IT HAPPENED ONE LONG NIGHT

She sat in the Starbucks cafe, sipping her coffee and staring out of the window. The blood stained knife lay next to her handbag, covered with her blue silk scarf. The muggy night was giving way to a muggier morning with the sun slowly rising over decaying buildings on the sky line. Aditi looked back at the turn of events of last night, the whole thing seemed so surreal and illogical that it made her almost burst into tears….and to top it all she had forgotten to dispose of the knife in the melee of the last few hours.

Her delirium of thoughts was abruptly broken when she heard a commotion outside the café. Impulsively she turned her neck to see outside the glass window. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a Police car standing there with its lights flashing and two potbellied cops talking loudly to some passersby. “Oh shit! Not so soon…this is all I needed”, she almost exclaimed as she impulsively dropped the cloth covered knife back into her handbag and quickly surveyed the inside of the café. There were no other customers in the 24x7 café. The bored looking waiters were busy watching a dance show on the TV. But there was only a single door out of the eatery outside which the policemen stood directly opposite.

Her thoughts strayed to the back packing trip to Manikaran in Himachal just six months back with her Gujju friend from school days, Hetal. That evening, she and Hetal had moved out of Nirvana Coffee Shop after a coffee and sandwich and headed towards their lodging. She heard someone following them down the dim alley way and when she turned around she saw the gaunt frame of a hippie frantically waving to her. What does he want from us..she wondered tightly clutching her bag. “Lady, you just left your phone at the café…just came to return it” said the hippie with dread-locks and tattooed forearms. “Oh! Thank you so much” said Aditi as the hippie extended his hand with her brand new I-phone in it. “Sorry! I got startled…can't thank you enough Sir” said Aditi in an apologetic tone. “Ehud…that’s my name” said man as he extended his hand again and shook hers. “Aditi…..you can call me Adi!” it rolled out spontaneously from her. They met quite a few times in the next two days she was there. Ehud was an Israeli Army Veteran who was just taking a break, now that his conscription had got over. “You know India is very safe and cheap for us Israelis….and of course we get to meet beautiful people like you all the while” said Ehud with a wink of his left eye.

She left for Delhi and onwards to Mumbai thereafter. But their friendship blossomed and before she realized she was in love with Ehud. Ehud too on his part had no intention to leave India and following her to Mumbai picked up a regular job in an Israeli firm dealing in security hardware, finally shedding his hippie image. In a span of six months they had moved into the same apartment at Lokhandwala.

Aakash was her friend from school days, a straight forward lad with a middle class upbringing. She met him again in Mumbai purely out of chance at Hetal’s PG in Goregaon. She had gone there to pick up a few books when she found Aakash sitting in Hetal’s room watching the news on TV. She recalled that Aakash, though bright in studies at school had not joined college after that and had got into some family business, she could not remember exactly what. “Hi Aditi! Good to see you so many days after school, what are you up to?”, said Aakash smiling and giving her a hug. He smelt of sweat and Old Spice after shave. “Still studying…..masters in accountancy. What are you doing?” asked Aditi. “Oh! nothing exciting the same old family import export business. Operate between here and Surat.” The business didn’t seem doing too well thought Aditi sizing up Aakash’s ordinary clothes and slippers. Just the Hetal came in and said “Hi guys! Good you met. Hey Adi..we are planning a movie in two hours time….why don’t you join us.” Aditi looked thoughtful and uncertain. “Oh come on babes! You can of course invite that firang boyfriend of yours too. Aakash is here only today evening and he is going back to Surat in the night. We must enjoy the evening…for old times’ sake”, said Hetal. Aditi reluctantly agreed and called up Ehud. Surprisingly, he was more than game, “Will meet you all at the car parking at Inox” he said enthusiastically.

The trio soon took a cab and reached the Multiplex at Colaba which was a 20 minute drive. Aakash carried his small Rexene bag along as he was leaving for Surat after dinner.

Ehud was right there as promised, next to the parking. After brief introductions, the four moved into the theatre for the movie. The movie got over at around 9:00 PM. “Let’s have a quick bite and then drop off Aakash at Bandra Railway Station” said Hetal. A pizza each followed at Dominos. “I am feeling full and my legs are cramped. Let’s take a walk…..we still have time for the train” declared Ehud. They all left the pizzeria and walked along the dimly lit bylanes of Colaba. “I gotta go for a pee! just hang on here and I will be right back”, said Ehud and as the trio waited, and went around a wall about 20 yards away.

Suddenly, Aditi heard a voice behind her- “Don’t move and hand over your bag!”, her heart skipped a beat when she saw a masked man in black dress stand behind them in the lonely alleyway with a knife in his hand pointed at Aakash and demanding him to part with his bag. The voice seemed vaguely familiar. “No, no…..I cannot do that” shouted Aakash. “Give it to him Aakash! Here take my handbag too…just leave us alone” screamed Hetal in a terror stricken voice throwing her handbag towards Aakash and the goon. The goon tried to snatch the bag from Aakash, who held it close to his chest. “Run, Aakash, Aditi” screamed Hetal and ran screaming out of the alley way. “Cowardly Bitch!” thought Aditi “Where the hell is Ehud….what is is taking him so long....”. Suddenly, the single sodium vapour street light spilling light through a dirty shade, went off probably due to over-heating and the alley was plunged into darkness. There was a groan and someone leapt at her, she heard the knife fall on the ground with a metallic sound next to her. Instinctively she felt around for the knife, picked it up and plunged it into the figure trying to push her. The lights came on as suddenly as they had gone off. She almost fainted when she saw what was in front of her. Aakash was lying in a pool of blood with the knife plunged deep into his chest, gasping for breath. “Oh my God! Aakash, I am sorry, I didn’t realize it was you in the darkness……Ehud, Ehud where the hell are you!” screamed Aditi, fully choked in terror. Ehud came running and was trying to figure out what had happened. “I was away only 3-4 minutes…what happened, why did you stab Aakash?” he yelled. “I didn’t do it on purpose screamed Aditi…” trying hard to comprehend and explain the situation. “Where is Aakash’s bag?......and where is Hetal?” asked Ehud. “I don’t know where the bag is. I think the goon took it..and Hetal the coward, she ran away. Quick let’s get him to a doctor” said Aditi. “Let me look for a cab” said Ehud his eyes searching the place as he sauntered away towards the mouth of the alley.

Suddenly Aakash gripped her arm and groaned “In your bag…..help me!” and then he collapsed. “Ehud! “ screamed Aditi as Ehud came and checked Aakash’s heartbeat and pulse. “Adi! he’s gone…he’s dead”. “Oh shit! …” exclaimed Aditi, “Let's get him to a hospital and tell the cops..” “Are you nuts, look at yourself. How are you going to explain all this and Aakash is gone, there is nothing we can do for him” said Ehud pointing to her blood stained hand and the knife plunged into Aakash. “Just get the knife out and let’s get out of here… let me think of something”. Almost in a robotic manner, she pulled out the knife, wrapped it in her blue silk scarf and dropped it in her bag.

They ran out of the alley and reached the road adjacent to it. It was late in the night and no cab was in sight. Finally, an auto rickshaw agreed to take them. “You get back to the room and pack a few things and wait some place, while I fix up our tickets to get out of here for a while- we can probably fly to Delhi and head back to good old Manikaran..just to let this cool off!” said Ehud. “Why don’t we go to the cops? We’ve done nothing wrong …I don’t understand and what if Hetal goes to the police”, said Aditi. “That’s a chance we’ll have to take…..”, said Ehud.  

The Auto dropped off Hetal at their apartment. She took a shower, changed her clothes and packed her clothes and a few other essentials. She also checked her debit and credit cards in the outer compartment of her bag. There was a small brown paper wrapped package in her bag. “Wonder what this is?..guess I must have only put in some stuff and forgotten” She wondered trying to open it to check out. Suddenly the doorbell rang and she quickly dropped it back and closed the zipper of the bag. It was the doodhwallah- she sent him off saying that she didn’t want any milk until further instructions. She was just a wee bit surprised that none of Ehud’s things seemed to be around, not that he had too many possessions. She just shrugged and moved out of the house locking it carefully. It was almost day break. “I think I can wait at the Starbucks Café’ …in any case I badly need a coffee” she thought.

Her chain of thoughts was broken by the ringing of her mobile. Ehud was trying to reach her. “Oh God! Hope no other screw ups..” she thought. “Adi..where the hell are you. I have already reached the Airport. Flight to Delhi leaves in three hours at 9 o’clock”, said Ehud over the phone. She explained her current predicament in hushed tones to Ehud, “……and on top of it I still have the goddamned knife on me” “Oh my God! …… by the way did something fall out of Aakash’s bag when the robber was snatching it?”asked Ehud. “I don’t know and I don’t care…I just want to get out of here” she said with a tinge of irritation in her tone. “Sweetheart! just relax..I’ll find a way” said Ehud before hanging up. The cops seemed to be in no mood to leave as they sat in their car having an early morning snack of vada pau from the road side vendor.

About half an hour passed when she saw Ehud enter the Café’ after alighting from a cab. “Why did you come here?” She hissed. “Couldn’t leave you here all alone..” He sat down next to her and ordered a coffee. “You look pale..Why don’t you go to the wash room and freshen up, while I conjure a way to get out of here safely and also get rid of the knife.” Aditi was actually relived to see him and she needed to use the rest room. She went to the washroom, leaving her handbag and mobile on the table. Ehud immediately unzipped her bag and rummaged the contents, stealing furtive glances to make sure no one was observing him. He was careful not to touch the knife. He suddenly saw a small packet wrapped in brown paper and neatly tied in a string tumble out of the bag. Excited, he glanced at the washroom door- Aditi was still in. He tore the wrapper with his nails and almost yelped in excitement as he saw the glitter of its contents. He quietly pocketed it, as also Aditi’s phone, as he left the café and hopped back into his waiting cab.

The bewildered waiter was still looking for him with the coffee he had ordered as Aditi returned back to the table. She too looked around for Ehud puzzled. She searched for her phone to call him but could not find it. She opened her bag to see inside, to find all the contents topsy turvy. Her phone wasn’t there nor was the little brown package, but the knife and other things were very much there. “Madam…sir left suddenly. He was searching for something in your bag.” said the waiter as she cleared the bill with a generous tip. “Can I borrow your mobile please?” she asked the young waiter. She dialed Ehud’s mobile and hers as well on it- both were switched off. Her stomach cramped- she knew something was wrong- drastically wrong.   

The cops had left by then and the sun was adequately bright as it was almost 7:00 AM. She took a cab and reached the Airport in about 40 minutes owing to traffic. She jumped off and rushed to the board displaying arrival and departure timings of various flights. There was no flight departing for Delhi at 9:00 AM. The last one had left at 7:00 AM and the next one was at 12:00 PM. Instinctively, she saw the board displaying international arrivals and departures- her heart almost skipped a beat when she saw the third entry from top displaying “El Al Flight No EA-468;    Destination- Tel Aviv; Departure- 7:45 AM; Status- Departed.” She ran to the small counter of the airline and explained to the girl at the counter that she wanted to know the details of a friend who was travelling. The girl reluctantly saw the list of passengers- there was no one by the name Ehud. Aditi insisted “Please see if any male passenger aged about 27 years is travelling alone”. “You know Ma’am I shouldn’t be giving you these details without permission- but there is no person of this age travelling single on this flight. Just a Mr Yehuda Meir travelling along with Ms Hetal Jain to Tel Aviv” said the girl.

Exhausted and broken, she sat at the waiting benches and glanced disinterestedly at the LCD TV screen telecasting the morning news- still trying to figure out what the hell had happened. The visuals suddenly appeared familiar- it showed a blood soaked body which looked very much like Aakash. She went closer and heard the telecast carefully. “Mr Aakash Gandhi an Angadia  of Gandhi Gems, the top diamond trader of Surat was brutally murdered and robbed last night at Colaba. It is reported that he had in his possession one of the largest uncut diamonds brought into this country in recent years valued at about  Rs 5 Crore. He was to leave for Surat in the night, when he was robbed and murdered. The identity of the assailants is not known. He was reportedly last seen with some friends in the evening. They have not yet been identified nor has the murder weapon been found. The police is on a look out for them.”

Why do I trust people so much? She wondered…..can’t believe it was my best friend and my boyfriend…. they had me playing to their tune all this while. The police cars with their sirens blaring were already  entering the precincts of the Airport.

I DON'T WANT TO BE A GODDESS

Close to the city of Paithan, in a small village called Sauviragram, which lay along the banks of the great river Godavari, lived a woman named Ilaa. Being cotton farmers, her family was well to do, but not among the richest in their area. It was the harvest season, and cotton had to be picked from the plants. The wholesalers and traders from Paithan would be arriving in just a few weeks, carrying gold and goods for barter. They would exchange what they carried for the cotton that the farmers grew. The bales of cotton had to be ready in time! Work was at its peak!

But Ilaa was not to be found in the fields. She wasn't working. Instead, she was sitting by the banks of the great river Godavari.

'I am sick of this!' she grunted loudly. She wryly remembered following this routine year over year for the 9 years that she had spent with her husband Bhimrao’s family …she was almost 21 now.

Her father, Shantarao was a hard working man who had a modest holding of 80 bighas of fertile land in the Village of Dadegaon, South of the Godavari. Her family being reasonably well to do, Ilaa had enjoyed a decent childhood along with her other four siblings, three elder sisters and one little brother.  She was an aberration of sorts, being the only girl child in her family to have received some form of education. Her grandfather, Baburao was an ardent devotee of Saint Eknath of the Varakari Sampradaya and had been a regular participant for many years in the Vaaris organized by the Sampradaya. She happened to be one of the only three girl pupils at the Gurukul run by the venerable Pandit Someshwar, a varkari himself- a progressive man who had prevailed upon her grandfather to send little Ilaa to school. For seven years, she went to the gurukul everyday – on strict instructions to her parents by Baburao- whilst her sisters toiled in domestic work.

The years of education under Panditji, learning about noble saints, great kings and the vile Mughal invaders from the North had made her aware and worldly wise. However, her parents severely worried. “Who will marry her now?” Shalinitai, her weary mother would worriedly ask her father. “She is disinterested in housework and does not like working in the fields. What use is all this learning for a girl?”

As were the norms, she was betrothed to Bhimrao, also of an agrarian family from Sauviragram, a village North of the Godavari when she was all of 8 and thereafter married to him when she was 10. Life dealt a double blow on her when she was all of 12, when old Baburao died of Cholera while on one of his Vaaris and her parents decided to send her to Sauviragram to be with her husband. “Your sisters are all in their husbands’ places from the time they were married. How long do you want to be with us? Bhimrao’s family is not taking it kindly to you staying on here and going to Gurukul. Moreover, the neighbours have also started passing remarks on you attending school with boys, having been married for two years and more”, said her father brushing aside her protests regarding her wanting to continue school.       

With a heavy heart, Ilaa left her beloved Dadegaon and bade a tearful farewell to her family and her little kid brother.

Her initial days in Bhimrao’s household had actually not been bad. Her in-laws were simple, god fearing and respected people who tried their best to make her feel comfortable. Moreover, she was a pretty looking, fair and tall girl- a very sought after combination for an ideal daughter in law. She however, still missed Panditji and the wonderful moments she spent at the Gurukul. Three years later her marital union with Bhimrao was physically consummated and by the time she was all of 15 years and 10 months she had a little girl child- Savitri in her lap.

Ilaa now busied herself to taking care of the child, the family and also helping out in the fields, if required. She however, continued to keep up her reading- gobbling up whatever came her way- be it religious discourses of Eknath, books on basic arithmetic, Marathi grammar and so on. This little effort in self education continued through years in which she not only weathered a miscarriage and the birth of another child (Waman- a boy this time), by the time she was 18.

 “Illa! Where are you?”, she heard the youthful voice of Bhimrao call out for her.  She knew her little private time was now over and sighed as she moved in the direction from which she heard her husband’s voice. Bhimrao, covered with sweat and cotton fluff, lithe and sun burnt, did sound a little angry when he asked her- “You have again drifted off! Waman is crying of hunger and there is so much of work left. I don’t know what has come over you.” Ilaa did not say anything and timidly followed him back to the fields.

It was way past dusk when the family reached back home and had a hearty dinner. Everyone retired to bed early as they had an early and long day coming up.

Illa’s sleep was broken in the wee hours of next morning by sounds of wailing and lamenting. She got up with a start and peered out of the window. She saw a motley crowd gathered outside their neighbour Kushalbhau’s house. She saw that Bhimrao was still asleep besides her. Not wanting to disturb him, she tip-toed out of the house to find out the cause of the agitation. As she want closer, to her horror she found Sampatrao, Kushalbhau’s son, who must have been around 20 years lying on the ground, covered in a white sheet, apparently dead. It emerged that he had been unwell for the last two days with high fever and had passed away in the night. Shaku, Sampatrao’s young wife (who was probably a couple of years younger than Illa) already distraught with grief was undergoing the painful ritual of bangle breaking and tonsuring of her head, as though the pain of losing her young husband was not enough for her.

Ilaa came back home with a disturbed mind. After a while, she was startled out of her stupor by the shrill cries of Shaku. She ran out of the house and saw a hideous scene of the pitiable looking Shaku dressed up as a bride being forced into a bullock cart and the young widow resisting and screaming, whereas a number of villagers including Bhimrao and his father prostrating before her and chanting “Sati Mata ki Jai!”. “What happened mother?” She inquired from her mother-in-law. “Nothing, Shaku is a blessed one, I wonder why she is resisting in performing her divine duty. She has been blessed to become a Sati Mata and get consigned on the pyre of Sampatrao.” Ilaa was horrified. She had heard about the practice of Sati, but never seen it actually being practiced up close. “But this is cruel and wrong. Why should she be burnt on the pyre? She has done no wrong and she does not want to become a Sati in any case,” she blurted out. Her mother-in-law was horrified- “Shut up! Who are you to comment on this. Come inside lest someone hears you. How dare you speak such blasphemous words? You are but a woman and have no right to speak like this.” Ilaa could not take it anymore and continued- “Mother, nowhere does our religion say that a widow must burn at the pyre of her husband against her will. Do you know our Paithan region was one of the most progressive societies for women during the Vedic ages. Women were even involved in running of the government. Come lets go and stop them before they murder Shaku…”. Her talk was cut by a tight slap on the back of her head. She turned around to see her father-in-law standing there livid with anger. “Do we now have to hear discourses from the women of our house about our traditions? Ilaa is not at fault, but her parents- and that damned Panditji who has filled her mind with garbage. Bhim, tell your wife if she utters one more word, I will cut off her tongue”. He gave her another painful slap on her cheeks as a parting shot and stomped off.

Only Bhimrao’s father and uncles went for Sampatrao’s funeral- where Shaku in all her bridal finery was elevated to a Goddess- all a cruel twist of fate combined with heartless superstition.

Two days passed with Ilaa in a melancholy mood. It rained a little the following day. Luckily it cleared out soon and the family left for the fields. A large number of extra labourers had been hired to hasten the harvest and tie the bales. Bhimrao was busy animatedly shouting out instructions to the hired hands, Ilaa still dazed by the experience of a few days back was trying to get back to grid. Soon everyone was deeply engrossed in work fully knowing that the buyers from Paithan would be arriving very shortly. Suddenly, Ilaa heard a loud yell from the direction in which the men were working and along with her mother-in-law rushed towards the source of the sound. To her horror she found Bhimrao clutching his right forearm and writhing on the ground screaming plaintively. There was a commotion all around and she could not comprehend the reason for the agitation. Suddenly, Bhimrao began frothing from his mouth and started having convulsions. “He has been bitten by an Krait!” screamed the foreman, quick somebody get the Vaid. The snake had sneaked into the harvested cotton, probably because of the morning rain and had bitten Bhimrao on his forearm as he was helping some labourers sift the cotton. In a matter of minutes, the convulsions abruptly stopped even as the horrified onlookers helplessly looked on and the foreman was trying to cut and clear the bite area. In just 3 days since she saw Shaku widowed- the unthinkable had happened- Ilaa not yet all of 21 was herself a widow now.

The time after that passed like a bad dream with her remembering only bits and pieces- women lamenting, men folk cursing and her two little children really not comprehending what the fuss was all about. In her trance-like state she was made to relive all the gory rituals of bangle breaking and tonsuring she had seen Shaku undergo just sometime back. Finally, the arrangements for the funeral of Bhimrao were made and a pyre was erected on the banks of the Godavari. Time had come for Ilaa to attain divine status, she was bathed by the women folk of the household and dressed in bridal finery. Drained emotionally and physically, she passed out before the funeral and had to be carried in a palanquin to the location of the pyre. The pyre was ready and the air was thick with the shouts of “Ram Naam Satya Hain….” and, “Sati Mata ki jai”. The priest motioned that everything was ready and the body of Bhimrao was placed on the pyre. Someone then sprinkled cold water on the face of Ilaa to revive her from her swoon, she groggily got up and looked around. Suddenly, she seemed very aware of her surroundings and the fate that awaited her. “No I don’t want to die!” she screamed. “You stupid woman you should not say such things…you are going to be a Goddess very soon, come on hurry up and sit on the pyre!” thundered the portly priest. In a split second Ilaa thought “I don’t want to be burnt into death on the pyre, I rather consign myself to Mother Godavari…” and before any of the people around realized anything, she ran and jumped into the swirling waters of Godavari. As the current dragged her away and she could hear people shouting and screaming on the banks and also  someone jumping into the water. A floating log of wood bumped her head and she passed out.

When she opened her eyes she found her surroundings dark. First, she could not remember what had happened and then  when the memories of her past came back to her in a flash. She got up to sitting position and looked around, she was in some kind of tent or hut. Suddenly, someone from the other end of the hut got up and lit an oil lantern and asked in a kindly voice- “How are you feeling child?”. She saw the benevolent face of an old woman in the flickering light. “Uhh..my head hurts! Where am I?”. “Don’t worry you are safe. We found you lying senseless on the banks of Godavari. I will just go inform the Rani…she was very concerned about you.” The old lady left the hut and came back after sometime with some fruits and a warm glass of milk. “Eat this child, it will help you recover faster!”. Just then another woman came in and announced that the Rani was coming to see her. A few minutes later an elegant old lady with two torch bearers entered the hut and touched Illa’s head very kindly. “Such a beautiful girl! I wonder what tragedy befell her. Rest now my child, you can come and meet me tomorrow when you feel better.”

After a fitful sleep, morning dawned and the old lady gave her a fresh pair of clothes and helped her dress up. She told her that the “Rani” who had visited her last night was none other than Rajmata Jijabai, the mother of the Great Maratha Warrior Shivaji who had routed Bijapur Sultan’s vast armies. The Rajmata, despite her advanced years had a regal presence. “You are lucky my child! She said, “ My entourage was going from Paithan to Nanded, and one of my Sipahis found you lying on the riverside barely breathing. You definitely have Mata Godavari’s blessings! Tell me what happened..do not fear for anything.” Ilaa blurted out all that had happened to her and to Shaku, herself surprised at her own courage and energy considering that these were probably the first words she actually spoke after her ‘re-birth’. Jijabai heard her in rapt attention without any interruption. By the time Ilaa finished, she felt totally drained and was sobbing. The Rani got up and kindly patted her cheeks and said, “Don’t cry my child! What you did was just great…. Even I could not gather the courage to take a stand as you did when my husband Raja Shahaji died two years back. But for my noble son Shiva who dissuaded me from committing Sati, I too would have been consigned to the pyre of my husband. I am now convinced that this practice is barbaric and degrades the very spirit of womanhood.” Surprising herself, Ilaa replied back to the Rani “Rani Sahiba, our land the great Maharashtra was known for empowering its women even in the vedic period and during the reign of the Satvahanas when Paithan flourished as a great centre of learning and knowledge.” The Rani was amazed “You speak beyond your age girl! You seem quite learned”. Ilaa told her about her days with Panditji back in her village and her self-education. The Rani was truly impressed. “We definitely need more young people like you to build a brighter future for our kingdom. Appoint her as my personal chambermaid from here on”, said the Rani motioning to one of the important looking courtiers standing there. 

Ilaa lived with the Rani until the latter’s death in 1674 after which the newly crowned Chhatrapati Shivaji made her the in charge of a girls only Gurukul in Paithan- a first of its kind, where she spread the treasure of knowledge and empowerment to little girls. Also, one of the first steps taken by Shivaji after his coronation was the abolition of Sati in his Rajya, a decision probably somewhere influenced by the real life tale of a helpless young girl who refused to be burnt at her husband’s pyre many years ago.

Ilaa was contented, but knew that she could never ever visit her beloved Dadegaon or Sauviragram and meet her family or children as her ‘disgrace’ in the village on that fateful day would have made sure that her name would have been erased forever from the memories of her kith and kin and in any case her unfortunate children were too young to even remember how she looked like. But every time she looked at the swirling waters of the Godavari, she knew the mighty river understood her sorrow only as a mother could.

IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO

Maya was very disturbed. It had all built up for the last month or so, since first Saturday of the last month to be precise, when she had tagged along with Abhi to one of his office get-togethers. Such parties with spouses were rare but with the stocks of Indo-Pacific Bank reaching an all time high, this time the management decided to throw a big bash at the Grand Hyatt.

She bumped into Sylvia for the first time that evening. A 20-something with a quirky sense of dressing, clean face lines and a lithe figure with curves at all the right places, she was attractive with a capital ‘A’. She had joined Abhi’s team as Manager Corporate Communication just a few weeks ago. Abhi seemed to be going a ga-ga over her and she followed each word of his like a puppy in adulation. Maya’s womanly sixth sense seemed to instantly pick her up as a potential rival for Abhi’s affections. Not that Abhi was one with a roving eye; on the contrary he was the quintessential ‘one-woman-man’, a suave, soft spoken guy with a solid middle class background and values.

This time, the sixth sense just refused to stop ticking. Abhi too invariably discussed over dinner almost everyday as to how smart and creative Sylvia was. Maya cringed each time he mentioned Sylvia’s name, but still held on her horses and did not confront him with her suspicions.

When she couldn’t take it anymore, she gave a call to Sanjay. Sanjay was Abhi’s colleague and her ‘rakhi’ brother. He too was from Indore as was she, and they shared quite a few common friends back home. He also happened to be Abhi’s batch mate at IIM-A and also the most eligible bachelor in the Indo-Pacific team.

He had sensed trouble when Maya had given him a frantic call one afternoon to meet her at her house and specifically warned against disclosing the rendezvous to Abhi. He knew he was right the moment he saw her woebegone face. “What is it Maya? You look pretty worried”, he asked her in a concerned tone.

Maya almost instantly blurted, “It is about Sylvia! Abhi has gone ballistic over her. What the hell is going on between my husband and that bitch?”  Maya's patience was at its lowest ebb and she was ready to burst.

Sanjay knew that she was serious. “Look, Maya. There is nothing going on between the two of them. Just a little bit of healthy flirting, I'd say.”

“Flirting? Healthy flirting? Really Sanjay . . .” she rolled her eyes in disgust. “That's what you men call it? There is nothing healthy about flirting, Sanjay, not for a married man.
Healthy flirting is a term introduced by perverted men who want to lend legitimacy to their extramarital dalliances. Flirting invariably has a sexual connotation to it.” She got up from her seat and walked around the room gesticulating and muttering something to herself. Suddenly she stopped, turned back, looked at Sanjay and asked, “Did my husband sleep with her? You are his friend. Did he ever tell you anything about it?”

Sanjay looked both shocked an embarrassed. “Look Maya! Stop imagining things. I know Abhi back from B School days- he has his head, heart and moral values absolutely in the right place. He loves you more than anything else. Have you forgotten the moment when he snapped all ties with his parents, just because they did not agree to him getting married to you?”

“Sanju, I don’t know how to put it across to you. Call it a primordial female intuition or whatever, but I sense something amiss here. Just tell me, are you going to help me or not?” lamented Maya.  

“Okay, since you are not giving me much of choice, tell me what do you want me to do…should I talk to Abhi and confront him about this?” said Sanjay sounding defeated by Maya’s emotional outburst.

“You will do no such thing….just keep a sharp eye on him and please be truthful to me, whatever it is….if you have any regard for me at all!” said Maya.

Sanjay thereafter left back to office, looking relieved that his brief meeting with Maya was finally over. It had been an uneasy 20 minutes for him. His best friend’s pretty wife who also happened to be his foster-sister telling him to spy on her husband and report back to her seemed straight out of a cheap paperback.

 Abhi got back as usual around 7:30 PM that night. “Hi Maya! Anything the matter? You don’t look too well” he asked, in almost a matter of fact tone. “Nothing I can’t handle myself..” snapped Maya. “Whoa! Madam, you don’t seem to be in a good mood at all”, said Abhi. “I have a bad headache. There is food in the fridge, heat it up and have it…I am going to bed”, retorted Maya.

Maya hit the sack and tossed and turned around trying to get sleep. Abhi in the meantime had dinner, showered and with a causal “Good Night” went to sleep like a baby, tired from a hectic day at work. Maya got even angrier, seeing him sleep off in such a nonchalant manner while she rolled around in fitful sleeplessness. Finally slumber overtook her tired and disturbed mind and she too drifted into somnolence.

She got up later that night with a start, feeling thirsty and felt around in the darkness for the water bottle. She suddenly realized that Abhi was not here besides her. With a dark foreboding she got up to see what he was upto. She found the light of the second bedroom on, and the door slightly ajar. On tip toes she went upto the door and peeped in. She found Abhi reclining on the bed with his laptop in front of him on a Skype chat with someone. “At this hour? ….could it be that woman?” she thought. She changed angles to view the screen of the laptop and stifled a shout when she saw the skimpily clad form of Sylvia on the screen animatedly talking to Abhi and Abhi whispering sweet nothings to her in return. Maya could take it no more. She barged into the room screaming “So this is what you are upto Mr Abhishek Singh…the real thing at office and the virtual thing at home! I won’t leave you…I’ll drag you to the courts”. Abhi seemed to be taken totally by surprise and in a reflex action struck her on her cheek.

“Maya, Maya..what’s wrong? Are you okay?”, she saw Abhi’s anxious face looking at her, gently slapping her cheeks to wake her up. She was still in bed. “Did you have a bad dream Maya? You were screaming something about not leaving me and God knows what not”. Maya was embarrassed and mumbled that she was fine. Abhi reluctantly went back to sleep and she too dozed off after some time.

She got up the next morning with a splitting headache probably due to the disturbed sleep she had at night. “Maya, you don’t look well. I think we should meet the doctor right away. I’ll call up work and tell them that I’ll be slightly late”, said a concerned Abhi, looking at her tired dark circle rimmed eyes. “No I’m okay! Just lack of sleep….will take rest today. I think I should be okay by evening”, muttered Maya. Abhi reluctantly left for work once Maya insisted that she was okay.

Later in the day she called up Sanjay. “Sanju, you have not told me anything about what’s happening in the office from the time we last met. Is that all that you care for my words?”. “Don’t be silly Maya. Everything is just fine. The two just exchange some harmless banter once or twice a day that’s all” said Sanjay’s voice at the other end of the line. Maya hung up muttering to herself, “Guys are all the same. No one is going to help me. I will have to do something myself before my marriage is wrecked”.

She quickly changed her clothes and went downstairs from their 11^th Floor Apartment and asked the Security Guard to hail a cab for her. “Bhaiya! Take me to Nariman Point” she told the Cabbie. Soon they were opposite the building on whose fifth floor was Abhi’s office. She got down from the Cab and paid off the driver. She took position at  a small coffee shop overlooking the building and from where she had a clear view of the entry/exit of the building. After about 2 hours and as many coffees, she suddenly sat up. It was indeed Abhi….with Sanjay and a third person who was unmistakably that bitch Sylvia, this time in dapper business attire looking even prettier than the last time they met. Maya felt she would explode as she saw them laugh and back-slap before Sanjay shook hands and left for somewhere else. Abhi and Sylvia continued to share what seemed a funny joke and walked to Abhi’s car. Abhi then helped her with her bag and what appeared to be a laptop, started the car and then both zoomed away seemingly in gay abandon. Maya was aghast “I’ll never forgive Abhi! Some cheek he has to take his new found girl friend around in the car which my father gave him during our wedding…How dare he!!”. Big salty tears streamed down her pretty face and Maya began sobbing loudly, more or less convinced of Abhi’s infidelity. She pulled herself together after some time and took a cab back home.

She could not resist a call to Sanjay on the way, “Sanju, I saw you today laughing and backslapping with that bitch and that dog of my husband. From now on, I don’t expect any help from you. If you can, just get me a one way train ticket to Indore…I want to go to my parents”.  “Calm down behna! It is not what you think….there is nothing happening between them” said Sanjay in an assuaging tone. “Cut it out Sanjay! I am not a child. Just tell me if you can get me the ticket or not otherwise I will go to the station and buy it myself” snapped Maya rudely. “Okay chill! I will fix up you tickets…but still think about what you are doing” conceded Sanjay.  

She ignored Abhi when he got back from work that evening. She purposely got up late the next morning and did not see off Abhi. Sanjay sent her an SMS around noon that her tickets were booked in the evening train on 14^th of April, three days hence.

Maya did not speak to Abhi at all for the next two days except in mono syllables when utmost necessary. On the evening of 13^th April she decided to break the news of her coming to her parents. One minute into the phone-call and she was in tears and rattled out everything to her Mother. Her mother was shocked “Why don’t you speak to Daamadji and ask him, there might be nothing between them at all..or should I speak. I will be calling you both tomorrow in any case, to wish you both a happy anniversary”. “No, there is nothing to speak, I just want to leave this place” said Maya. Sensing the mood she was in, Maya’s mother decided to leave it at that and speak to her in person once she was in Indore.

14^th April dawned and it was Abhi and Maya’s 5^th wedding anniversary. She found Abhi getting ready for office as usual. “Hi Maya! You okay? I have to leave a little early today as I have an important Board meeting, will get late in the evening too”, said Abhi and left for office. “The Rascal has even forgotten our anniversary! He is so smitten by that bimbo of his…”, Maya was all ready to have another session of sobbing all over again. Her stupor was broken when her mobile shrilly rang- it was her Mom and Dad. “Happy Anniversary Beta!” said her father’s voice at the other end. “What anniversary? You son in law didn’t even wish me in the morning, let alone anything else” sobbed Maya. “Don’t worry child I am sure he must have been pre occupied with work. We know him well. He is a gem of a boy” cooed her Mother. Maya angrily cut the call. “They will never understand! Gem of a boy..my foot! Anyways good thing I would have left before he is back.” she muttered. She had tied up with Sanjay to get dropped at CST Station at 7:00 PM. Her train was at 7:30. She had also sworn him not to mention a word to Abhi until she had left. 

She spent the rest of the day packing. At 6:45 PM sharp, Sanjay was there to pick her up. He helped her with her suitcase and bag and loaded it into the car without a word. They drove in silence. The car turned towards the road leading to Taj Palace Hotel. “Why are you taking this route Sanju?” asked Maya. “Nothing! I just need to pick up some muffins I ordered for Uncle and Auntie in Indore. I know your Dad loves them”.

The car pulled up at the hotel and Sanjay gave the keys to the Valet.  “Why don’t you wait in the lobby, it is warm here. I might take a few minutes to get the stuff packed” said Sanjay as he led her into the lobby.

She sat at the lobby, disinterestedly surveying the passersby. She was suddenly feeling very low and empty. Abhi…who rebelled against the world to marry her, was now doing this to her- it was too much to digest. Tears again welled up in her kohl rimmed eyes.

Her mobile rang. “Hey Maya! I have got confused with the muffin flavours, can you just come over to the bakery and help me” said Sanjay at the other end. Though slightly irritated she walked upto the bakery. A smiling sales girl at the counter told her that special packings were done in the room adjacent. She went to the room a little confused. It looked like a convention room and was dark.

She pushed the door, and it opened. “Sanjay, where are you?” said Maya apprehensively stepping inside the room.

Suddenly there was a bang and a flash and the lights came on. She could not comprehend- she saw the smiling faces of Abhi, Sanjay, Sylvia, Mom, Dad and a number of other colleagues of Abhi all gathered there with a large 3 tiered cake in the centre. “Happy Anniversary! Abhi and Maya..” they all shouted in unison and before she realized, Abhi had planted a wet kiss on her lips with all cameras going off. “Wha…what is this? “ was all that she could blurt – her mind whirling.

“Darling! Thank you for the five most wonderful years of my life..” said Abhi kneeling down ceremoniously before her and opened a small red box revealing a beautiful ring studded with a magnificent solitaire. He gently slipped the ring on her finger and gently kissed her hand.

Maya’s cheeks flushed to an embarrassed pink. She then saw Sanjay smile- “By the way Maya, let me formally introduce you to my fiancé – Sylvia- I believe you have already met”. Maya could not get her eyes to meet Sylvia’s and she shyly shook her hand.   “I don’t believe this Abhi, Mom, Dad, Sanju, all of you part of this…” she muttered under her breath.

“Sweetheart! I sensed it the very first time that you were uneasy of Sylvia’s proximity to me. So we all planned this little game just to assuage your fears once in for all and convince you that you are the only girl I will ever love! By the way Sylvia and Sanjay are getting married next month- the most eligible bachelor of Indo-Pacific has finally succumbed!  After all it takes two to Tango!” said Abhi with a twinkle in his eye.