chapter 8

“No…nothing,” Chetana nervously tucked her hair behind her ears, unable to decide what should be the next course of action.Her mother’s words from last night’s training program came to her rescue. “What is the first thing you do when you go to a temple?” Padmini asked the participants of the training program.“Check around for some good-looking boys!” somebody whispered and a wave of hushed up giggles spread through the group.“What is there to laugh so much?” Padmini scolded, ”Just answer the question.”“Buy some flowers and sweets to offer to the deity, aunty,” one of them replied.“No,” the other one jumped in, “we remove our sandals first.”“No, silly girls,” Padmini threw her hands up, “once you have stepped inside the temple, you fold your hands and touch the feet of the deity. That’s exactly what you should to do when you see your husband.”  “Okay!” Chetana murmured as she got the clue.“What okay?” Anant asked as he sat down on the bed.Chetana folded her hands and fell on his feet.“What the hell are you doing?” Anant jumped up from the bed in utter shock. “Get up, Chetana!”“My mother had taught me that husband should be treated like God and I should touch your feet.” Chetana got up, her hands still folded in prayer.Anant placed his hands on her folded ones and made her sit on the bed by his side.“Look, I don’t believe in such orthodox principles,” Anant looked straight into her eyes. “I believe in equality. Husband and wife are equal partners in the bond of marriage. Don’t treat me as God but as a friend or rather as your best friend with whom you can openly share everything.”As Chetana looked at Anant, her eyes glinted with admiration.“Do you agree with it?” Anant asked the beautiful pair of eyes that had been beseeching him since the day he had first seen her.“Yes, I do.” Chetana turned her gaze away to hide the smile in her eyes from him.“It’s already late,” Anant looked at the clock and then turned to her, “I think we should take some rest. It’s been a tiresome day.”“I need to change into something comfortable.” Chetana said looking wearily at her heavy bridal saree.“The washroom is over there.” Anant said as he reclined on the bed.Chetana bolted the washroom and checked herself in the mirror. A faint smile playing on her lips told her that she was not altogether unhappy with her marriage to Mr. CA.“At least he is not a male chauvinist pig!” She chuckled as she splashed some water on her face and looked again at the mirror. “Mr Anant Subramanian a tall, dark, handsome and well educated man with a charming demeanor, as of now, seems to be a perfect gentleman. Let’s see how it goes!”     Just as Chetana was about to step out of the bathroom, she was reminded of her mother’s training program again. After her mother’s class was over and she had left for the kitchen, it was time for Chetana’s married friends to share the experiences of their wedding night. Chetana had goose bumps all over as she remembered their graphic descriptions. Her fingers trembled and refused to unbolt the washroom door. But she couldn’t spend the whole night inside the washroom either. She drew a long breath and prepared herself to face the music. When she walked back to the bedroom, however, Anant was already asleep.“There is a beast residing in every man,” Chetana remembered one of her friends saying, “and you never know when it might wake up!”“Let’s not wake up the beast,” Chetana said in whispers and tip-toed towards the bed.She sneaked a peek at Anant and cuddled up in the farthest corner of the bed before switching the lights off. As soon as darkness filled up the room, a huge arm crept up her waist and she woke up screaming.“Relax!” Anant said as he switched the lights on, “it’s me.”“Look Anant,” Chetana slipped as far away from him as was possible, “I can’t do this now…It’s true that we are married…but…but…err… we hardly know each other… How can …I mean…”“That’s fine, Chetana,” With an enormous effort, Anant toned down his thunderous laughter to quiet giggles as he saw her petrified face. “I would never force you to do anything that you don’t want to. Just hold my hand.”Anant held out his hand to her.Chetana gulped nervously and raised her eyes slowly to look at him. There was so much warmth in his eyes that she automatically held his hand.“Now, come here,” he pulled her slowly towards him. “I can wait as long as you say. You can be sure of that.” *     * 2 Months Later… “Don’t forget to keep the bottle of pickle in your bag, Chetana,” Mrs. Subramanian instructed, “Anant loves mango pickles very much.”“Yes, Amma,” Chetana nodded obediently.“Now go to bed if your packing is done,” Mrs Subramanian said, “we have to leave early tomorrow morning for the airport.”“Okay, Amma,” Chetana watched her mother-in-law leave and then switched off the lights.She was going to Singapore the following morning. Anant had left for Singapore a month after their marriage. And she was dying to meet him again. She was not in a condition to wait anymore, even if the wait was only of a few hours. She had no idea when she had fallen for him but she knew for sure that she was in love with him. Chetana turned to her side on the bed and chuckled as she remembered an incident that happened a few days after their marriage.   Chetana was having dinner with Anant and his parents. Anant was sitting on a chair by her side and her in-laws were seated opposite to them. Her mother-in-law Kalyaniamma, was a fabulous cook and Chetana was relishing the dishes she had made along with praising her culinary skills.      Suddenly, she felt something crawl up her legs. She glanced at Anant from the corner of her eyes and found him chuckling. Chetana understood that it was him who was poking her. Horripilation tingled all over her as the poking went on. Her face turned pale and the spoon fell from her hand.“What happened?” Kalyani asked as she raised her head from her plate.“Nothing, Amma,” Chetana somehow managed to say with a sheepish smile.“Then why aren’t you having your food?”“Well… Amma…err…I,” Chetana tried to pull her legs away from beneath the table but Anant would not let go of her.  “How can she eat such food?” Mr Subramanian said incoherently, continuing to munch on his dinner.“Why?” Kalyani’s hackles raised, “what’s wrong with the food?”“On some days, the food is so spicy that my eyes and nose start watering,” Subramanian said as he winced. “And on others, it’s so bland that I feel like throwing up as soon as I put the first morsel in my mouth.”“I have never seen you throw the food out. You gobble up everything that’s laid on your plate and that too in a matter of minutes.” Kalyani glared at her husband.“What else can I do?” Subramanian felt a bit annoyed when his wife taunted him for being a foodie. “I don’t have any other option but to eat the food that you cook.”“Why don’t you cook tomorrow for a change?” Kalyani smirked.“The food is good…too good, sweetheart,” Subramanian’s criticism turned into compliments within the blink of an eye when he realized that he would have to take charge of the kitchen if he didn’t learn to rein his tongue. “All I was saying is that it’s a bit spicy...only a little bit.”“I will get you some water, Appa.” Chetana sprang up at once from the table and ran to the kitchen. Anant slipped flatly on the table due to Chetana‘s sudden movement.“Now, what’s wrong with you?” Kalyani looked suspiciously at her son, “were you dozing on the dining table?”                                                                                                                                   Chetana laughed as memories tickled her and then made her sad as she missed Anant even more. He would never miss a chance to scare her with his unsolicited intrusions into her privacy. Like he had done on the eve of his return to Singapore when they’d been to visit his aunt, Meenakshi Amma. Her heart started beating erratically as she thought of the day.