DREAM HUSBAND
(By Subbaram Danda)
Preetika was an unusually rebellious girl studying in Standard XII of a co-educational school, known for its strict discipline and value-based systems. She always talked about rights and empowerment of women. Fair, slim and attractive, she was a go-getter and attention-grabber. She was unhappy that her school insisted on a monotonous uniform for all students. If she had her way, she would love to come in hot pants and trendy tops. She felt she was a misfit there, but could not help it.
She decried age-old practices and scorned at conservative people. Even at home, she did not like sporting the traditional tilak on her forehead. She detested putting on bangles. She hated wearing the Indian silk skirt and half-sari at least on special occasions. Her reason: “I am casting off all symbols of enslavement.”
She loved spending her evenings chatting with friends on her mobile, browsing the Facebook and going through fashion magazines. During week-ends she made it a point to go to the gym. Every month she went to a beauty parlour for facials and eye-brow trimming. “This is how I stay in step with new-age feminism,” she bragged quite often.
Showing it on flowers
An unexpected incident in her school fully exposed her sizzling non-conformist tendencies. At the end of the academic term, a puja (divine worship) was conducted to invoke God’s blessings for good performance of the students in the upcoming board examinations. Every girl in the class was given a string of jasmine flowers to be worn on the back of her head. This girl and a few others in her group refused to accept it. Watching this, the Vice-Principal, a tall stately lady reputed for strict enforcement of norms, made a school maid thrust the flowers in their tresses. This infuriated the girls. When the Vice-Principal left the place, they pulled the flowers out and threw them away to the glee of the boys.
After the examinations and summer vacation, she managed to get a seat in B.A. (Corporate Communications) in a college known for its liberal ways. In the campus, she became a noted figure, as she came daily on a purple-coloured motor bike and flaunted a rugged looking Reebok gents watch on her right wrist. She liked the company of boys but would not allow them to poke anything funny at her. If anybody questioned her style, her response was: “This is the sign of a forward-looking teenager standing for equality of genders and female emancipation.” She contested student elections and became the secretary of the cultural association of the college. She promised her fellow students that she would revolutionize its activities.
Life-partner of dreams
Preetika organized an inter-collegiate symposium on “Marriage and Views of Modern-day Youngsters.” A boy and a girl from every college in the city came to participate. It was well attended. Newspaper reporters and television channel crews were present in large numbers. She led the discussion. With a rare bravado, she said, “My life partner should not be taller than me, nor more beautiful and more qualified. He should not have any objection to my holding a job. At home we should both work like equal partners. Caste, creed and race would be no bar.”
Everyone heard her with rapt attention. She went on: “My would-be husband should not have his mother. He should definitely have no sisters.” She added with a derisive smile, “His father, if not already dead, could be in the intensive care unit!” This stunned everyone.
She continued: “He should be prepared to share domestic chores. I would prepare breakfast and he would be in charge of our dinner. This is for a month. Then we can reverse the roles. We can manage lunch at our office canteens. He should not toss harsh words at me, even if I am wrong. In such a case, I would use harsher words and silence him.”
Wedding at ease
These brash expressions upset the faculty and the principal. They stared at her and signalled that she should moderate her words. However, she continued in her own acrid style: “I would not go for a wedding right away. First it would have to be a live-in relationship that can go on for two years. During those 24 months I would strive to be blissfully and wildly in love with him. Then the question of tying the knot would be discussed and decided. When we have a child, he should be willing to change the diaper and clean wash the baby.”
A lad from the audience shouted: “No doubt, you will remain a spinster always – an evergreen spinster!” Thunderous laughter reverberated in the hall. Another joined, “I can live with you for two months, OK with you?”
Preetika could not be cowed down. “Come to the dais, my dear mates. Let us debate it over here,” she retorted. There was total silence. The symposium went on with other participants advocating the traditional practices or some suggesting the western ways. A few went to the extent of totally rejecting the idea of marriage and permanently continuing with the live-in system. The moderator, a retired judge, concluded the programme remarking that over the ages the concept of marriage had undergone changes and was bound to have more. At any rate, our youngsters should remember that whatever they did should be in tune with the laws of the land. No adventurism was advisable.”
Job and dates
After her B.A. she did M.A. in the same subject and secured a job in an MNC as its Public Relations Officer. Her job involved interacting with clients, advertising agencies, media units and government departments. She had opportunities to meet people of different outlooks, attitudes and temperaments.
A year passed and Preetika felt it was time for her to look for her life-partner. She recalled what all she had propounded during her college days. She felt there was no need to revise them. She cast her net wide. In the course of nine months she dated three guys but none of them measured up to her expectations.
In the block next to her office there was a branch of a major private bank. One day, new manager Himalesh of the bank, a handsome young guy, came to her office to make a courtesy call on her General Manager. She had a short conversation with him and later conducted him to the office of her boss. In this brief time, she took a liking for him. She had an account in the bank and every month her salary was credited into the account. Whenever she went there to withdraw cash, she made it a point to meet him. This developed into close friendship and appeared to blossom into love.
Princely catch
She made enquiries about him. He was alone, staying in a studio type apartment near the bank. He cooked his food himself. He belonged to Udaipur, Rajasthan, and apparently hailed from a princely clan. Nothing was known about his parents.
One evening she invited Himalesh to dinner in a five-star hotel. He readily responded. There she opened up with her views on relationships, marriage and family life. He listened to her carefully studying the implications of every word of her. He remained silent for a while. Then he replied: “It is really astonishing that I too have similar views. I am not a conservative. I have an open mind. I would like to try out new ideas.” When the bill came, she did not allow him to pay it. Though a hefty one, she settled it using her platinum plus credit card. This enabled her to prove that she stood by her views on equality of genders. They moved one more step closer to each other.
Start of a relationship
Soon Preetika and Himalesh decided to enter into a live-in relationship. They took on rent a posh spacious two-bedroom apartment with modern facilities in a calm locality about five kilometres from their offices. They bought latest furniture and modern gadgets. Interestingly, she wore a traditional thali round her neck not to give any room for anybody to look at them with suspicion.
Preetika informed her parents in Coimbatore over phone about the arrangement. They turned furious. “You have been a rebel. You have refused to marry the boy we suggested. You have thrown to winds all family traditions. You have brought disrepute to us. We have long ago given you up. Don’t get in touch with us for anything,” her father was pretty harsh and banged the phone. She was not upset because she had not expected a better treatment from them.
Two years passed fast. Preetika and Himalesh got along very well with each other. They had a cool family life. They maintained excellent rapport with their neighbours. “They make an ideal pair” -- this was how her neighbours looked at them.
After the test drive
Preetika broached the subject of their formal wedding. Himalesh was somewhat surprised. He told her, “All the people around us are under the impression that we are already a married couple. You also wear a thali. If we talk about marriage now, they will look at us apprehensively. Is formal marriage necessary at all? Let us continue as at present.”
She could not give an immediate answer. But she was determined that there should be a formal marriage. Official and public recognition was necessary. The live-in relationship was like a test drive for a person trying to buy a car. The real pleasure and satisfaction would come only after regularly owning it.
Preetika kept on nagging him on this. Finally the two decided to get married on traditional lines in a temple. At this ceremony she agreed to wear a pure silk sari. “You look gorgeous in this dress,” Himalesh pampered her. The wedding went off well, attended by a small group of their friends. There were no relatives. On the same day they got their marriage registered. Preetika was happy that she had been able to realize her dreams one by one. “I did it,” she wrote in her diary.
On the family way
After a few months she became pregnant. Going to the doctor every month for a checkup looked bothersome. There was no other go. She had to manage it somehow, she figured out. As the suggested delivery day approached, strange fears started playing on her psyche. “Will it be easy? Whom she can go to for support and strength, if necessary, in the last minute?” she wondered. Her husband gave her all confidence. “Don’t worry, you can rely on me for everything.”
The nursing home where she was going to deliver was run on modern lines. The husband and wife were briefed on the process of child birth. It permitted one person to be with her at the time of delivery. As her mother could not be expected, Himalesh agreed to be there. She liked the idea. He was a bit nervous.
The delivery went off without any hitch in the presence of her husband. He was witness to the culmination of a profound process of creation. He saw with his own eyes the marvel of life emerging out into the world. He was eerily thrilled. He and Preetika were now the proud parents of a cute baby girl. Their joy knew no bounds.
Unexpected development
On returning home, her neighbours and friends called on the mother and the new-born baby. They were surprised there was no one from her parent’s side or anybody from his side. “May be it is a love marriage against the will of the elders,” they consoled themselves.
The baby grew and turned three months, enjoying the warmth and affection of both the parents. The house was full of toys. Preetika enjoyed dressing the baby in male garments. “I have done it again,” she wrote once more in her diary.
But an unexpected development rocked her. One fine morning, when she got up from bed, she found Himalesh missing. She saw a card pinned to the door, on which he had written in bold letters “GOOD BYE.” She could not make head of tail out of it. An inexplicable fear gripped her. Tears swelled in her eyes. She enquired with his office and the response she got was more intriguing -- “He has left our service.” There was no one for her to look to in that hour of distress and share her agony. Her parents were ruled out. She also did not know the address of his mom and dad to convey the message. Police complaint would be detrimental to her career. She felt miserable and helpless.
Relenting mind
She kept going to her office. It was necessary for her to make a living. She felt very sorry that she had to leave the tender child in the care of a maid in a crèche. Sometimes a thought crossed her mind -- “If only I had a senior relative at home to look after the baby…” No, no, this was against her policy. She erased the idea from her mind.
Three months passed. She found it extremely difficult to manage all affairs single-handedly. She badly needed her husband. There had been no quarrel between them whatsoever. But where was he? In a desperate move, she inserted a display advertisement in the largest circulated national daily, which he normally read. It said: “Dear Himalesh, I am on the brink of a disaster. Return home immediately, Your Preetika.”
A day later, she received a call on her mobile. It was from Himalesh. Her joy knew no bounds. Tears ran down her cheeks. Before she could say anything, he kept talking, “Expect me there on coming Sunday morning. I had left the bank job for new pastures. I will tell you everything in person. I am very busy now.”
Retrospection
Preetika reviewed her life since school days. She had traversed a long way. She had been too rigid in her attitude towards marriage and family matters. There was no point in being so any more. The problems she faced in the last six months were terrific. She had to take a relook. She should make amends and relent. She could not live alone. She should have elders with her. “I am chastened,” she wrote in her diary.
On Sunday at about 10:00 a.m. the calling bell rang. She opened the door and there he was – HER DEAR HUSBAND. Behind him was an elderly couple. Without any inhibition, she ran to Himalesh carrying the child and hugged him. The two seniors had a strange grin.
Wonder of wonders, Preetika wore a sari, the one he had purchased for her wedding. She displayed a tilak on her forehead, jasmine flowers in her hair and diamond-encrusted golden bangles on her wrists. She appeared obviously mellowed down. Himalesh remarked in a tone brimming with awe and admiration, “You look gorgeous. Meet my parents.” She greeted them with a smile nodding her head. The two oldies reached for the baby, carried and cajoled it in turns. The little one also appeared to enjoy their company.
The trick and the outcome
That night Himalesh narrated to her what all happened in the past. “I knew you are a nice girl but with wrong ideas. I accepted you despite your eccentric ways. I had to play a trick on you to make you come around. Resignation of my job was stage-managed.”
He continued: “I had disclosed to you only a few things about my family. You never bothered to know more. That came in handy for me to keep under wraps details about my parents and relatives.”
As he went on, the little one in the crib gave out a feeble wail. Preetika jumped out of the bed, lifted the baby, handed it to her hubby and directed him: “Change the diaper. The child has already messed up the pooh!”
November 10, 2012
(2,670 words)
