Mehenga Tohfa

New story 🥰

Song : 'Shayad' from 'Love Aaj Kal'

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First Person P.O.V (Male)

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Life is so fast paced at times that you don't even realize when time passes by in a blur. It's like one moment you're in your one room bachelor pad in Gurugram on a Saturday evening, chilling with popcorn and Netflix and the other day you are called by your devoted parents to meet a 'sundar , susheel , padhi likhi kanya' in your paternal home in Delhi , and then after a month you are married off to that said 'kanya'. Finally , you are standing on the bustling platform of New Delhi railway station after more than 5 months with a blue-gray suitcase and ticket in hand with your 'wife'.

My wife, Mishti Arora, is standing with her back facing me , in a coral red suit with mirror work and a matching dupatta which is spread across her chest. She is looking across the empty rail track awaiting the arrival of the express train. She has her phone in her right hand while her left hand's index finger keeps scratching the corner of the worn out custom phone case which has a blue jay on it. A bad habit. She has a bad habit of scratching anything she gets her hands on when she's anxious which I noticed in the initial months of us being a 'married couple'.

She turned around swiftly, locking her black orbs with my hazel ones , lightning a buzz through my veins. "Aap pakka sambhal lenge? Me mummy se baat kar leti hu , vo samjhengi. Ye karna zaruri hai kya?" ( "Are you sure you will handle it? I will talk to mom, she will understand. Is it necessary to do this?" ) She asked me in her soft , melodious voice I had listened to a few times before I became her prospective groom and now had grown accustomed to it. Since the day I have known her she has had an expressive voice which often changed its pitch with her mood. Right now it was clearly apprehensive.

"Jab teen din pehle maine yahi sawal kiya tha ki iski zarurat hai kya? Tab to aap dono ne lecture diya tha ki rituals should be given importance in life." ( "When three days ago I had asked the same question whether there is a need for this? Then both of you had given a lecture that rituals should be given importance in life." ) She sighed after hearing me as if accepting the impending or was it the sigh which said 'I don't know what to do'. I am still in the process of learning the full 'patni ki bhasha' ('wife's language'). She isn't so hard to read. So the sigh probably meant that she wants me to clarify her doubt.

Her kohl lined eyes which make them pop even more, the small red bindi , the blood-red lipstick on her plump lips , the armful of red bangles which make a jingling sound whenever she moves her hands to tuck her flyaways behind her ear which had escaped the neatly made braid of black , luscious hair that rested at the small of her back and of course the 'sindoor' filled in her hair partition and the 'mangalsutra' decked on her neck , are the tell-tale signs of her being a 'newly wedded woman'.

She looks ethereal whenever she takes efforts to get ready , which she did often. Even before our marriage , she liked to dress up. I have noticed her dressing style every night I entered our 'new home' gifted by the joint efforts of both of our parents. A two BHK flat in a housing society, about half an hour drive from my office.

Whenever I return home , I often catch her watching reels or surfing on her laptop, sitting on the sofa with her back resting on the hand rest and legs spread across the other end, bedecked in fresh clothes as if she didn't spend most of her time at home itself. She has a moderate collection of clothes ranging from a few pairs of jeans , t-shirts and loungewear and suits fill a major chunk of her wardrobe. She would repeat the majority of her comfort clothes at home. And would wear the few ethnic wears she got during the wedding period outside our abode. I had once seen her concealing the freckles on her nose with makeup and had given my honest opinion that she looked beautiful without it too and it was her choice to use it or not. Since then , she had never applied them , not even outdoors.

Before marriage, I was not an indifferent prick who didn't take care of himself, his house or his family. I might not be sentimental in understanding life but I was committed to my goals . I might be lazy but was aware of life's responsibilities. I might not be adept in housework but lived a decent life. But , Mishti's arrival in my life , changed many things in 'our' home and me.

The aroma of freshly cooked food , proper assortments for everything , towels which now hang on ropes in the balcony to sun dry rather than laying on the bed and the well maintained house bills are dead giveaways of the 'blessings of fruitful married life'. Those were the words my mother used when she visited us in the first month of us shifting in our new living space. I was aware of these changes and yes they were blissful. But could we put ourselves in the brackets of a 'fruitful married life'.

Changes in life are never easy and when that change comes in the form of a 5"3' , beige skin toned , sweet but chirpy, 27-year old woman, then it leaves you with late night thoughts which are left unanswered. My mundane 9 to 7 job and receding 'prime age for marriage' were responsible for my parents arranging my wedding. But the same mundane routine and societal rat-race has left me with no option but to work in the IT sector like a mule , at the post of a system analyst, which gave me little to no time to spend some moments of peace with my wife, who spends her days working from home as a design freelancer.

Yes we are both working to meet ends which gives us no time to talk about the 'deep gushy - mushy couple stuff'. There was no honeymoon phase, just tireless work. My one life altering decision which left me with a companion for life , but I am not even aware of her life ambitions , expectations or secrets. We are still a 'known' mystery to each other with invisible barriers preventing us from exploring the 'unknown'. I have tried to know her more with the little signs and habits , but what about her! I have no idea. Our life has turned upside down , from two different individuals, we now have a life whose fates are entwined.

The way she has asked a question to get some clarity over the situation we are facing now , I too have a question - 'Yahan se ab kahan? Kya sirf bandhan me bandhne se , dooriyan kam ho jaengi, vo bhi bina saath samay bitaye?' ( 'Where to from here? Will the distance lessen just by tying the knot, that too without spending time together?' ) I have already spent some nights pondering over this question, tossing and turning on the bed we shared at nights. It is the only "serene" time we get in the mayhem. But whenever I looked over at her , with the intent to clarify my doubts or to have some words with her , I was met with soft snores which was an indicator of the hectic day she spent at home. So , the queries are always left unaddressed.

It's not like we are unfriendly or didn't have a talk before marriage. We had a courtship period too, but the burden of a new phase in life , though it didn't come unannounced, feels too much to bear. Maybe it is not the case with her. But I often lack the drive to talk freely with her , a barrier is felt , probably by me only. Because she seems to be navigating this new phase with ease , like a master. Just like now , I wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked dressed as Mrs.Mukul Arora. But I am unable to.

I take a deep breath to avoid that path which might come off as 'desperate' to her. Instead, keeping the suitcase on the floor, I take two steps in her direction and gently tap her index finger which is relentlessly scratching the paint off the cover. My action makes her aware of her 'habit' and she withdraws her finger. Placing the ticket in her left hand , I said , "Faisla to ho hi gaya tha na do din pehle. Fir tum jao, me sab dekh lunga. Vaise bhi meri 10 saal se bachelorette ki zindagi ne mujhe ghar sambhalna to sikha hi diya hai." ("The decision to do this had been taken the day before. Then you go, I'll take care of everything. Anyway, my life as a bachelorette for the last 10 years has taught me enough to take care of the house.") Giving a light chuckle in the end , I take her wrist in my hand and pick the suitcase in other. Seeing the approaching train which will take her to our (her) family in Pathankot , I direct her towards her coach. Finding her seat , keeping her stuff and checking the arrangements , I turn to look at her who was looking at the floor with a frown on her face. Pulling her chin by my finger , I turned her face a little and gave a chaste kiss on her cheek to ease her worrying heart. "Dhyan rakhna apna , milte hai 10 din baad." ( "Take care, see you after 10 days." ) Parting with those words, I take off to reach home which is going to reek of the absence of the one who has made it home in the last five months.

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# Sundar , susheel, padhi likhi kanya' means pretty, well-behaved and educated girl.