Chawl vs Society

"Ma," he said, grabbing her by the elbow and gently pulling her aside from the crowd. "Who are all these women?"

His mother smiled warmly, unfazed by his question. "Oh... these are our neighbors," she said nonchalantly.

"That's not rocket science, Ma," Ishan replied, raising an eyebrow. "But why are they here?"

"Well, it’s a long story.", She paused for a moment before answering with a mischievous grin.  You know when we came to buy this house, the women over there, they were looking down on us. Even when we bought it, they kept passing comments on our clothes, our lifestyle... the usual stuff."

She shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"So I told them about my daughter being the Bahu of the Raichand family. And let me tell you, their tone changed drastically after that! Turns out, their husbands and fathers work for Mr. Harivansh, and they all wanted to get on our good terms. So, they decided to throw a party for us—inside our own house, of course," she said, chuckling.

Ishan looked around at the crowd, a little baffled.

"But how am I supposed to deal with them?" he asked awkwardly. "These are rich, sophisticated women. They’re going to find out about my truth soon enough, and it might mess with Aryan’s business and his reputation."

"Oh, look at my daughter," Ma teased with a proud grin. "You’re worried about your husband’s reputation already!"

"Meri beti ko kisi ki najar na lage (No harm befall on my daughter)" , She touched the sides of his head with both hands and then similarly touched her own head with curled fingers, signifying transfer of all woes and troubles to herself.

"Well by that standard you are also a Rich sophisticated woman, Radhika", She winked. "And besides these women are just the rich version of our Mohalla aunties."

"What do you mean?", Ishan blinked in confusion.

Ma chuckled. "Well, there’s Mrs. Mehta, who’s like our Vimla Kaki from the chawl. Always asking newlywed couples when they’re having kids, as if it's any of her business.

Then there's Aarti, who’s just like Shruti from the chawl—always complaining about her mother-in-law and how she can’t get along with her.

And don't even get me started on Rupal, the big lady who’s been on a ‘diet’ for years but never seems to lose any weight, yet still finds room for more sweets than anyone else in the room. Just like Urmila Shinde from our old chawl!"

Ishan’s eyes widened as he processed it all, his tension easing a little.

"Oh my God," he laughed. "So, they’re basically the same aunties but with bigger wallets?"

"Exactly!" Ma said, clapping her hands. "They might look all polished on the outside, but inside, they’re just the same nosy, gossipy women we used to live with."

Ishan smirked. "And who’s the rich version of you, Ma?" he teased, poking her cheek. "The one who keeps offering unsolicited advice to every young woman about their love lives?"

His mother burst out laughing. "Oh, that was missing! But now that I’m here, the role is filled," she giggled, clearly amused by the whole situation.

Ishan smiled, missing these light-hearted moments with his mother more than he realized. "I’ve missed this," he said softly, his tone filled with warmth.

"But you should’ve informed me before, Ma," he added, still a little irritated.

"Aryan Didn't tell you anything?", Ma replied.

Ishan shot back at Aryan who was still taking small sip of welcome drink to avoid his gaze. Ishan couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow with so much connection between Son in Law and Mother in law.

"Oh really?" he said sarcastically. "I see how it is. Your precious ‘Damad’ is now closer to you than I ever was, huh?"

"Oh, my baccha..." Ma cupped his cheeks lovingly, her voice soft. "You’re my firstborn. You give me the joy of having both a son and a daughter. But Aryan... he’s like a son to me too. You know how scared and guilty he felt when he told me about the kiss that night..."

"Ma, please," Ishan interrupted, his face turning red as he waved his hands in exasperation. "I really don’t want to talk about that again."

"Beta," Ma said, her tone calming. "A kiss between a married couple is normal."

"Do you know, when your father kissed me for the first time, I accidentally bit a few of his mustache hairs?" She chuckled, clearly amused by the memory.

Ishan’s face turned crimson.

"Ma! Don’t tell me that!" he groaned, embarrassed beyond belief.

"And the kiss between us wasn't even a kiss and even if it was, It was just a one-time accident!"

Ma’s laughter only grew louder. "Women share everything, beta," she teased. Then, leaning closer, she whispered in his ear,

"And don’t think I don't know how you were drooling over his chest every day... It surely wasn't a one-time accident either," she winked at him mischievously.

Ishan’s facepalmed so hard he nearly knocked himself out.

‘Of course, he told her about that too,’

he thought, feeling like he was about to combust from embarrassment.

‘That man is definitely onto something. Sleeping on the couch is not enough. I need my seperate room—ASAP.’

"Beta, I have a request for you,” Ma’s voice broke Ishan’s train of thoughts as he stood there, taking in the chaos of the large gathering in their house.

“Ma, please, no more requests,” Ishan said, his hands gesturing in frustration. “It’s been hard enough to dress up as a woman in front of you, Papa, and Rohan... Wait!” His eyes suddenly widened in realization. “Where’s that dumbo, by the way?”

“Oh… He’s in his room,” Ma replied, shrugging nonchalantly. “He said he doesn’t want to see his elder brother in a saree.”

Ishan raised an eyebrow.

'Dumbo,’ huh? I can’t believe he’s hiding in his room just because I’m in a saree. Who was the one crying during my Vidai, Han? He was gawking like I was actually his sister leaving him forever, like he thought I was disappearing from his life!'

Ishan thought, his mind laced with humor.

“Okay, fine. I’ll go talk to him,” Ishan muttered, but his mother stopped him mid-sentence.

“But first, do a little bit of acting for me,” Ma said, her voice now a bit more serious. “You know these women... they’ll keep gossiping behind your back if you don’t.”

Ishan groaned inwardly, wondering just how far his mother was willing to push him today. He wanted to go take a break and possibly lock himself in a room away from the never-ending chaos. .

“Things we do for our family,” Ishan muttered to himself.

Then, looking at his mother, he relented with a resigned nod.

“Okay, Ma... I’ll act like the ideal, loving wife to that man. But just one time”