THE JOY OF COLOURS - #MYFRIENDALEXA 2021

GREEN

 
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She was a cuddly, sweet young girl, with the most melodious voice ever. When she got married, she made a beautiful bride, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at her besotted bridegroom, Romesh.

“I love you, Simran!” he whispered in her ear as the wedding ceremony was going on, and they were hidden from the crowd by the thick billowing fumes of smoke that emanated from the sacred fire. Romesh’s eyes smarted, and even as he closed them, he could still see the beautiful picture his Simran made in her emerald green sari with its gorgeous border of gold.

Wherever Simran went, she created an impact. The very sight of her took people’s breaths away. Her large eyes seemed to look into their souls, and it was all they could do to keep from divulging their deepest secrets to her. They would confide their problems to her, and once they were done, she would look at them for a moment and then hand them a solution, which worked. It was as though she knew the pulse of those who spoke to her, and they would go away, relieved and happy.

Reena was a young bride who had just come into her husband’s family. She was a timid soul who had been bullied all her life by people close to her. As a result, she found it difficult to talk to others and she hardly had any friends. Getting two words out of her was next to impossible, and at parties, she would merge with the furniture, hardly breathing.

When she met Simran, she was overwhelmed at her beauty and her demeanour. Simran did not try to crowd her. Instead, she only smiled at her, and soon enough, people around were astonished at how easily she cajoled the young girl out of her shell. It was not long before Reena turned into Simran’s shadow and slowly began to open up, which was a feather in the latter’s cap.

Groups of ladies would often meet at one another’s houses. It was a matter of prestige because the hostess would get a chance to take out her best crockery and cutlery, create dishes with exquisite presentation and reap compliments galore. The hostess of the month would pore over recipes and buy all the ingredients so that she could prepare everything well in time for the meet which would be on the last Saturday of the month.

Gayatri and Suman were best friends. They had studied in the same college and when they got married to two best friends, they stayed in each other’s lives. Together they faced the world, and since their husbands were also close, they were more like a family, minus all the usual familial idiosyncrasies. 

Suddenly, an element of trouble raised its head. One day, Gayatri was seen in tears in the middle of a party.

“What is wrong, Gayatri?”

“Are you fine?”

“Do let me know if I can help you?”

All these queries came to naught as Gayatri ran out of the room, leaving an uneasy silence behind them.

“What could the matter be?” asked Mrs. Ramaswamy, who was considered the mother figure, because she was older than all the others.

The young ladies glanced at one another.

“Maybe Suman will know,” said someone.

All heads swiveled towards where Suman sat, two deep spots of red on her cheeks.

“Suman, do you know anything about this?” asked Simran.

Suman shook her head, but they could sense that she too was extremely distraught. Mrs. Ramaswamy strode towards her and held her hand.

“Are you okay, my dear?” she asked.

“I am fine, thank you,” was the reply, but tears had started down the girl’s cheeks by then. Simran rushed over to her and gave her a bear hug.

“Don’t worry, Suman. We are all there for you,” she said in her soft voice.

The other ladies moved away, aware of the need to give Suman some space. Simran and Mrs. Ramaswamy would both handle her. They all watched Simran in admiration as she kept an arm around Suman, whispering in her ear. Mrs. Ramaswamy smiled at the others, indicating that Suman was almost back to normal.

However, that seemed to be the end of a strong friendship. Suman and Gayatri refused to make up, and even when they met on occasion, they ignored each other. The two husbands who were good friends found the situation unbearable, because they had to meet secretly. Neither had any idea why this rift had occurred, and they both wanted it to end desperately.

Over the months, Reena seemed to have gained confidence. Her husband, Shekhar, was amazed at the change in his shy wife. He was used to getting his own way but now Reena had started rebelling in her own way, though not vociferously. She had begun pushing back a little. For instance, one day Shekhar came home from work and found her lounging about in her pajamas.

“Reena, why are you already in your night clothes? Don’t you know it doesn’t look good? What if someone walked in?”

Reena looked at him, her face expressionless, and then without saying a word she walked out of the room. When she did not come back in a while, Shekhar went to check on her only to find that she was fast asleep. When he tried to wake her up to ask about dinner, she said sleepily, “Shekhar, dinner has been laid out on the table. Just put the dishes away after you eat.”

Shekhar was flabbergasted. What had happened to his docile little wife? It must have taken something very serious for her to have reacted in this fashion. He ate his lonely dinner, totally bewildered.

Meanwhile, the feud between Gayatri and Suman had heated up further.

Gayatri had banned her husband, Som, from meeting Suman and Rohan. When Rohan called Som up, he found him totally at sea.

“Ro, I have no idea what has happened between our wives. They are acting so weird!”

Som nodded gloomily. He missed the old camaraderie which the four of them had shared, and now, he could not even talk openly to his old friend, Ro.

Meanwhile, a few other spats also came to light. Some of the ladies had begun to bicker and talk behind others’ backs. The friendly atmosphere during the monthly meets had turned into an unhealthy competition, with ladies spending loads of money to impress the others. The earlier banter had given way to barbs and snide comments. Whatever had happened to the erstwhile friendly group?

Som and Rohan decided to take things into their own hands and solve the issues in their homes and with their wives. On the pretext of going for a party to Mrs. Ramaswamy’s house, both the gentlemen took their wives over, and the older lady welcomed them all in. Her husband discreetly disappeared into his study after greeting them.

“Now, Gayatri and Suman, please tell us why you are ignoring each other,” Som said in a stern voice.

The two ladies refused to look at each other.

Rohan added his piece. “Suman, would you like to start?”

It took them around an hour to finally break the ice. Gayatri burst into tears and mumbled, “She had no right to call me a home breaker!”

“Who? Who are you talking about?” asked a bewildered Som.

Gayatri pointed at Suman, whose eyes opened wide.

“Me? What on earth are you talking about? Why would I say a false thing like that about you?”

“Don’t lie, Suman, I know everything,” persisted Gayatri. “You accused me of making eyes at Reena’s husband, Shekhar. When I don’t even know him all that well!”

Mrs. Ramaswamy turned to both the ladies, a concerned look in her eyes.

“There is something very wrong here. How did this accusation come across?”

The atmosphere had changed in the room as the two ladies began to talk, and little by little, the mystery was solved.

Two days later, it was Mrs. Ramaswamy’s turn to be the hostess for the month. She had rustled up a wonderful array of snacks and a delicious trifle pudding. Her mind was churning even as she laid the dishes out.

The morning was going well. The snacks had been eaten, and pudding served and savoured. Finally, Mrs. Ramaswamy tapped a spoon against her glass to signal for silence.

“Ladies, I need to talk to you all about something serious.” All eyes turned towards her, many of them puzzled.

“As you know, two of our friends have been having an on-going feud over the past few months.” She turned to Gayatri and Suman who were sitting at opposite ends of the room, as per her instructions. At her signal, they both rose and moved towards her. The next moment, they hugged each other, warm smiles on their faces.

The other ladies were astonished. How had this truce come about?

Mrs. Ramaswamy smiled at them, but there was a trace of sorrow in her eyes.

“Do you know how easy it is to break up a friendship? One wrong word, one little spark and the trust is broken. The relationship ends.” She paused, and then went on. “That is what happened here as well. One well timed rumour, an insidious whisper!”

Suman took over from her. “Yes, Gayatri believed that I had spoken ill of her, that I had accused her of making eyes at someone else’s husband.”

Gayatri looked at her, nodding. “Yes, someone whispered that in my ears. Someone who wanted our friendship to break up. Someone who was green with envy because she had never had a friend like that. Someone who even at school had no friends because of her sharp tongue and gossipy nature. Someone who hid her malice beneath a supposedly sweet nature!”

The ladies looked at one another, their eyes filled with curiosity. Who amongst them could be so false?

“Reena, could you come here, please?” Suman called out to the young girl. The ladies looked shocked. Reena? Was it the little innocent girl who could not say boo to a goose?

Reena stood up, her face flaming and walked towards them.

They both held out a hand to her. The three of them stood together.

“I know that someone poisoned your mind as well. Told you that your husband was having an affair. Isn’t that right?”

Reena nodded, her lower lip trembling as she tried to block that voice that had turned her life into hell, but made her stronger as well.

Mrs. Ramaswamy's voice suddenly broke out, making them all start.

“It’s time to unmask the villain of the piece!”

For a moment they held their breath, and the next moment, they turned to look at the person who had created the unpleasantness in their lives! That person who turned green with envy when she envisaged enduring friendships and happy marriages, who used her sweet tongue to wheedle secrets out of others, secrets which she would then use to her advantage to poison their lives.

As they all looked on in shock, Simran rose with perfect aplomb, her eyes aglow with malice, her envious heart as green and menacing as stagnant water.

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