Happily in love……………….

Achan (read father) had a way with Indu.He smilingly said, “why not have a evening party with pakoras and jalebis and you can meet the boy as well.”

Indu stood unfazed………………………………….

Indu stood timid,she resented herself to have agreed to this.She had taken a half day leave .The boy’s family would come for the customary “girl parading ceremony” as she called it at five in the evening.

Amma had given her crystal clear instructions of not being late,to buy mulla poo(jasmine flowers) from the vendor who stood outside the Rajrajeshwari temple…………….and the most stringent being…..to be at home by three.

Indu stood outside her office building……….lost in thoughts……her heart wandered and huddled itself in the minutes of that day……………which had snatched Gauri chechi…………..

Jasmine flowers made her nostalgic…….she reminisced how she would fight with Gauri chechi for one string of mulla poo,and tug at her daavani (traditional wear of kerala similar to a saree) till she scrubbed the rice batter off her hands and fixed the mulla poo on her blunt hair………..

Indu did not realize when the autorickshaw came to a halt and the driver said,”Madam,we have reached,Ram bagh .Which sector you want to go?”

It was then that Indu realized that she missed the mulla poo vendor and that she would a nice array of bickering from her mother.

“Sector 3 bhaiya” she said…

“Anyways,how do I care the way I look.” Indu thought. It is a customary meeting and I am certainly going to device a way to refuse.”she thought

“which way Madam?”the rickshaw driver asked.

“You ask so many questions.” Indu thundered.

“What Madam,how should I know….unless you direct me?why are you venting out your anger on me?”the rickshaw driver retorted back.

Indu felt sorry,she had certainly raised her voice and for no reason.

“I am sorry bhaiya.I am a little unwell.Please take the first right and then the first left.Take me to 909A.”

It was five minutes to her home,and Indu wished if those five minutes prolonged…………….and she could have it…..the rickshaw driver pulled his brakes and they came to a halt.

Indu looked out of the rickshaw…………..there was some commotion……

Indu looked at her watch,2:45 it said. “I will walk down bhaiya.”Indu said.

Indu paid the rickshaw driver and took hastened steps towards her home.She glanced she saw him,bespectacled serene face,tall and handsome………….and their eyes met…….

Indu had a strange feeling …………….abruptly she turned to have one more look and found those eyes following……….

A smile fabricated myriad rainbow colours of love………….

 

Indu’s eyes returned a pleasing fervor

She walked smiling to herself,eyes downcast……………….to be continued.

 

 

Gist of life………….

Indu grew up to be  sharp,brilliant and quintessentially independent. Her masters in computer applications landed her a job in one of the leading companies in the software industry.She travelled across India taking on assignments, analyzing requirements,studying feasibility, designing and coding ,unit testing and deploying ,bug resolutions,stabilizing and enhancement,meeting targets,efficiently …………she became known in her company for her integrity and sincerity…….. An employee par excellence ,the tag that she got in less than two years. At the age of 26,she attracted suitors…….but somehow she despiced marriage………marriage took her 21 years back to that clouded and grim Sunday evening when Gauri chechi took her first step towards…………..? An open ended question it was………………….. Nobody ever mentioned Gauri chechi in their house,everyone was well past her,but for Indu she was her first companion,the woman she adored,whose eyes brimmed with love for her,from whom she learned the first designs of henna,with whom she made  shell ornaments,where she learned to play hopscotch…….with whom she cherished the best moments of her life. But now she could maneuver herself to hop towards other blissful things whenever Gauri chechi clandestinely tried to enter her thoughts…. “Indu……..Amma called out…..”get ready,let us go to the temple.” “Amma ,I know what is running in you mind.I am not going to fall prey to it.Do you understand that?”Indu said Indu had fingered Amma ,nudged her anger. “What do you mean by falling prey?Every girl has to marry and start her own life.If  I had not,then you would not have been here.”Amma said with a frown. Indu tried to coalgulate the conversation lest it manifest  out of proportion. “Amma, I dread and panic .….I am in disagreement with myself.Please let me come to terms with myself……..give your darling a few days of he own.” “What numerical value will you give for those few days?Amma retorted, “I was married at the age of 19 and you were already four when I was 26.You will get married with grey strands?” Indu knew it was a herculean task to win an argument with Amma.She was assertive and at home she was at the helm of the affairs.Amma would have innumerable instances,incidences and coin cidences to narrate and ample examples of how late marriages have led to separations,adoptions,incompatibility………………..and so on,the list was endless. “Why don’t you understand girl?”Amma scorned……? “Disgusted,Indu stood still.” To be continued…………

Forgotten……………..forsaken…………

 

Gauri chechi left…………never to come back.Indu never saw her again.

 

Her intermittent trips to Kerala did not bestow on her….the divine sanction to meet Gauri chechi.Her house stood like an invalid…..the mortar and pestle lay barren,rice pounder starved of the white semi-liquid that honoured it with the position of bread maker…..

The orchard stood as a destitute……..

The lonely inmate of the two storeyed house…Gauri chechi’s mother left for her heavenly abode six months after her wedding.

Tittle=tattle of the neighbours,had that Gauri never came back after her wedding……..for Indu Gauri chechi became a “conundrum”.

She heard from neighbours that Gauri had been tricked into this marriage.A misrepresentation of facts,made her nod to this matrimony.

Many a facts were  hidden under wraps,she was trapped by her own family to let go off the encumbrance…………as they considered her.

In consequence,Gauri chechi never kept in touch with her family,even her mother whom she doubted to have connived with the extended family to create the plot for the marriage….

Even the last rites of her mother were done in her absence……She never claimed the property also ……..

Time is a great healer they say…………..slowly and gradually Indu forgot her,but the henna fragrance haunted her………..

Gauri chechi never left her.Occasionally she payed a visit to Indu in her dreams……………

When Indu was young she would clasp Amma tightly………she felt Gauri chechi came as a ghost in her dreams………she dreaded sleeping alone,

From an angel Gauri chechi had disguised herself as a being shrouded and cloaked…….little Indu could never redeem herself from the half baked stories of people……which somehow found their way to Indu…..

She now shuddered at the least mention of Gauri chechi,and in the heart empthasized with her…………………to the fact that she was faked into the marriage….

Patiently Amma made her mingle and intimate with the new culture she was introduced to………..she now loved her new friends,her school,the dialect,the cuisine and the forsaken days faded from her memory……..

As she grew up,she understood the nitty gritties of life,she could apprehend how Gauri chechi would have felt hapless at that juncture…

She did not  have that creepy and spooky feeling about Gauri chechi.

She gathered that they were connected and as Indu grieved her absence so did she……somewhere in the world……Gauri chechi craved for her as she did……..

A heavenly bond……a relationship which had conquered time,distance,age,grief,fear,misinterpretations,torments,…………………….

TO BE CONTINUED………………………….

Everlasting bond…………….

Gauri chechi……….took Indu in her arms,but she was not her real self…….the carefree one……a timid attitude….ring fenced her…

It was her shadow,dipped and coloured melancholic,shaded ,shrouded mysteriously in acute agony……She was a muted version of hers…..

Gauri chechi never stopped humming……….as she went around doing her household chores,she had this customary pattern of songs one after the other…

“Gauri chechi,can you sing my favourite song.”Indu asked

“Hush!!!darling,your uncle will scold me,she whispered and sighed.

“He does not like me singing.” Gauri chechi said

Indu glared at the dark and stout man,with a thick moustache and pockmarked face.His curly hair added to his repulsive and awful look.

“He is ugly .”she thought.”Gauri chechi,why did you marry this man?he is old and despicable….why don’t you leave him?”

Gauri chechi suppressed her giggle,the giggle which jingled in her ears when Gauri chechi was away, “sshhh!!! she kept her finger on Indu’s lips,and smiled.”

“Her lips formed that perfect curve,which god must have intricately designed ,put in his utmost enterprise to procreate such a fascinating thing.” Indu thought

“Do you like him Gauri chechi?”Indu asked.Gauri chechi did not answer.She gave a somber look and said,I am married to him my little baby.

“Ok but do you love me?”.Tears swelled in her eyes. “I love you till eternity my darling.” Gauri chechi embraced her and sobbed.Indu could feel the discord between her words and her heart,the dissent in her breath,the strain and aguish in her eyes,she could feel her picking up fragments of her heart,lest the splinters fall out and spill the beans…….

Her little heart heard the crashing of Gauri chechi’s crumbling heart and how she sleathily grappled with her emotions……

“How is your new school? tell me about your friends.”Gauri chechi said..

“Indu…………..Gauri let us have lunch.”Amma called out.

“Gauri chechi,can you feed me…?” Indu asked

“Indu…….behave yourself,Amma gave steely look.

Indu sat eyes downcast,her mutilated heart expressed itself with droplets of salty water that tumbled down into heap of rice kept before her………..she could not summon herself to swallow down more than two or three morsels…………

Gauri chechi’s husband expedited everything.It was not more than a minute that everybody got up from their respective places……after having food that he motioned Gauri chechi to declare the day.

The stroke of his hand and swagger in his eyes ensured that Gauri chechi left haphazardly…..

To be continued………………………

Delhi……………reckoning Indu

It was Achan…..he had finally turned up………

Indu was beaming,brimming,giggling and fuming……..

The only thought that whipped her mind was to summon the courage to ask Achan to take her to Delhi once.However the long distance relationship had taken a toll on their intimacy.Next morning Amma broke the news to her……they would be moving to Delhi in another ten days…………

Indu’s life spruced up,Amma could see Indu’s rejuvenated self….It was as if life reclaimed her.She was overjoyed to see her little one back to the hopscotch squares,she was loved the scribbling on the floor and on the walls,the henna stains,the scattered pebbles…………she loved the occasional mopping and cleaning…………she was euphoric….her darling daughter was back to being her bubbly self.

Indu on the other hand,was on a different plane….she  envisioned herself in the jovial company of her Gauri Chechi….

The day dawned when they boarded a train to Delhi.

Two days or approximately fourty eight hours was what it took to reach the national capital.Achan had already been allotted accomadation by his employers and it took a few days before they were finally settled.

Indu got admitted into a new school,she fumbled with the new language that she was confronted with.Every solitary object around her seemed alien….whether it was the cuisine,the language,the attire,the air,the flair,the stare……….and the aftermath……..DESPAIR….

Indu had umpteen times asked Amma about the whereabouts of Gauri chechi and everytime her eyes encountered the frown and detest of Amma.

“Amma,what is it that you are not telling about Gauri chechi?Indu asked?Its been so many days…..why don’t you call her home?

“Indu,I do not have her address,I will have to check with her family.”

“You still not have checked with them,Amma?”That is so mean of you,said Indu. “You do not love me,otherwise you would have.”

“It is not that easy Indu,she now belongs to a different family.We cannot call her according to our conveniences.”said Amma

“But we have not called her till now and we will not pester her for anything.Just once Amma,Please………Please Amma……………

Amma sensed Indu’s desperation and decided to get in touch with Gauri’s family.She invited them for dinner one day.

Gauri chechi came…………..Indu was stunned and speechless…….

Blemishes scarred the flawless beauty she was…….fragile and traumatized……….

Indu stood dismayed……………

Gauri chechi………………her heart sank

To be continued……

 

fictio

 

Chasing Gauri chechi……………

 

Achan did not come and Indu never discussed this with Amma.She infered this as Amma’s tactics to configure her according to her whims and fancies…

Occasionally she fantasized Achan coming and moving to delhi,to relive the days which marked their existence as memoirs in her heart……………………

Finally the D-day arrived when Gauri chechi exhibited the offwhite saree……..her self…..bedecked with jewels,her long tresses swiveled in the fragrant jasmine flowers,the fringe glued behind her ears,wriggled to coil on her forehead,long checkered golden forehead ornament graced her partition,her waist belt made a jingling sound as she walked……

This is not Gauri chechi she thought………………..her Gauri chechi,who smelt of henna leaves and rice batter………..was lost….

The little heart whimpered…letting out the mutest shriek,the village ballad hummed in her ears……….she could sense the longing……

It was her day of  severance………..or………?

She desired,fantasized,made solemn request and marveled at the thoughts of her Achan coming back and then moving over to the capital city…….but she also felt that there was no reciprocative love from the other side……from Gauri chech’s side……..

She (Gauri chechi) was in her own fairy land,where she was the reigning queen and Indu was a non-entity there…..Her cynicism left Indu bereft…

“How can she just quash those memories?”Indu pondered……

Gauri chechi departed without a parting present or a hug or even a smile…she just disappeared in the swarm of people that had come to bless the newly wedded couple….Gauri chechi receded from Indu’s sight and her life…

And so did her giggles,her effervescent demeanor subdued,cowrie shells disowned,henna leaves discarded,lines that had little feets hopping between them faded,mango grooves bowed down for Indu to catch hold of their tender branches laden with mangoes as if repenting their earlier abhorrence………………

The coconut orchard had a desolate look………

life went back to normal….but Indu…..

Her life was sketched by Gauri chechi with her earthy flamboyance…. her lessons learnt in between the squeaks of the squirrels,her sums solved in the hum of the hymns from the nearby temple,answers mugged up in the backdrop of sacred evening chants……………

Dullness shrouded her and Amma got apprehensive….her grades had dropped….

Indu could hear Amma whispering into the phone…….indisputably to Achan……………

“Indu desperately needs you….I believe”She overheard Amma whispering into the phone one day…………….

Indu…..darling,see what a pleasant day it is…..she felt a very familiar touch………..Indu opened her eyes………………TO BE CONTINUED

n

Beyond her dreams….

Indu woke up from her dreams……bewildered,she thought of all the events that expired yesterday.Her heart ached,struggled to get into terms with what Gauri chechi had whispered in her ears.

She could sense the elation in her voice…..she was travelling to her dreamland Delhi-The delhi of her dreams,the delhi of skyscrapers,where life moves fast,where  humans subsequent machines,where icecreams squirt out of spouts,where tempting liquids whirlpool and cascade in glass enclosures…………… where she would feel free and fly…………

Her dreams had materialized……..

Indu…….Amma called out again……..you slothful little one………

“When will you propel yourself for your morning abolutions?”

Indu sat crouched….the world around her seemed unacquainted with……unversed in….

She didn’t realize as Amma trudged in,she was oblivious even of the tinkle of her anklets,or the fragrance of the mulla poo(jasmine flowers) twirled around her curls  oscillating with each stride….

“Krishna,when will this suspended siesta end?”Mamma tickled her.

Indu did not budge  and Amma sensed her heartache.She swung her arms around Indu, “Molu,what happened?”

Amma, “Her voice quivered as she said, “Gauri Chechi.”

“Molu it’s the time for celebration…..not for whining and sobbing.

Amma took Indu in her arms and lovingly said, “What if Achan comes and we also move to Delhi?”

Indu sprang up from her cot………..she found herself rising to the state of euphoria….nothing in the world could have given more delight that the jocund company of her beloved Gauri chechi…….

She hastened to adorn herself with the best of dresses she had.And why not her Gauri chechi was getting engaged and inching towards the destination of her dreams…..

The hustle bustle of and the drawing up towards the D-day had divested Indu of the chitter chatter of her coterie-Gauri chechi,the cowrie shells,the henna leaves,the resplendent coconut trees………seemed fading in haze…………

all of them stood where they were,but the cowrie shells lost its whooshing sound,the henna leaves forgot the camaraderie,and Gauri chechi ……………she was in her own reverie

“Life lost its sheen”,the little one thought

Two days before Gauri chechi’s wedding,Indu waited eagerly for her father’s arrival….

“Amma,today dad is coming right?”cajoled Indu.

Amma tried to avert her queries. “Amma……Indu shrieked….where is dad?

Indu stood still as Amma gave her a stern glance….

 

To be continued……………

 

 

A DAY WITH GAURI CHECHI………..

“Heralding the sunny days……those vibrant and funny days…….

when pebbles and marbles where hidden as treasure……

hopsctoch and hide seek made the greatest pleasures……”

Punctually as every morning Indu found her pounding the rice and grounding it to make it  a fine paste.She smiled gleefully as she saw the little one,motioning with her stained hands to come and sit beside her.They  were companions,though diverse in many a ways,the most prominent being age…..Indu was all of five and her dearest chechi……….she did not know,but well past her teenage.She loved sitting next to her,as she grounded rice into a fine paste for making dosas(a delicacy of kerala).Whenever Indu found the absence of her mother’s scrutinizing eyes,she would hop over to Gauri  chechi’s* house……………where she would collect shells,made necklaces out of them,played hopscotch,made green watches with coconut leaves,would grind henna leaves to a goey pulp and then make the elementary flowery designs that she learned to make with matchsticks.

She loved her melodious voice,her lotus eyes,her forehead resplendent with sacred ash and supposedly reckoning a tinge of vermillion to adorn her partition, her thin long fingers which scurried the paste as they found opportunities to spill from the rice pounder,the cool breeze that blew her fringe now and then,her way of tucking her long skirt lest its hem attracted dirt,………..She Idolised her for everything…………

“I want to be like you when I grow up.”Indu said

Hush!!! you squeaky  little thing, she said…

She clasped her hands,slid back Indu’s hair and said,”My daughter will go to a big office and not pound rice like me.Never in the finest of your dreams you should think like that”

Indu could not comprehend anything,she stood in awe of her…..in the hum of her melancholic village ballad, in which the maiden called out to her lover……….who had taken a journey northwards….

“Never forget my words,even if I am not with you”said Gauri chechi

Her words dragged Indu out of that melodious trance……

Chechi, “ where does this girl live?”

Who?Before a nano second Indu realized that she  had missed something……

Chechi ,”what were you saying?why did you say that you will not be there?”

Nothing my honey,she said.I want you to grow up to be an independent woman,come what may and I will watch over you.

“Where are you going?”Loneliness struck her…………

“Indu,Indu,Indu……?Amma was calling out to her….

“You lazybone,its six in the morning,when will the princess rise from her slumber?”

To be continued……………….

*chechi- elder sister not necessarily related.

*Amma-mother

*Achan-father

Theme reveal-A to Z challenge

This is is a theme reveal post,but let me first take the liberty to thank so many brilliant writers here who have unknowingly given the required impetus to kick start my blog.I missed the “spread your love”prompt on WRITE TRIBE –FESTIVAL OF WORDS.In January when I penned my first poem,I was simply clueless as to how to go about it.Then the inevitable google search and I came face to face with WRITE TRIBE and the lady with the most affectionate smile CORINNE RODRIGUES.

I must admit,confess and appreciate how she had a prompt solution to every hurdle that I faced.Being totally from a non technical background and very much new to blogging, Write Tribe has triggered off every single post in my blog and challenged and provoked me to take the road less travelled.

And certainly I would like to mention here a few blogs which I have gone through and given me the stimulus to be a part of the blogging community.

Vidya Sury (http://vidyasury.com)

Shailaja Vishwanath(http://momdiary.blogspot.in)

Shilpa Garg(http://shilpaagarg.com)

Kajal Kapur(http://moviemasala.com)

Sreeja Praveen(http://thealertmind.blogspot.ae)

Psych Babbler(http://overcuppacoffee.com)

Inderpreet Kaur Uppal(http://inderpreetkauruppal.blogspot.in)

Nabanita Dhar(http://nabanita-blacknwhite.blogspot.in)

Today I take the opportunity to thank all of you……..

I remember my first post on write tribe…..and the first comment on it

was by Nabanita Dhar and Psych Babbler.Tears rolled down,as I read those comments……..Time crunch and domestic responsbilites had dragged me away from the creativity that I adored most.You all have given that back to me.

You all are brilliant ……………

And here I am participating in the A TO Z challenge and writing a post for the theme reveal………

I would be writing 26 short stories/poems,reminiscing the childhood days…..and incidents which have left their mark on me…. and would  invariably title them as

“Those sunny days.”

We have a wonderful group of extremely talented writers here at

 A to Z churning out exquisite write ups.Please join us at

A-Z 2014

for 26 days of Literary Festival.

To write or to be right

To be a mother is synonymous to be omnipresent and to juggle with scores of work that hover around you…….

“you are like a goddess.”mamma she said convincingly.You can do ten things at a time.Can’t you?

It was very much believable for her to ask mamma to do two things at a time.She said stood there as I picked up the laundry for the day.”Mamma, she shrieked…..I am hungry..I just asked you to make pakodas, you want your chutku to go hungry?”.I gave her a stern look.She giggled at me and asked me to buckle her shoes.The door bell rang,and there were her friends…….”her face glistened as she looked them,she dragged me inside and whispered into my ears,”mamma,will you oblige me enough to make pakoras for my friends too?”

And just as I would give her a yell,she planted a kiss on my cheeks and the mother in me flooded with emotions,nodded to her request.In a glance she dashed downstairs ,I could hear  and feel the effervescence in the air as they clambered and jostled with themselves…………

An array of question marks stood before me……in multitudes,taking robust and feeble features in their stride….the examination paper to be checked had broken the sole rubber band that wrapped them,poking themselves out of my vanity,the woollens were staring at me…..as if squealing…our innings are over…..its sunny today,the larder has been run over by mites…….they tried to grab my attention with the rattling sounds……….the guests for the night would check in any time……and my heart ached for my laptop…………..I just wish……I sighed!!!!

Half an hour later,the aroma of pakoras filled the air……….the  naughty clan……whirled up…….

The mother had won…….the teacher,the wife,the host……..had lost………………………..

This is not a contentious issue,but as a woman “we” ceaselessly scrutinise ourselves…….though we know our priorities but still,excellence is what matters to us……and as a woman,a mother,a daughter,a wife and as a manager……………..we still let the person who is at the other end win over us……cause we are the ones with boundless love and we love when our loved ones win…..

Their triumph is ours in every way..and I think most of you will agree………….