Destiny

23. A Twist In The Tale

Chandrika, one of Anupama's colleagues at the office, was getting married, and Anupama had taken half a day off to attend the wedding. She knew it would be quite unlike the small-town weddings she had attended so far where the festivities often went on for three days. Chandrika's wedding would be a short and simple ceremony.

Anupama was very excited about attending it; after a long time, she'd again taken an interest in dressing up.
She went to the Dadar market and bought a silver bowl before rushing off to the wedding hall.

It was an unostentatious wedding. Anupama sat in a corner and observed all that was going on. Unbidden, her thoughts went back to her own wedding. What a display of wealth and grandeur! How much money had been spent on the hall, flowers, decorations and the catering! She felt as though it had all been a dream.

What was the use of all that expense? The real success of a marriage depended not on superficial factors such as those, but upon love and mutual understanding between husband and wife.

After the wedding lunch, Anupama went straight home. She'd assumed that the house would be locked as usually, at that time of the day, everyone was at work. But to her surprise she found Hari at home.

Anupama kept her purse on the table and asked, 'How come you're home?'
Hari smiled at her and answered, 'I am going away on tour today, and I came to collect my baggage.'

Anupama did not think there was anything unusual about that as Hari was in the sales department. She went into the bedroom and shut the door behind her, but did not lock it. She started to change out of her new sari when, suddenly, she felt a pair of hands grasping her from behind.

She immediately realized who it was and was terrified. She did not know what to do. With great difficulty she turned around, and saw Hari smiling at her.

He thought Anupama looked stunning in her new sari. Anupama was extremely angry but Hari thought she looked even more beautiful in her anger.

'Hari, how could you do such a thing!?' Anupama stammered.

'Anupama, your beauty has fascinated me from the moment I first saw you. All I see in my dreams is you. Why are you waiting for your foolish husband? Do you think he will ever come back to you? You are wasting your youth, instead of enjoying it. Anu, we can be together without anyone ever coming to know about it. I will protect you, whatever the circumstances.'

Anupama was so angry now that her face turned crimson, and she did not know what to say. Hari took her silence as consent, and he continued, 'Anu, compared to you, Sumi looks like a buffallo...I find her dull and unattractive. I have been waiting for so long to tell you how I feel, and today I found the opportunity. Anu, remember, I was the one who got you a job. Won't you thank me for it?'

Hari reached for Anupama again. But she gathered her courage and slapped his face hard.

'You should be ashamed of yourself. You have called me your sister. . .will you behave with your sister like this? I have always considered Sumi as my own sister and I will certainly tell her all about your edifying qualities. Get out of my way; I want to go out.'

Hari was stunned, but he continued to stand, leaning against the door. 'Just because I say you are my sister you can't become my sister. I said that to mislead Sumi. I had never even met you before, how can you become my sister?

'Anu, you do remember that you have leukoderma, don't you? Anand will never come back to you, nor will anyone else want to marry you. Let us not waste our time arguing when we could find such pleasure in each other's company. No one will ever suspect us.'

'Let me go!' Anupama shouted.

'Anu, you are as hungry for the pleasures of marital life as I am. If you don't agree to do as I say, I will turn Sumi against you. I'll convince her that you were chasing me. She will believe her husband over her friend, any day.'

The loud knock on the door momentarily distracted Hari. Seizing the chance, Anupama flew like a hunted deer and opened the door.

A middle-aged saleswoman stood outside. 'Madam, our company manufactures liquid soap. It is not well known in the market because we can't afford to advertise, but if you clean anything with our soap. . .'

Under normal circumstances, Anupama would have refused, but today she felt that God had sent this woman to her rescue. She called her inside.

'Please have a seat' she said, taking twenty rupees from her purse. 'Give me one bottle.'

The saleswoman was very happy. Apologetically she said, 'I don't have any change.'

'Oh! It doesn't matter!' said Anupama. Relieved, she walked out of the house with the saleswoman.

Hari just stood there, powerless to stop her.

Anupama went to Versova beach and sat down there. She was in a state of shock. It was a hot and humid day; very few people were on the beach.

Anupama began to cry uncontrollably. She felt as if she had been climbing a sheer mountain face clinging to a rope for help, and then found that the rope had turned into a snake. She felt herself falling...

She experienced the same sense of desolation and despair that she had felt when she had first noticed the white patch on her body, and was assailed by fear and pain. What would she do now? How could she continue to stay with Sumi?

Where else could she go in that huge bustling city? Anupama's senses were numb and her mind blank. She thought of Anand; he was responsible for her suffering. He had abandoned her when she needed him the most. And Hari, whom she had looked upon as an elder brother, had hurt her terribly by his actions. His words still echoed in her mind, causing her fresh pain. It seemed that even God had forsaken her. Did He have no one else to torture and test?

The sun was setting and many young couples had come to the beach to enjoy the evening breeze. Anupama suddenly realized she had been sitting there for more than six hours. She had to go back now. She mustered her courage, and reluctantly traced her steps home.

Sumi was cooking when Anupama entered the flat. As soon as she saw Anupama's pale cheeks, swollen eyes and sad face, she exclaimed, 'Anu, what happened? Are you not well? How was the wedding?'

Anupama did not reply.

'Go and rest for a while. I'll finish cooking in an hour. Hari is out of station; he left a note saying he will return in a week.'

Anupama inferred from Sumi's behaviour that she was unaware of what had happened. She went inside with a heavy heart, and lay down on her bed. Sumi went back to the kitchen, 'Anupama is probably sad because the wedding reminded her of her own marriage'

The following morning Anupama went to Dolly's house on her way to work, and found her busy applying her make-up.
'Anu, what a pleasant surprise! How come you're here so early? Is everything all right?'

Anupama did not know what to say. The previous day's incident had shocked her, but she could not tell anyone about it. She closed the door and started crying, 'Dolly, can you please get me a room in a working women's hostel? I want it within a week.'

Anupama wanted to shift out before Hari returned from his tour.

'Anu, what happened? Why are you in such a state?'

'Dolly, please don't ask me anything. I can't afford paying-guest accommodation in a city like Bombay. But you know so many people. . .please help me somehow.'

'Anu, I'm sure I can find you accommodation with some Goan Christian family. But why don't you stay here? My mom and I are the only people here; you could live in the spare room outside. You'll have to cook your own food, though, as we are non-vegetarians.'
Anupama was delighted.

Dolly's mother owned a small colonial-styled bungalow with a fairly large garden in Bandra. It had been given to her long ago, at the time of her marriage, when real estate prices had not been astronomical.

The house was in a somewhat run-down state. Many builders, who wished to demolish it and build a shopping complex or residential apartments, were pressurizing Dolly's mother to sell the house but she was not willing to sell the property.

Accommodating Anupama for a short period was not a problem for Dolly.
'Dolly, I don't know how to thank you,' Anupama said gratefully.