Randhir was startled by the presence of the teenage Sanyukta desperately hanging off the mango tree just outside his bedroom balcony. "Who is it, son? It must be those infernal kids after the fruit in the garden!'' His mother Renuka called out to h...
"You have been crying too, Ma!" No matter how cheerful an appearance Anju tried to put on for her daughter's benefit her eyes betrayed her completely.
Mother and daughter sat next to each other and Anju rested her head on Sanyukta's shoulder. They continued to sit there for a while without speaking a word until Anju rose, wiping her tears away.
"Come Sanyu, we must not forget that you have reached an important milestone in life today. Let us have lunch. And you should at least taste the kheer puri for the sake of tradition, even if you don't enjoy it." Anju's maternal instinct took over, she had to make an effort lest her daughter spend the rest of her birthday moping over something she had no control over.
Anju lovingly fed Sanyukta the first few morsels. Sanyukta did the same, tearing off a piece of puri and dipping it into the thick milk pudding before conveying it to her mother's lips. This was enough to dispel the gloom that has settled over them earlier. They realised how hungry they were or maybe eating fulfilled a deep emotional void that they were experiencing.
After lunch Anju called Sanyukta to her room. She opened her cupboard, reached into the vault and fished out a jewel case and handed it over to her daughter. Sanyukta opened it to find an antique gold necklace with a jasmine bud motif and a set of matching earrings. Anju smiled to see the look on her daughter's face.
"This necklace is an heirloom. It belonged to my grandmother who passed it onto my mother and she in turn gave it to me. Sanyu, it is time for me to pass on the legacy to you. We just need to make you a set of bangles and your wedding set will be complete. Put it on, let me see how you look in it!" Anju slipped the jewellery on her daughter and led her to the mirror.
"My girl looks beautiful! I cannot wait to see you in your wedding ensemble although I know it will take a few years!" She snapped a picture with Sanyukta with her phone.
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"Thank you, Ma! It is really pretty. But I never saw you wearing it, in fact I did not know you had this set with you all these years." Sanyukta could not recall seeing it earlier. Her mother had always worn a simple chain of gold beads and pearls on all occasions.
"That's because it has been lying in the bank locker all these years. I never felt inclined to wear it and after you were born I decided to save it as your wedding present. I'll return it to the locker again tomorrow, I just got it out for you to see." The events following Anju's wedding had been so damaging to her spirit that she shut the world out instead of trying to fit in. Sanyukta's birth had been the only ray of hope in Anju's marital life and she decided to let her daughter inherit whatever little she possessed, praying for the girl to have a better start in life than she did.
"Ma, I'm not sure we should discuss my wedding plans today. In fact I am not sure I relish the thought of being married to someone." Sanyukta felt her bile rise as she recalled Renuka's condescending attitude towards Anju and her. Renuka had made it a point to bring up their Devdasi background purposefully, both to remind the mother and daughter as well as her own son that there was no question of any liaison between the two families. And Sanyukta did not want to imagine being married to anyone other than Randhir.
