by Nandita Rani
Eventually, the family members got accustomed to living without their parents. Maitri swiftly took over the charge of a guardian. She made sure that her siblings never felt the absence of their parents. Every two months, Nishu and Soni visited them; Minal would also plan her visits accordingly to be with all them them together. Saurabh always accompanied Minal whenever she visited Maitri. Saurabh was of great help to the family. Maitri would sometimes feel embarrassed at the monetary aid he would offer Siddharth.
Nishu had been placed decently in her campus placement. The inflow of money was going to rise with her placement. They had all gathered to celebrate Nishu’s placement. After the party, Maitri stood in front of her parents thick-framed photos and congratulated them with her eyes shut. She found a strange tranquility in spending time in front of their pictures. How she wished her parents were there to witness their successes! She missed them so much. The void which was created was impossible to fill.
***
Chapter 10: The pleasant surprise
Maitri squeezed her eyes into a slit, trying to place a bindi in the center between her brows. She looked gorgeous in her pink saree, with her hair tied neatly into a bun. She hesitantly picked up a strand of tuberose garland from her make-up tray. The fragrance of the flower filled the room. She felt a pleasant swoon by the smell. Maitri was trying to figure out how to fix the garland in her bun when Minal entered the room.
“Maitri di, you're still not ready? Here, let me help you with this.” Minal tied the garland in a semi-circle, making the bun look voluminous.
“Is it looking too gaudy?”, Maitri asked concerned, touching her head worriedly. “Let me just remove it.”
Minal grabbed Maitri’s hand. “You look beautiful, di.”, Minal said, smudging her ring finger against her kajal and planting a black mark behind Mairtri's ear- a gesture that prevents evil-eye.
Maitri blushed, her cheeks turning pink, partly due to her saree’s reflection.
“Let us go down now.”, Minal said, pulling Maitri by her right arm.
The house was lit-up with innumerable strips of yellow and red lights. The lighting-strips dangled from the terrace, blinking uniformly at regular intervals. It had been a year that they had shifted to their own house. This was the first time that the house was going to witness a wedding.
“Is Soni ready?”, Maitri asked worriedly. She looked around and asked, “Where is Siddharth? And why hasn’t Nishu arrived yet? Did you call her Minal?”, Maitri said anxiously.
“Soni is on her way. And Nishu and Pankaj are already here, di.” Minal assured her.
Nishu had married Pankaj two years ago in a simple ceremony. Both of their families had readily accepted their relationship. Nishu stayed three blocks away from the new house, with her husband and in-laws. After her parents' demise, she had consciously changed her job in order to be with her family. Nishu and Pankaj worked in the same school. She had met Pankaj after joining the new school.
“Has the baraat started from their place? Can you ask Saurabh to call them and ask?”, Maitri further requested Minal.
Minal nodded and went looking for Saurabh.
“Badi Maasi!” Ayesha lovingly wrapped her little arms around Maitri’s legs.
“My darling, you look like a princess!” Maitri picked up Ayesha in her arms and planted a kiss on her rosy cheeks. Ayesha had taken after Saurabh. She recently turned five.
“Where is Mamu?”, she asked Maitri. “He promised me a chocolate.”
Ayesha was still talking to Maitri when her eyes drifted away to something that surprised her. “Wow! Soni maasi looks so pretty.”
Maitri turned to find Soni in her complete bridal ensemble. For a moment she couldn’t believe it was her little sister. Putting Ayesha down, she went towards Soni, and cupping her face in her palms, kissed her on her forehead. “You are looking gorgeous.” A flare of emotion caught her off guard.
Soni bent down to touch her feet- a ritual which was followed in the house ever since their parents were gone. They all touched Maitri’s feet before beginning any auspicious work, except Minal, who was more like a friend to Maitri.
Maitri held Soni up by her arms and hugged her gently.
“Maitri di, the baraat has arrived.” Minal shouted from behind.
Soni sat on the chair, arranging the flow of her lehenga, surrounded by her friends. The photographer began clicking innumerable pictures of her showing her various poses. The others rushed to the door to welcome the baraat. Maitri led them from the front. Carrying a pooja thali in her hand, she welcomed the groom with a vermillion tilak. Perfumes were sprinkled on the baraatis, garlands were offered to them as a welcome gesture. Women welcomed women while men greeted men by hugging them and putting garlands around their necks.
Soni was getting married to her college sweetheart, Ankit. Ankit was a handsome young man who stood tall at 6 feet. Donning a no-shave look, he looked suave in his peach sherwani. Adjusting his head-gear, when he climbed the wedding stage, the guests gasped at his looks. Soni and Ankit had already been seeing each other for three years, when Soni had spoken to Maitri about her affair. Maitri had met Ankit once as Soni’s classmate, and had found the boy suitable for their family.
Maitri’s elation at her sister's wedding was apparent; she couldn’t hide her smile. She kept hugging ladies, welcoming each one of them, even the non-acquaintances. She hugged an old lady, then a little girl followed by a middle-aged plump woman. The only fact she knew about them was that they were somehow related to the groom. Then she hugged a slim lady whose features appeared blurred in the strong halogen light mounted just behind her on a pole. The lady hesitated a bit before hugging her but Maitri hugged her tight, congratulating her on the new bond that was going to be formed that night between the families. “Badhai ho!”, she said in a voice that fell only a few notches short of a scream; she was trying to be audible amidst the loud shehnai playing in the background.
She moved on to the next lady mechanically, when something struck her. She turned around and tapped at the back of the slim lady. The lady turned, revealing her face clearly.
“Koyel???”, Maitri let out a sigh of surprise. “How have you been?” This time, she hugged her more enthusiastically.
Koyel gave Maitri an awkward smile. Maitri waited for a while and then spoke again hesitantly, “Where is...” and even before she could complete her sentence, Koyel’s eyes darted away to someone and she signalled the person to come near.
A gentleman came near the ladies and joined his hands in ‘Namaste’ in front of Maitri. Maitri too folded her hands in response, but remained a little perplexed. She looked at the stranger and then at Koyel and looked again at the man. He was standing close to Koyel.
“Maitri di, this is Aman.” Koyel said, introducing the man to Maitri.
Maitri nodded. Her head was ringing with a thousand speculations, a thousand questions. But there was no time for confrontation.
“Did she come for our wedding?”, the man asked Koyel.
Koyel shook her head, with her eyes fixed at Maitri’s shocked face. She could read it in Maitri’s eyes: all those unspoken queries that rose like a wave in her mind. Their eyes met, Maitri waited for an explanation but Koyel looked away hastily.
“Maitri di, can we start taking them to the hall?”, Siddharth called out to Maitri. He looked handsome in a black sherwani, his face more angular now and voice croaked; he had begun to shave. He had clearly crossed the boyhood by all means.
Maitri nodded absently at him.
The baraatis were then taken to a special room where they were served snacks. Round crispy kachouris, tennis-ball sized gulab jamuns and malai chumchum had been exclusively ordered from Kolkata for them.
While the baraatis savoured on the delicious treat, Maitri and her people looked on with delight. The contentment of all the barattis is of utmost importance in an Indian wedding. One cannot afford to upset even a single person among them. Any kind of complain from anyone is an inauspici
ous sign. Wedding days for baraatis meant behaving pricey and acting like a boss!
The wedding rituals continued till 4 in the morning. Soni left for her in-laws place amidst tears of joy and sorrow.
***
Chapter 11: Unravelling truths
It was late in the night but Maitri could not sleep. The image of Koyel standing with a man other than Piyush kept haunting her. She scrunched up her brows to figure out the situation. She got up with a jolt and opened her almirah; rummaging through her clothes as though searching for something, she finally found what she was looking for after spending a good ten minutes and spoiling her arranged cupboard into a pile of mess. It was Koyel’s wedding invitation. She opened the card with a racing heart and something dropped inside her like a house of cards crumbling down.
Maitri’s eyes stopped at the words ‘Koyel weds Aman’. Embossed in golden colour, they glinted against the brown backdrop of the invitation card. She gently moved her fingers over the words, smiling uncertainly, her eyes welling up at once. A tear drop fell on the cover of the card, smudging her name written in the invitee's place.
Her smile turned into a grim look; alerted by something, she grabbed her mobile suddenly. She then scrolled right down to the number she had blocked. She wanted to unblock the number but an unknown string pulled her heart; things were gradually unravelling on their own but she wanted to know the truth. Still she managed to stop herself from meddling with fate this time.
One afternoon, after Maitri returned from her school, the house resonated with the ringing of the landline. Siddharth picked up and called Maitri to attend the call.
“Hello”
“Yes uncle, how are you?”
“WHAT?”
“HOW?”
“OH MY GOD!”
Maitri clamped her mouth with her hand in disbelief.
Siddharth came running, “Di, what happened?”
Maitri smiled and cried at the same time. She fixed her gaze at Siddharth and squeezed her eyes to let the tears flow. She held her head and hung up the phone. Maitri stood in the middle of the living room, dumbstruck and scandalized, her right hand supporting her back and left, still on her head. Donning a subtle smile, her lips curled up at the edges.
Siddharth let Maitri take her time; he knew she would tell her once she had composed herself. He also knew from Maitri’s expression that it was anything but a bad news.
Unable to balance her quivering body, Maitri leaned against the wall and asked Siddharth to get her a glass of water.
Placing the glass on the dining table and wiping away the streak of water from her upper lip, Maitri began talking, “Siddharth, we won the case. The judgment was given in our favour. We won, Siddharth!” She could hardly contain her excitement.
“What does it mean di?”
“Silly, it means regaining Baba's lost respect; he must be smiling from the heaven right now.” She looked up at that instant. “I wish he was with us.”
“They’ve called us to the court tomorrow. You will come with me, Siddhu, won’t you?” Maitri hugged her brother and began to cry.
Courtroom
There was celebration in the courtroom. All the twenty-five families were there. Sweets were distributed, everyone's eyes were filled with tears; the room was full of emotional breakdowns, smiling faces, palms joined together in prayers, lips chanting soundlessly, beaming faces, hugs and kisses. Not only was the honour returned to the families but the compensation for the lost years and pension for the coming years were promised in the judgement. They all congratulated Piyush and thanked him for his historical win. Piyush’s eyes wandered looking for Maitri. Maitri stood at the back; arms crossed and eyes downcast. Siddharth stood beside her. Piyush approached them, grazing through the crowd that surrounded him. Maitri nervously looked at him, knowing not how to react. She asked Siddharth to go and arrange for a cab. Siddharth left the place before Piyush arrived. Maitri gave him an awkward smile and uttered a low ‘thank you’.
“You’re welcome.”
A lull ensued.
Maitri breathed heavily and looked in different directions as if looking for someone to come and rescue her from the awkwardness. She did not want to leave the place and look rude. Piyush had done her a huge favour and she was indebted to him for life, whether she liked it or not.
“How is everyone at home?”, Maitri could not believe she had uttered those words.
Piyush glared at her and replied, “Maa, baba are fine.”
“Sorry to hear about your father.”, he further spoke.
Maitri frowned to make out how he knew.
“I met him in the court once. Then Makarand uncle told me about him.”
Maitri nodded and looked at her feet. Just then, her phone vibrated in her hands. She picked up the call and answered, “Ok, I am coming.”
With a slight smile directed at Piyush, she turned to leave.
“We never got married, Maitri.”, Piyush said in a pitch, a tad higher for her to hear.
Maitri turned back and looked into his eyes.
“Koyel and I never got married.”, Piyush repeated.
Maitri stood there with a plain face.
“She lied to you and to me. She was never pregnant.”
Maitri's expression changed. She looked at Piyush in disbelief while he continued, “She came to know about us and wanted to get rid of you, so she lied.”
Maitri held the head of the nearest wooden seat to gain her composure. She struggled to believe her ears. Her ears rang with Koyel’s words, reminding her of what she had uttered in the restroom amidst sobs.
Maitri’s phone rang again; she kept staring at it as it continued to ring. She picked it up and asked Siddharth to give her a minute.
“I was glad when you reverted to my messages but then you stopped after a while.”, Piyush said coming a step closer to her.
“I had blocked you.” She mumbled as though talking to herself.
“What? Why?” Piyush asked.
She shook her head and said, “I didn’t know it was you. I had deleted your number.”
Maitri sat on the bench with a thud and looked up at him apologetically. Piyush went ahead and sat beside her. They both looked ahead. Maitri got up to leave. Piyush grabbed her hand, “Please, don’t go. Not again.”
Maitri could hardly control herself. She sat down again and began to sob. She covered her face and her sobs turned into cries. People turned to look at her.
A couple of ladies came running and consoled her by patting her back. One of them said, “It’s alright my dear! Better late than never.”
Maitri nodded, her face still buried in her palms.
Bringing his face close to hers, Piyush whispered in her ears, “I have been waiting for you since then.”
Maitri looked up, her face smudged with tears, eyes beginning to swell once again; she looked in his eyes and all she saw was ‘Honesty’.
“I am sorry.” was all she could say, with her hands folded in pleas. Piyush grabbed her folded hands and shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes too this time.
“Shall we go, di?”, Siddharth had come inside to fetch her.
Piyush released her hands at once. Maitri stood up and faced Siddharth, “Siddhu, you go home. I will come in a bit.”
“Are you sure, Di?”
“More than ever.”
Maitri smiled
About the author
Nandita Rani is an Indian short-story writer and a storyteller. She is a teacher by profession.
Born in Patna, Bihar, Nandita was always interested in writing. Her interest dates back to her school days when she actively wrote articles for her school magazine. An MCA by education, she has been into teaching for last 11 years now. A tech-savvy person, Nandita has several video-editing projects and website-designing to her credit. She was also chosen by CCSINDIA (Centre for civil society, India) for making a documentary film on the difficulties and challenges faced by educati
onists in their field. She currently lives in Mumbai and takes active participation in storytelling events and is highly appreciated for her unique style of writing and storytelling.
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