chapter 25
Sanyog - A Coincidence
Sir â¦. Sir⦠Mayank was shouting from a distanceâ¦
Yes, Mayank ⦠I saidâ¦
Sir ⦠Ma is calling both of youâ¦
Why? What happened? I aksedâ¦
Sir, she said, after so many years happiness has returned ⦠she doesnât want to lose it⦠Mayank toldâ¦
What ? I replied
Sir, I donât know but she has asked both of you to return before its gets too dark⦠that time is not good for you both ⦠she was saying â¦
Ok⦠Ok ⦠her orthodox thinking ⦠I said aloudâ¦
Sameep⦠Ma ⦠is not orthodox⦠she is just worried about us ⦠we should respect her view ⦠letâs goâ¦Sanyogita saidâ¦.
But , you havenât finished yet⦠I commentedâ¦
Nothing is ever complete , Sameep ⦠letâs move ⦠she saidâ¦
You and your philosophy ⦠I teased her⦠instead of English , you should have taken philosophy as your major ⦠I remarkedâ¦
Sameep ⦠studying philosophy is one thing and applying it in our life is another one ⦠thatâs the toughest part you know⦠we can give lectures to others but when it comes to ourselves all our knowledge becomes null and void⦠she said and started laughing â¦
I also laughed⦠and said⦠todayâs philosophy class is over ⦠we will continue tomorrow madam⦠make a move⦠otherwise Ma will scold usâ¦
We started walking back towards home⦠the orange sky , twilight has engrossed the whole west ⦠darkness is followed by light of dawn ⦠my mind instructed meâ¦
You know Sanyogita what was the best part of my service⦠I saidâ¦
Unless you tell ⦠how will I know ⦠she said laughing ⦠but I can guess ⦠food and cuisines of various countries â¦
No⦠incorrect option ⦠I uttered â¦
Then⦠she took a long pause and said ⦠hamm ⦠how can I forget ⦠beauties across the world â¦
Shut up⦠you ⦠I shouted ⦠donât you know me ⦠I have never glanced at any girl except ⦠I stopped abruptly â¦
Why did you stop ⦠who is that blessed one ⦠let me knowâ¦She saidâ¦
My mind was crying â¦. Sanyogita , I swear by God , I havenât seen any women from that angle till date except you ⦠I had come across very beautiful , intelligent women throughout the world ⦠who were ready on their to fall for me ⦠but I never paid any attention to them⦠rather there was no space in my heart for anyone else as you have already occupied that placeâ¦
I heard Babaâs voice ⦠you are back⦠good ⦠before sunset ⦠Ma was unnecessary worrying about you bothâ¦
Where is Ma? I asked â¦
She is at her daily ritual⦠she is reciting Hanuman Chalisa ⦠he repliedâ¦
How could I forget ⦠I was surprised ⦠I have seen Ma reciting Hanuman Chalisa from my childhood days ⦠there is no gap in that â¦
Suddenly I heard , Sanyogita also started reciting Hanuman Chalisa with mother â¦Â
I was happy to see two illumined facesâ¦
After that Ma was about to enter the kitchen ⦠she said⦠I will prepare Aloo Paratha for dinner â¦
Sanyogita said , âIt will be too heavy Ma⦠I will prepare something light ⦠â
âYou are rightâ, Ma said ⦠âEveryday I prepare only Chawal and dal at night â¦. Itâs good for our health.â
âOk⦠then ⦠I will prepare khichadi â¦â , Sanyogita saidâ¦
And she added , Sameep you also come and help meâ¦
âOkâ¦I nodded and followed her in the kitchen â¦â
I knew very well my parents were observing us from behind with a new shine in their eyes â¦
Sanyogita said , âI will add few vegetables so Khichadi will become nutritious â¦â
I was standing in the corner observing her haste to remove vegetables from refrigerator, washing them ⦠where is chopping board ⦠she asked me as if I knew everythingâ¦
When I started searching it everywhere ⦠she said furiously ⦠it means you never help aunty in her kitchen workâ¦
Fortunately, I found the chopping board in one corner of the cabinet ⦠I handed it to her ⦠she returned it back and said ⦠chop the vegetables â¦
I asked surprisingly, âMe?â
âWho else is here then⦠can you see anyone ⦠I canâtâ, she said angrily â¦
âBut⦠â, I was about to say somethingâ¦
She came near me and snatched the board from me ⦠let it be⦠I will do it⦠she saidâ¦
âItâs ok, I will help youâ¦â, I saidâ¦
âIf you cut your finger and bleed ⦠aunty will scold me⦠its better you take rice and moong dal and wash it and soak it for some timeâ¦â, Sanyogita saidâ¦
I nodded ⦠and started searching for Dal and Chawalâ¦
Oh! My goodness , you all men are alike ⦠you donât even know the basic ingredients in the kitchen and where they are kept⦠you think itâs the duty of the women only to cook and serve you ⦠you hand over the money every month and itâs over ⦠and you can blame us anytime for extra salt or less chillies ⦠Sanyogita burstâ¦
I heard her silently ⦠I didnât replyâ¦
âWhy are you keeping mum⦠you all are sameâ¦â, she said annoyingly
âSanyogita , Donât judge everyone by your experiences â¦â, I whispered â¦
What ⦠did I something wrong , Sameep , I am extremely sorry , sometimes I lose the sense of time and space and I start speaking incoherently ⦠She explained â¦
Donât worry , you havenât revealed any secret yet , I said winking my eyes â¦
Give me that pot of soaked , dal and rice ⦠she changed the topic immediately â¦
Smart girl⦠I said
Did you say anything to praise me , she asked â¦
Yes, I wished to say ⦠If we had been married ⦠we would have prepared dinner together in the same manner as we are doing it today ⦠I would have not given you any chance of complaint ⦠but ⦠that big but is always present between us ⦠we have always met by chance ⦠by Sanyog ⦠and we have been always separated by destiny ⦠God⦠you have granted my wish after so many years ⦠so, there is no hurry ⦠please ⦠I beg you this time⦠please donât separate us â¦
I came to senses by the whistles of rice cooker â¦
Is rice ready ⦠I asked ⦠and added ⦠I am hungry â¦
It will take five minutes , Sameep , she said affectionately â¦
I have been waiting for you so long , five minutes are nothing for me ⦠I whispered.
Dr. Archana Pandit