Chapter 9
A new beginning
(Haven’t read the previous episode? click here to read it)
(Click here to read the first episode)
Present
“You needn’t apologize Sid”, said Amulya.
She was wearing a black t-shirt and pajamas. Her hair was tied to form a bun. With a serious face, she was no longer the 21 year old kid she used to be. A Lot had changed over a period of ten days.
She had joined a theatre group and had shifted to a ladies PG.
It’s said that there are five moments in a woman’s life, which bring in a significant change in her behaviour and outlook.
- The First time she gets know that some guy likes her.
- The First time a guy tells her that he loves her.
- A guy breaks her heart for the first time.
- That moment when she gets married.
- That very moment, when she gives birth to her first kid.
Amulya was living in the aftermath of the third. I could rightfully take the credit for her new-found tough attitude towards life.
“You must go back home. I know I disappointed you, but why are you punishing yourselves for the mistake that you haven’t done”, I tried to convince her, once again. Her parents had tried doing it every single day, but in vain.
She looked at me sharply. Her innocent eyes were long gone.
“Sid..! I am happy the way I am.
Why are you considering it as my self-imposed punishment? Who told you that I don’t like doing theaters? I love acting. In fact, I always wanted to be an actress”, she spoke like a lawyer fighting her case.
“But why a sudden interest in acting? Why didn’t you tell your parents about it, when they were planning to get you married?”, I put forth my argument.
“I didn’t have courage! I am not denying the fact that you left me shattered by calling off our engagement. That wasn’t easy for me”, she paused to study my reaction.
The sense of shame and guilt had swarmed over me. I looked away.
“Moments like those don’t make you weak; they make you tough. It gives you enough time to think about your life. It makes you realize that you should start making decisions, instead of letting others do it for you.
Let me tell you, now I have an excuse to pursue my interest. I am able to do something beyond my studies. And I am very much excited to embrace it”.
“But..!”, in spite of feeling happy for her, I wanted to give my one last try.
“Sid.! I am happy now. It’s a new beginning for me. Please don’t force me into my old life. I am feeling relieved that I don’t have to live with the nerd tag any more. Want to do something cool.!”, she pleaded, gently.
“All the best, then!”, I wished her luck.
“Thank you Sid. And chill dude!”, said she. She had intentionally played the ‘dude’ word trying to prove that she was happy. I smiled in return.
I was filled with remorse and wanted to come out of it. I sincerely hoped that she is and will be happy with her life.
“It’s my marriage. I want you to be there”, I said.
“Wow.! That’s wonderful?”, she exclaimed. I fell silent.
“Where’s the invitation card, Sid?”, she asked, this time playfully.
“I will text you the time and venue in a while. Hoping to see you tomorrow”, I said.
“Tomorrow? Sid..! They are picking actors for their next play. I should be here. It’s very important for me. I am extremely sorry”, she put up a sorry face.
“That’s okay..! Which play?” I asked.
“Based on O Henry’s last leaf”, she answered.
“Good luck”, I wished her luck, with a faint little smile.
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Chapter 10
The proposal
Past
I double checked the ring in the velvet box. The beautiful jewel, with a heart shaped bright white stone was shining brightly under the sun.
A little girl tapped the window mildly. She was ten, I guess. I was at the signal, waiting for it to turn green. I lowered the window and she held a bunch of roses towards me. It was as if she knew my plans for the day.
“How much?”, I asked.
“Ten rupees anna”. She handed me a rose.
She had a large blue polythene bag, good enough to carry over a hundred roses. “How much for the entire bag?”, I asked.
She was taken aback by the huge order that I had placed. I think she wasn’t prepared for the math.
She took a while before replying. “Hmm.. Don’t know uncle. Let me count”. I don’t know what prompted it, but she had switched to ‘uncle’ from ‘anna’.
Seeing her struggle to count, I asked her if she knew how to count.
“Not properly, anna”. The anna word had reappeared and I felt good.
“See.., this is why you should go to school. Okay.! Tell Me.! How many roses did you carry in the morning?”
“Ninety. And I have already sold ten”, replied the proud little girl.
“That makes it, eighty in the bag. And I have to pay you eight hundred”, said I in an attempt to teach her mathematics. She nodded with a smile.
I didn’t want to give her a lecture on the importance of schooling. Not today, I thought. I took out two notes of thousand rupee.
“Give me all those roses. I am going to pay you 2000 Rs. I want you to give this one note to your parents, showing it as your earning. With the other note, buy yourselves a nice little chappal and a cute little frock”, I said.
I don’t know if she understood it completely and I wasn’t sure if she was convinced the thousand Rupee note. She nodded in response and handed me over the large blue bag.
“Thanks anna”. She put into exercise, her dimpled cheeks.
I took out a rose from the bag and gave it to her. I think she felt a little shy, so she quickly ran across the street after refusing my rose.
‘This rose thing is indeed difficult’, I smiled to myself. The signal went green, the biker behind me honked and I moved my car.
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I had worn a white full sleeved shirt and white trousers – Helps you with positive vibes while talking to a girl, somewhere I had read. However, when I reached the college, Mother Nature had some other plans in store.
In no time, the sunny day had turned rainy. After parking the car in the parking space, I dialed her number.
“Hey I am in front of your college”, I said.
“And I am inside it”, she replied.
“I haven’t carried my umbrella. Can you come out?”
“Sid..! Even I haven’t carried any! Who would carry an umbrella during summer! Moreover, it’s ethnic day. I am in saree. You don’t want me to spoil it, do you?”, she scolded me with a mix of laughter.
‘And I am in white and white. People are going to file an obscenity case against me for wearing wet white cloths”, I badly wanted to say. Intended words didn’t escape my mouth after I pictured her in the saree!
‘Wow.!’, I silently exclaimed. “Okay. Tell me where I should come”, I asked her, hiding my excitement.
“4th block, third floor. Information science final year classroom”, she replied.
“You got to be kidding. I am not coming to your class”, I complained like a kid. I didn’t want my proposal plans to be ruined.
“Come on. It’s ethnic day. We don’t have lectures today. Everyone is busy posing for photographs”, she said.
“But.. You wanted me to surprise you”, I said.
“Yeah! Surprise me in front of my friends”
All rite lady! You are asking for it. I am going to propose you, in front of your friends. Don’t blame me later, thought.
“All rite! In two minutes”, I said and cut the call.
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Thanks to my sprint across their slushy college ground, it appeared as if I had spilled a can full of chocolate milk shake, all over my pant. My rear had got leopard prints all over it. The wet white shirt had turned transparent and I was standing in front of her classroom with a large blue plastic, torn at places.
I wasn’t offering a pleasant sight. The class stood staring at me and I felt like a clown.
I looked at Anahita. She was looking beautiful in her mild orange colored Saree. She had let loose her hair and had a bindi sitting prettily between her eyebrows. Her long earrings were dancing each time she moved. I am not sure if there is a research done on it, but on any given day, traditional Indian attire adds to the beauty of a woman.
When the girl you love starts looking extra beautiful, it grows you nervous and makes you struggle to breath. You will find it hard to resist the urge to continue looking at her. I was struggling to breathe now.
“He’s Sid, my friend”, she introduced me to her friends. I think the other group had already started gossiping.
“Hi.! And she’s Anahita”, I introduced her to her friends. I thought that would make them laugh and project my humorous side. To my disappointment, none of them laughed. My confidence sunk to bottom in seconds.
What was I thinking.! I felt stupid. This proposal thing is not going to happen today, not in front of her friends, I knew.
“Belated wishes Anahita”, I wished her and held the blue polythene bag towards her. Few roses and stems of other few were peeping through the plastic. “A bag full of roses”, I heard some girl whispering. I could easily trace the hint of mockery in it.
“So, That’s how you surprise people? With a bag full of roses?”, Anahita asked without batting an eye.
“Err. Hmm. I don’t know”, I smiled like a fool. God..! Why isn’t she smiling! Didn’t she like the surprise, I questioned myself.
Being in the middle of the unfamiliar college crowd was getting me suffocated.
“Happy birthday again”, I said. “Got to go”, I waved a bye after realizing that I won’t be able to propose her today. Without waiting for her response, I quickly ran down the stairs. I think, I heard them all laugh.
I had hardly entered the college ground, when my phone rang. The rain had refused to slow down. I ran under the tree to answer it.
“Where are you?”. It was Anahita.
“Under the tree”.
“Which one?”, she asked.
“The green one”, I said. And before she could ask me to stop answering like an idiot, I quickly added “The one in front of the e block”.
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“You have spoilt your saree”, I said pointing at it. In spite of walking under the umbrella, she was completely drenched. Rain was dancing in every possible axes.
“That’s okay. Buy me a new one”, she said and before I could reply, she handed me over the plastic bag of roses. Rain water had formed puddles all over the ground and there was one next to us, under the tree.
“You didn’t like the flowers, did you?”, I asked.
“Everyone in the class is making fun of me Sid. Especially, my class guys! They think that you are my boyfriend”, she made a complaining face.
The wet green leaves hanging from the tree, were kissing her cheeks. Rain drops were running down them. I cleared them for her.
“Oh.! I am sorry”.
“Sid..! Do you want to come upstairs and flex some muscles?”, she winked.
“Ah..err.. I don’t know. I mean I can. But..”, I started searching for an appropriate answer.
“You are impossible”, she laughed.
“What?”, I asked.
“You were planning to propose me, weren’t you?”, she asked. My heart skipped a beat! Was I being so obvious in the class, I wondered.
I tried to smile through my nervousness.
“Yes or no?”, she asked like a kinder garden teacher.
“Yes..!”, I replied like a kid.
The tree and her umbrella weren’t able to completely shield us from the rain.
“How were you planning to propose me? I am curious.”
Her question and the tone, with which she asked it, conveyed something – The moment was here.
I think she was in love with me. Else, why would she want to see the way I wanted propose! What kind of proposal is she expecting? I can go on knees, but what if she finds it clichéd!
Parking aside my all other thoughts, I decided to start with a speech. I adjusted my hair. “Anahita..! I was always looking out for reasons to make you feel special. And I have found one in your birthday”, I started.
“Oh god..! Not again.!”, she interrupted me.
“What?”, I asked.
“This is the same speech that you gave on my birthday, right?”, she laughed.
I felt surprised and embarrassed at the same time. How did she know? Did someone upload that birthday video on YouTube? I felt puzzled.
“I was there. I watched the whole thing from the balcony. I was the one who had asked Sheetal to lie to you. Wanted to have some fun, you know.! I even have the video with me. My god..! That was quite a speech. And I must say, that was the most beautiful cake that I had ever seen”, she spoke with admiration.
“Oh.! I am embarrassed”, I said trying to look away, in spite of feeling proud.
“No. Not before you propose me”, she said.
Realizing that I can’t run my well-rehearsed speech, I had to proceed to the next ritual. “I can’t go on knees. I am wearing a white pant”, I complained.
She pointed at my trousers. I realized that my pant wasn’t white anymore.
“Fine..!”, I relented, went on knees and took out all those flowers from the bag. She lowered her umbrella to keep me away from the heavy downpour.
“Anahita..!”, I said.
“Too much rain. Can’t hear you?”, she said with a naughty smile.
“Anahita..!”, I added extra decibels to my usual tone. There was the sound of rain and that of mine. The stage was perfect.
“Yes..!”, she answered.
“I hope no one is watching this”, I spoke in anxiety.
“No stupid. Do it fast”. That was the first time that she had called me stupid. I felt good.
“Okay listen.! I am deeply and madly in love with you.
You might not be the most beautiful lady out there, but I know that you will be my most perfect partner.
I don’t want to be your boyfriend Anahita, but I want to be your lover. I don’t know the difference between two. But, I do know that I want to be with you, forever and ever.
Someday in the future, I do want to marry you.
And before my speech gets anymore filmy, boring and lengthy, and before I blabber some more nonsense, I want you to tell me that you love me. I want you to accept these roses, before my knee starts complaining”, I ended my one minute speech.
“Wow. This would be one of the most unromantic proposals ever made in the history. And with those wild thorns, your rose garden looks dangerous to touch”, said she and held the plastic cover towards me.
I was on my knees, wearing wet white cloths, completely soiled; under the tree; holding a bunch of more than hundred roses, wildly arranged.
In front of me was a girl whom I loved, standing under the rain holding a blue colored umbrella and a large polythene, signaling me to put all those roses in it – She was right..! This was one of most unromantic proposals that the world had ever seen.
“Everyone cannot have a perfect filmy proposal Anahita.! But I will try my best to ensure a perfect life ahead..!”, I said.
“I love you Sid.. and would love to stay with you, forever and ever”, she said with a sweet smile.
Is that all? Isn’t she going to tell me why she loves me.! – I felt disappointed.
I heard her sneeze.
“Wow. That was cute. So can we kiss now?”, I asked. I think, I should have looked into her eyes and let that thing happen automatically, instead of seeking her permission.
“I think you watch too many movies. This kiss thing is not going to happen with me, not until we get married”, she said.
This sounded disappointing less and cute more.
“In that case, I don’t care if we are going to have an orthodox Hindu wedding. But when we do, I am going to ask one of my friend to conduct the ‘now you may kiss the bride’ ritual, right after I tie the mangalsutra around your neck”, I laughed.
“I am not going to oppose mister”, she said, this time in a loud voice.
I quickly remembered about the ring.
“Hey.. I have carried a ring too. Shall I put it around your finger?”, I asked and held out the ring in front of her.
“Oh my god..!”, she clasped in excitement and I stood up with a confused face.
“For few things, one must not seek permission”, she said, trying to hold back her tears. You can never know the kind of things that will run a girl into tears. She was immensely happy and emotional.
“But the kiss..”, I was about point out that she had denied me a kiss.
“Sid..! I said ‘few things’. And the kiss is definitely not amongst them”, she sneezed again.
“I will be waiting for the day we get married Anahita”, said I and put the ring around her fingers.
The rain continued to lash, heavily. And I stood there under the tree, with the lady I loved, being the happiest man on the earth.
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Chapter 11
The wedding
Present
My dad placed the silk pheta over my head and my mother adjusted my tie.
“Shall we?”, asked Amit. I nodded and he signalled the nurse to open the door.
I slowly entered the room. There were around fifty people in that large room of the hospital – friends, relatives, employees of my company and hospital staffs.
Anahita was on the bed, next to the wall. She was on artificial ventilation, with her eyes closed.
She had suffered a spinal haemorrhage. The loss of blood was immense and had refused to stop. Doctors had given up and she was counting her final moments.
When you know that your loved one is in her dying moments, you can do two things –
Think about the future without her and weep
Or..
Live in the present, make those final moments count. Make them beautiful and worth cherishing.I didn’t think twice before deciding to marry her.
On my request, my dad had asked the hospital administration to allow us carry out the ceremony in that room.
I wanted it to be special and romantic– something which Anahita always wanted. I had the whole hall filled with white flowers. Everyone was dressed in white.
Large photographs of her, capturing those beautiful moments of her journey – from childhood till date, were adorning the walls.
I looked at my watch. It was five forty in the morning.! In spite of being an early morning affair, I could see that no one had strained eyes.
Anahita’s mom offered me topor, the turban worn by the groom in Bengali weddings. I handed over my pheta to her and bent my head. She placed the topor on my head.
After taking blessings from my parents and her mom, I went up to her cot and stood next to it. The whole hall was silent.
I was perhaps the only person in the hall, who stood smiling. “It’s good to see you all here. Means a lot to me”, I thanked everyone in a calm voice.
“It doesn’t happen in Hindu marriages, but I want to deliver a short speech before I get married. You might feel that few things are being overdone and few other things might sound dramatic, but I want you people to know that, it’s important for me. It’s important for us. Please bear with it”, I added.
I turned towards Anahita.
“The moment is finally here Anahita. We are getting married”, I said and my voice choked. I wiped my tears and reminded myself to stay in the present.
“Every guy on the earth claims to be lucky, when he gets married to his lady love. But let me draw an exception”, said I and looked at her. All the calmness in the world was resting on her face. The nurse standing next to her was smiling through her tears.
“You are the luckiest woman in the world. You are getting married to the one who loves you the most.”, I paused again.
“On this day, I needn’t tell how much I love you. Because, you know about it and I don’t find a need for the world to know it. On this day, I don’t want to tell why I love you. Because, everything about you is equally specially to me. However, I do want to tell something. Something, which the world might find uninteresting, but you will definitely appreciate”.
The time read six. I signaled the staff and they slowly opened the windows of the hall. First rays of sun made their way to the hall and to the beautiful garden outside. Strokes of cold breeze traversed through the window. Birds started singing the music of the hour.
“Dew drops, sunshine and a blade of grass.! Few days back you had asked me the meaning of it, when I floated those words in front of you. That moment, I had no answer. But Now , I do have one.
The grass stays on the ground till it dies. Sun has been maintaining it’s routine for years. Dew drops make their presence felt in the night and starts disappearing with the first stroke of sunlight.
Everyday sun wakes up to tell us that it’s a new beginning. That very moment, you neither think about the past, nor worry about the future. You live in the present, you live the moment.
That very moment..,where dew drop, sunshine and blades of grass meet up for the only time in the day. It comes only when your day begins, signalling a beautiful beginning to a new chapter.
The words ‘dewdrops, sunshine and a blade of grass’ will not make any difference to those who have not seen it. But those who have lived the experience, can understand the beauty behind it”, I said and pointed towards the window.
Everyone in the room looked in the direction. The tender rays of sun were amplifying the beauty of the moist green plants in the garden. The white flowers in the room, the greenery outside and the orange tinge from the sun light was dressing up the whole scene. It was grandeur in all its serenity.
“On this day, I want to tell you that our journey together has had several such chapters with beautiful beginnings”, my voiced choked again. Once again I asked myself to stop picturing a life without her.
“I want to tell you that this is once such new chapter in our life. A new chapter with a beautiful beginning. ! This day when I am marrying you, I want to tell you that this would the most beautiful chapter in my life, which I will cherish till my one last breath. Wishing both of us a happy married life”.
I was done with whatever I had to say. I don’t know if she was able to hear all that I said. But it didn’t matter. She already knew the only thing which I wanted her to know – that I love her.
Anahita’s mom handed me over the mangalsutra. The lady doctor and my mom along with a nurse approached the bed. They slowly lifted her head and I tied it around her neck.
Amit stepped forward. “Now you may kiss the bride”, he said.
I smiled at him and bent towards her.
I closed my eyes and placed a peck on her lips, though the ventilation mask. A tear silently slipped from the corner of her eye, down her cheeks!
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Chapter 56 and counting
The final chapter
Some day in the future
“I must say, that was quite a wine. I really appreciate the way you have dressed up the whole reading section. And I love the name that you have given to this place. It’s beautiful”, said the old man in his sixties. He was sitting in my cabin. He was a retired journalist.
I thanked him.
“Goaaaal….!!”, the loud cheer from the other hall breached its walls, reaching us feebly and I smiled.!!
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I stood there, facing the sky
On the top of the hill, all alone..!
All ears to the orchestra of birds
Arms outstretched, eyes closed and feeling the breeze against my skin!
The first ray of sun kissed my skin and made it warm.
I knew at once – A new day was here..!
A new day, marking a new beginning
Punctual as usual and being pleasant as ever!
I opened my eyes and looked all around..
Coming together for the only time in the day
Stood there.., smiling all around me…
Dewdrop, sunshine and blades of grass..!!
Adding a touch of beauty to the new beginning
Dewdrop, sunshine and a blade of grass..!!
************ THE END **********
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
Thank you for reading. I cannot be sure that you have enjoyed this series, but I sincerely hope that you did.
If you have liked this series, please share it with your friends. That would help me reach maximum people, which I cannot otherwise. 🙂
I would also love to hear your feedback. You can provide yours by commenting here, or dropping an email to chandrajith.pb19@gmail.com.
Thank you once again 🙂 🙂
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