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Stories
" She always wanted to send her boys abroad. Let her go with them and take the little one also." "Who will tell her ?" " You are now the head of the family. You must." The burden Geetli put on him, was awesome -- that of banishing his beloved forever, never to see her again. " I'll be with you." " Have you thought of the cost ?" " There's plenty in Thakurda's accounts abroad. If more is needed, sell something, land, anything. We owe it to Thakurda's honor ". " Geetli, Ravi is your husband...." " Leave him to me. I'll take care of that angle," she interrupted grimly. " First we have to ensure that he does not see the little one when he comes now and that he and Laajjo are never left together. Perhaps it may be for the best if the little one is raised away from all the gossips here. Also, don't tell anyone, anyone at all, of our plan, until it is time to tell her to leave. " That had not been very difficult to achieve. The funeral's aftermath was protracted and formal. In any case, the children were kept occupied well away from the mourners and the guests. A large number of women mourners hemmed in the young widow, away from male eyes. Ravi made a belated entry. Prema not at all ?? The funeral was an elaborate backdrop to Geetli's funereal memories of her disastrous marriage to Ravi. She had never dreamt that a person could be so supremely narcissistic, that he could actually be evil without knowing that he was being so. Perhaps, she reflected, Ravi did know, but refused to acknowledge it ? That perhaps made it easier for what was left of his conscience, even if the accumulated effect had robbed him of his sleep; Ravi was a chronic insomniac. Consternation had been writ large on many faces when Prema arrived from her college, in time for Geetli's wedding festivities. She walked in with all her college-practiced aplomb and missed the despair creeping into Geetli's eyes -- conscious now of the inevitable comparisons. bitter memories of old preyed on her mind. Prema's pretty aplomb carried her straight into her Jiga's heart, tinkled pink at the appearance of such a stylish saali. He flirted boldly with her and she responded with glee, flaunting herself all the more to spite the frigid disapproval writ large on the face of every aunt present. " Won't you invite your sister to go back with us ? " asked Ravi of his bride of a day, with a broad smile. Geetli looked at Prema with barely moving lips. To her consternation, Prema agreed with shameless alacrity and proceeded to fight off all the objections of the Aunts, until Thakurda saved the day. Firmly grasping Prema by the scruff of her fair neck, he pulled her back " Beti, phir kabhi Geetli se milne jaana ". The Ides did not seem to favorable for a peaceful marriage, proved all too soon when Prema came to visit.
One day, her control had
snapped and Geetli had screamed venomously " Randiye... bahenda ghar
lootan aee " at the saucy-eyed apparition before her. Her younger sister, Prema had bent instinctively to come help her up; but was rudely pulled back by Ravi. " Let her be. She can go to her saut for medication and cold comfort. you come with me". Geetli stood up slowly, gently massaging her wounded cheek and looking at the retreating figures with smoldering eyes. " That, " she brooded , " is my little sister and that is Ravi, my husband, smitten only because she is fresh out of college, clings prettily, speaks English and wears trendy suits, instead of these Victorian lace and ribbon confections foisted on me, " her bosom heaved with heartfelt resentment , " by his bloody first wife !" It was not as if Geetli was bad looking herself or that Prema was particularly beautiful. Rather they complemented each other, with a strongly discernible family resemblance. Tall and angular, Geetli was a full head taller than Prema, with rather stern features and an aversion for any sort of reading, a fact which quickly earned her husband's ridicule.
Prema was petite and
dimply; curves at all the right places; stylish high heels and deep
slits in her kameezes gave her a swinging, hippy gait with a swish which
would have turned the head of a saint -- which Ravi most certainly was
not. That Prema incident had come a few short months after marriage, too early for Geetli to have learnt to contend with either Ravi's handsomely smiling audacity, or Prema's bravado. Her plea back home had been frenetic and the response immediate. Prema was recalled to be shown off to prospective in-laws. All three knew fully well that for all his suggestive gestures and talk, Ravi would not, could not go beyond bold caresses; negotiations were already underway for Prema's marriage and which respectable family would accept " soiled goods ", no matter how impeccable the antecedents. |
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" Go ? where ? "
