Telugu Original : Dr. K.N. Malleswari
Translated by Dr. Shyamala Kallury
“Today is an important day in your life” amma said weaving jasmines into my hair. I looked at her with shyness and trepidation. Amma sensed it and gave me an affectionate smile.
“Ramya, this is the day you are going to share not just your body but also your heart with your partner in life. Don’t get worried unnecessarily. Learn to love him without offending him. Also take his strengths and weaknesses with equanimity.” As she was talking to me, my friends arrived on the scene.
“Aunty, why do you give her these outdated suggestions? Just leave her alone with us for a while and we will take care of her.” They said naughtily. I felt very awkward. The people I knew so well seemed like strangers now. I liked their teasing and at the same time didn’t like it all; I wished they would leave me alone.
“On the whole, Ramya made a good catch!. She got a good husband. – A product of IIT and a software engineer in Hyderabad on a pay packet of seventy thousand rupees a month! What more do you want? He agreed as soon as he saw her in the first ‘boy meets girl’ session. Ramya! You are truly lucky” There was a tinge of jealousy in my friend’s voice. I felt proud of it.
Just then amma came back with a small unhappy face. “Ramya, Avinash is in the car waiting for you. Go to him” She said in a curt voice
“Why is that?” I was surprised.
“It seems he has booked a room in a hotel. Anyway it is better than our rituals. You will also feel a little free.” she said looking into my face as if giving me reassurance. I felt bad. I knew how much trouble she had taken to decorate the room and call all the neighbourhood ladies to get their blessings for me.
“Why hotel amma, should I talk to Avinash?” I asked her. She got scared.
“No, no there is no need! What is important is that the two of you should be happy. Go, don’t make him wait so long in the car”, she hurried me up.
She packed my bag for three days and put it in the car. When I came to the car there were fifteen other ladies to see me off.
Seeing so many people Avinash, who was in the driving seat became very serious. My peddamma[1] said, “Son, you must at least take the betel leaf offering before you leave.”
Avinash was a little inconvenienced to reply. “I have only four days leave. If you can leave us free for these four days”… he stopped midway in the sentence. My peddamma wanted to say something but I stopped her. I understood his sentiment. He wanted to spend the little time he had completely with me. I was happy.
The moment I sat in the car, it moved forward. He released a long breath in relief as soon as we got on to the main road.
“I can’t breathe freely amidst so many people. I have always been so used to privacy.” he commented.
“If I come with you now won’t it be a violation of your privacy?” I asked him innocently.
After a while he understood the light heartedness of my comment and smiled a wee bit. When the light turned red, he took my hand, kissed it and asked me candidly in English, if I want to spend the first night with him.
I had not anticipated this question so I just nodded my head in a non-committal way. There was no further conversation till we reached the hotel. So far I had occasionally been to restaurants, but I had never seen a hotel room in my life.
As soon as I entered the room I felt like I had entered Indra’s [2] palace. “Marvellous!” I uttered spontaneously.
“I paid 15000 rupees for three days” he said a little proudly. I thought it uncalled for to talk of money at that time but then concluded it was alright as it showed his love for me. I thought of my room at home. The moon peeping in through the bedside window, the jasmine creeper entwined along the window, the pervading fragrance of its blossoms, and the cool breeze wafting through the south side window- how much trouble amma had taken to decorate it. Simply and so beautifully! She has a great aesthetic sense, my mother. I came out of my reverie when the room service entered.
He left the room after setting the dinner. Avinash silently finished his dinner. Whatever I noticed in this short time I could see he talked very little. I am also not very talkative but to remain this silent is difficult for me.
“You talk very little, no?” I said “Yeah! What is there to talk all the time? Isn’t it a waste of time?” he said checking the greetings he had received on the net.
I kept quiet as I did not know what to say to that. After some time he got up from the computer and sat by my side.
“Now I think we can talk.” He smiled. Placing his arm around my shoulders he drew me into his arms, “You took Electronics in your engineering, no?” he asked.
“Yes!”
“I don’t think you have thought about your career carefully. Learn computers! It is a good field”
“I like my field very much” I told him.
What has interest got to do with it? Your liking hardly matters. Your father must have got your admission by paying the donation in whichever branch the seat was available.” His voice was slightly sarcastic.
“I am a merit student” I said angrily.
“How much merit do you have, on par with an IIT student?” This time it was clear mockery.
Are IIT students the only intelligent people in this world? I wanted to argue vehemently. But who is this man in front of me? My husband! I am not supposed to talk back. I kept quiet, though, unwillingly. This man who talks little threw me into greater confusion now.
I felt constricted as if I was having breathing difficulty. I was really not at ease. He seemed to have no sensitivity to anything other than his own feelings, and was acting according to his convenience.
He started cleaning his contact lens before going to bed. “What is that?” I asked.
“I got this weak eyesight when I was in intermediate. I used glasses for a few years. Now even the glasses have become so thick it looks bad, so I started using contact lenses, as they look better on me,” he told me.
I drifted into sleep thinking of the precautions I should take to prevent his eye sight from worsening.
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