hain?..us almari (almirah) mein itne naye kapde hain ..koi bhi pehen lete." Hesitantly she opened the cupboard next to mine and glanced in my direction, her eyes seeking my permission which once again got nothing but a cold response from my side. She moved her head and began examining the saris kept in front of her, she parted her lips to say something but before she could blurt anything I shut her cupboard with a bang, frightening both madhu and her," madhu , isko iski pasand ke kapde khareed dena par ye inmein se kuch bhi nahin pehnegi." Madhu had a confused expression on her face wondering what to do with the saris which were already hanging in the cupboard," in kapdo ko jalana hai jala do ..phehkna hai phehk do par mujhe aaj ke baad ye nazar nahin aani chaiye." Both of them were surprised to hear me burning down or throwing away those clothes but I had no choice, I couldn't bear to see her in any of those saris which supriya had picked up when we had gone out shopping, in fact I hated to see anything which reminded me of her. I picked up my wallet, took out wad of notes and threw them on the table after glancing at her. She looked at me briefly then turned to madhu and said," naye kapdon ki kya zaroorat hai? Mere pass jo hain main wahi pehen lungi." I creased my forehead and glared at her, what is she attempting to show that unlike her sister she is not interested in my money? That she values her self respect a lot? I thought. Pretence, all this was a big a pretence and I wasn't a fool to believe in all this again, her sister had taught me a very hard yet an important lesson, which I would never forget, I pursed my lips and replied," tu ab kisi accountant ki beti nahin balki dutta shriram patil ki patni hai ..toh aise saste kapde pehene chod de." Even if she was really not interested in splurging my money on herself as she sounded it to be still she had a reputation to maintain in public, she was now my wife and she couldn't ignore that fact. Seeing her defy my decision, madhu interrupted between and suggested," vaheni hum sham ko market challenge." She nodded her head silently and I took out my black pathani suit, stopped in front of the broken mirror, made a mental note to ask Baaji to get it replaced and then went in take a shower with the towel hanging around my neck.
Sometime later she entered the room once more, much to my dislike with the breakfast. I looked at her through the cracked mirror, she kept the tray on the table and probably noticed that the tea she had brought earlier remained untouched by me. I brushed back my wet hair, ignoring her presence all together when she said softly," ye nashta maine nahin..AS ne banaya hai.." then began making the bed silently without bothering about my reaction, I tossed the hair brush on the dressing table and sat on the sofa with my back facing her to have the breakfast only because it was made not by her but AS. She stood behind me and asked gently," sahab mein ye le loon?" I glanced towards the bundle of notes kept near the tray and smirked," le le kisne roka hai." But my smirk didn't last long and I knotted my brows in confusion when her hand came from behind and instead of picking the money picked up the newspaper. I glanced at her retreating back as she went out in the balcony, sat on the swing and busied herself in reading the newspaper, shrugging off my shoulders I left the room.
Next few hours were spent with Baaji in discussing about drug trafficking in patil vadi, some unknown miscreants were smuggling the same and ruining the youth of patil vadi, I flared my nostrils in anger and ordered him to catch hold off the people who were behind all this then I would personally deal with them. My cell began ringing, I looked around for it, maybe I had left it in the room so went back to collect it and found it lying on the bed. Madhu came in to call me for lunch," bhau khaane par sab apka intezar kar rahe hain." I nodded my head, she turned around to leave when I stopped her and handed her the money that was still lying on the table," yeh shopping ke liye rakh le." She took the money and left the room, I scanned the whole room, she wasn't there, not even in the balcony, I shook my head thinking what a stubborn and arrogant girl? Soon I joined everybody down for lunch and was having it peacefully till she came out of the kitchen, I concentrated on the plate and avoided looking up. She kept the plate of rice on the dining table and AS said," nakku beta ab tu bhi hum sabke saath bethkar kha." Gesturing her to sit next to me, she slowly pulled the chair adjacent to mine and sat down, I pursed my lips and pushed back my plate and stood up to leave, her presence disgusted me to no extent. I began walking towards the stair case when AS tried to stop me," dutta khaana toh khatam kar ke jaa." I looked over my shoulder and replied," mera peth bhar gaya." Her presence had made me lose my appetite.
Sipping my evening tea I heard madhu's excited voice, she must be back home after shopping, I walked out into the porch and looked down, I was right she was carrying huge shopping bags, I smiled thinking this was something she enjoyed the most even if it was meant for others. She began taking out the stuff both of them had shopped to show AS," yeh dekhiye vaheni ne kya kya liya..saare suit piece koi saari nahin." AS smiled and asked her softly that why didn't she buy saris for herself and readymade suits instead of these simple suit pieces? She lowered her head and replied," AS , main sari nahin pehnti..aur mujhe is tarah ke suit hi pasand hain." Indicating towards her full sleeved, round neck simple suit with dupatta having small irritating bells making noise hanging to it. Madhu looked up and caught me gazing at them, she raised some suit pieces and showed me, I shrugged off my shoulders and walked back to my cabin, I had more important things to think about rather than what she wore.
Later at night I reluctantly stepped down to have dinner, my eyes hoping not to catch a glimpse of her and I guess I was lucky she preferred to remain in the kitchen as long as I was having dinner at the table. For once my mind appreciated her for being intelligent enough to understand how much I hated her being around myself but unfortunately my mind couldn't appreciate her for long as she once again came before my eyes this time carrying something in two bowls. Couldn't she see me peacefully enjoying a couple of drinks with Baaji sitting on the bar stool? I wondered and turned my neck the other side, when Baaji asked excitedly," kya re nakku ..ye kya hai?" she replied back," aaj shaadi ke baad rasoi mein mera pehla din tha ..toh AS ne kaha kuch meetha bana do." Baaji, ever so fond of sweets complimented her on making a delicious kheer. She turned around and stood before me with the tray, I avoided looking at her expecting that she would get the clue and leave away silently but no she stood there like a pillar making me furious with every passing second. Finally I turned my neck and gave her a stern glance clenching my jaws firmly, she looked back at me blankly, there was no trace of happiness in fact loneliness and sadness floated in those eyes, then why is she celebrating this unwanted wedding by making this sweet dish? Ithought. Seeing her not move an inch I tossed up the tray in rage, the contents of the bowl fell on her clothes while the bowl and the tray came crashing down. Baaji who was having kheer paused midway in surprise and she glanced at her suit then at the floor where her preparation laid scattered. She closed her eyes for a moment before bending down to pick up the broken pieces, I stared at her bent posture as a glass piece pricked her thumb, she let out a soft gasp, my eyes narrowed on seeing a drop of blood ooze out of her thumb, I stomped my foot and left the house carrying the unfinished bottle of whiskey.
When I came back to the room she was nowhere to be seen, I sat on the couch with my legs sprawled on the table and head resting on the head rest behind. I opened my eyes on hearing the bathroom door unbolt, she stepped out in her changed clothes and wet hair, I frowned at her, what was the need to take a bath when only her suit had got spoilt? Anyway, I rested my head back once again, as she began arranging her old suits along with the new suit pieces in the cupboard. Awhile later she came near the table and kept some money on it," sahab ..yeh baaki bache hue paise." I gazed at the unspent money on her shopping then raised my hand in the air and replied," tu hi rakh le." She turned around without taking the money and walked towards the bed where my ironed out clothes were kept. She lifted and carried them to my cupboard and opened it when I came charging behind her and shut the panel with a bang on her face and growled," aye ladki .." for the second time in the day she tried to correct me by saying," nakku.." I stepped close to her and barked stressing on each and every word so that she understood and remembered them forever," tujhe ek hi baat kitni baar smajhani padegi?? Door reh mujhse aur meri cheezon se." she is my wife just for namesake and she has no right over me and my things, sooner she understands this fact the better it will be for her. I turned around when I heard her ask," tayi ki galtion ki sazaa khudh ko kyun de rahe hain?" I creased my forehead and wondered what made her think that I was punishing myself for that supriya? I turned back and glared at her," supriya ke hone ya na hone se mujhe koi farak nahin padta." Her sister has no place in my life, she simply doesnt exist for me, she nodded her head and replied back confidently," sahab , yeh baat apka dil bhi jitni jaldi maan jaye utna hi accha hoga." I hated her for being bitterly honest, it was true that I couldn't get over with what supriya had done to me, her betrayal had left my heart broken and life scarred but one thing the lady in front of me didn't know was that her presence would not make my life easier, in fact would constantly remind me how insensitively her sister had played with my feelings. I stared into those green emerald pair of eyes which were fearless and emotionless, which didn't bow down before me on the contrary challenged me at every step, had they belonged to someone else I would have probably admired their courage and sincerity but unfortunately they belonged to her.
"it will not be easy for me to accept her, cause she is the unwanted and undesired part of my story."
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
