Always Soulmates (On-hold)

2 - Her Story

Pic credit : SK (IG)

In a household in Chennai, a heated argument was going on between an elderly woman and a middle-aged couple. The elderly woman is Sumithra (Sm) and the middle-aged couple are her son Krishnan and daughter-in-law Bindu. Topic of argument was the future of Saangvi, Krishnan & Bindu's daughter.

Saangvi Krishnan (Sk), affectionately called Sanu by her dear ones, is the favorite grandchild of Sm. She is proud of Sanu's achievements, but can't help worrying about her future. Her innocence and the cruel world outside, especially in showbiz, was one reason. Another reason was the link-ups going on in her singing shows. Sanu has sworn that those guys were only friends and media was just using it for ratings. But Sm was worried about how it will affect her reputation when she gets married. So when an offer came for her to act in a sister role in a Tamil movie, she came to the decision that Sanu needs to be settled in life before going more into the industry.

Krishnan and Bindu were shocked by this decision. After all, Sk is only 20 years old. An age to explore her dreams as a free bird. Not an age to burden her with responsibilities. They trusted their daughter, she never kept any secret from them. They were there to protect her, also her countless brothers from her shows and her mother figure, the production house head. What was the guarantee that the groom and in-laws will support her? Or change their promise of support after marriage?

Hence the argument.

Krishnan: "Amma, even we were in the same industry for years before getting married. We took care of ourselves. We met because of our careers. Who knows, maybe Sanu too will meet her life partner while following her career. "

Sm: " Kanna, you were lucky that our Bindu is a gem. Nowadays such people are rare.
I am well aware of how social media works, all thanks to my grandchildren. People, especially girls, are being judged, insulted, bullied by jealous ones without any consideration of their struggles to achieve success and their personal lives.
Our Sanu has been criticised since childhood. By God's grace, she is overcoming all those. Why do you want to create more? Tell me, do you want her to marry that Victor boy? "

Bindu: " Amma, Sanu knows we only tolerate him because he is her friend. She has no such interest in him. "

Sm: " You all told me that rumors will stop once ss7 ends. Then why is the channel still bringing it up in ss8, making them host shows together, why are fans still making those videos of them? "

K: "When new kids get media's attention, it will all be forgotten. Marrying her to someone who may not even have interest in music is not a solution! We will not let anyone to ruin her dreams."

Sm: " You think I am against her career? I just want her future to be safe. I too want her life partner to support her dreams. All I am saying is, we need to settle her life before more rumors ruin her reputation. Nowadays even a small disagreement can end in divorce."

The arguments kept going on and on and finally Sm took out her last weapon.

Sm: " You have no mercy on this old woman. I am getting older and weaker, who knows if I will survive another time in hospital. Fine, let my soul wander around worrying about my Sanu, after my death. " and started crying.

" Amma! "

Krishnan & Bindu were feeling helpless. They were sad seeing the matriarch crying, but not ready to sacrifice their daughter's freedom.

A new voice joined the mess.
"What's going on here?! "

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Sk was on the way back home from the sets. She was supposed to take part in cwc2, but even after getting dates of all the contestants, the show kept running into obstacles. So the production house postponed the show and started ss8 earlier than planned. As a result, previous season singers were being called in now and then, while auditions were finishing up.

Today it was her brother Vinod, aka Vinu, who was on pick-up duty. And he doesn't hesitate to tease her with his new driving license.

Sometimes Sanu wondered if he was her thambi or anna. While she was the one pampered by family, Vinu who is younger by 2 years, was pampered by her in childhood. But as they grew up, he was turning into her protector, noticing how she was being criticised for her voice and behavior. And Sanu didn't like it at all. She is supposed to be his protector as the elder one, not the other way. He will tease her, fight with her, let her pamper him. But outside the house, he becomes her bodyguard. She was fed up of being treated like a kid even by her thambi.

' Oh God , please give me a life partner who will love my pampering.' Sanu prayed as she fought with Vinu once again.

They thought it was just like any other day. But they were in for a shock, when they reached home. Their grandmother was crying and their parents were tensed. And they heard the last part of the ongoing argument.

"...let my soul wander around worrying about my Sanu, after my death. "

Vinu recovered first and exclaimed. " What's going on here?! "

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Though their parents refused to tell anything, asking them to stay away from the issue, it was easy to get the truth from their grandmother. All expected Sanu's temper to make an appearance, but to their surprise, she didn't react at all. She stood there thinking something, observing all four of them. She knew exactly why Sm was reacting so.

She sat down next to Sm and asked. " Will you marry me to someone who won't let me be a singer? "
" Never! "
" Can I make the final decision to accept or reject the guy? "
" Yes. " Sm nodded.
" I will agree... "
Sanu was interrupted by Krishnan and Bindu. " No! "
" Please, let me complete. " She said calmly. " Only 8 proposals. And I will meet the boy outdoors. If they all reject me, you will stop this marriage talk, ok? And not until I turn 25."
" Ok. " Sm agreed. " But you should explain why, if you are rejecting the boy."
" Deal. "

Krishnan and Bindu tried to talk her out of it, but she refused to change her decision saying she knew what she was doing. Vinu didn't interfere, he knew his sister very well. She has a reason and he was going to make her confess it afterwards. He signalled his father to leave her alone and let him handle it.

Later at night, Vinu questioned Sanu about her decision.
" It's easy to get rejected. It's either my voice, or the rumors, or my tomboyish behavior, or my no-filter words, or my plain looks. Any one reason is enough. Paatti is worried because she met some gossiping women in the hospital and got upset by their words. I overheard them once, when I went to see her in the hospital. We shouldn't stress her. For now, we will agree to her wish. Once all those 8 boys reject me, she will have to let it go. "
" Why 8 ? "
" Just a number that came to my mind. Maybe because I am doing ss8. "
" Are you sure they will reject you? "
" Dey, I am not heroine type. I am thangachi type. " She said with a sad smile and went to sleep.
Vinu felt sad hearing her and hoped she will meet someone who will love her the way she is. He went to their parents and made them agree with Sanu's idea.

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Sm got busy in finding a match for Sanu. She didn't expect help from Krishnan and Bindu, and they weren't eager to help either. As time went by, Sanu completed her degree and had crossed out the 6th guy from the list. Her predictions for rejection were becoming true. That was when Sm talked to her cousin from Madurai.
While talking about family matters, the cousin suggested a boy who had come to see her daughter's daughter. " We all liked the boy. Very well-mannered, silent, mature, good looking. Our girl liked him, his family liked her. Only problem was he is working in Bangalore. She works in Chennai and doesn't want to shift. So the proposal ended there."
Sm thought that this might work and asked for details.
" There is a small issue. He is 29 years old. "
Sm was in a dilemma. What if he is too serious and too old for her Sanu? But her cousin was sure that they will match. "Haven't you heard that opposites attract? Big age gap was there in our time too, but didn't such marriages work? Just give it a try. "
Convinced by her sister, Sm contacted the boy's family. And thus Sanu was going to meet prospective groom #7.

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