21. THE DEAL

October 2018. 

I was busy to prepare for Durga Puja (A famous festival of west Bengal, India). The best opportunity for our business. It was knocking at the door and I was ready to take my business at another level. From packing to delivery, labelling to folding, Ankit helped me every time to expand my business. He was always there whenever I needed. I discussed all those things which I had planned with Nisha. He was very proud of me because I had decided to marry with my girlfriend. 

In his view, making our girlfriend a permanent partner of life is a matter of pride. So, he gave his moral support. I appreciated his support, which I badly needed.

It was a bright sunny morning when I left my house early for some business purpose. It was absolutely as per we had planned. My mom, as usual, was alone, missing someone’s company to share her feelings with. Nisha arrived and rolled the ball. She was about to do something which we will barely think. She shivered in front of my mom and turned things round with her irrelevant words. First time in her life she was uncomfortable with my mom. A girl who used to come to my house in my absence and enjoyed precious time with my mom, couldn’t exchange a single word.

 Shadows crawled around her when tension of getting rejected made it hard for her to breathe. She started with a lump on her throat and took my mom back to our school memories. She shared all those bittersweet memories of our life. How we met in school and enjoyed our college life. It moisturized her eyes with a layer of tears when she shared even our saddest part of life, when I had broken her trust.

 My family had already accepted her for the precious place of a daughter-in-law. My mother counted days to accept her as a bride. Decent nature with a soul full of purity, she was perfect for our family. She had satisfied us with all her qualities for being our new family member. So, it was not a big deal to convince my mom. My mom embraced and appreciated her courage, which Nisha showed in her voice. Her bold step proved her desperation to marry me.

 But my mother advised her to think about her parents. Her family members, especially from her maternal side, were against an inter-caste marriage. If our marriage happens, her parents won’t be getting any support. All relations with them will end. So, it was a big challenge. A big hurdle for our marriage. My mom left a big question in her mind.

Nisha gave a tight hug to my mom and left with a pleasant smile. 

“Mumma agreed.”

She shouted with joy and immense pleasure on call after leaving my home.

She narrated everything which happened while traveling in auto. She explained every word with tremendous pleasure. I could feel her happiness in her voice on the other side of call. She almost jumped while narrating her experience. Her throat was full of confidence and her eyes twinkled with pleasure. Everything flashed in the backside of my eyelids when I closed my eyes.

We have always seen in movies, how parents visited other’s house with a marriage proposal for their children. But, in our life, we were the master of our sea, mature enough like parents who go to deal. She delighted me with joy when she told everything. I took pride, getting a girl like her. She was never so bold in her entire life. But in my house, she was the lioness of our Kingdom. It was like a dream come true when she came to have a talk seriously with a commitment. My heart melted with the warmness of her love. Then it was my turn to deal with her mom. It was a big deal for me to convince her mother. 

 It was the eighth day of our sacred festival called ‘Maha Ashtami’. She wanted to enjoy her day with me. And I too had a desire to walk with my fantasy in front of all. I always craved to show off my girl. After all she was such a gorgeous girl and it was a matter of pride walking together for nine long years. Most of our schoolmates and friends were jealous of us. The sight of our hand in hand together turned them into ashes. 

 At noon, we met near our house and enjoyed our evening by hoping nearby ‘Pandals’. She was in a black sleeveless gown. Her stunning look made me fall in love once again. Her locks nailed my heart. We walked hand in hand and every head turned to stare us with jealousy. After enjoying for a few hours, her high heels gave a slight pain on her soft heels. 

She couldn’t walk properly, so we went home. I requested to stay with her till her stop arrives. 

Sitting beside her, I stared at my world magnificently in the dusky evening. Her fair skin bloomed in a black gown. I found her blushing. She tried a lot to stop her smile, which her joined lips formed. I curiously asked the reason behind her nostalgic smile. 

“This might be our last time enjoying Puja as a lover, next year we will enjoy as a husband wife.” she whispered.

A pleasant smile appeared on my face and tiny drop of tears rolled down from the corner of my eyes, when I heard this heart healing words. It was so sweet to listen to those words from her mouth. I wanted god to give me some magical powers to roll a stick and make her wish fulfilled. We feel a different happiness when our partner wishes the same thing, which we keep praying to God. Her words strengthen my bones and pumped my muscles, and I became energized to fight the devils for my Ardhangini. She returned a smile with her soft and glowing lips and in a jiffy, parted a gentle kiss on my cheek. She dared and kissed me in a blink of eye’s time. Her kiss mesmerized me and made me complete. Her eyes squeezed whenever her face gifted dimples on her round and rosy cheeks. She had a perfect pair of dimples and it was soothing to watch. It was not only me who enjoyed that kiss, she to enjoyed giving a challenging kiss. Her kiss was a wish of luck, which I needed to deal with her mom.

After Durga puja got over, I went to her house as planned. Her father was at office. Her mother was busy in Kitchen and Nisha, desperately waiting for me. She locked her room when I entered, to have a hassle-free conversation. Ankit wanted to join me as there was a high chance, her maternal uncle might harm me physically. Being a giant, it was easy for him to handle those hurdles. But I wanted to fight the biggest battle of my life alone. I was not afraid of those physical threats and harms.

 I had learned Martial Arts in my school life, before Nisha came to my life, which gave me strength to walk alone. I was damn ready to fight with my bare hands. I had set my mind to do anything required.

At first, I hesitated to start. My mind couldn’t sentence the right lines. I had prepared well about what to say, how to say, and what not to say but I fainted when her mother sat in front of me. I got to know how tough it was for Nisha to have a talk with my mom. I had told Nisha to give aunty some hints about my arrival and so I looked at Nisha and asked to begin the topic followed by me. But she hadn’t informed because of fear. 

All my fear, panic and hesitation made my preparation a big chaos. I wanted Nisha badly in my life so I kept all those hesitations aside and with a clear throat and mind, I opened up completely. I wiped my forehead with my hanky and shared my entire matter at once.

 I said, “Aunty! As you know, we like each other since class nine. We love each other a lot and want to stay together forever. Please don’t worry about your daughter’s marriage. My family has already accepted her as daughter-in-law. If you wait for a few months, I will marry your daughter. I promise we won’t take any wrong step, which will let anyone down. You too know me well. I don’t belong to your caste but I am not from a lower cast even. In the modern era, caste shouldn’t be a reason to accept or reject someone. Your daughter will be happy with me, as she too wants the same. She has already discussed with my mom. So, I want you to choose your daughter’s happiness rather than others. Please think about it and bless us for our bright future. I look forward to your reply.” I ended with these words, and a sudden spark of pride appeared on my face. Nisha blushed and her eyes went down and her lips couldn’t control her smile. It was a proud moment in every girl’s life when her love stands firm for her and talk to her family, eye to eye. Her face delighted when she saw my courage and desperation for her.

At first, aunty smiled and asked a few questions in a soft voice. I smelled positivity in her words, and bubbles were bubbling in my mind. She provided a cup of tea and asked for some time to think. I knew she will not create a big hurdle, as she knew everything. I earned good and had a good image too. Unlike Nisha, I was a graduate. I passed my paper, which I had ruined too by god’s grace. I scored exactly a pass mark in accountancy. I graduated from Calcutta University (A famous university of West Bengal, India) in a single attempt with Accounts honors. Even a half-hearted wish of Nisha worked a lot. I came back home and told Nisha to inform me soon. 

From my side, everything was all right. But from her side, it was still pending. Aunty procrastinated every day. Every time Nisha asked her mom, she faced rejections. Aunty was not in a mood to discuss at all. Her unwillingness to decide created an anger and panic simultaneously. I didn’t know what stopped her to accept me. Apart from caste, everything was fine to accept my proposal. I held my breath and waited for her suspense to end as it became bigger day by day.

It was a month of November, in which Nisha came to this world. I planned a lot to celebrate her birthday. I saw on TV, how they celebrated with lots of balloons floating on floor, party poppers bursting around, table occupied with cake and chocolates and a candle to melt her heart. A smile played at corners of my lips when I imagined Nisha cutting the cake. 

Only a day before her birthday she called early morning and told to meet in evening positively. The panic existing in my mind doubled its speed. My palm was sweating and my body started heating. What happened suddenly? My mind questioned god. Everything was going fine. We were about to celebrate her birthday in such a beautiful way, it would have definitely healed all her wounds leftover by chance.

I prayed to god from morning to evening. I wanted no more drama in our life. Nisha bunked her computer class and met beside her institute. Lines of worry was visible on her face. She sat far away from me and stated in a broken voice. 

“Last night, I had a talk with mom and she confirmed she won’t allow us to marry as you were from a different caste.”

Tension formed heat, filling our space between us. Aunty discussed with her mother, as she was the head of the family. Being the head, she strictly clarified only if I have a job of a banker or school teacher then they will allow. Else, she will not allow us to marry and it was her final decision. It flabbergasted me. My world slipped under my feet. I was blank. I never expected this from her mother. My legs shivered, and I fainted. Everything was dark in front of me. 

 Her heart-wrenching words took me back to those days when I was preparing for a bank job. I still remember the day I quit my preparation for IBPS. I was close enough to crack. But because of her false panic, I left. Her words echoed in my ears, made me despair and left me alone in vain. A sudden change in situation crushed all my plans. Never in my life I had found her family such a cruel. It killed every hope of our marriage. Everything got shattered at once. My dream, along with my fantasy, were submerged in my eyes and I drowned in ocean of our dark world. When I found Nisha getting nervous, I dragged my body towards her and gripped her hard with my icy hand. I gained some strength and told her not to worry, I will do something. I gave her strength and advised going home.

At night, I wished her goodnight and told to sleep tight with no panic. Once again, I went to a world of deep imagination with lots of negative questions. I turned from one position to another, but didn’t find a wink of sleep. It filled my mind with doubts. How will I get a job? Whom to ask for help? How can I do job with lots of dreams? Even if I go for it, what will happen to my business? Millions of questions surrounded me. Sinking on bed, a feeling of panic swept over me, a temporary paralyzing fear which made me restless and helpless to take action.