Chapter 31
And One Thing leads to Another
(December, 1982...)
(Kalimpong...)
"This is life!!"
Maan smirked at Danny's declaration. He had a similar sense of euphoria running through his body right. This indeed is life...
It was Christmas and the officers of Maan's regiment had to spend their one-day off in the valley of Kalimpong.
Everywhere the festivities were in full force. Maan and his officer friends had found a nice little place on the outskirts of the city where the hills just met the plains and the Teesta sent a gushing welcome for the travelers that came downhill.
A camp fire was lit. Lanterns were hung across the ropes on which the Buddhist prayer flags flew. Thick fog blanketed the ground beneath the feet and a pleasant chill enveloped the air above the head. Carols had been sung and the accordion was now left to gasp some air back in its leather strung frame. The guitars were out now and music like never before heard came alive. From Frank Sinatra to Led Zeppelin, pulse of the crowd throbbed with adoration to high strung adrenaline. Moods changed with direction of the zephyr.
The next who came to center-stage brought with him a melodious strumming. Maan laid back on the rock that he leaning against and let the words wash over him.
Ooh short and sweet -
No sense in draggin' on past our needs.
Let's don't keep it hangin' on
If the fire's out we should both be gone.
Some people are made for each other
Some people can love one another for life -
How 'bout us?
Some people can hold it together
Last through all kinds of weather
Can we?
Now don't you get me wrong
'Cause I'm not tryin' now to end it all.
It's just that I have seen
Too many lover's hearts lose their dream.
Some people are made for each other
Some people can love one another for life -
How 'bout us?
Some people can hold it together
Last through all kinds of weather
Can we?
How 'bout us?
How 'bout us baby?
How 'bout us?
How 'bout us baby?
How 'bout us?
How 'bout us baby?
Are we gonna make it girl
Or are we gonna drift and drift and drift?
Some people are made for each other
Some people can love one another for life -
How 'bout us?
How 'bout us baby?
Some people can hold it together
Last through all kinds of weather
Can we?
"Do you think that if I croon this song to one of these hot chicks here I would score?"
Maan turned towards Danny and raised a brow.
"Aww...come...on...don't give me that look Maan..."
"Bloody two by two, will you ever stop thinking about impressing girls?"
"And keep them away from my charming company?" Danny struck a pose. "I don't think so. I am an Army officer. It is my duty to be of service to the...err...society. The beautiful half atleast."
Maan grimaced as Danny laughed at Maan's expression of disgust.
"Using your status as an officer? That's an all-time low even for an incorrigible flirt like you," Maan sallied back.
"Not everyone is as privileged as you Maani-Money. The rest of us were born with spoons made of aluminum in our mouth, not silver."
"Stop rioting with my name. What do you mean by that anyway? Weren't we talking about impressing girls?"
"Chaudhary Maan Singh Khurana..."
"Don't call me Chaudhary..."
"But that's what you are...a Chaudhary'one of the elite..."
"I am an elite but only because I am part of the armed forces," Maan concluded with finality.
"But you cannot deny your inheritance, can you? Chaudhary you were born. Chaudhary you shall remain all your life. So, Chaudhary Maan Singh Khurana, what I mean to say is that low-lives like me have to resort to all kinds of tricks, lifts and shines to simply impress a girl. You on other hand, tall dark and handsome with a noble blood running in your veins and a tagline that screams money, only need to breeze in and have the fairer sex blush red."
"The beer has gone to your head Danny," Maan quipped.
"I am just one bottle down Maan. Face the truth though...your status works wonders for you. You wouldn't even have to try."
"Danny if those girls are simply after my status, then I wouldn't even wish to try. Anyways, I think you are taking it too far. Not every girl is like that. Not the good ones atleast," Maan replied. She wouldn't be like that'not at all...
Danny straightened up at this and looked solemnly at Maan, "For all your practical sense and astounding intelligence you are so nave in many things brother. All girls are the same. A good bank account weighs heavier than a good heart. A palatial home hides all the flaws of a character'"
"Danny..."
"Status is what it all comes down to in the end."
"Danny if past experience is making you say all this then beleive me that she wasn't worth it. You will meet your girl one day."
"There is no perfect girl Maan."
"But there will be a girl just right for you."
**********************************************************************
(Ahemdabad...)
"So you think this girl is right for me?"
"Ofcourse Vardaan," Usneek replied, "do you think we would suggest anyone to become the next Mrs. Oberoi. We Oberoi daughter-in-laws have standards you know."
"But bhabhi..."
"No buts Vardaan," Meha chimed in, "trust us. We only have the best interests at our heart."
"Its not that you are marrying a stranger Vardaan. You have known Nitya since your college days. And past few weeks you have been meeting each other keeping in mind the prospective alliance..."
"But Usneek bhabhi," Vardaan cried out frustrated, "I only know Nitya as as dad's business partner's daughter. We did go to the same college but we rarely interacted, much less spoke on friendlier terms. And I know we have met a couple of times...she is a nice girl and all..."
"Ahaan," Meha crooned, "nice girrrlll..."
"Oh please bhabhi," Vardaan rolled his eyes, "don't make a hill out of nothing. There are thousands of nice girls in Ahmedabad. I can't possibly marry all of them can I?"
"Don't get cocky Vardaan," Usneek scolded.
"Sorry," he muttered back. "But the fact remains that I don't feel she is the right girl for me. There is no spark between us."
"Spark!!" Usneek let out a laugh. "Look Meha, what fancy notions this boy has developed in his head. He is talking like a star-struck girl who believes in love in first sight."
Pissed at Usneek's comment and Meha's snickering Vardaan snapped, "Its not that!"
"Then what is it devar ji?" Meha taunted.
"Vardaan," Usneek tried again, "this is one of the most well-known families of this city. Nitya is a sweet and sensible girl who knows her responsibilities quite well. She will be an ideal wife to you. Coming from a business family she will know how to look after a husband who is a businessman himself. Not only will she support you, her father will be equally supportive of all your endeavors."
"This is not..."
"You have no faith in us, isn't it?" Meha sniffed. A shocked Vardaan stared wide eyed at her suddenly forlorn face. "You still haven't forgiven us for all that happened in the past. You call us a bhabhi but don't really consider us as one. A bhabhi is next to a mother. Would a mother do something wrong to her child?" Meha wiped a tear that wasn't even close to rolling out. "Had mummyji been alive and suggested Nitya's match, you wouldn't have hesitated for even a second..."
Usneek rubbed Meha's back, "Bas bas Meha'he didn't mean to hurt our feelings...his way of thinking is not like ours...we are too old-fashioned for him..."
"Please bhabhi don't be like this..."
But Usneek carried on, "We probably don't match up to his standards...all we are asking him is to meet the family formally once...but..."
What does a man do when beseeched in this manner? Acceptance was all that he carved for throughout his life. Acceptance from his brothers, acceptance from his bhabhis, acceptance from the society. And even though his mind screamed at him to be wary of the sudden love that his family was showering on him past one year, his heart yearned for it to be true. If only one wasn't always in pursuit of love...
"Fine bhabhi," Vardaan gave up.
"Fine what devar ji," a sulking Meha looked up at him.
"I am ready to meet their family."
"Oh Vardaan'"
"Bas! Now don't expect me to model infront of them."
**********************************************************************
(Amritsar...)
"Reject!"
"Next..."
"Reject!!"
"Next..."
"Reject!!!"
"Sameera," a fed-up Anwesha cried out, "do you even have a valid reason for rejecting these fellows?"
Meera and Geet giggled at seeing Sameera cornered so by their sister.
Anwesha had come to visit her parents. And she had not come empty-handed. She brought three proposals for Sameera in tow. Since their father was still out in the factory, she started showing the pictured of the prospective grooms directly to Rano and the girls. With their playful side kicking in, and Rano moving to the kitchen, the younger two started strutting around wearing the photographs like masks. As Anwesha droned on the details for each guy, Meera and Geet would model the photographs in front of Sameera'seyes. Not that it helped as Sameera, on some ground or other, rejected all three of them out rightly.
Sameera sighed long and hard. How does one explain the desire to get married only for the right reasons? Practically speaking nothing ever actually qualifies as the right reasons. Love is stuff of fantasy, money is materialistic, companionship is per chance and amalgamation of all these is a utopian concept.
But being 25 seems to be only acceptable reason in the eyes of the society. Add in dark color and short height'lo! Staying un-married is next to crime.
Anwesha di means well, Sameera reminded herself. But she wished that well wishes of a relative did not entail suicide of one's own wishes.
"Di," Sameera tried formulating an answer, "what can I say? I just don't feel that any of these guys would do for me..."
"Then what would do Sameera?"
The girls turned towards the irritated tone of their brother-in-law.
"What would do Sameera?" Arjun repeated his question, "Please do enlighten us. Because we are at our wits end to figure out what to do. Frankly speaking I had given up way before on this useless groom hunt for you. But my wife, the stupid sentimentalist she is, cannot see her sister withering away in her father's home. So please do tell what would do? You want handsomer men? Richer? Taller? All the things you yourself lack? Let me remind you, you are not in your prime either. You are turning 26 next year. Are these men too old for you? What would do Sameera? Would two boys of 13 years satisfy your vanity?!!!"
A stunned silence followed Arjun's rant. A shocked Anwesha stood torn between her husband who had stormed out and her sister who was hurt beyond repair.
Choosing her family over her husband was not a luxury she enjoyed and with a torn conscience Anwesha rushed after Arjun praying that Meera and Geet could do what she could never do.
Soothe Sameera's ache.
**********************************************************************
(Chandigarh...)
Savitri's head ached. It was throbbing like a fish held out of water. "I need to see a doctor. Ever since Maan's marriage has been delayed my heart's palpitations have gone hay-wire. No one cares for my worries, my anxieties. No one is there to listen to me."
"I am there Savitri," Indira chirped, "I am there to listen to all that you have to say."
Indira Malhotra LOVED gossip. Particularly when she would get to hear it from the horse's mouth. The heady of rush of knowing someone's secrets, exploring the deepest recesses of someone's troubles heart and then psyching that person out by laying thick how worse the situation could get was what made her day. For if her husband was hell bent on ruining her life how could see someone else happy in front of her.
Savitri Swaroop Khurana was a challenge for her.
The lady may be a snob but she was one of the last of that breed who let nothing touch the family pride. Dignity for her did not mean ego, it meant status and respectability for the family. Her individual pride may be important for her but she refused to let outsiders use it against her family.
Making her talk was the toughest task Indira ever faced. But circumstances had favored her. The wound to Savitri's ego by her husband's actions had never healed. Savitri was wallowing in self-pity and rightful indignation. Feeling isolated from her husband and son she turned towards the fake concern of Indira Malhotra. And let someone influence her who meant her no good at all.
"The father-son duo has sworn upon my head to forgo everything related to customs. They will be the death of me. And...hai rabba...I am sure they will not even cremate me with proper ceremonies. And then these people talk of being modern, education, progressing in life. Tell me Indira, has it done anyone any good to go against customs..."
"Now, now, Savitri. Don't blame them for something that is beyond their control. After all it was your husband and son who had asked to wait for the marriage."
"Oh no Indira, Mohinder jee is a good man..."
"But Mohinder Handa is taking things too far now. How long should we wait? All our lives? There is a line of families who wouldn't even wait a second to have your Maan as their son-in-law. You should have been firm with them from the very beginning."
"No Indira'but..."
"Now had they been a family of high status", Indira continued, "they would treat their promises as binding as the law itself. Running a family business no matter how successful it is but not grant a family high status. Hmmphhff..."
"But Mohinder jee..."
"Only when two families are equal in each respect can a good relationship foster. Equality is a must or quality is compromised. I have said this many times to my emotionally swayed husband. But would he listen to me? Does he even care for my opinion? NO!!"
At Indira's outburst Savitri was jostled from her thoughts.
"Weak ties never hold strong relationships..."
Weak ties...
**********************************************************************
(Ahmedabad...)
(Random gossiping society wives...)
"...it must have been so embarrassing for Usneek..."
"I know! I heard that Usneek and Nitya's mother were pretty close and Usneek had personally assured the family of the match..."
"Serves her right I say!! Hmmphhff...she was such a bitch all the time."
*laughter*
"Poor Oberoi women'even without a mother-in-law they still have no authority in the family..."
"Oh they enjoy all their freedom. Only this time it was about their rogue of a devar..."
"Oh what a handsome rogue he is!!"
"...that their maasi had to intervene."
"I heard it was a very filmy scene."
"It sure was. My maid, whose husband is Usneek's driver, whose sister is their cook, heard it all from behind the curtains."
*gasps*
"Really?"
"So it's true then?"
"Yes, yes'absolutely. The Oberoi's were nothing less than butchers taking the poor hapless Vardaan to slaughter for their own greed. That maasi made her entry at the most opportune moment and spoiled their plans."
"Poor Vardaan..."
"No, no...rich Vardaan..."
*snickers*
"That boy is going places. No wonder those shrews, Usneek and Meha, are hatching traps to keep him in their claws forever."
"Hayye...had I been few years younger I would hatch a plan to keep him in my claws forever..."
The room resonated of cackles at this comment and the merry wives of Ahmedabad carried on gossiping to their heart's content.
**********************************************************************
(December 31, 1982...)
(Maan's bunker, Sikkim...)
"Not everyone is as privileged as you Maani-Money. The rest of us were born with spoons made of aluminum in our mouth, not silver."
Sometimes it's hard to ignore things we wish to ignore.
"But that's what you are'a Chaudhary'one of the elite..."
Sometimes it's hard to ignore words we wish to ignore.
"Face the truth though'your status works wonders for you. You wouldn't even have to try."
Words that have no meaning, no truth in them. But words that resonate your deepest fears.
"A good bank account weighs heavier than a good heart. A palatial home hides all the flaws of a character."
A struggle roots in your heart. You wish to silence the nagging doubts once and for all.
"All girls are the same."
Past experiences precursor withdrawal. Opening up once again is a risk one wishes to avoid.
"Status is what it all comes down to in the end."
Even conviction is called into account many times. If it wins, life flourishes.
He closed his eyes willing the words Danny spoke that to fade away from his mind. His hands inched towards his diary.
Ooh short and sweet -
No sense in draggin' on past our needs.
Let's don't keep it hangin' on
If the fire's out we should both be gone.
Some people are made for each other
Some people can love one another for life -
How 'bout us?
Some people can hold it together
Last through all kinds of weather
Can we?
Now don't you get me wrong
'Cause I'm not tryin' now to end it all.
It's just that I have seen
Too many lover's hearts lose their dream.
Some people are made for each other
Some people can love one another for life -
How 'bout us?
Some people can hold it together
Last through all kinds of weather
Can we?
How 'bout us?
How 'bout us baby?
How 'bout us?
How 'bout us baby?
How 'bout us?
How 'bout us baby?
Are we gonna make it girl
Or are we gonna drift and drift and drift?
Some people are made for each other
Some people can love one another for life -
How 'bout us?
How 'bout us baby?
Some people can hold it together
Last through all kinds of weather
Can we?
How about us, Geet?
**********************************************************************
Edited by jazerettePMs - 11 years ago
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