Bombay Romance ♡ COMPLETED

[ 56 ] Gauri's New Experiment ■

'Hi,' Gauri peeps into the kitchen.

'Aree, come, come,' Gayatri smiles warmly. 'Shall I make tea?'

'No, I came to chat with you. Amar's gone to the field again,' she sits down cross-legged. The kitchen, unlike the ones in cities, is laid out for the user to sit on the floor and work. The kitchen counter is just a foot above the ground level.

Gayatri looks surprised. No one stays back to talk to her.

'Do you like paneer? It's palak paneer today,' she asks.

'Yeah, I do. Don't you get bored from cooking all day?' Gauri can't help asking.

Gayatri smiles, mixing the palak paneer gravy boiling in the kadai with a ladle. Below the kadai, a few dry firewood sticks are inserted into the niche and lit into a steady, bright orange flame.

'There's so much more to see and do,' Gauri says. 'Shall we go out? It'll be a change for you.'

'Hum dono?'

'Yeah. The curry is almost ready. The dough is ready too. They can make the chapatis themselves. Ashok is home. I'll leave a note for Amar. We'll go to town and eat something there.'

Gayatri looks worried. 'How will they make chapatis for six many people?'

'The same way you do it everyday,' Gauri raises her eyebrows.

'Kiran will come back from school and ask for me. And Kamala doesn't eat if I'm not there.'

'Their father and Chachu will be there, right? They'll take care of them, don't worry.'

'Nahi, nahi!' Gayatri sounds scared. 'Ji, woh gussa honge. And I never eat before he does.'

'You shouldn't be scared about everything like this,' Gauri looks a little exasperated. 'You don't want Kamala to grow up the same way, do you?'

Gayatri goes silent. Gauri realizes that was a little blunt; but she had to say it.

'When Kamala starts studying, please don't let anyone sideline her studies because she's a girl. I can already imagine what they'll say. Doesn't matter if she studied well or not. She's a girl!". Never let that thought enter her head. Send her to me during summer holidays,' Gauri finds herself saying. 'I'll teach her how to be confident. Even Amar loves spending time with her.'

Gayatri smiles.

'Even you need to be a little independent,' Gauri says. 'First thing, you should have a separate bank account with your savings.'

Gayatri laughs lightly. 'I don't have so much money.'

'Even if it's a small amount.'

Gayatri smiles politely as she finishes diving the dough into several tiny balls. 'Why will I need money?'

'What if you want to go to town and buy something for yourself?'

'I don't go to town by myself. He'll be with me, na'

'You shouldn't wait for someone else every single time. Also, don't mind me telling you this,' Gauri ventures, though she's not sure Gayatri will understand. 'The jewellery and property papers given to you as dowry is yours according to Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act. You should keep it with you.'