Friday, September 30, 2011

Love Never Leaves Us



Last evening, there was a sudden thunderstorm in Rourkela, unexpected windy rain, yes, a heavy shower, and, caught unawares, while I stood drenched under a bus shelter in Sector-17, I remembered this story I had written some time back. So here it is, Dear Reader – do tell me if you liked it.

The monsoon has finally arrived in Rourkela. It is the first day of the monsoon, but it’s been raining incessantly all morning.

Ideally, at 10 o’clock in the morning on a normal day, I should have been safely ensconced in my home, but today I sit in the driving seat of my car, slowly negotiating my way in the torrential rain, for I have an important appointment to keep.

Suddenly I see Riya, half drenched, shivering under the bus-stop at Sector-17 Chowk, trying to protect herself from the pouring rain.

She sees me too. Our eyes meet. I don’t know who is more surprised at this unexpected encounter – she or me.

At first instinct, I just feel like ignoring her and driving away.

But then my humanitarian side takes over, so I stop the car near her, lean across, open the door and beckon her to get inside.

She seems hesitant, “Thanks, but I’ll take an auto – I am going to near ADM Office…”

“Come on Riya, get in fast or you’ll get wet – you won’t get a rickshaw in this rain – I too am going towards RTO Office – I’ll drop you on the way.”

She gets in and for a while we drive in silence.

“It’s been five years,” she says.

“Yes,” I say, “Quite a surprise, seeing you here in Pune…”

“Yes. I just came in from Bhubaneswar by the Safari bus, got down at Sector 17 Chowk… and you…what are you doing in Rourkela?”

“I relocated here six months ago…you still in Bhubaneswar...?”

“Yes. But maybe I’ll come back…”

“Homesick...? Or the job is not so satisfactory…?”

“Not really…”

“So you’ve come to look for a job in Rourkela…?”

“It’s actually something else…a family matter…”

“Family matter…? In Bhubaneswar…?”

“My wife is from Bhubaneswar…”

“Wife…? You remarried…?

“Yes…two years ago…”

“And I didn’t even know…!”

“We decided…didn’t we…to move on…go off on our different ways…not look back…”

“Yes…we lost track of each other completely…”

“That was good…isn’t it…for both of us…”

“Yes…”

“And you…? You married again…?”

“Yes…soon after you left for Bhubaneswar after our divorce…”

“On the rebound…?”

“Maybe…” I laugh.

Riya has not changed…the way she says these devastatingly rude things in such a naïve innocent way.

We are nearing the Hanuman Vatika circle so I ask, “Where is your husband’s house...? I’ll take the road accordingly…”

“It’s okay…just drop me wherever you can…”

“Come on…tell me…see how much it is raining…you want me to take STI chowk…or drive straight ahead…to Municipal College Road…or Power House Road…?”

“It’s okay…you go wherever you want to go in near ADM Office…I’ll get off there…”

“Oh…so you don’t want to show me your husband’s house…” I say, tongue in cheek.

“No…No…it’s not that…I am going somewhere else…to the Family Court…”

“To the Family Court…? I ask, taken aback.

“Yes,” she says, “it’s beyond ADM Office…”

“I know where the family court is…” I say, “I hope you are not…”

“Yes…first it was the Family Court in Bhubaneswar with you…and now…” she stops, as tears well up in his eyes.

“I too am going to the Family Court…” I say, sensing a lump in my throat.

“What…?” she looks at me, startled.

“I am divorcing my wife…today is the final hearing…hopefully…”

I slow down, stop the car near the pavement past RTO Office. I wipe my eyes with tissue and hold the tissue box towards Riya. She too wipes her eyes.

“Maybe we should have stayed together, tried to make our marriage work,” I say.

“Yes…it all happened so fast …maybe we were too hasty, too impatient, too headstrong…”

“Yes…we could have tried to make it work…”

“I think we sought the easy way out. We were too young and unrealistic, immature…impetuous…volatile…”

“Yes… ours was a tempestuous stormy relationship…a terrible marriage…but there is one thing…”

“What…?”

“With you I could be myself…no mask, no pretence, no forced geniality…”

“Me too…with you I could truly be myself…no contrived feelings, no holding back…I could never be like that with anyone else…with her too…the way could naturally be with you…you know I think we were made for each other…”

“Maybe we should give it a try…one more time…make things work…”

“You’re serious…?” she asks with a curious look in his eyes.

“Yes, Riya. Let’s empty our cups and start afresh. Like you said, I too think we are made for each other.”

“Okay, but there is one thing…”

“What…?”

“Is it allowed to marry the same person twice…?

“I think so...I’ll ask my divorce lawyer…she will know…”

“Yes…I’ll confirm at the Family Court too…”

“One more thing…”

“Now what…?”

“This time…No Expectations, No Disappointments, Happy Marriage…”

“Yes,” I say lovingly putting my hand on her: “No Expectations…No Disappointments…Happy Marriage…”

Suddenly I notice that it has stopped raining and the sun is peeping through the clouds.

I feel good.

I start the car and we drive on towards the Family Court…to erase the second chapter of our marital lives forever and to begin rewriting the unfinished inchoate first chapter our relationship afresh.

Maybe we can have a Monsoon Wedding. Even after facing the worst phase of my life..now I can say that “Love Never Leaves Us”.. 