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Everybody loved her.
For her sparkling eyes, her lustrous strands of hair that tumbled over her
forehead and her tinkling laughter. The entire colony doted on her because where
Minali was, there was joy and laughter.
Mrs. Nair never tired
of singing the girl’s praises.
“Kumari, you should
place a black dot behind Minali’s ear to ward off the evil eye!” she cautioned
her.
Kumari smiled at the
older lady,
“Sure, Mrs. Nair. I
will do it before she goes to college tomorrow,” she would say with a smile. She
knew Mrs. Nair meant well, and that she loved Minali dearly.
As college days began
coming to an end, horoscopes began to make their way home. Photographs of boys
lay on the dining table and every time Minali was down for a meal, she would
have half a dozen photos alongside her plate.
“Amma, could we do
this later. Some of these photos could easily ruin my appetite,” she would say
with a twinkle in her eye.
“Hush, child, don’t
be so flippant,” Kumari would caution her.
Minali’s horoscope
was a rather complicated one. Her parents were not overly worried, but her grandparents
were determined to marry off their precious child only to a person whose
horoscope matched perfectly. Once Minali chucked her grandmother under her chin
saying, “Ammamma, what difference does it make, after all? I am marrying a boy,
not an ancient piece of paper!” Her grandmother was horrified.
“Shiva, Shiva, you
thoughtless child! Do not make fun of our customs. This is one way of ensuring
that you have an idyllic marriage and that you will be happy always.”
Minali gave in with a
good grace. Her eyes fell on a few photos lying around, but the moment she
liked one of them, the hurdle of the horoscope would rise like a spectre and
the photo would disappear. Two years went by, and the grandparents were frantic
not to have found a good match.
By now, Minali had graduated
and when she spoke of wanting to study further, there was an uproar. The
verdict was clear. She could study once she was married… “If your husband lets
you!” was the unspoken idea.
Finally, one photo
landed up on the dining table, a photo which seemed favourable. As luck would
have it, the horoscopes matched as well. The whole household was elated. She
looked at the photo again more closely. He was a doctor, and his name was Pritam.
Good looking, if a trifle grave, she thought. He had four brothers and he was
the youngest of them all.
Minali felt a flutter
in her heart. Maybe this was what was meant to be!
The wedding was well
conducted and well attended too because both families were well known. It was a
match made in heaven, said every third person, till finally, Minali felt she
would scream if one more person made that statement. When the newly weds were
about to leave, Minali’s mother pressed a little packet in her hand. It
contained some sacred ash and a tiny gold idol of Lord Shiva.
“This is for you, my dearest
child. May you be happy always!”
Life after marriage
was vastly different from her earlier life. Minali, who had always been
cheerful and exuberant, found her new family a serious lot. Pritam’s parents
were good people, but they did not seem to have the sense of fun that Minali
had looked forward to. Pritam’s brothers seemed to have no time at all to spend
at home and their wives were ensconced in the kitchen, meandering from meal to
meal. They looked at Minali as if she were a playful little kitten, even she
strove to bring a smile on their lined faces.
Minali hoped that Pritam would be different
from the rest of his family. She looked forward to their honeymoon when they
would be able to spend some time getting to know each other. Her hopes were
scotched when Pritam combined an official trip with their honeymoon, and spent
most of his day, giving lectures at one of the top universities. By the time
they got back, Minali had learnt nothing new about her brand-new husband but
the fact that he gave intensely intellectual lectures.
Not being the kind to
give up, Minali tried to get her sisters-in-law to go out for shopping trips
with her. Shalini, the sister-in-law who was nearest to her in age smiled
kindly at the young girl.
“Minali, the elders
in this family do not approve of us going shopping,” she said softly.
“What about buying
clothes? And jewellery?” Minali asked.
“Well, when required
the shopkeepers come over with bales of cloth and we choose what we need,” came
the answer.
“Not what you want?”
The pert retort took Shalini by surprise. She gave Minali a gentle hug.
“Child, there is a lot
you need to learn about your new family. First of all, they do not believe in
spending money unnecessarily. Secondly, we, the womenfolk, are not allowed to voice
our desires.”
“I am sure Pritam is
different,” said Minali, her voice trembling.
“Maybe, but don’t pin
your hopes on that.”
The terse reply
brought tears to Minali’s eyes. Was she going to have to conform like all the
other women? How would she survive in a household that was devoid of joy, of
smiles?
In his own way,
Pritam did try to understand his young wife, but it took a real effort on his
part. As the years went by, and the children came in, a boy and a girl, Minali realized
that she was up against a stone wall. Her sense of joy and her enthusiasm
slowly began getting doused. She, who had loved dressing up, now wore saris
that were the same as those worn by everybody else. Initially, she had asked
Pritam for a few things, but soon, even those demands died down.
In the comfort of her
own room, she would rack her brains to think of the old songs that she used to
sing as a child, so that she could teach them to her children. However, her
brain had become rusty, and she found that the words would not come to her.
The children were
soon teenagers. They, along with their cousins, followed the rules of their
home. Outside, they had a wonderful time with their friends. The moment they
got home, their demeanour would undergo a change and they would sober down.
When Minali saw them, her heart broke, but by that time, she had lost her will
to protest.
One day, as she was
watching a programme on television along with the other women, a rarity because
it was a Sunday, her eyes suddenly fell on a beautiful rocking chair which was
being advertised. Her heart stopped for a second. She had always wanted a
rocking chair and now that her legs ached very often, she longed to sit and
rock herself to sleep.
Pritam nodded when
she made her request. He was aware that she had not asked for anything in a
long time. “Let me sound my father about it,” he assured her.
Minali sighed. If only
the menfolk in the family would do things for themselves once in a while. As
expected, her father-in-law shook his head.
“What is the use of a
rocking chair? Aren’t there enough chairs in the house? Besides, why spend so
much on one chair?”
Minali was close to
tears. She knew that it was not as expensive as all that. If only she had money
of her own… if only she did not have to depend on her husband… if only!
Her daughter,
Sunaina, walked in and stopped, seeing her mother in tears. She had overheard
the whole conversation and she sat down, next to her mother.
“Ma, don’t worry!
When I start earning, the first thing I buy will be that rocking chair for you.”
For Minali, that was the final straw. She burst out crying, all her pent-up
emotions that had accumulated over the years, coming out in an onrush. As she
wept, she hugged her perceptive daughter fiercely.
Years meandered on…
Sunaina and her
brother, Madhav, had started a little company of their own, which was doing
well.
It was early evening
as Sunaina came into the house. Pritam was sitting with his parents in the
dining room.
“Well, beta, how come
you are early today?” he asked.
“Papa, there is
something I wanted to show Mama,” she replied. She walked into the bedroom.
“Mama, are you awake?”
Minali opened her
eyes drowsily and smiled at her daughter.
“What is it, Sunaina?”
By then, the doorbell
rang, and Pritam went to open it. His son, Madhav, stood there with a large
package in his hands.
Minali’s eyes filled
with tears as she gazed at the rocking chair that stood before her. It was even
more beautiful than the one she had seen years ago.
“Mama, will you sit
on it? Madhav and I will help you,” Sunaina said softly. The two of them came
closer to the bed. Minali’s smile was radiant. She looked at the door where
Pritam stood, a strange expression in his eyes.
“Thank you, my
children!” she said brokenly as she put a tentative hand out to touch the
polished wood. “I love it. Maybe I can sit on it tomorrow. I am too tired tonight.”
That moment never
came. That night, Minali died peacefully in her sleep. She had been on
palliative care for two years, and she had finally let go. As she lay still,
there was an expression of intense happiness on her face.
Pritam sat on the
rocking chair, his face lined with a sorrow that he knew he would never be able
to forget. So many years had gone by, there were so many things he could have
done for his beloved wife. As he rocked himself gently, the tears came unbidden
for all those wasted moments, for the joyous young girl whom he had turned into
stone.
Amazon.in
Word Count: 1684
