CONTENTED
Raman was a smart man. Confident, valiant, achiever, resourceful, result-oriented, efficient, effective. These were some adjectives which were associated with him on a daily basis. But today was different. If someone had to describe him in just one word, it will definitely be "CONTENTED".
Howsoever hard he tried, he was still unable to recall the last time he had felt like this. Yes, there were happy occasions is his past life, but something was entirely different about today. A feeling which was so good that it felt surreal.
He was lying on his bed for the past hour but sleep was still a foreign territory. He could not help but recall the events of the day repeatedly and every time it brought a smile on his face. A normal day, a small gesture and he knew that something had shifted in his heart.
It had all started with the new piece of information he had gathered during breakfast couple of days ago from his mother in law. Apparently, the madrasis had yet another pooja in their home (Did they ever get tired of it? Sometimes, he really wished he could ask this to Amma?).
Honestly, he had tuned out the conversation as it had taken the usual route of Punjabi's vs Madrasi's culture. Although, deep down inside his heart also knew that his state of mind did have something to do with his not so innocent act in the morning when he had gawked at his wife while pretending to be asleep. He made a mental note to reprimand himself later on for this little excursion later on; although he knew very well that it was a half-hearted attempt.
Anyway, the rest of the day went uneventfully with office keeping him extremely and soon it was evening and time to head home. As soon as he entered his room, he found his bed covered with all possible colors in this world. Besides that, his Jhansi ki Rani and Ruhi were sitting with their face in their hands and a confused look on their face.
He was bemused to see the same stance of this loving duo of mother and daughter.
"Chalo acha hai. Jab tak tumhara license vapas nahi milta, ye bhi acha business hai. Vaise bhi ye kapdo ki thaan meri almari me jyada hi jagah le rahi hai. Soch kya rahi ho, inke badle me ek cooker to mil hi jayega. Sab ki sab ke badle me ek cooker. Pakka."
He could not help but laugh when he saw both the ladies in his life with the same murderous expression on their face. Hands on her hips, Ruhi came charging to him and spoke, "Papa. Aapko sharm nahi aati. Yahan pe hame itni badi problem ho gayi hai aur Ishima ka mazaak bana rahe ho. Ye achi baat nahi hai."
"Problem. Kya problem ho gayi hai Ruhi? " a worried expression immediately overtook his smile while he looked enquiringly at his wife.
"Bahot badi problem ho gayi hai Papa. Kal Pati ke yahan pe puja hai. Isliye Ishima ko new saaree pehenni hai and ham dono itne choices me decide nahi kar pa rahe hai. Sab colors ache hai Papa. Hai na kitni badi problem. " Ruhi added innocently before Ishita could speak up.
Raman had a hard time controlling his laughter but he knew better than to touch the sensitive subject of women and clothes, so with great difficulty, he kept a straight face, took Ruhi in his arms and spoke, "Haan Ruhi. Ye to bahot badi problem hai. Third world war se bhi badi problem. Chalo milke isko solve karte hai nahi to duniya ruk jayegi."
Ishita rolled her eyes and muttered, "Ravan Kumar."
Ignoring her jibes, he smiled and scanned the various spectrum of colors displayed on his bed. His eyes stopped at a beige color ensemble with a deep maroon border providing a beautiful contrast. It was not as heavy as others but something in it made him move towards it. What he was too chicken to admit is that he had never seen her in this color and had his mind was already trying to imagine it.
Brushing aside his dangerous thoughts, he immediately said, "Problem solved Ruhi. Ishima ye saree pehenegi. Ye achi lag rahi hai Papa ko. Aapko aur Ishima ko to vaise bhi sab achi lag rahi hai. To bas decided hai. Ye final hai."
Ruhi innocently clapped at his father's quick problem solving techniques and excitedly took the saree towards Ishita, "Ishima, dekha Papa ne kaise ek minute me problem solve kar di. Mere papa best hai. Thank you Papa. Ab mai finally jaake khel sakti hoon. "
"Dadima." Raman smiled fondly towards the retreating figure of his daughter and turned towards Ishita who had a similar expression in her eyes. They had not met during the day after the awkward exchange during the morning and it seemed to return with full force as soon as their eyes met.
Raman decided acting ignorant was his best bet so he immediately masked his nervous demeanour with his akdu version and spoke, "Mujhe maloom hai mai bahot handsome hoon, lekin iska matlab ye hargiz nahi hai ki tum mujhe har vakt ghoorti raho. Decide ho gaya na. Chalo ab ye saree ki dukan hatao jaldi se yahan se. Mujhe rest karna hai."
Ishita stomped her foot in annoyance and started moving her stuff while speaking something in Tamil which looked like cursing. Yup, this is a familiar ground, he deduced and soon called it a night after a quick dinner.
Next morning
It looked like a normal morning in the Bhalla household except that he had not seen his wife from the morning. His clothes were placed on his bed after his shower, his lunch was packed, breakfast was ready, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Subah subah alladin ka jinn bani hui hai Madrasan. Pata nahi kahan chali gayi." He wondered.
"Maa, Ishita kahan hai? Subah se dikhayi nahi di?" He enquired once he had settled for breakfast.
"Kahan hai matlab. Yahin to hai. Vo aaj Varlakshmi ki pooja hai na to bahar Rangoli bana rahi hai."
"Oh haan. Aaj to kuch Madrasiyon ki pooja hai" He added while biting a morsel of the sumptuous looking aloo ka parantha. He immediately rushed towards the wash basin and coughed up the entire contents in it.
"Ye kya zeher banaya hai? Ishita. Ishita .. " He roared.
"Kya hua? " a very worried looking Ishita rushed towards him.
To say that his breadth was caught in his throat would be an understatement. Something in the saree had made him pick that color for her, but he could have never imagined what he saw ... she was looking ... divine ... yes that will be perfect adjective to describe her ... was this woman trying to kill him slowly day by day?
"Kya hua? Aap chilla kyu rahe the?" her voice brought him out of his reverie and he realized that he had more couple of pair of eyes looking at him apprehensively and expectantly.
"Ya kya banaya hai? Itna namak. Khake dekho paranthe ko, pata chalega." He offered her a morsel of the parantha and placed it near her mouth.
"Arre Raman. Pagal ho gaya hai. Usko khana kyu de raha hai. Tujhe bataya nahi tha kal. Aaj uska vrat hai aur tu usko khana de raha hai. Arre ye usne nahi, maine banaya hai. Itne dino ke baad banaya to hisab gadbada gaya lagta hai. Tu bhi na, itni si baat ka itna bada batangad bana deta hai. Ishita, tu ja bache. Rangoli poori kar. Mai iske liye doosra parantha bana deti hoon."
"Vrat. Kaisa vrat? Baat ko pooja ki ho rahi thi na." Raman suddenly felt guilty for his behaviour and looked at Ishita while enquiring the same.
"Haan. Madrasiyon ka karwa chauth. Kal suna nahi kya tune. Vo ki kehnde ne, Varlaksmi pooja. To Ishita ne aaj usi ka vrat rakha hai khote, tere liye. Usne khud hi decide kia ki ye vrat vo Punjabiyon ki tarah rakhegi aur sham ko chand dekh kar kholegi. Bechari subah se jaagi hui hai. Rangoli bana rahi hai, saara din usko bhookha pyaasa rehna hai, to aaj use na pareshaan kari" his mother added.
"Karwa Chauth." He immediately looked at Ishita who looked at him for a second and then said, "Mummy ji. Mai bahar rangoli poori kar rahi ho. Kuch chahiye to to awaaz de dijiyega."
Raman did not know what had hit him at the moment. To say that he was surprised would be an understatement. Karwa Chauth. It brought strange memories to him. He did not want to go there, but ..
Things did not get better at office either. Although, couple of conference calls with clients kept him glued to his seat till his late afternoon, his thoughts were immediately invaded as soon as he got free.
Vrat. Wife. Why is Ishita doing it for him? Was she forced by Amma into it? Her evident confusion about the saree yesterday did not say so. She seemed to be excited about this pooja err ... vrat. But then, why will she want to do something like this? This definitely came out of the zone of "Sirf Ruhi ke Liye".
Not so long ago, she had clearly reiterated the fact that she very well knew the limits of their relationship. Agreed, it was his fake declaration of love for her which had coaxed her to say this, but still, she had made it pretty clear.
May be she is actually doing it for the sake of their family. And saree ka kya hai, aurato ko to bahana chahiye hota hai naye kapde pehenne ka, he deduced.
Still, his mind was at a state of continuous unrest. Thanks to Google, he had found whatever much he could find on the internet about this vrat and had taken a breadth of relief when he learnt that it was also for the prosperity of the family. It was the safe zone.
After contemplating for a while, he packed his bags and informed Mihir that he is calling it a day. When Mihir teased him that he wanted to stay back just because Ishita bhabhi was doing the vrat, he readily blasted him. By now, he had mastered the art of ignoring Mihir's seemingly innocent innuendos about him wanting to spend time with her.
His eyes tried to look for her as soon as he entered their home. She had gone to her mother's place to complete the final formalities of the puja. Apparently, the actual vrat and puja had finished but his Jhansi ki Rani had made it a Punjabi mission, therefore, she could not eat before the moon came.
"Arre, aaj aap jaldi aa gaye? Aapke liye chai banau?" Ishita spoke to him while entering their home.
"Nahi. Andar chalo. Mujhe tumse baat karni hai." He ordered.
A visible confused Ishita silently moved towards their home and asked, "Kya hua?"
"Mai abhi bahar jaakar kuch khane ko lekar aa raha hoon. Tum chup chap yahan baith kar kha lena." He made a move towards the kitchen when Ishita held his hand to stop him.
"Raman. Kuch bhi. Mujhe kuch nahi khana hai. Mera vrat hai. Nirjala vrat. To mai kaise kha sakti hoon. Kisi ki baat to aap dhang se sunte nahi hai na."
"Maloom hai mujhe vrat kya hota hai. Nirjala bhi. Lekin kya musibat padi hai tumhe ye vrat karne ki. Arre kisne kaha tumhe ye sab karne ko? Kya zaroorat hai? Vaise bhi mujhe jyada jeekar kuch nahi karna hai ... tumhare lecture thode aur sunne padege; mai aise hi theek hoon. isliye, bahar se kuch lekar aata hoon, chup chap baith kar kha lena."
Ishita who was visibly upset on his remarks, added, "Raman, kuch bhi mat boliye. Rahi mere bhookhe rehne ki baat. Main in traditions ko maanti hoon, dil se, aur nibhati bhi poore dil aur shradha se. To mai shaam ko vrat khol lungi. Aap change kar lo, mai chai banati hoon." she concluded and moved towards the kitchen.
Raman watched her retreating figure and laughed at the irony of his life. His association with Karwa Chauth was not new. He could not help but recall the first and the only Karwa Chauth Shagun had kept for him. She had disregarded the custom from the next year calling it as old fashioned tradition.
Raman had grown up looking at his mom who would religiously fast for his dad and during the evening, the entire family will move up to the terrace to find the moon for his mother. She would break her fast after looking at the moon followed by her dad. He had grown up with this loving exchange between his parents all throughout his childhood.
Somewhere, his heart had also yearned for the same. Honestly, he had been more excited for Shagun's vrat than her. He even bought a new saree for her as her gift. However, to his disappointment, Shagun had spent the entire day fussing about each and every custom. He still remembered the way his mother had trying to comfort her daughter in law by involving her in various activities. But Shagun had refused to do any of that. Throughout the day, she was extremely fussy and cranky. Of course, he was too nave to see her true colours at the time and had fondly sneaked in the food for her in their room. He had adoringly watched as she had gorged on the sandwich. For him, she had mattered the most, damn the customs of the fasting.
That brought him back to the present situation. He had so many dreams, so many expectations from his first marriage. He was a man who was crazy in love and was ready to do anything and everything just to bring a smile on his wife's face. And yet, it was never enough for her.
On the contrary, he had entered into the matrimonial alliance for the second time with zero expectations. In fact, all he expected was an extremely difficult and torturous life with a woman he despised. And yet today, he was standing there, wondering, what just happened. She did not want to eat because she believed in the traditions, customs.
She did not want to do it because someone else forced her to keep this vrat. She did it because she really believed in these customs.
A faint smile appeared on his lips and he felt ... elated. A part of him was happy because she wanted to do something for him. His sane mind reminded him the actual festival was meant for the prosperity of the family as well, but a faint voice in his head repeated that may be she did it just for him and for once Raman Bhalla happily lost the battle.
He had stopped going to the terrace to look for the moon immediately after his divorce. To be honest, his Karwa Chauth nights were spent in a secluded corner of a pub where he will drink himself into oblivion.
Yet, waiting for the moon never felt better. Romi, Mihika, Shravu, Ruhi, even his mom and dad had joined him and all were acting like a human chain telling the scene on terrace by each passing minute. Of course, it was not the real Karwa Chauth, so the terrace was relatively empty with only their family looking for one glance of moon.
And then, a small glimpse of moonlight came breaking all the barriers of the black clouds hovering in the sky. It was so similar to his present condition where the dark clouds of his life were finally getting cleared with each passing day by a single ray of moon ... his hope ... his wife.
His chain of thoughts was broken when Ishita came up with the pooja ki thali. She looked physically exhausted due the hectic day but she had a excited smile on her face which made her eyes even brighter. She was excitedly listening to his mom's every word and following her instructions to the core.
He couldn't help but compare his past with the present. Shagun had maintained a disgusted look throughout the ceremony and did not pay heed to anyone around her. As soon as she had seen the moon, she had said that finally the torture is over, had moved back to their house without waiting for everyone else.
On the contrary, Ishita was all excited and completed all the customs instructed by her mother without a flickr of annoyance on her face. No doubt, she gulped down the entire glass of water as soon as he had offered her, and had immediately requested Romi to get another water bottle for her from the flat, but her eyes were a giveaway.
While Shagun had mocked this tradition, Ishita had accepted it from open hands and heart. She was animatedly sharing her experience with her sisters and he could easily make out that this is going to be the topic of discussion between Iyer sisters for a while.
And all this made him feel ... CONTENDED.
ABSOLUTELY CONTENDED.
THE END
HOW WAS IT? PLEASE REVIEW AND LEAVE YOUR VALUABLE COMMENTS 😳.
Edited by btalwar - 11 years ago
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