Destiny's Play-Part XLVII,XLVIII (Pg 131,140)-10/3 - Page 18

Originally posted by: agmaneet

1 more to goooooooo😆

This is what happens when one gets greedy. You posted one too many and now I'm not at the start of the page!. You'll have to wait till this one is over.

Originally posted by: Opti

This is what happens when one gets greedy. You posted one too many and now I'm not at the start of the page!. You'll have to wait till this one is over.

he he..

opti,

how many entries are allowed in one page??

Originally posted by: Opti

This is what happens when one gets greedy. You posted one too many and now I'm not at the start of the page!. You'll have to wait till this one is over.

Yesterday it was Sharmishtha and today it is you. You guys have me hyperventilating with your writings.

Originally posted by: febinyusuff

Here is the first one !!!.. 😆

Sorry, Girls. This is what happens when one adopts short cuts. Unfortunately I've lost the start of the page which I am diligently trying to get for all my updates.

Originally posted by: febinyusuff

he he..

opti,

how many entries are allowed in one page??

Part XXXVI

After their first night of union, Maan was very busy at work that they hardly found time to spend with each other. Even on Sundays when he was home, he was so fatigued that he practically slept the whole day. Seeing how tired and worn out he was, Geet didn't have the heart to disturb him. She was tempted to ask him to slow down but refrained from doing so because she knew how much it meant to him to achieve his dream. Two weeks had flown by in this manner. It was the last night of Navratri, the festival that honours the three main goddesses of the Hindu religion, Durga (goddess of power), Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) and Saraswati (goddess of wisdom) in all their manifestations. The chawl wore a festive look for the past nine days. Dandiya raas was performed every night and the entire chawl residents congregated in the courtyard in the front to dance with colourful sticks to the latest bollywood numbers. Since Maan was coming home very late, sometimes close to midnight, for the past few weeks, Geet alone took part in the dances so far, but her heart was never in it.

That night, however, Geet was surprised to see Maan return home earlier than usual. The dandiya dance for the night had just begun and seeing him, Sameera thrust a pair of sticks in his hands and asked him to join in. Although he initially protested, he subsequently gave in and danced. They were going in rounds and Maan landed in front of Geet. While Geet was glad to be dancing with her husband, his eyes seemed distant as though he was lost in some deep thought. Geet soon bore the brunt of his mental absence because he ended up hitting her right hand instead of the sticks. It is only when Geet dropped the sticks and winced in pain did he realise what he had done. He quickly rushed to her side to examine the extent of damage. Her fingers were bleeding by now. Realising that there has been a mishap, the rest of the crowd stopped dancing as they looked on in trepidation. Sameera hurried to Geet's side and admonished Maan for being so careless. Tearing the ends of her dupatta, she tied it around the wound to stop the bleeding. Maan said that he will take her to their place for some first aid. He led Geet away and asked the rest of the crowd to continue dancing.

Back at their place, Maan immediately cleaned the wound and applied tincture. When Geet flinched at the burning sensation caused by the medicine, he blew on her hand, concern written all across his face. He never stopped apologising even though she kept assuring him that it was just an accident. He fed her dinner and forbade her from doing any household chores till her hand was completely healed.

Maan got up earlier than usual the next morning in order to take care of the household chores. By the time Geet was awake, he had finished preparing tea, breakfast and lunch and had also washed the vessels and the clothes. He was about to sweep the house clean when Geet snatched the broom from his hand and said that she can take care of it. After Maan left for work that day, Geet took a stock of their life in the past weeks. She was increasingly concerned over the mental and physical strain he was putting himself through to fulfil his dream. She knew that the previous day's accident was the result of his mental fatigue. She did not like him wearing himself down in this manner. She wished that she could help him in some way but did not know how. She hoped her wound will heal soon so that she does not add to his burden.

That afternoon, after her routine visit to the nursing home to meet Baba, she went to collect the portrait of Maan she had given for framing. While collecting the portrait, a fellow customer walked up to her and asked her who the artist was who sketched it. When she admitted that she had done it, he marvelled at her talent and asked her if she could teach his eight-year old daughter to sketch. He was willing to pay her a handsome amount as tuition fees. Geet was initially taken aback and said she was not sure she wanted to teach. Sketching and painting were more of a hobby for her. He asked her to think it over and left his card with her. Geet thanked him and left with the portrait.

She reached her home and was about to unlock the door and get in when her new neighbour, Mrs.Shukla met her and asked her what she held in her hand. Now Mrs.Veena Shukla had several nicknames given by the residents, none flattering but all very true to her nature. These included 'Mrs.Busybody', 'Jai Hind's gossip queen', 'Mrs.No-gooder' and 'Troublemaker No.1'. Manju had warned Geet about her character and asked her not to entertain her company. Geet had avoided her as much as possible but Mrs. Shukla seemed to be determined to corner her somehow. Since Geet can never be rude to a person, she politely said that it was a portrait. Mrs.Veena asked her to show it and before she could respond, snatched it from her hands. Removing the portrait from the cover, she looked at it and exclaimed,"So it's a portrait of Maan?! Did you draw it?"

Geet shyly nodded. Mrs.Shukla looked at her sympathetically." Look, Geet. It is none of my business to interfere in other people's lives but then you are like my daughter. I could not help but notice the way you are being treated by the good-for-nothing husband of yours. He even hit you with the dandiya stick yesterday. I don't think that was an accident."

Geet went red with anger hearing such slander of her husband. She raised her hand and said, "Enough, aunty. I will hear no more ill words about my husband. Please give me back the portrait." She pried the portrait from Mrs.Shukla's hands.

"I know my dear girl. No Indian housewife likes to hear anyone speak ill of her husband but I swear I have no malice towards him. I am only concerned about you. I noticed that he comes home late every night, sometimes close to midnight. Wonder what keeps him so late when he does not even have a job."

Geet was now completely losing her patience with the woman. "I'm sorry you are mistaken, aunty. My husband has not just one job but two. Before saying anything, please check your facts." She did not wait for Mrs.Shukla to respond. Quickly opening the door, Geet went in and shut the door behind her.

"What a rude girl!" Mrs. Shukla said in disgust. "I was only trying to open her eyes to reality. Looks like she wants to remain in the dark. Why should I bother." She shrugged her shoulders and went back to her house.

That night when Maan entered his house, he was surprised to see his portrait hang in a prominent place in the hall.

"Geet, why have you hung that bunder (monkey) on the wall?" he asked inviting a glare from his wife.

"Don't you dare call my hero a bunder," she warned him. Maan smiled happily.

After he freshened up, Geet told him about how she was offered a job as a private art tutor for an eight-year girl by a fellow customer in the frame shop. Showing him the visiting card the gentleman gave her, she added that he had offered to pay her a handsome tuition fee.

"So, do you want to work?" he asked her brusquely.

"Well, I don't know. The money seems to be good." she said. Maan remained silent but he looked distinctly uncomfortable. As Geet was busy setting the table she did not see the change in his expression.

Serving him his dinner, she casually mentioned about Mrs.Shukla's comment that he was jobless. Maan tensed up hearing this. Before she could continue with what her reply was to that comment, he looked up at her and asked her in a raised voice.

"So, you now want to take up this job to support this family? Do you think that I am incapable of providing for this family? Have I now become useless?"

Geet couldn't understand his sudden anger. "No, Maan. That is not what I meant. I hate to see you wear yourself down. If I take up this teaching job maybe I can also chip in my bit to..."

Maan didn't wait to hear the rest. He got up midway through the dinner and washing his hands up, he went out of the house.

Geet was shocked to see this extreme reaction and held back her tears. Unable to finish her own dinner, she put away the plates. After nearly an hour, Maan returned but did not speak to her. He quietly went to the bed and stretched himself on it. Not knowing what to do, she stretched herself next to him. Both were immersed in deep thoughts about their future, only their worries about it were different.

i think maan lost his job for some reason😕

angry young maan is back !!!.. itna ego..

dear poor Geet.. I think Geet has yet to understand Maan completely.. he is very sensitive...
Btw, Is Maan really jobless??


Thank you very much for the update.. can't wait for the next part...

Originally posted by: Soapoperasrfun

Yesterday it was Sharmishtha and today it is you. You guys have me hyperventilating with your writings.

Brilliant Opti. What I liked most about it was that there was nothing planned. It happened so naturally.

Waiting to read more. Do you intend to update any more parts today?

I read in some post that you were feeling unwell? Please don;t strain simply because we get impatient waiting for your posts. Do rest. Feel better soon. 🤗

So you are hyperventilating? 😆 Yes, it was unplanned and they went with the flow. Just posted the next update. Feel slightly better now. I didn't have to redo much on this one.