Hello!
As the last story was a sad one and I couldn't finish Viraha part, came with this short story!
Hope you all like it!
*******
Series of Reality!
One Meal!
"Shall we start?" a tall man around the table.
"Yes!" a young lady said.
"Sure!" another one!
"Where are Mamaa and Papaa?" another young man!
"Wait! I will go and get them!" the youngest of the three girls got up and left for the dining room. "Papaa!" she calls the old man.
"Ahaan Saanvi dear!"
"Come papa! Let's play a game!"
Laughing at the young girl "You all play dear! I will be here!"
"Maa! Come and play with us!" she enters the kitchen.
"Then you will cook?" she asked as she added the last set of veggies on the big pan.
"Wait! I will ask bhabis(sister-in-law) to help you and then it will be done!"
"Then what is madam planning to do?"
"Spend some quality time with your Rishab!"
"Saanvi! You shouldn't"
"Call him by his name!" she completed her mother's line "I know that Madhu ji!" she winked and escaped from there even before she could get any words of her mother.
"She is 25 and still a kid!"
"And what about you young lady?" the old man asked.
"She still feels to be in her 20s Rishab!" Saanvi complained.
"Bringing your father to protect you?"
"No! I'm here to protect him." and all the three laughed.
"Is this how you get them to play?" the tall man.
"You all play and enjoy Raj!" Rishab!
"Just for few minutes Paa! Please join us!"
"Ahann Papaa Mamaa, join us!" one of the young ladies.
"See! Even your lovely daughter in law is inviting you!"
"Let's us help you Maa!" the other young lady.
"It's okay Anjali dear! You all carry on!" Rishab.
The youngest son took his mother's hand "You are here to enjoy, not to work!" Getting her to hall as everyone followed "Anitha bhabi and Anjali will cook Maa! Let's watch a film until they finish, to start the game!"
"Good idea Mohan!" Saanvi
"I give only good ideas Sister!" pressing the last word as if reminding her he is elder to her.
"Which film?" the elder brother asked as he started surfing through net.
"Conquering unloved love!" Saanvi "Been ages I didn't see that film.
"Me too!" the younger brother joined.
"Maa Papaa?" the elder son as both the daughter in laws went to the kitchen.
"Yeah!" Madhu as she smiled looking at her husband.
***** 2 DAYS BEFORE *****
"It's always memorable to watch this film!" Rishab as both of them were in their house, on sofa, watching the film in the dark room.
"Conquering unloved love! I still ask why they named the film like that?"
"May be because both of the main characters struggled to get real love and when they found it, it was hard to believe it. So much of struggles and separations"
"Etc Etc Etc" she added and both laughed.
"Mohan is getting into a new house in two day!"
"I think of presenting them with the cooking set you bought on my 45th birthday."
"Are you sure?"
"Do you have any idea?"
"Since the time they started to grow up, I rarely get to know what to gift them!"
"This era kids have everything! That's the reason!"
"Agree Miss. Right!"
"Mrs!"
"Yeah Mrs!" correcting himself "What is for dinner?"
"Idli with tomatoes chutney!" she smiled in the darkness as she got up.
***** PRESENT *****
"Film is ready!" Saanvi screamed on the top of her lungs as she sat between her parents.
"Happy film! I'm going to help in the kitchen!" the elder son.
"Speed up son! Being the chief cook, you should cook alone. Shame on you for letting women work!" Saanvi commented.
"Yes Madam. Lazy Foodie!"
"Okay Mister. Worst chief!"
"If you don't stop talking, I will switch off the TV!" the younger son.
"If you also want to go to kitchen and romance with your lovely wife! You can!" with an attitude.
"Saanvi!" her mother seeing her son shy a bit and getting angry a bit too.
"Start the film!" Rishab in order to change the atmosphere.
The film started and the cooking too got finished as everyone settled around the table to play.
"Let's start!" Saanvi excited as she turned the bottle which landed on her younger bhabi Anjali "Pick a paper from this bowl bhabi!"
As soon as Anjali picked a paper, Saanvi pulled it "The best day of this year!"
She shied and smiled "The day I got a lovely new family!"
"Of course bhabi! When I'm in the family, it has to be like that only!" the kiddish young girl added, hugging her father who was next to her "You spin the bottle bhabi!"
And one by one questions were asked and it was now Rishab's turn.
"What is the thing you hate but with time, you got used too?" Saanvi.
Looking at his wife who was between both the daughters in laws "Idli!"
"Idli?" the word echoed in the room the second after as everyone looked at their parents like something was wrong.
"Papaa! Are you sure, its idli? We though you love it and that's why Maa used to do it every day for at least a meal." their daughter.
"We even started to eat outside sometimes as it became so repetitive to eat it daily." Raj!
"It's a lie for sure!" the second one.
"You could have said!" Madhu's tone was neither questioning nor commenting.
"Because you love it!" Rishab.
"I used to hate it!" Madhu said "On our wedding day, I saw you having idli!"
***** YEARS BACK *****
"Look what groom and bride want!" a man screamed in the dinning place of the marriage hall.
"Idli, chapathi, poori ..." and the sever spelled the full list of item available.
"Idli!" thinking other items or too oily to have.
Following him, she too said "Idli!" and both smiled at each other as they were served the first set of two idlis.
And next one came for both and it was again idlis and the day ended with three sets for Rishab and two sets for Madhu.
The newly married couple moved to a separate apartment and soon Madhu learnt to cook needed items and among them idlis.
The first day she served him idlis in the morning.
'It must be her favorite!'
'He will love to eat idlis!'
He had them smiling at her and soon it has became their habit to have idlis in morning or night.
Their first kid was born and habit continues, second one after three years. At the age of 5, Raj already started to hate idlis.
Seven years later Saanvi made entry to the beautiful family and soon after she turned 5, the trio formed a gang and once in a while, they go out in the evening or escape the breakfast to have something different outside, using their pocket money. And days moved and years got away but the habit didn't change.
***** PRESENT *****
And the younger generation around the table started to laugh hearing their story.
Soon both of them too joined too.
"Finally a truth is out!" Saanvi commented breaking her laugh.
The family soon had dinner and the elders left to their apartment not far from there in their scooter.
"I really don't know you hate idli!" Madhu.
"I used to but then it's okay!"
"If you said it the first day itself, I wouldn't have got used too!" she said as they got down in the parking place of the building.
And the night went in remembering all the sweet moments related to something they hated.
Soon the sun rose and the regular activities started.
He got on his rocking chair he got last week and started watching news on TV
And an ad for idli batter went on and he started to laugh looking at his wife who was getting the idli in hot pack from the idli maker.
Still laughing in his rocking chair "That one meal!" And his wife smiled at him from the dining table, arranging the plates and setting idlis for them "Same one meal!"
*******
This is a kind of real story.
What is real?
Having a food that the couple hated but never said to each other as they thought the other one loved it.
Getting to know during a function/game.
What is not real?
The marriage event.
The kids parts.
And especially the meal: Idli!
Thank you for reading buddies!
Hope the story was with flow and the little bit of comedy worked.
If not, let me know!
See you in Februray as I'm going/coming to India 😃!
Thank you!
- Maithili
DO NOT COPY THIS POST AS THIS IS EXCLUSIVE TO INDIA FORUMS
comment:
p_commentcount