Suraj and Chandni.
Their romance was built on solid foundation. Masala chai and Parle G. And Mumbai Monsoon. Once the monsoons had slowly ebbed from the city, they found newer destinations to explore. The sweltering heat of Navratri didn’t dim their flames of passion. On the contrary they soon found themselves on long rides to Lonavala, Khandala, Pune and even Goa once.
One more Monsoon was here. They took their romance to the next level and tied the knot. As the Monsoon progressed, the city was inundated with rain a couple of times, and they moved on from bikes to a car. The romance of cuddling together was replaced with the warm, dry comfort of travelling without getting soaked.
One fine day as they waited at a signal, a wet brown hand, so small that one had to crane one’s neck to see the body attached to it, knocked timidly, asking for something to eat. Chandni felt sorry and looked around. Rummaging in her bag she found their favourite Parle G biscuits. Hesitating barely for a moment, she handed the packet to the urchin. “Sorry Suraj! Now you will have to go without your favourite tea mates!” “ It’s Ok Darling! Your tender heart won me over, what’s a few biscuits? Trust you are feeling better about feeding that little mite.”
“True, in spite of this cool weather, I feel a warmth running through my heart.”
“So, my Love, let’s keep your warm fuzzy feeling going and keep a stack of these Parle G biscuits you can share with all such little ones.”
That’s the reason she had fallen in love with him… always so sensitive and caring. Leaning over she gave him a hug and a kiss, and they drove along in the chaotic traffic listening to their favourite songs of Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle.
From then on the car and their home had a never ending supply of those small Parle G packs.
But it was the Monsoons, the weather could be turbulent at times and soon the turbulence blew into their lives too. One morning she found Suraj in the study, whispering animatedly. “Do you want some tea?” she asked as she moved on to make their favourite masala chai. It promised to be one of those rain-all-through type of days. She was toying with the idea of staying back and working from home.
Suraj gave her a tight hug and smiled, “It was Sheela, she seems to be having one of her panic attacks. We have to present the report on the latest market trends, and she is getting jittery. Hope she can pull it off.”
“You will, if not her,” she responded warmly, cuddling him before giving him his cuppa. “I am going to work from home today. You run along.”
Rain kept its promise that day. It drizzled, rained, poured in torrents, but didn’t stop even for a while. She wished the economy had such persistence too! She had been preoccupied with work all day. As night approached, the dark clouds just kept piling up, the rhythmic pattering of the rain had now become a cacophony of staccato notes. Of Suraj there was no news. Now she was kicking herself for not asking Suraj to stay back too. Immediately she tried calling him, but the phone was out of coverage area.
She got busy preparing dinner. Some hot khichdi with kadhi, his favourite. She would fry some Papad and those dried green chillies, mom had sent them. The little apartment, tastefully decorated was soon filled with tantalizing aromas. As she finished laying the table, she realized it was horribly late… Once again, she tried his number… this time he answered immediately, “Hey Beautiful! How are you?” “Suraj, I got so worried! Where have you reached? Dinner and I are waiting to welcome you, Honey!” “Ha! Ha! Ha! I will be there soon, just dropping Sheela off. She was wonderful today. So, we just stopped to celebrate. Bye sweetheart!”
She was stunned… Celebrating, in this weather? With Sheela?
Now she tried to join all the dots…. On a number of occasions, she had heard him on the phone speaking softly, “But Sheela…” “Now listen to me Sheela…” “Trust me Sheela, I know what’s good for us…” And his favourite song these days had been, “ Sheela, Sheela ki jawani…”. The facts stared her in her face. He was having an affair with that Sheela!
When he reached home finally, an hour later, the khichdi was lukewarm, the papad quite soggy and Chandni was in bed, pretending to be asleep. He was looking forward to sharing with her how they had impressed the CEO and his boss. That he was going to whizz her off to Lonavala to an exotic resort called ‘Lovers Nest’ and spend two leisurely days soaking in the rain followed by warm toasty evenings by the fireplace.
He heard her sniffling then sobbing and she was inconsolable. “Darling, what happened? What’s wrong?” he said with alarm.
“Its you! I am no longer good enough for you!” and she wept. Her tears flowing unchecked like a dam breached during torrential rain. Shocked Suraj was at his wits end. “Has someone said anything? Is all fine at work? How can I help you, Love?”
“Stop! End your affair with that bloody Sheela!”
“What?” he said incredulously…. And then he started laughing…. Cuddled her and rocked her, kissing her gently. “No one is dearer to me than you, My Sun and Moon, My universe!”
“I don’t believe you!”
“Well, you have to take my word for that. None can compete in beauty with you or your compassion… Sheela is not a patch on you. She is my colleague. That’s all. Hey, you know it went off so well today… you will be proud of your husband. The CEO himself has congratulated me and you know what it means…”
“Really? So proud of you Suraj! But what about…”
“Shhh! You and me… we are off tomorrow morning. Tell your boss you are pregnant or better still planning to get pregnant.” Soft laughter filled the room.
The next evening found them walking up the green hill, swirled in foggy mists, as the rain clouds lifted. They were soaked to the bone, umbrellas carefully folded, lest they got whipped off by the rain. Laughter rang out as they narrated one silly joke after the other.
Sitting by the fireside, they warmed their chilled hands while their hearts warmed up to each other again, gazing into the hearts that once was theirs, but now beat only for the other! The steaming cups of masala chai waited to be picked up …… for the first time, they were forgotten.
