Part
XXIII
It
was Raksha Bandhan that day. Maan was getting ready to leave for work when Geet
reminded him to come early so that they can go to Handa House to visit Anwesha. Maan
nodded his head absent mindedly and uttering a hurried good bye, he left the
house. Geet looked at his retreating form from the balcony and wondered about
his behaviour in the past one week, since the Independence day. They were
getting along pretty well till then and had started bonding as they let down
their guards and got to know and understand each other better.
She
had entered into this marriage with no great expectation. She knew she
was merely a leverage for her husband who wanted to ensure his sister's
happiness by marrying her. She had, however, made up her mind to make this
marriage work no matter what. His temper had initially scared her but she soon
found out that behind the facade of a tough exterior lay a gentle and caring
heart. She did not know when she had started falling in love with her
husband. She had always found him physically attractive but it was not just
good looks that drew her to him. His simplicity, straight forwardness, sense of
duty, self belief, care, love for his family, sense of humour, why, even his
occasional grumpiness, which made him look cute like a baby, all were very,
very, attractive to her. Before she realised it, she was head-over-heels in
love with him.
Being
shy, she was not able to say it in words and waited for her husband to make the
first move, but although she suspected he too felt a strong attraction towards
her, he never really opened up. She then decided to convey her feelings to her
husband through the song she rendered on the Independence Day, hoping that it
will get him to admit his own feelings for her. She had seen the look of
admiration and pride in his eyes that day as he heard her sing. She also
thought she caught a fleeting glimpse of something more but before she could
feel elated, it was gone and was replaced by an enigmatic expression.
When he excused himself that night and came in late, she felt there was something
amiss but could not put her finger to it.
Things
only got more puzzling in the ensuing days. Although Maan treated her well,
there was a certain aloofness in his behaviour which was not there in the past
two months. It was as if he was holding himself back for some reason. He no
longer joked with her. His conversations were reduced to the bare essentials.
He was also coming home very late from work and when questioned he did not give
her a satisfactory answer. All he said was that work load has increased, not
that she suspected him. He did look worn out by the end of the day. She
tried to reassure him that if there was anything troubling him he can confide
in her but he brushed it away saying that everything was alright. Not knowing
what else to do or how to help him, she fervently prayed to God to grant him
peace and happiness. She hoped that her husband will soon accept her love and
reciprocate it.
That
evening Maan came home earlier than usual. Geet was ready in a simple salwar
kameez, waiting for him. Maan had a box of sweets to be gifted to Anwesha. Geet
handed him a cover. Looking at his puzzled expression, she explained that she
had bought a silk saree for Anwesha the previous day and asked him to gift it
to Anwesha along with the sweets. Maan's face clouded with anger.
"Will
you never learn to value money? What was the need for such extravagant
purchases? How will you run the house this month?"
Geet's
eyes started filling up. "I bought this with the money I managed to save
in the last two months. I did not touch the budget for this month," she
said with trembling lips.
Maan
wanted to drag her into his arms and wipe away her tears. He had no intention
of yelling at her like that and would not have minded her spending for his
sister from even this month's budget. He had been harsh with her for a
reason. He was trying to distance himself from her and this gift she bought
came as an excuse to do so. By acting unreasonable he hoped that she will
have a poor opinion of him. He hoped that she will have second thoughts
about him and gradually start disliking him, but it was harder than he thought.
He could not bear to see the pain in her eyes. He quickly turned his face away,
lest she sees his eyes mirroring her pain. Without another word he proceeded to
his bike and Geet silently followed him after locking up the house. On
the way both of them did not utter a word, each lost in his/her own world.
Once
they reached the Handa House, they were enthusiastically greeted by a six
months pregnant Anwesha and Rano. Arjun had not yet returned from work. Maan
was happy to see a radiant and glowing Anwesha. Although he had been regularly
calling her up and was being reassured by her that she was doing fine, he was
relieved to see her in person and confirm for himself that she was indeed
telling him the truth. Anwesha then tied the rakhi around his wrist,
applied the tilak on his forehead and fed him the sweet. Maan hugged her
and kissed her forehead. He then handed her the gifts he and Geet had bought
for her. She was elated to see the saree and complimented her bhabhi on
the excellent choice. She quickly went in to change so that her brother can see
her in it.
In
the meantime Rano assured him that Anwesha was like her daughter and she will
ensure that she was well looked after. Maan held her hand and thanked her with
tears in his eyes. Rano also expressed her gratitude to him for taking
such good care of her daughter as she has never seen Geet so happy in a long,
long time. Maan looked away guiltily. He knew that Geet had expressly put
on a cheerful face for her family. He wished he could wipe out the pain he had
caused her earlier that evening but realised he may end up compounding her pain
by doing so, for he wasn't sure he can give her what she really wants - his
love.
Arjun
came into the house just as Anwesha came out of her room in the saree Geet had
bought. It was a beautiful off-white silk saree with maroon pochampalli border.
Seeing her in the saree, Arjun whistled loudly and said she looked divine in
it. Anwesha excitedly told him that her Geet bhabhi had bought it for
her. Arjun looked around for Geet and spotting her, went up and hugged
her. Geet hugged him back and tied him the rakhi. She was about to
apply the tilak when Arjun stopped her saying he did not believe in all
these stupid rituals. He turned around to Maan and slapped his back a little
too hard, grinning sardonically.
"So
how's life, saala?" he asked.
Before
Maan could answer, he turned on his heels and went up to his room. Maan gritted
his teeth at the insult. Rano looked flustered and rushed to him, asking him to
come for dinner. Geet and Anwesha who were also equally uncomfortable, took the
cue and quickly went about serving the food. During dinner, Anwesha caught up
with all the events in the chawl. She felt disappointed that she could
not attend the Independence Day celebrations because she was feeling uneasy
that day and Rano wouldn't take a chance after the scare she gave them three
months back. So although both Rano and Anwesha were invited to attend the
programme they could not come.
Turning
to Geet, Anwesha congratulated her on the excellent singing. On seeing Geet's
questioning look, she explained that Sameera had told her how beautifully she
had sung that day. While Geet blushed and thanked her for the compliment she
couldn't help but notice Maan squirm in his seat at the mention of the song.
This only strengthened her doubt that whatever was troubling Maan was related
to her song. Just what it was, she could not figure out.
After
dinner, Maan and Geet thanked Rano and bid Anwesha good bye. As Arjun had not
come down for the rest of the evening, they could not inform him that they were
leaving. Anwesha tried to find an excuse for his rude behaviour by saying that
he was complaining of headache since morning, so maybe he was tired and was
resting. Although Maan knew the truth, he did not say anything. Both Geet
and Maan then left for their chawl house.
Edited by Opti - 13 years ago
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