Unhappily Married

Ch.01 Marriage bug Unchained

Six months ago....

I was getting increasingly agitated as the people in front of me took their own sweet time to get down from the bus.

Finally, after almost pushing the old man in front of me down the steps, which I'm pretty sure would have earned a jail seat for me, I exited bus.

I made my way to the railway station. The indicator said that the fast local would be there in a minute. Cursing my stupid legs which were already burning, I pushed my way to the platform.

The train had already arrived and a crowd had gathered in front of the doors. But aren't people supposed to stand in a queue? Because, screw lines! We were the increasingly important working class citizens and we didn't have the time to be courteous to fellow humans. Pssht!

If you asked me a minute later, I would have no clue how but, I finally got into the train and managed to carve a small territory for myself. After many complains and grumbles when my polite and sweet fellow passengers settled down, I took out my phone.

Today was the 3rd of the month which meant salary day. 'Why the 3rd and not the 1st of the month?' You may ask. It was because as the legend goes, my boss loved the number three. It was the day our company 'Stanley&Co' was inaugurated. And it was also the day all our significant achievements came to fruition.

Just kidding. Far from knowing my boss's preferences, I didn't even know how he looked. Till now I had only talked to the boss's assistant's assistant i.e. if, what he was boasting in the cafeteria was true. I didn't know shit about what happened when in our company.

I remember though, during orientation a pompous bald man droning on and on about our achievements. Honestly, I tried to pay attention, I really did; but, I hadn't slept the night before due to nerves and the bald man showed no sign of stopping. I had promptly proceeded to take a nap leaning against the soft cushioned seat of the dark auditorium.

I checked the message indicating the paycheck details and; in the famous words of Rachel Green, 'It was so...Not worth it!'. After numerous deductions, (I cursed the greedy leeches who took my hard earned money) the total salary was indicated in the last row.

Net Salary: Rs. 60,000

It has been two years since I started working here. From being 'Nina Madhavan- Junior Engineer' to 'Nina Madhavan-Network Engineer (just two posts above and almost the same salary)' I thought something would improve. But as I thought this, I realised though I loved coding, being an insignificant cog in the wheel of a humungous organisation was never going to make me happy.

I was brought out of my musings when my stop was announced and, the passengers though seemingly calm, were ready to bound out of the train, like a convict who had been handed the key to his prison cell but, just for a minute. Bracing myself for the onslaught of pushing and shoving, I tried to get down as the train slowly came to a halt.

I don't know why I even bother anymore. It was common knowledge that in peak hours, all you needed to do was stand still and the lovely people behind you will push you out of the doors. After much scrambling I was able to breath the much awaited fresh air, well as fresh as the air can get in Mumbai.

I took out the half eaten chocolate block from my bag, I was in need of comfort for my shrivelled heart wounded by the account balance and also lull myself into a false sense of happiness. I reached home in about 40 minutes after reaching the bus stop, then abandoning the idea after 10 minutes of waiting, and again dashing back after seeing the bus finally arrive.

I had rented out a one - bedroom apartment since I started working. On top of not being a millionaire at 24, (which little unrealistically ambitious me would have been apalled at) I just couldn't handle the shame of staying at my parents place.

In Indian society, after completing your education the next and most obvious step for a girl was to marry a decent, respectful man hailing from a decent, respectful family of her parents' choosing. Some open - minded and logical people (aka me), protested strongly to their parents against this custom claiming it to be medieval and meddlesome.

But fear not, however strong, brave or courageous you are, Indian parents and relatives will eventually wear you down with their brilliant tactics. In my household, whatever has been said or proposed for me and my brother, as long as my mom didn't approve of it, the motion will not be passed. And lately, my dear mother seemed to bitten by the arranged marriage bug too. Last time I visited her, she was heavily hinting at that.

'What a wonderful age you're at Nina!', 'You know I have always thought that my darling would be settled by the time she's 24.', 'I met this amazing woman today and guess what, she's looking for a bride for her son.'

You could say that subtlety was not my mother's forte. After distracting her by mentioning her darling son living all alone in Germany currently, I scampered out of there. She bade me goodbye, muttering something about wanting to call him. Since then, I avoided going to meet her. She would forget about marriage in a few days, unless she's invited to some wedding.

Sighing I leaned back against the couch and set to work on my laptop. I had many freelance assignments that, I had taken up to earn extra money. As I got into a mundane rhythm of eating spoonfuls of pasta and correcting the errors in my code, the phone rang.

Mildly annoyed, I set the laptop down and stretched fully on the couch to reach the landline, too lazy to get up.
'Hello, who is this?'
'Hello Ninu kutty, this is Amma. Your Mami just called to say that your cousin Maithili's engagement has been fixed.'

Oho! The worst has happened.

As she went on about the groom and his family, I stared blankly at the wall. I could sense my impending doom right around the corner.

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Glossary
kutty- A term of endearment in Tamil language
Amma- Mother in Tamil language
Mami- Mother's brother's wife

Dear readers,
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Love,
Vi