The Unnamable Bond (On Hold)

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"Happy birthday, Ma!" screamed Arjun at the top of his lungs. He had a hefty figure with muscular arms and chest. Probably, that was a trait which he had attributed from his father. With a broad face, aligned jawline, honey-brown eyes and walnut skin tone, he looked like a model straight out of a magazine. Though he had aspired to become a model once, he had taken up engineering on the advice of his stereotyped parents and landed up in a software company that paid him a huge sum of money. The fact that he was 29 and unmarried was something that baffled his friends and boggled the minds of his neighbors.

"Thank you da, kanna!" exclaimed a 55 year old Aishwarya enthusiastically. She might have grown old, but her bubbly character never left her. She was always cheerful and spread happiness around her. She was dressed in a simple aquamarine blue cotton saree, adorned her signature maroon circle shaped bindi, and lightweight gold earrings and bangles. Her face had less wrinkles while her hair had grays in them. She had to dye them in order to look young. Nevertheless, she considered herself young at heart.

"So where are you going to take me out for treat? Anjappar or Wangs Kitchen or KFC or Dominos?" asked Arjun, with his mouth already beginning to water.

"Won't you think about anything other than food?" asked Aishwarya mockingly.

"Ma, I always follow the modern adage 'Live to eat'. You know, food makes me happy and lively. Anything that satiates my tummy equals to God." He said, while circling his stomach with his right hand.

"I wonder from where did you acquire this character of a foodie. None of us had this habit of gorging on food. Not even your father."

"Ha ha. That's a manufacturing defect, Ma. I am a foodie by birth and I am proud to tell that. Food is my birthright." He winked at her.

"Ha ha ha. Tell me where do you want to go?"

"First of all, tell me, are you okay if Manisha and her family join us?"

Manisha was his 32 year old sister who had married a rather arrogant guy and had a 6 year old son Pramod.

"I am okay with it. But my son-in-law wouldn't like it."

"So what? We'll ask Manisha and Pramod to join us secretly."

"It won't work, Arjun. We both will go. Where do you want me to take you?"

"We'll go to Dominos Pizza. It's nearby only, so that it would be easy for you."

"Okay," replied a smiling Aishwarya.

Arjun moved away to his bedroom, fiddling his smartphone all the way.

After her marriage, Aishwarya had moved to Delhi along with Manohar. She began leading a happy life with him and bore two kids. She also joined a branch of Unity India Insurance Company Ltd and started working as a clerk. Later in 2001, the family moved to Chennai where Shankaran and Latha handed over the ancestral Chettinad house to them. But they had refused it and expressed their desire to build a new one. That's how a modern house took birth in the posh area of Besant Nagar.

It was painted in light pink. It had a huge hall with two Khaitan fans, Samsung colour TV, showcase containing various dolls, medals and photo frames, a telephone, a dining table at a corner, and a shelf consisting of books and other stationary items. There were three bedrooms, one for Aishwarya and Manohar and the other two for Manisha and Arjun respectively. The kitchen was spacious and had modern utensils like mixer, grinder and pressure cooker, which made cooking easier for Aishwarya. The puja room was just a vast opening carved on the wall in the hall. As time flew, Shankaran and Latha passed away, selling their ancestral property to a landlord who promised to take care of it. Aishwarya, too, resigned from her job at the age of 45.