Chapter Six
"That's outrageous!" Raghav shouted at his lawyer, Dhananjay, who had just told him that Pallavi could be sentenced to ten years in prison for bigamy. "It was never a secret that Pallavi was a widow! I just didn't catch on. I heard Baḍā Bindī calling Pallavi an orphan since childhood, and Siddhesh Dādā saying that he looked after her because their Āī-Bābā weren't there, and Pavani Vahinī defending her upbringing, but somehow my mind filtered out the truth because I was convinced that Rambo was her father."
"Mr. Raghav," Dhananjay replied calmly, "The court will not consider what you learned from any other sources. The letter of the law is clear. The remarried person is solely accountable for communicating the prior marriage to the new spouse, and whoever is not forthcoming before contracting a new marriage is not exempt from the punishment for bigamy in the event that the prior marriage previously voided by a court is unexpectedly reinstated."
"Outrageous!" Raghav muttered. "I forced Sārī kā Dukāna to marry me against her will, but the law treats her as a criminal? It was only a few hours before I asked her about that white saree, but my stupidity could cost her ten years in prison!"
"Mr. Raghav, law enforcement does not normally prosecute anyone for bigamy when it is clearly unintentional, and even if Mrs. Pallavi were to be convicted, a fair judge would sentence her to a nominal fine and no prison time. However, you have enemies with influence in the courts, for whom your wife is an obvious target, so I advise you to be careful. Does anyone know that Mrs. Pallavi's widowhood was a surprise to you after marriage?"
"Only Farhad. At our wedding reception, Pallavi told the story that I proposed to her in front of her family, knowing that she was a widow, and the media reported the story."
"That's good. As long as Farhad doesn't tell anyone, and there's no record of your conversation with Mrs. Pallavi after marriage, in which you expressed surprise that she was a widow, she will not be charged with a crime when Mr. Mandar Deshmukh is legally recognized as living. However, if her petition to divorce him is not before the court by that time, the court will proceed to annul her remarriage to you."
Raghav called Farhad into his den as soon as Dhananjay departed. "Do we still have CCTV footage from the wedding reception at the other house?"
"Jī, Anna."
"We have to destroy any recording of me finding out that Pallavi was a widow, and asking you if you knew. Audio especially, but destroy the video evidence as well. Immediately."
"Jī, Anna. I will log in right away and delete it. Anna, have you spoken to Bhābhī since last night?"
"No; in which hotel did you lodge her? I'll pay them a visit to make sure their service is up to Raghav Rao's standard."
"Bhābhī is staying in Nawaz Mahal."
"Nawaz Mahal? I've never heard of it. Did you put Pallavi in some cheap lodgings?"
"Sorry, Anna, I made a joke. Bhābhī is in the care of Gulshan and Rehana Nawaz, Farhad Nawaz's Ammī-Abbū."
Raghav's laughter burst out, mixed with a sigh of relief. "Nawaz Mahal, really! That's good, she's not alone. Make sure she has everything she needs from here. Her scented hair care products, her yoga mat ..."
"Jī, Anna. Bhābhī told me this morning that you must have packed her suitcase yourself, because none of the sarees and blouses match, and her jewelry is all hooked into her underwear."
"Of course, Farhad! I closed my eyes and emptied her underwear drawer into the suitcase because I knew she wouldn't want me to look! Never mind that, did she sleep all right last night? Was she crying?"
"Ammī says Bhābhī slept all right. She wasn't crying. In the morning, she made thālīpīṭha, and then she went to the office of Subhadra jī, her lawyer."
"That's good. Now, Farhad, before I go to see Pallavi, there's one thing that I have to do. Come with me." Raghav opened the den door and strode out, then turned back and said, "Actually, I should only take Amma with me. Your priority today is to delete the CCTV footage from the wedding reception. Make sure you delete it from every backup drive. Every record of the moment I found out that Pallavi was a widow must be destroyed; varanā anartha ho jāyegā."
Meanwhile, at the Deshmukh house, Sharada approached Mandar and Vishnu to ask, "What are your plans for today?"
"We both have today and tomorrow off from work," Vishnu said. "So, if Mandar wants to revisit some old familiar places and reacquaint with friends, I can go with him."
"I have to submit my resignation to the Vikarabad ambulance service," Mandar said. "After that, I want to go to the shop and see if I remember anything. When I met Pallavi yesterday, memories began to come back, one by one, and when I was with the whole family and in my own room, I had so many memories, I just lost count."
"That's very good," Sharada smiled. "Do you like to work as an ambulance driver? You don't have to work at the shop if you don't want to. Nikhil is managing, and getting better at it every day."
Mandar laughed. "Now I remember that I have an MBA. I just hope that spending time at the shop brings back the ideas I had for the business."
Sharada's phone rang. It was Pallavi. "Bola, Pallu."
"Āī, mī vakilākaḍe āle āhe." Āī, I'm at the lawyer's. "Mandar-āṃçā mṛtyudākhalā radda karāyalā havā." Mandar's death certificate has to be expunged. "Tara vakīla-bāīṃnā gheūna gharī yeū kā?" So, shall I and the lady lawyer come over? "Mandar azūna gharīça āheta nā?" Mandar is still at home, right?
"Ho, ye, āṇi dupāraçe jevūnaça dukānāta zā." Yes, come, and only go to the shop after having lunch with us. Sharada ended the call, and told Mandar, "Pallavi is bringing a lawyer for you, so that we can get that death certificate expunged. Work on that and your resignation this morning. After lunch, you can go to the shop with her."
"Mandar, what are your thoughts about Pallavi?" Vijay joined them. He had taken the day off from selling sarees on the roadside, just to spend time with his son. "Do you want a married life with her? If she is your choice, we will accept that."
"Bābā, I remember why I liked Pallavi, but she is remarried now. How can I ask her to leave her marriage?" Mandar knew he was not being honest, but this excuse was easier than the truth.
"Pallavi is one of our children, and always will be," Sharada said. "If she says no to you, that's final, but your needs are also important for us and your marriage had Devā-Brāhmaṇāñcī sākṣa too, so don't hesitate to tell us what you expect from Pallavi."
"Whatever you are feeling, you can tell us," Milind agreed. "No pressure." He had taken the morning off, and was quietly sitting there, contentedly watching Mandar.
If only that were true, Mandar thought. Aloud, he said, "I lost my chance with Pallavi when that car hit me and left me unconscious. It was Raghav who took me to the hospital. I owe him. How can I say to Raghav, this is my wife, not yours? Wouldn't that be indecent?"
"Indecent? Have you met Raghav Rao?" Sulochana swept into the gathering and spoke up, instantly turning the conversation distasteful.
"Sulochana, we are still celebrating Mandar's return. Why spoil his first morning at home?" Milind remonstrated. "Let's not talk about that right now."
"I have met Raghav," Mandar said. "He wasn't polite, but that could be because he wasn't feeling well." Vishnu nodded in agreement.
"Raghav was in the hospital until yesterday," Sharada said. "Did Pallavi take you there to meet him, or to their house?"
"No, Raghav came all the way to Vikarabad after Pallavi. I tried to thank him for taking me to the hospital after my accident, but he just made an angry face and disagreed with Pallavi when she said that he got his blood transfusion on time because I drove Pallavi to Hyderabad in the ambulance. Right then and there, Raghav had a panic attack. Then he hardly spoke while we were in the car for two hours."
"Garvāçe ghara khālī," a house of vanity collapses, Vijay said. "Raghav thinks he's above all laws and norms of decency, so with these panic attacks Bāppā reminds him from time to time that he's mortal after all. Your work as an ambulance driver saved Raghav's life, but he won't thank you with one word. He is unworthy of your self-sacrifice, Mandar. If you want to fulfil your commitment to Pallavi, don't worry about that Raghav at all. He won't be alone for long. He once said to me that Pallavi is only one of many girls at his feet."
Mandar was shocked. He remembered that Raghav had left Pallavi and taken Kirti home, and what Dr. Ramya had said about Raghav's lifestyle. So, Raghav was a philandering husband!
"The first time I met Raghav," Vijay continued, "he had kept people lined up outside a mandira for over an hour because he wanted a VIP darśana. When Pallavi spoke up, Raghav lunged at her and shouted at both of us. In spite of that, when he had a panic attack, we tried to help him. He never thanked us either."
"Aho, what you said is said, but we should know when to stop," Sharada tried to change the subject. "Mandar, you have to send your resignation. Go, do that before Pallavi gets here with the lawyer." Sharada signaled to Vishnu to take Mandar upstairs.
"Why the hurry, Vahinī?" Sulochana wasn't going to wait a moment longer to turn Mandar against Raghav. "Mandar deserves to know the truth that Dādā and Pallavi hid from him yesterday. That landlord who told lies about Pallavi was none other than Raghav Rao!"
"Enough, Sulochana!" Milind raised his voice. "Not one more word!"
Mandar had listened to every word, but he couldn't believe it. Raghav wasn't just impolite; he was violent with Pallavi and he had maligned her character. He was even the reason for Bābā's suicide attempt and heart attack. It made no sense. Why would Pallavi marry a man like that?
"Raghav did all of that? Why? Was he after Pallavi to marry him?" Mandar finally asked.
"Raghav later said that he told those lies only to punish Pallavi for a misunderstanding." Milind sat down next to Mandar and put a sympathetic arm around his shoulders. "They did get married soon after that, and Raghav tried in his way to take back his lies and become part of our family."
"It was Raghav's mother who chose Pallavi for him." Sharada sensed Mandar's disgust, confusion, and helplessness, and tried to mitigate the truth that her son had guessed.
"Raghav's mother wouldn't even acknowledge him when we first met them." Sulochana pounced on her chance to badmouth Jaya Rao, the woman who had slapped her twice. "Jaya Rao knew that her son was vyasanī, so she pretended to be a stranger to him, a respectable and dignified lady! Weeks later, when Pallavi and Raghav were spotted out together at night, that Jaya Rao finally introduced herself as Raghav's mother, and promised that if he had harmed Pallavi, she would kill Raghav with her own hands. Isn't that right, Dādā?"
Sharada and Milind closed their eyes and shook their heads in despair at Sulochana's troublemaking. Mandar looked at Vijay, who nodded sadly. It was true; Pallavi was married to a man whose own mother recognized him as a sexual predator. Mandar hadn't been around to protect Pallavi, and so, when Raghav's harassment of Pallavi had left her destitute, his mother had tried to impart the legitimacy of marriage to that monstrous relationship. Mandar thought he was going to throw up, and excused himself.
A couple of hours later, Pallavi, Subhadra, and Vishnu were having lunch with Mandar and his family, except Nikhil, who was at work, and Amruta, who was attending her college classes. Mandar had sent in his resignation to the ambulance service in Vikarabad. Pallavi had introduced him to Subhadra, and he had prepared an affidavit that he, Mandar Deshmukh, was living and claimed all inherent rights of a citizen of India. So, the atmosphere at lunch was cheerful; almost everyone felt excited that Mandar had taken these steps to restart his life in Hyderabad.
Sulochana, of course, was the exception, but she was content for another reason, that Mandar hadn't said a word about her being the one who abandoned him at Dr. Ramya's clinic. He must not remember, Sulochana thought. After all, Mandar had been groggy from medication when Sulochana had gotten him into the taxi, and Mandar had been still quite disoriented when they had arrived in Vikarabad on the morning of 2nd December, 2018.
"Pallu," Manasi was saying, "it took three months, but we are finally having a meal with you again."
Pallavi beamed a smile at Vijay, silently telling Bābā that bygones were bygones. She had said to Subhadra that she would spend time with Mandar over the next few days while he got settled; she couldn't just ask him if he wanted her back. She would sort out her feelings for Mandar and for Raghav as soon as possible, and then live with her decision for a few days before starting any legal process to dissolve a marriage.
"Manasi, from now on I will eat lunch made by Āī's hands every day," Pallavi replied, certain that Sharada would assent. "I am staying at Farhad's flat until I sort out where I belong. My coming here for lunch will leave Farhad's Ammī-Abbū free to eat whatever they like, at least once a day."
Mandar, who was trying to eat despite his nausea after hearing about Raghav's abuses of Pallavi, looked up in surprise. Why hadn't Pallavi moved into Raghav's other house as planned? Yesterday, Mandar had thought that Raghav had only quarrelled with Pallavi and run to Kirti, but now Pallavi's words implied that she had been thrown out by Raghav and had nowhere to stay. What a kind and brave man Farhad was to take her in! The possibility of being fired for taking the boss's wife home was not a risk that most men would take. Not even a man who is as open about his homosexuality as Farhad, Mandar thought. Perhaps he should be worried that Farhad would tell Pallavi what he had overheard Mandar saying to Dr. Ramya, but somehow, Mandar trusted that Farhad would keep his promise.
"You have left Raghav?" Sulochana didn't even bother to conceal her delight. She hoped it had been a bitter quarrel that would leave Pallavi without any alimony, but even if Raghav was generous to the end, Sulochana would find ways to make sure that Vijay and Sharada didn't get the benefit of it.
"We are not together right now, Kākū," Pallavi admitted, trying not to look embarrassed. Subhadra was her lawyer, but Vishnu was definitely an outsider, and in his presence, Pallavi did not want to talk about who left whom.
I can't defer to Raghav now, Mandar thought. No more excuses or equivocation. Pallavi is free to be with me, she has a right to me, she belongs in my family, and I have to be a good husband and offer her my protection. Today.
Manasi, looking at Pallavi with sympathy, remembered her own difficult decision to call off her wedding to Rahul, after which Rahul, lonely and unable to resist his disapproving mother, had ended the relationship and married someone else. Pallavi had gone to Rahul's mother to plead for Manasi, and the whole family had uplifted Manasi when she had felt unlovable. Now, it was Pallavi whose marriage had broken up, and although Raghav was a dangerously spiteful man, not charming and considerate like Rahul, Manasi was trying to find words other than "Good riddance!" to comfort Pallavi.
"I am sure you made a wise decision, Pallu," Sharada spoke firmly.
"We will trust your judgement no matter what you decide," Milind agreed.
"You didn't take any loṇaçaṃ, Pallavi." Manasi changed the subject. "Kanchan Māmī made it."
Mandar was startled out of his thoughts by clear memories of relatives whose photos he hadn't even seen since Pallavi had found him yesterday. "How are Ājī, Māmā and Māmī?" he asked Sharada.
Sharada's face showed still fresh pain as she said, "Māmā āṇi Māmī bare āheta, paṇa cāra mahinyāṃpūrvī Ājīçā pravāsa sampalā; tī Devāgharī gelī." Māmā and Māmī are well, but four months ago, Ājī's journey ended; she went to God's house.
Mandar's eyes brimmed with tears. His loving Ājī had had to grieve for him, and she had died before anyone found out that he was alive. Mandar got up from the table and put his arms around Sharada, who patted his head. Then Mandar went over to Vijay and hugged him too. Milind got up, and Manasi was already standing to serve the food; both of them hugged Mandar, and Vishnu squeezed his hand in sympathy.
Pallavi watched all of this, and remembered how Mandar's maternal grandmother, whose home was in Kolhapur, had brought the formal marriage proposal to Siddhesh Dādā and Pavani Vahinī. After Mandar had chosen Pallavi on the matrimonial website, Ājī, Māmā, and Māmī had been the first to welcome her into the family. This was a real family, the sort of family that Pallavi wanted, with relatives to visit in Kolhapur and elsewhere, celebrations and delicacies to share, and simple gestures of affection. And Mandar today was the same loving and lovable man whom she had admired in video chats and in their wedding events. Still handsome too, Pallavi thought.
After lunch, as they walked to Deshmukh Saree Emporium together, Mandar turned to Pallavi and said, "Mājhyā pūrvīcyā āyuṣyāta je kāhī ghaḍalaṃ hotaṃ te ātā malā sagaḷaṃ kāhī punhā āṭhavataṃya." Whatever happened in my earlier life, I am remembering all of it again now. "Āpaṇa lagnāādhī bolalo hoto, taseça malā punhā tujhyāśī bolāyaçe āhe." Just as we had talked before marriage, I want to talk with you again. "Tuzhā mitra, tuzhā navarā vhāyaçe āhe malā." I want to become your friend, your husband. "He śakya āhe kā?" Is that possible?
"Ho, Mandar," Pallavi replied. "Malā tumhī tevhāṃ pasanta hotā, taseça ātāhī pasanta āhāta." I accepted your proposal then, and just the same, I accept you now.
Chapter One on page 1
Chapter Two on page 2
Chapter Three on page 2
Chapter Four on page 3
Chapter Five on page 4
Chapter Seven on page 5
Chapter Eight on page 5
Chapter Nine on page 7
Chapter Ten on page 7
Chapter Eleven on page 8
Chapter Twelve on page 8
Chapter Thirteen on page 8
Chapter Fourteen on page 9
Chapter Fifteen on page 10
Chapter Sixteen on page 10
Chapter Seventeen on page 11
Chapter Eighteen on page 11
Chapter Nineteen on page 11
Chapter Twenty on page 11
Chapter Twenty-One on page 11
Chapter Twenty-Two on page 12
Chapter Twenty-Three on page 12
Chapter Twenty-Four on page 12
Chapter Twenty-Five on page 12
Chapter Twenty-Six on page 13
Chapter Twenty-Seven on page 14
Chapter Twenty-Eight on page 14
Chapter Twenty-Nine on page 14
Chapter Thirty on page 14
Chapter Thirty-One on page 14
Chapter Thirty-Two on page 14
Chapter Thirty-Three on page 15
Chapter Thirty-Four on page 15
Chapter Thirty-Five on page 15
Chapter Thirty-Six on page 15
Edited by BrhannadaArmour - 1 years ago
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