Vodka on the rocks

Part - 3

Rao Mansion, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad , 9:00 am

"No."

"But it's Janmashtami. I always celebrate this day. What is the problem, at least tell me that.."

"Pallavi, I told you. I have never celebrated anything related to Krishna."

Pallavi slammed the plate of idlis on the table and the assistant cooks ran behind the kitchen counter to take cover. This was the signal that a world war was about to commence. Raghav didn't even deign to look up from his tablet which he was immersed in while munching on his fruits.

"Raghav! At least do me the courtesy of looking at me while speaking."

Raghav looked up from his tablet, raising a sculpted eyebrow at his wife who was glaring at him, her hands on her hips, a classic pose she unassumingly assumed when she was gearing up for a fight. He sighed and kept the tablet on the table and gave her his full attention.

"So I am apparently under the wrong impression that this is my house too."

"Pallavi you know it very well that I had told this to you the day we married that all I possess, belongs to you from now as well. So stop the ITV drama and speak clearly."

"I want to do Krishna Puja."

"No."

"Raghav!"

"See, I have never stopped you from doing anything and I never will, but please for my sake listen to me for one Goddamned time!"

Pallavi sighed and looked away, knowing fully well that he knew she was trapped in his words. She would never intentionally do something he had explicitly told her not to. For all their ceaseless verbal wars and silly games of one upmanship, none of them had ever disrespected the other outright.

Not when the entire staff had probably heard their conversation.

Raghav felt a pang in his chest seeing his wife deflate and debated whether he was being too harsh with her.

"Pallavi... I don't want to make you upset."

"I have always celebrated Janmashtami with my family..."

She said sadly making him feel like a villain.. again. He looked at his bowl and tried his level best to clear his head of the memories of the past haunting him like a reel from a psychological horror film but in vain.

"What constitutes as Puja for you Raghav?"

His wife's sudden question seemed so random that he was momentarily blindsided.

"Uhh.. the usual. The aarti in front of the idol."

Pallavi looked thoughtful for a change and Raghav didn't know whether this was the calm before the storm or something else. His wife letting go of an argument had always led to some devastating consequences for him every time. It was always a tough battle with his Saree Ka Dukaan, which he lost more times than he would like to think about.

Pallavi seemingly unconcerned about the entire issue dropped it and went to the kitchen to get the coconut chutney for the idlis.

"Bappa.... Aho! Stop drinking that useless protein shake and have proper breakfast like a normal human being. Malā kāya vēḍā navarā miḷālā āhē!"

-------------------------------------------------------

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, 1:30 pm

The man sighed in frustration as the Customs officer kept rummaging through this bag voraciously. 

"I told you Sir, it's useless. You won't get anything there."