grinned.
‘Nothing of that sort! The difference is only eight years and that is okay. The other factors are very good. I must ask Jamuna and take her opinion. She will know everything.’
Vinuta remained silent. As usual, nobody had asked for her opinion. If there is no respect for the opinion of a particular member in a family, she thought bitterly, that person is an outsider.
Girish called out to her, ‘Come, Vinu. Let’s go for a stroll and get some vegetables. I am tired of sitting at home.’
‘Vinu, you may be tired, particularly waiting on these people. Go and rest for a while,’ said Shamanna. Vinu said she was all right, and went out with her husband.
‘Vinu, I am really uncomfortable about Shekhar. I feel quite worried. I wish we knew someone in Chicago who could help us get some details.’
‘The other day Madan came to visit your father. He said that he was based in Chicago. Why don’t we ask him?’
Girish dropped the idea of buying vegetables and both of them walked to Madan’s house. Fortunately, Madan and his old father were sitting and chatting in the veranda. There was no one else at home. Girish explained about Shekhar.
‘Madan, please give us your frank opinion. How is the boy?’
His father responded immediately. ‘The boy is very good. My niece was seen by him but there was some bad omen at our house so we did not pursue the matter.’
Madan did not say anything then. Only when he came up to the gate to see them off, did he hesitantly say, ‘Girish, my father is old fashioned. He believes that one should not speak anything negative about others and that too particularly when discussing marriage. I don’t believe in such things. I will tell you the facts and you can decide. But don’t drag me into anything.’
‘Of course not. Please tell us what you know.’
‘I live in Chicago and so does Shekhar. Both of us are from Bangalore. Yet we never visited each other; we live fifty miles apart. One Sunday I suddenly decided to visit him as I was going to pass by that way. I did not call before dropping in. Shekhar was not at home. But I saw a white woman and I learnt that they were living-in. That is the reason we called off my cousin’s proposal with him.’
Girish and Vinuta felt as if a very heavy weight had been taken off their shoulders.
‘We are very grateful to you. You have saved my sister’s life,’ said Girish. They thanked their stars and silently walked back home.
That night, while having dinner, Gouramma started on her favourite topic. ‘If Shekhar says yes, then which marriage hall shall we book? How many saris do we buy? How much gold and silver has to be given?’ Nobody answered her, but she continued in the same vein. Finally Girish got fed up and said bluntly, ‘Even if Shekhar agrees, we must turn it down.’
‘What?’ snapped Gouramma.
‘I made some enquiries and learned that he has a live-in white girlfriend.’
‘What rubbish! This is just a story made up by the people who can’t bear our happiness and are jealous of us.’
‘No. This was told to me by a well-wisher.’ Then he explained what had happened.
Just then Girish heard a friend calling him from outside. He stood up and said sharply, ‘Look, I have given my opinion. Despite that if you want to go ahead, you can,’ and walked away.
Surabhi burst out crying as though the wedding had already been fixed and then called off.
Vinuta tried to comfort Surabhi. ‘Surabhi, control yourself. It is good that I took your brother to Madan’s house, otherwise we would not have known anything. You will definitely get a better husband. Shekhar is not worth crying for.’
Vinuta’s wise words boomeranged on her. Tormented by feelings of defeat, despair and indignity, with the Gopi incident in the back of her mind, Gouramma burst out at poor Vinuta, pouring all the anger she felt towards Girish on her daughter-in-law. She blatantly disregarded the fact that she should be gentle since Vinu was
‘Nothing of that sort! The difference is only eight years and that is okay. The other factors are very good. I must ask Jamuna and take her opinion. She will know everything.’
Vinuta remained silent. As usual, nobody had asked for her opinion. If there is no respect for the opinion of a particular member in a family, she thought bitterly, that person is an outsider.
Girish called out to her, ‘Come, Vinu. Let’s go for a stroll and get some vegetables. I am tired of sitting at home.’
‘Vinu, you may be tired, particularly waiting on these people. Go and rest for a while,’ said Shamanna. Vinu said she was all right, and went out with her husband.
‘Vinu, I am really uncomfortable about Shekhar. I feel quite worried. I wish we knew someone in Chicago who could help us get some details.’
‘The other day Madan came to visit your father. He said that he was based in Chicago. Why don’t we ask him?’
Girish dropped the idea of buying vegetables and both of them walked to Madan’s house. Fortunately, Madan and his old father were sitting and chatting in the veranda. There was no one else at home. Girish explained about Shekhar.
‘Madan, please give us your frank opinion. How is the boy?’
His father responded immediately. ‘The boy is very good. My niece was seen by him but there was some bad omen at our house so we did not pursue the matter.’
Madan did not say anything then. Only when he came up to the gate to see them off, did he hesitantly say, ‘Girish, my father is old fashioned. He believes that one should not speak anything negative about others and that too particularly when discussing marriage. I don’t believe in such things. I will tell you the facts and you can decide. But don’t drag me into anything.’
‘Of course not. Please tell us what you know.’
‘I live in Chicago and so does Shekhar. Both of us are from Bangalore. Yet we never visited each other; we live fifty miles apart. One Sunday I suddenly decided to visit him as I was going to pass by that way. I did not call before dropping in. Shekhar was not at home. But I saw a white woman and I learnt that they were living-in. That is the reason we called off my cousin’s proposal with him.’
Girish and Vinuta felt as if a very heavy weight had been taken off their shoulders.
‘We are very grateful to you. You have saved my sister’s life,’ said Girish. They thanked their stars and silently walked back home.
That night, while having dinner, Gouramma started on her favourite topic. ‘If Shekhar says yes, then which marriage hall shall we book? How many saris do we buy? How much gold and silver has to be given?’ Nobody answered her, but she continued in the same vein. Finally Girish got fed up and said bluntly, ‘Even if Shekhar agrees, we must turn it down.’
‘What?’ snapped Gouramma.
‘I made some enquiries and learned that he has a live-in white girlfriend.’
‘What rubbish! This is just a story made up by the people who can’t bear our happiness and are jealous of us.’
‘No. This was told to me by a well-wisher.’ Then he explained what had happened.
Just then Girish heard a friend calling him from outside. He stood up and said sharply, ‘Look, I have given my opinion. Despite that if you want to go ahead, you can,’ and walked away.
Surabhi burst out crying as though the wedding had already been fixed and then called off.
Vinuta tried to comfort Surabhi. ‘Surabhi, control yourself. It is good that I took your brother to Madan’s house, otherwise we would not have known anything. You will definitely get a better husband. Shekhar is not worth crying for.’
Vinuta’s wise words boomeranged on her. Tormented by feelings of defeat, despair and indignity, with the Gopi incident in the back of her mind, Gouramma burst out at poor Vinuta, pouring all the anger she felt towards Girish on her daughter-in-law. She blatantly disregarded the fact that she should be gentle since Vinu was
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