It had been more than a month
after their marriage, yet Shankhar and Gauri couldn’t talk much to each other.
They hardly shared words, rather lingered on syllables. Unlike other
arranged-marriage couples, they didn’t enjoy the art of jabbering, even after
their engagement. Gauri was the daughter of Retd.Col. Devadatta and Dr.Malathi,
both of whom took utmost care, that their daughter never got exposed to the men
folk, during her academics. This might be one of the reasons why she fought
with Prof.Balakrishnan, her colleague, just for simply praising her beauty. Her
feminist mind couldn’t stand such things. On the other hand Shankhar was no less
than a traditional male chauvinist, parented by Adv.Achuthan Namboodiri and
Devaki Varasyar, who was a home maker. It had always kept Shankhar, the project
leader at Infopark, in wonder, as how Achuthan Namboodiri chose his daughter-in
law to be a working woman, which Shankhar never preferred. Both the families were
happy to have the new comers, except the newly wedded pair, both of whom were ardent
lovers of late marriage, and to get married in their 20’s was never their cup
of tea.
Just after their marriage, they
shifted to a 3 bedroom furnished apartment in Kochi, as their job locations
were equally accessible from there. Both were busy with their pile of works, and
they never found themselves dependant on each other. The teachings of Dr.Malathi
had always helped Gauri to prevent her feminism overrule her mind, so that she
woke up early, and by the time Shankhar was on the dining table with his
newspaper, he got his Bru-Coffee, with just a pinch of sugar. She was a good
cook, which always kept Shankhar’s tummy satisfied. Every morning, Shankhar used
to drop her to the college, and always took special care, not to get late in
the evening. It was for the first time, that Shankhar brought eggs home, just
for Gauri, who had her heart on it. The first week was terrible for Gauri, who
used to sleep with her parents all her life, now had to sleep with a man who is
known to her parents more. Shankhar too felt an uneasiness and lack of freedom,
but he never disturbed Gauri. Soon Gauri felt the silent company comfortable
enough. The only thin, they never forgot to give each other was a smile.
It was on a Friday, that Shankhar
informed her about the change in his working hours and that from the next
Monday, he would be on night shifts. Before
she could speak, he also told her that he had already arranged Malathi Chechi
to come and stay with her during nights and that Murukesh will pick her home in
the evenings. She had nothing more to get concerned about, but felt some
unknown restlessness inside. On the Monday, she woke up much earlier, and by
the time Shankhar was on the dining table, besides the breakfast and his
Bru-Coffee, even the lunch was ready. On their way to the college, they went to
Anchumana temple. As he drove back, he felt an immense loneliness. He felt the
house to be very quiet and empty. He went to the bedroom, tried sleeping, but
then woke up and took their wedding album from that wooden cupboard. As he
skimmed through the photos, he smiled at the seriousness on the face of Gauri.
For the first time, he saw her that close, and found his wife to be very
beautiful. He engaged himself in the household duties, and when got tired,
slept for a while. A ring on the door woke him up. It was Murukesh, the driver.
Shankhar hurried to dress up. He found the lunch to be more delicious. He locked
the door and handed the key to Murukesh and asked him not to be late in the
evening at any cost. On the way he called Malathi Chechi.
As Gauri stepped out of the
college gate, she found Murukesh waving at her. As she sat on the back seat for
the first time, she found the vehicle to be extremely void. She found her
favourite cousin Malathi Chechi waiting for her, on the steps of their
apartment. As they entered, she found the room to be tidier and the floor dust
free. As she went to the kitchen to get Malathi Chechi some tea, she found all
the utensils washed and neatly arranged. She handed over the cup to Malathi
Chechi and went into the bedroom, and found all clothes washed and ironed. She
sat on the bed, and the tears on her cheeks surprised her. She always loved to
sleep with Malathi Chechi, who was her world during her childhood. She used to
listen to everything that Gauri spoke. Malathi wondered why Gauri was silent on
that night. Gauri felt insecure even in the presence of Malathi. She felt
incomplete.
