Best foot forward (completed)

8. Maayne (purpose)

Q/N - this chapter might sound like preaching, especially to my young readers, but this is a crucial one of 'best foot forward' and my attempt to address the rising issue of 'broken families'.

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The first day of his stay in his sasural aka Gupta house had been as eventful as it could get, and ASR was already sweating! Literally. Thankfully, he had asked Aman to arrange enough cash in small denominations for his week's travel. Aman had given him strange looks but didn't dare to ask questions. But then, while coming back to Lakshmi nagar, the taxi he had hailed broke down halfway and, on that road, he couldn't get anything else except an auto rikshaw. It was still the time around sunset so wind was cool but rather humid on that day. The dammed vehicle didn't have any a/c and by the time he reached home, he was sweating.

By the time he got freshened up and came looking for Khushi, he observed she wasn't around. Shashi was watching television in the hall and saw that Arnav's eyes were looking for Khushi.

"Khushi has gone temple Arnav bitua." he said without looking in his direction.

Ok. Arnav had to admit it, Shashi Gupta was an intimidating person! And just as he was about to go back to his-er-Khushi's room, he saw Garima and buaji hurriedly running here n there, probably finishing cooking before Khushi came back.

Arnav wasn't blind to the thick tension between Gupta ladies and Shashi or the fact that they were told to not come in front of Khushi and he himself had felt satisfied with it. He was there when Garima had tried to slap Khushi the day they had eloped and married, and when buaji had berated Khushi for her being an adopted child. He had shared same discomfort towards them as Shashi and that gave him courage to speak with him.

"Mr. Gupta?" Arnav addressed Shashi as he was still engrossed in TV. He waited for a minute, but Shashi didn't show any sign that he had heard Arnav. He tried to summon all the patience in the world, and called again

"Sir? I wanted to talk to you." Arnav said a bit louder and got his attention. Shashi seemed to give him a thoughtful look and then switched off the TV.

"Sure son, and I think you have earned to call me babuji now, so if you wish, do call me that. besides, that 'sir' is annoying to my ears." Shashi said in a stern voice as Arnav relaxed and smiled sheepishly. Talking to her babuji would always make him nervous, he decided.

"Thanks sir, I mean, sorry babuji. I was actually thinking, you are not really speaking with Garima aunty...and buaji... right?"

"Yes. They did something wrong, and they need to amend their behavior." he replied with a serious look

"So are you separating from aunty?" he asked without thinking. To be honest, that's what he had seen relationships as, make them when you want and break them as soon as you think they are unbearable. Marriages were dispensable commodities to him which is why he was averse to them. It wasn't until he wanted to be with Khushi that he willingly went into one! But even to her, he had initially proposed a short-term marriage with validity of six months, no less!

Shashi laughed a little before answering,

"Arre beta, rishte todna itna aasan hota toh hamare yaha samaj ki zarurat hi nahi hoti. Tum aajkal ke bacche rishton ke maayne bhulte ja rahe ho, rishte bana toh lete ho par nibhana bhul jate ho. Rishta banana utna hi aasan hota hain jitna mitti par mitti se mitti likhna par nibhana utna mushkil jitna pani par pani se pani likhna*. Lekin unhe nibhana padta hain, kai baar khud badal kar toh kai baar samne wale ko samjha kar, par unse bhaga nahi jata beta. Yahi zindagi ke sahi maayne hain!"

(Son, if it was so easy to break relationships, we wouldn't have a society. You today's generation are forgetting meanings of relationships. They are as easy to make as writing sand on sand with sand but as difficult to stay in one as writing water on water with water! But you have to fulfil them, at times change yourself or change the other person but not run away. This is the right purpose of life).