Writer
Lajpat Rai Garg
Translator
Dev Kumar Airon
- 1 -
Auspicious time for marriages starts after Diwali. In the last days of November, a wedding ceremony was being organised in ‘Mehfil’ Banquet, which is probably one of the the best and most expensive wedding venues in the Tricity (Adjoining cities of Chandigarh, Mohali & Panchkula are normally referred to as Tricity). It was the night of Amavasya (The new moon night). Billions of stars were twinkling in the sky. Weather was mildly cold. Various types of lights and unique flower arrangement added to the splendour of the venue. The overall scenario seemed otherworldly. The groom’s side is a well-known family of Mohali. Even though the bride’s family was from Patiala, there were a considerable number of people from outside among the guests present. Thus, the lawn was packed with invited people. Nowadays, the main ceremony of the marriage is often organised both by the bride and groom sides at the same place. Hence, a large crowd including relatives and friends is formed. Secondly, nowadays not just one or two but almost all the members of family attend the function. Often, in such a crowded environment, some uninvited ‘guests’ also sneak in to satisfy their taste buds. Normally, in such a gathering, no one notices and even if someone spots such a person, he avoids making a fuss about it presuming the guy could be from the ‘other side’! Alongwith the still photography and videography, photography was also being done through drone and every activity of the festival was being displayed on TV screens installed in every corner of the lawn and hall so that anyone standing or sitting anywhere could easily have a glimpse of every event of the celebration. In such an environment, Professor Alok was moving around taking stock of the decorations of the Pandal (Temporary Enclosure) and the dishes to be served.
On one side of the lawn, there were stalls of cocktails, mocktails and fresh fruits, and on the other side, there were ten to twelve stalls of different varieties of snacks. Although there was a rush of guests at every stall, the ladies had laid a virtual seize to Gol Gappa (A spicy delicacy) stall. Most of the gents, despite being keen to taste Gol Gappa, would move on when they saw little chance of their turn. Therefore, only a few gents could be seen standing at this stall patiently waiting for their turn. Punjabi Dhaba (Ordinary Eatery) was the centre of special attraction. There was a good crowd at this place who wanted to taste ‘Amritsari Kulcha’ (North Indian popular food item), and ‘Sarson da Saag’ (Vegetable made from mustard leaves) with ‘Makki di Roti’ (Bread made from Maize flour).
‘Jai-Mala’ (Ceremony of garlanding each other by the groom and bride) stage was set up on the left side of the lawn, in the background of which the image of a peacock dancing amid the moonlight was very captivating. Next to the stage, there was DJ floor. There was still time for ‘Jai Mala’. Meanwhile, kids were merrily shaking their legs on the DJ floor. Their parents or elder sisters and brothers were cheering them on and taking their photos. A large number of waiters were serving snacks to the guests. The beauty of the hall was amazing. Various types of salads and crockery were arranged in the middle of the hall. There were separate arrangements of Punjabi, Rajasthani and continental dishes on two sides of the hall. Despite so much variety, the adult and elderly guests were more inclined towards freshly fried yellow dal (Dish prepared with split pulses) and Chapati (Bread) cooked on Tawa (Griddle). Children and youth preferred noodles, chowmein and pasta. On one side, there was arrangement of hot saffron milk from Kadahi (Wok), hot Jalebis alongwith Rabari, moong dal halwa, carrot pudding, gulab jamun (Popular Indian sweet dishes) and on the other side, there were cold sweet dishes like Cassata, Butterscotch, Vanilla, Strawberry ice-creams and stick-Kulfi (Prepared with sweetened condensed milk).
In the remaining part of the hall, chairs and tables were set up for the guests who prefer to eat while sitting. In nutshell, comfort and facility of the guests of every age-group was taken full care of. Professor Alok was pleasantly surprised to see that apart from the private security which is usually there on such occasions, Fire-Brigade and Ambulance vehicles were also standing ready near the entrance gate of the Banquet to deal with any emergency. The availability of such arrangements was certainly a praiseworthy and commendable initiative when no VVIP or minister etc. was to come from either side.
While moving around, Professor Alok’s eyes got stuck on a lady standing in a group of 5-6 ladies. Her face looked familiar. He tried to remember, strained his brain. A few moments passed …. and with a flash it struck him, she was Rani! He hesitated a little. The next moment, he was addressing her, “Excuse me, if I’m not mistaken, you’re Rani?”
A little taken aback Rani said, “Sorry, I couldn’t recognise you.”
Her answer assured Alok that the lady before him was none other than Rani. He said cheerfully, “How could you have recognised me, it has been almost forty years since we last met.”
“Oh, so you’re Alokऽऽ!”
As she said this, her eyes sparkled with the deep internal joy.
While these two people, who had met after a long time, were still talking, the other ladies slipped away quietly leaving them alone.
“Wow, how well I recognised! I was afraid lest I should be wrong! Well, it’s a great pleasure to see you after so many years.”
“Alok, I, too, can’t express my joy in words.”
Rani noticed that her friends had quietly slipped away. But she was so happy to see Alok that she felt good instead of feeling bad. She enquired, “Have you come alone or Mrs. Sharma is also with you?”
“Rashmi, my wife passed away four years ago.”
“Oh! Very sad. Alok, I’m very sorry to hear this sad news. It’s really painful to get separated from your life-partner at this stage of life, but we can’t do anything. One is helpless before the Will of God. There’s no alternative but to accept His Will”, continuing she enquired about Alok’s children.
“I’ve a son and a daughter. Both are married and settled in Australia with their spouses. My son and daughter-in-law are doctors. Son-in-law is a CA, employed in a firm of chartered accountants. Tell me, what does your husband do?”
“Ours is an import-export business. Ramesh Ji (Suffix Ji is used to show respect to the person being referred/addressed), my husband remains very busy. We’ve come together. He must be hanging around with friends. That’s why I was chatting with my friends.”
“Oh, sorry for disturbing the gathering of friends.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. I feel extremely happy to see you after such a long time. Come to our residence sometime, we’ll refresh childhood memories.”
When they were exchanging mobile numbers, Ramesh arrived there. Without bothering that someone was standing with Rani, he said in a little agitated tone, “Rani, I’ve been searching you for so long! Let’s go home.”
Ignoring Ramesh’s unbecoming behaviour and introducing Alok, Rani said, “Ramesh Ji, he is Alok, my childhood friend.”
As soon as introduction was over, Alok said Namaste to Ramesh with folded hands. Ramesh did not respond with Namaste but impatiently extended his hand as a bare minimum formality and said ‘Hello’. Alok shook his hand very warmly, but extreme sense of formality and lack of any kind of warmth on Ramesh’s part could not escape Alok’s notice. It would be more appropriate to say that Ramesh did not take Alok’s presence kindly. That is why, he said to Rani in a reproachful voice, “It’s getting late, we should leave now.”
“Have you taken your meal?” Rani asked.
“Snacks were enough to fill my stomach. If you’ve not eaten, then eat,” Ramesh said as if doing a favour to her.
“I’ve also had snacks and Amritsari Kulcha. There’s no scope for eating anything else.”
“Then let’s go.”
Ramesh’s tone was still not normal.
Having no option, Rani said ‘bye’ to Alok. Ramesh moved ahead silently.
After coming back from the wedding ceremony, partly because of the effect of whiskey and partly because of the hustle and bustle of the day, after changing his clothes, as soon as, his head touched on the pillow, Ramesh fell asleep. But the feelings and sweet memories of the transitional period between childhood and adolescence, which were stored forever in a safe corner of Rani’s heart, got rekindled. She remained long immersed in the exuberance of meeting Alok after such a long gap and kept awake till late night.
With the passage of time, memories of events occurring in life keep getting accumulated layer by layer in the human brain. Which incident may bring forth which memory and when, is controlled by the destiny. Meeting with Alok awakened the dormant pleasant memories of the days when she stepped on the threshold of adolescence, which memories she had not had the opportunity to share with anyone close to her. And who was such a close person with whom she could have shared those memories? Men often do not hesitate to narrate such memories and incidents in the close circle of their friends, and some even do not hesitate to cross the limits in boasting about their exploits, but women have to be very careful in such matters. The chemistry of their physique is a very complicated subject. A small mistake may jeopardise their life’s entire happiness. These memories kept revolving like a movie in Rani’s mind till late night. She felt anguish that due to Ramesh’s sudden arrival, she could not have a heart-felt talk with Alok. But a hope of its happening in future had awakened and with the help of this hope she got lost in sleep with a smile on her lips.
Ramesh woke up a little late in the morning. Nevertheless, after completing his daily routine, he saved time by not reading newspaper and got ready on time. He had his breakfast and went to the office. Rani had been restless since the moment she said bye to Alok the previous night. Firstly, she felt hurt by Ramesh’s disrespectful behaviour towards Alok. He had not shown etiquettes. Secondly, due to Ramesh being in a hurry to return home, she could not fully express her feelings to Alok during the short meeting after such a long time. Therefore, immediately after her maid Lachhmi left, Rani called Alok. It was already eleven o’clock. His mobile kept ringing for a long time. Alok was in a deep sleep. Rani called again after not getting any response in the first attempt. This time, without getting up from the bed, Alok extended his hand and picked up the mobile kept on the side table. Rani’s name was flashing on the screen. He said ‘Hello’ in a sleepy voice.
A voice came from the other side , “Alok, were you sleeping?”
Getting up and normalising his tone, Alok replied, “Yes…. I reached home at seven in morning after the farewell of the bride. Due to the fatigue of the whole day and night, I fell asleep as soon as I lay down. So, I was still sleeping.”
“Sorry Alok, I disturbed you in your sleep. Did you come to the wedding on behalf of the bride’s family? At night, I couldn’t even ask where you live?”
“Arre (Hey)! There’s nothing to be sorry about, rather my morning has started with your sweet voice, so, I hope that the day will go very well. And yes, it was my close friend’s daughter’s wedding.”
“Why don’t you come here in the afternoon? How far is Mohali from Patiala? It’s only an hour or so’s drive. We’ll have tea together and refresh childhood memories.”
“Not today, some other time. In the evening, I’ve to go to a literary seminar.”
Rani had wanted to meet Alok as soon as possible and apprise him of her feelings. Hence, she was a little disappointed with Alok’s answer. Suddenly she remembered that Ramesh would go to Mumbai on Saturday. So she said, “If you can’t come today then come on Sunday morning. The whole day will be at our disposal.”
“Why, doesn’t Ramesh Ji take off even on Sunday?”
“Of course, Sunday is a holiday. But this weekend, he’s going to Mumbai on a business tour.”
“Okay. Barring some last minute emergency, we’ll meet on Sunday.”
*****
