The Madras Affair

by Sundari Venkatraman

  “Why? Do English professors come in a fixed model?”

  Sangita giggled. “I suppose not. Only I can't imagine someone less like a professor. He appears more like a corporate honcho with his confident bearing.”

  “I think he'll be quite at ease, whatever he does. I can imagine him holding a whole class of naughty students enthralled by his lecture on Shakespeare's works or whatever.”

  Sangita nodded at her friend's comment. “You're right. That's how he is.”

  “So what did you talk about?”

  “Oh, this and that. Will you believe it, Rithika? I told him that I'm a widow with a five-year-old son. Not to shock him, you know. But I thought I should warn him before he thinks I'm free...”

  “But you're free, Sangita. Legally, you can get married again. What's to stop you?”

  “Rithika, you must be crazy. Remarriage and me? Just forget it. First of all, my family will never agree to it. And even if they did, I don't want to go to that particular prison again.”

  “But you're wasting away your youth and beauty, Sangita.” Rithika's concern was genuine.

  “Who says so? I probably have a safer life not wasting what's left of it, serving a bossy male. You don't know the species like I do, Rithika.” There was a trace of bitterness in Sangita's voice.

  “But Sangita,” Rithika was at her persuasive best, “just because your husband was a lowlife, it doesn't mean that all men are the same.”

  “Maybe not. But they do have a tendency to treat women like doormats.

  “What about Sandeep? He's also a male. Do you think he'll give his wife a better deal?”

  “You bet. I'll ensure that he grows up differently.”

  “So being born a male is not the issue. The trick is in the way he grows up, right?” Rithika sounded triumphant.

  “Probably.”

  “There you're then. Gautam is obviously a gentleman...”

  “How do you know? You just saw him a couple of times. Don't be silly, Rithika. Men are chauvinists. Look at my father and brothers. They may not be as bad as Giridhar was but they do tend to look down upon us womenfolk in the family.”

  “But Gautam's not like that, I can assure you.”

  “It's just wishful thinking on your part.”

  Rithika shrugged her shoulders, deciding not to labour the point. She had liked Gautam on sight and despite modern times, few men came forward to befriend a widow with a child. Gautam definitely had a point in his favour.

  6

  Gautam reached home to be greeted enthusiastically by Butterscotch. The golden Labrador leapt at his master, licking his left arm, connecting to his pain as only a pet could.

  “Butterscotch, you silly mutt,” Gautam scolded affectionately. “Don't lick my arm; it hasn't been washed for days.” He went on his haunches to rub the dog's neck. Butterscotch growled with pleasure. “I'll take you for a run along the beach in the evening, I promise.” Gautam patted the dog's head before getting up to go into the house.

  His grandmother Vimala opened the door to let him in. Gautam put his arms around her to cuddle her. “Hi, Patti. Look at my arm.” He lifted it for her inspection. “The plaster's gone. I'm fit as a fiddle.” He kissed her cheek. Gautam adored his grandparents.

  “Thank God for that. How much ever you grow up, Gautam, you're still a naughty boy,” she admonished. She had been worried about his fracture in her typical grandmother-style. “What did the doctor say?” She asked as they walked to the dining room.

  “The x-ray's clear, Patti. I've to go for physiotherapy for a few days.”

  Ganapathi, Gautam's grandfather, was at the dining table with the newspaper in his hand. He lowered it to eye his grandson's cast-free arm.

  “Hi, Thatha, not had breakfast yet?” asked Gautam as he walked to the washbasin to scrub his arm thoroughly.

  “No, you scamp, been waiting for you. What did the doctor say?” He looked at his grandson with concern. “

  Everything's okay. All healed perfectly.” Gautam went to his grandfather and showed his left arm, all scrubbed and dry now.

  “You've to take physiotherapy for how long?”

  “Hmm, about ten days, I think.” Gautam had underplayed the accident right from the beginning. He knew how his grandparents worried. He sat next to his grandfather and checked the food on the table. There was masala dosai with sambhar and onion chutney. “Patti,” he called to Vimala who was in the kitchen, instructing the cook regarding lunch. “Aren't you joining us?”

  “Coming, my dear.” Vimala sat on Ganapathi's left, her chair facing Gautam's.

  Butterscotch had followed Gautam into the house and now sat on his haunches beside him. He looked at his master, his eyes brimming with hope for a chance morsel.

  Gautam smiled down at the Lab before tossing half a dosai to him. Butterscotch gobbled the whole portion at one go and continued to look at Gautam, his dark eyes unwavering.

  “That's enough, Gautam,” objected Vimala. “Butterscotch is getting too fat and thoroughly spoilt. He's already had a heavy breakfast. Butter,” she fixed the dog with a glare, her heart not quite in it, “go out and take a few rounds in the garden.” Butterscotch looked at Vimala with soulful eyes, hoping to persuade her to part with another piece.

  “Butter, I think you'd better get going before Patti bans lunch,” laughed Gautam. He bent down and playfully swatted the dog on his rump with the newspaper. The dog gave him an accusing stare before walking out of the house, accompanied by laughter.

  Gautam got up from the table and went on to get ready for the day. He came down wearing formal clothes with a tie. He was swinging the keys to his motorbike on the index finger of his right hand. Ganapathi looked up from the tailend of his newspaper. “You don't plan to ride your bike, do you?” He asked, anxiety puckering his features.

  Gautam knelt down by Ganapathi's chair. “Yeah, Thatha. It's been a tough ten days without conveyance of my own.”

  “But Gautam, that Pulsar's heavy. Your arm's just healing,” objected Ganapathi.

  “Thatha, your grandson's strong. My arm's fine. Don't worry.” By now Vimala was also standing beside Ganapathi, adding her silent plea.

  Gautam looked at the two of them, trying to curb his smile. He almost succeeded, but his dimple gave him away. “What's this? Two strong people against one weakling just recovering from fracture. Not fair.” He grinned cheekily.

  Vimala lifted her hand to box his ear.

  “Gautam, no bike rides. Not for another week. Do you hear me?” She was gentle but firm.

  “Patti, please.” Gautam got up to hug her close, trying to change her mind. She was tiny, barely reaching his chest, but tough to cross.

  Ganapathi sat back to watch the clash of wills between his wife and grandson with a trace of mischief in his twinkling eyes.

  “No, Gautam. You'll have to promise me. No bike riding for another week. Just seven days, Gautam,” this as he made a gesture of protest, “I'm not asking you to give it up for life.” She patted his cheek.

  Gautam turned to look at Ganapathi who was hooting with glee. He pointed a finger at him and said, “You vile, old man, just watch it. I'll get my back on you soon.” An empty threat if there was one! He glared at Ganapathi without rancour. “And you, my dear Patti, you've too much power over my heart.” He dropped a loving kiss on her grey head. “You can get away with murder as far as I'm concerned. Ganapathi looked up from the tailend of his newspaper. “You don't plan to ride your bike, do you?” He asked, anxiety puckering his features.

  Gautam knelt down by Ganapathi's chair. “Yeah, Thatha. It's been a tough ten days without conveyance of my own.”

  “But Gautam, that Pulsar's heavy. Your arm's just healing,” objected Ganapathi.

  “Thatha, your grandson's strong. My arm's fine. Don't worry.” By now Vimala was also standing beside Ganapathi, adding her silent plea.

  Gautam looked at the two of them, trying to curb his smile. He almost succeeded, but his dimple gave him
away. “What's this? Two strong people against one weakling just recovering from fracture. Not fair.” He grinned cheekily.

  Vimala lifted her hand to box his ear.

  “Gautam, no bike rides. Not for another week. Do you hear me?” She was gentle but firm.

  “Patti, please.” Gautam got up to hug her close, trying to change her mind. She was tiny, barely reaching his chest, but tough to cross.

  Ganapathi sat back to watch the clash of wills between his wife and grandson with a trace of mischief in his twinkling eyes.

  “No, Gautam. You'll have to promise me. No bike riding for another week. Just seven days, Gautam,” this as he made a gesture of protest, “I'm not asking you to give it up for life.” She patted his cheek.

  Gautam turned to look at Ganapathi who was hooting with glee. He pointed a finger at him and said, “You vile, old man, just watch it. I'll get my back on you soon.” An empty threat if there was one! He glared at Ganapathi without rancour. “And you, my dear Patti, you've too much power over my heart.” He dropped a loving kiss on her grey head. “You can get away with murder as far as I'm concerned. So, seven days it is, I promise.” He handed the bike keys to her, unable to cross her loving command.

  “That's my darling,” smiled Vimala, her face alight with pride and joy. Her grandson of thirty years was still a child to her.

  “Bye, you two. Do miss me for the day.” Gautam moved to his grandfather to kiss his baldpate. He couldn't control a grin as he recalled his conversation with Sangita.

  “What's so funny?” asked Thatha, his eyes curious at the look of bliss on Gautam's face.

  “Tell you some other time, you old man. Today,” he fixed a hard stare on Ganapathi's cherubic face. “I'm angry with you for you know what.” He waved at them before leaving the house for work.

  Sangita's thoughts dogged him all the way to college. He pushed his thoughts away forcefully as he entered the college premises.

  Gautam waited impatiently for the clock to strike 3.30 pm, when he could leave for physiotherapy. He usually stayed back for a couple of more hours to do corrections, reference work or teach students who needed special coaching. But that day, he left immediately after classes got over.

  He paid off the auto-rickshaw driver to enter Trilok Hospital. Much to his disappointment, the reception area was crowded.

  Sangita's eyes met his as he stood head and shoulders above the crowd. She had been on the lookout for him over the past fifteen minutes. She gave him a shy smile before gesturing him to go forward.

  She gave him a piece of paper with his name on it and told him, “Eighth floor, the hall on the right. Ask for Ms. Vaijayanthi. She's the nurse in charge.”

  Sangita caught the look of disappointment on Gautam's face as she turned away in a hurry to deal with the flood of people in front of her waiting to fill out forms and pay bills.

  Gautam walked towards the lift and turned back to take a look at her to find Sangita staring in his direction. With a satisfied smile on his face, he waved to her cheerfully before entering the lift.

  He was ready to undergo physiotherapy only because it was an opportunity to better his acquaintance with Sangita. Otherwise he was quite sure that he didn't need it. He mentally shrugged his shoulders as he realised that it was one evening wasted.

  Not so it seemed. Half an hour later, Sangita entered the hall where Gautam was applying a molten wax pack to his arm, an impatient scowl on his face. The nurse Vaijayanthi, had beaten a hasty retreat once she realised that the patient was capable of managing by himself and had made it clear that he wanted to be left alone.

  A beautiful smile lit Gautam's features on seeing Sangita, bringing the dimple into play much to her delight.

  “Hi!” greeted Gautam while running his eyes over her from head to toe, taking his time studying her.

  “Hello!” she replied in a breathless voice. The sight of his tall, handsome figure made her heart beat crazily. The dimple added speed to the erratic pace. The expression in his twinkling blue glance brought her heart to a standstill before it jerked back into action, lubdubbing away like never before. Sangita felt a sense of forbidden enchantment just looking at him. She took a couple of deep breaths to steady her nerves.

  “How's it going?” She asked him softly, her eyes glowing.

  Gautam shrugged. “Awright, I s'pose. Are you through for the day?” he asked.

  Sangita looked at her wristwatch before replying. “Not quite yet. I finish at five.” “

  Will you go out with me after that?” asked Gautam, his blue eyes compelling, “just for an hour or so. We'll have a drink somewhere and chat,” he smiled.

  Sangita gave him a startled glance. Did he think she was easy game, a woman with loose morals, may be? She was confused. She realised that she couldn't blame him if he thought that. She had come looking for him. It wasn't part of her duty to run after patients. Though, she did visit people in the wards because she genuinely cared about them.

  But there was absolutely no need for that in Gautam's case. She had gone to meet him just like that. She couldn't seem to keep away from him. The past week had moved by at a pace that would have made a snail proud of its speeding prowess.

  When he walked in today, Sangita was terribly disappointed that she had been too busy. She and Rithika worked extra fast to complete their work. The moment she became free, Sangita walked to the lift without even pausing to think about what she was doing.

  Gautam stood there watching the play of emotions on Sangita's face with interest. She looked gorgeous, he thought. “Was that a tough question?” he prompted softly.

  Sangita gave herself a mental shake before responding to him, “What question?” She looked lost.

  He sighed gently. “Will you go out with me after you're through here?” he repeated.

  She was bewildered. Her heart screamed at her to say 'yes'. But a natural caution, a wariness of men and her parents' strict upbringing stopped her.

  She shook her head. “No, Gautam.”

  A frown gathered on his perfect features, “Why not?”

  Now why had she ever believed that he'd let go of the matter at a simple 'no' from her? “Well,” Sangita thought on her feet, “Sandeep will be waiting for me.”

  Gautam nodded amiably. “Oh yeah, how old did you say he was?”

  Relieved, Sangita said, “Almost five years.”

  “Who looks after him when you're at work? Do you send him to a day care?” Gautam was keen to know.

  “My mother and sister-in-law manage between them. He attends kindergarten for a couple of hours every day.” Sangita was a proud mother.

  “I'd like to meet Sandeep. Why don't we go pick him up and make an outing of it, all three of us?”

  Her expression was comical in its horror. She shuddered as she imagined her mother's reaction. Radha would raise hell if she even had an inkling that Sangita was talking to a strange, young man.

  But Gautam hadn't seemed like a stranger even when she met him for the first time. She had vibed well with him right from the beginning. But what kind of a relationship could they have? Sangita had no answer to that.

  She didn't give a damn about the future. This was here, now. He was here and so was she. She didn't want the precious moment to be wasted away. But going out with him wasn't probable. Sangita wouldn't dream of lying to her parents. And they would never accept the idea.

  She gave Gautam a pathetic look as he said, “Sangita, you haven't answered me.”

  “Just forget it, Gautam. It's not possible.”

  He was puzzled. “Why not?”

  How would she tell this gentleman who was from a totally different background that her parents would suffer a heart attack if they ever heard that a man had asked their widowed daughter out on a date! Sangita quickly defended them mentally. They were just different. It did take all kinds of people to make the world.

  Sangita was confused. She didn't know how to make him understand. She opted to take the easy way out.<
br />
  “I've a lot of house work to catch up with, Gautam. It won't be possible,” she said, her fingers crossed behind her back.

  “May be tomorrow then?” He stared at her intently, his gaze compelling her to agree.

  Gautam looked at Sangita as her pearly white teeth bit into her luscious lower lip, her expression flustered. He was hard put to not kiss her, then and there.

  She looked so beautiful and innocent, so...untouched. Yeah, that's what was puzzling him since the moment he saw her. She appeared untouched, this mother of a five-year-old boy. He was curious to know what kind of a relationship she had shared with her husband.

  Sangita decided to come clean and explain the situation to Gautam. That'd be the best thing to do. Otherwise, he would persist in asking her out every day, while she ran out of excuses.

  “Gautam,” he turned to look at her face, giving her his complete attention, dropping the pretence at applying the wax pack. He liked the way his name rolled off her tongue, the tongue which peeped out to wet her suddenly dry lips. Gautam felt his body tighten in response.

  “Tell me.”

  Sangita looked down at the marble floor. She didn't have the strength to meet the intensity of his gaze.

  “Let's forget the idea of going out together, Gautam. It won't be possible as my parents would never approve of it.”

  “But what have your parents got to do with it? It's for you and me to decide.” Gautam couldn't relate to her explanation.

  “I live with my parents, Gautam, under their roof. I have to live my life by their rules. They'll never approve of my going out with a strange man.”

  “You mean they'll worry that I may be a womaniser or a fraud. Is that it? Let me take you home then. I'm quite confident that I can convince them that I'm genuine.” Gautam was 'logic' personified.

  Sangita didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She had no idea how to explain to Gautam that her parents were extremely orthodox. She wondered how to make him understand that she would become an object of gossip if she went out with him for an evening and consequently hurt her parents. It wasn't as if everyone in Madras lived by these rules. But her parents lived their lives that way. And she could never betray them.