Sarada

Sarada was adjusting the pleats of her sari. Her grand daughter Ananya was graduating from the school of journalism and they were all going for a party hosted by Janardhan, Ananya’s father and Sarada’s son-in-law. Maya, Sarada’s daughter had picked the restaurant Umerkot as the place for a nice Nawabi themed dinner, which was quiet, but a place with a wonderful ambience for a family.

They were ushered into the hotel and the place reserved for them was shown. They sat down and started choosing starters from the menu card. Sarada had this strange feeling that someone was staring at her. She looked around and found an old man across the table staring hard at her. The guy at the table looked like him, so Sarada assumed he was the old man’s son. They were also accompanied by the young man’s wife and a naughty six year old son.

Sarada found the old man familiar but was just not able to place him, however much she tried. Where had she seen him before? “Daadi, shall I order paneer tikkas for you?” Ananya interrupted Sarada’s thoughts. “Yes darling, I’m not good at ordering. You go ahead and choose something for me”.

Sarada had an arranged marriage, which was the only norm at the time she was a teenager. At the age of 20, she was married off. She had an eventful life with her husband who worked in a factory. They had a daughter and she grew up to become a doctor. She was married off to an engineer and they had a baby girl, who had grown up all too soon and had graduated. Sarada’s husband had passed away 5 years ago and her daughter and son-in-law had insisted she move in with them. She loved her granddaughter and her working sil and daughter made sure she was comfortable and at home. Though she missed her husband, she had got adjusted and was now pursuing her hobbies which she had given up to take care of the family.

The old man across the table walked up to her and asked “excuse me, but are you not Sarada?” “Yes, but I’m sorry, my old age has weakend my memory. I feel I know you but I’m unable to recollect”. “Hmm, do you remember a Muthukrishnan?” Sarada’s cheeks began turning a bright red! Muthu, her beloved Muthu, after 45 years she was meeting him. How could she forget Muthu. “Amma, do you know this uncle?” asked Maya. “Err, yes, he err was err my school friend. Ahem.. my senior err in school. Can you excuse us for a minute? I haven’t met Muthu in a long time, we would love to have a small chat”. Muthu was her first love. They had met in school. He was her senior by 3 years. They stayed in the same colony and went to school together. She often asked him to help her with her home work and then they would talk, play for long hours. As she grew up, her parents found it unorthodox for a young girl to be loitering with a young man. So she was confined to the house and then later married off to another guy. Muthu could never forget Sarada, though he too was forced to marry the girl his parents chose for him.

Muthu had a son and the son was married and now had a son too! But somewhere at the back of his mind, he still thought of Sarada. How would she be when she is 25,30, 40, 50. He had a mental picture of her in his mind always. When he saw the radiance of the old lady walking in with her family, he knew at once, this was his Sarada. They walked up to the open terrace at the restaurant. Sarada could not stop blushing. She had not forgotten her Muthu or Muthunna as she lovingly called him. “Sarada, how have you been all these years? You have become a grandmother of a beautiful young girl! How is your husband? Where is he? Is that your daughter? She looks just like you!” “Oh Muthunna! I’m so glad I met you. How many decades has it been.” They told each other all about their lives so far. Muthu’s wife had passed away three years back and he too was living with his son. They just couldn’t contain their excitement. They were like dried flowers all re-blossoming again. The excitement in their eyes, the color of her cheeks, the smile on his lips, were unmistakable signs of their old love. “Sarada, shall we have dinner together? Let our families have some time together, away from us oldies, while we remniscate our good old times? Please don’t say no.” “Yes”, said a blushing Sarada.

They took a separate table and were lost in conversation. They dint know how time went by and soon it was time to leave. They took each other’s mobile numbers, something they could do only in this era of technology. Back then, even letters were something occasional. The very next day, Muthu called up Sarada. They spoke for hours and Muthu invited Sarada to the Iscon temple. She agreed immediately. He promised to pick her up from her apartment, at 10 am the next morning. Neither of them could sleep that night. It was so good to be able to get back their long lost love, and at the age when nothing could stop them, God had sent each other as gifts to the other. So this visit to Iscon temple was a thanks giving to the Lord, for having found each other.

Muthu borrowed his friend’s auto, he wanted to take her in style. He remembered the time when he had taken her pillion in his cycle back in the village. He bought some car cleaning solution and started polishing his borrowed auto. This at 6 am. The scene at Sarada’s house was no different. She started applying her daughter’s hair dye on her hair. She asked Ananya for some shampoo and conditioner. She had already gone shopping the previous day and had found herself a salwar kameez. She dressed up and wanted to put on some make up. Ananya had already guessed her grandma’s love story and helped Sarada to look stunning. Muthu shaved and trimmed his mustache. He wore his best white shirt and brown trousers neatly pressed. He reached Sarada’s apartment at 9:30 am itself and dint want her to wait. He had made the auto spotlessly clean and had dusted the seats thoroughly. Anxiously he kept staring at the gate. He did not want to go in. He would wait for her outside. At 10:10, a nervous Sarada appeared at the gates, salwar, handbag and all. They just stared at each other. Finally Muthu broke the trance and welcomed her into his auto. They sped off excitedly talking like a young couple in love.

The trip to Iscon was just too awesome. They decided to meet again on Thursday, and Muthu planned to take her out to Lal Bagh. The auto shining and the waiting ahead were Muthu’s routine. Dressing up and blushing like a teen were Sarada’s. This became a routine for them. Every day they started meeting, and going places, like teenagers in love. They had lived their lives, and fulfilled their duties. Now they were free to be love birds, twittering gaily in the skies. They did not want to move in with each other, because it was not about a physical relationship, it was a spiritual bond that they shared, one of true and pure love, for over a 50 years, and for years to come.

 

Dear Padmini Aunty,

Actually this story is based on an observation I made outside my apartment. I kept seeing an old person coming in an auto and this old lady from my apartment used to get into the auto and they leave. This I had been noticing for quite sometime, and I imagined the story.

I loved your deep thought provoking reply. True love is indeed beyond all wordly tangles. Its deep and spiritual.

Thank you Aunty for your first fb and the encouragment.

 

Dear LS, thank you so much for the encouragement and motivation. I am begining to think that my imaginations should be captured more and tapped into stories.

 

Hi Mindi! Thank you thank you. Well the basis of this was a scene I used to see quite often near my home. But it has definitely lubricated the wheels. Hope to write more fiction