Page 33
‘What actually happens on honeymoons.’
‘What?’
‘Talk a little bit and then a little bit of …’
‘A little bit of what? Tell me, na.’
‘You don’t have to speak for that little bit.’
Along with Sudha and Chandar, the bathroom, the sunlight, the shampoo, the bar of soap and everything else also took a shower. Even their conversations took a shower. In a while, both of them emerged refreshed.
The days at Andaman passed by as if a movie was being ‘forwarded’ in a DVD player; you could see everything, but hear nothing. The days that pass by quickly are the really good ones. No one pauses when going through the good days; we look for the pause once those days pass.
Life, in fact, is just a story of a constant search. If nothing is found, people set out, looking for something that can’t be found. Once found, it’s time to look for something new. The day we figure out what we are really looking for is the day life takes a step towards us and starts to look for us.
Chandar and Sudha did celebrate their honeymoon. But Chandar was looking for marriage in the relationship. What was Sudha looking for? She didn’t deem that question to be important enough.
K for Kundali
It had been six months since Chandar had been dodging the family on the issue of marriage. One day, out of the blue, Chandar’s mom called. She told him she would be visiting the next week; she planned to stay for almost a week. She had shortlisted profiles of three or four girls.
The issue was where Sudha would stay.
She said, ‘It’s just a week, I’ll go stay with any friend of mine.’
Chandar was worried that the maid shouldn’t tell his mother about Sudha staying with him. That’s why he asked Sudha to bribe the maid with a few hundred rupees and tell her not to mention anything to his mother. The week before his mother was supposed to arrive flew by real quick.
The next day, Chandar’s mother was set to arrive in the morning and Sudha was to leave for her friend’s place.
‘How will you live without me for a week?’
‘Just like you will without me.’
‘Yaar, I was thinking it would be good if you met Mummy.’
‘I will, not a big deal. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if the kundali matches with the husband or not; it should definitely match with the mother-in-law and maid.’
‘Yaar, no kidding, I was seriously thinking about it.’
‘Yeah, so I will meet her. I am not kidding either.’
‘That means you are mentally prepared for marriage now?’
‘Who said anything about marriage?’
‘You just mentioned matching kundalis with mother-in-law, didn’t you?’
‘C’mon, can’t a girl joke around here?’
‘Yaar, we have been staying together for so long. This can’t go on forever, no?’
‘Can’t go on, as in?’
‘As in what’s the way forward?’
‘Nothing really.’
‘I can’t stay without marriage.’
