Chapter - 21
I felt a connection with Suhani from a past life. Circumstances tried to pull me away from her, but I was drawn closer to her all the more.
Once, I called her to my room and made a request.
"Will you call me 'Bade Bhaiya' (elder brother)?"
"Why?" she asked.
"I feel more of a connection that way."
"I have no problem with that,"
she said, giving her consent. And she started calling me 'Bade Bhaiya'.
For some reason, I didn't feel any joy from this form of address. She called me 'Bade Bhaiya' only superficially, not from the heart. It was limited to "Good morning, Bade Bhaiya," "Good afternoon, Bade Bhaiya," "Good evening, Bhaiya," and "Good night, Bhaiya."
I suggested that she tie a rakhi on my wrist. She refused, saying:
"My mother forbids it. She says we shouldn't try to change the relationships that God has given us."
When she had once talked about tying a rakhi on Anish's wrist, she had said:
"A woman can tie a rakhi on anyone, even her husband." Hasmukh had also joined my mother-in-law's group.
He too had refused to change the relationship dynamics.
His own past was responsible for him making such a contradictory statement.
He had considered his neighbor as a brother and then had an illicit affair with him. He was afraid that we would also follow the same path.
I don't know why, but from the beginning, I had a strained relationship with my mother-in-law.
Something had happened that made me consider my mother-in-law as belonging to the category of a loose woman. Lies were ingrained in her very being. This was a prime example of that.
Once, Aarti's friend came to visit her at home. I knew her. I had even been to her house. Because of that acquaintance, I had invited her to my house.
We were talking in the kitchen. Geeta sister was also present there.
When my mother-in-law found out that I had invited Aarti's friend, she came to my house in a furious state and took both of them away.
The matter didn't end there. That night, when Aarti came to learn something, my mother-in-law started speaking ill of me. I overheard it. I remained silent. But then she called me a "lecher." Hearing that, I lost my temper. I started shouting loudly. It was eleven o'clock at night. There was a commotion in the building.
She had called me a lecher. Aarti also supported her statement. But they were not ready to accept the truth. They took false oaths on their younger daughter, which reminded me of a prostitute who plies her trade. She was.
Hearing the word "whore," all her arrogance vanished.
After that, we stopped talking to each other.
Three or four months passed like this.
During that time, Aarti and I met outside, went for walks, and went to hotels and movie theaters.
We had seen at least twenty movies before we got married.
Suhani knew about us. She was also a passenger on our ship, so she couldn't tell anyone at home.
Even so, they suspected us once.
The college had organized a screening of the film 'Saraswati Chandra'. Aarti had brought a ticket for me too, and I went to see the film with her.
On the way, she expressed her suspicion.
"My mother has found out. She will definitely send Aniket to spy on us."
"Don't worry, he's a good friend of mine, and he himself likes Suhani. In such a situation, he won't do anything like that." But nothing of the sort had happened.
We, along with two friends, had reached the street corner in a taxi.
My mother-in-law and my elder aunt were standing there.
Aarti explained that they were coming in a taxi. They had given me a ride, and I came with them, and that was the end of the matter.
My parents had accepted Aarti as their daughter-in-law. But she wasn't 18 yet, so we had to wait for some time.
Then something funny happened.
My two sisters had observed a fast. They had to stay awake all night for it, so Aarti's mother, forgetting everything else, called me. Our wedding was to take place the next day, but we didn't let them get a hint of it. Even my sister Bhavika didn't know about it.
At the wedding, Aarti's friend was present with another friend. My two friends were also there. Besides them, all our relatives, family members, and acquaintances were present.
All the wedding ceremonies were completed successfully.
After the wedding, instead of a honeymoon, we planned a pilgrimage to Shrinathji, Mathura, and Dwarka, in which Bhavika also participated.
We went on the pilgrimage for eight days.
We thanked God that our wedding had been successfully completed.
Even after the wedding, my studies continued.
I also joined a part-time job.
My father had spent his entire life providing for his family. We brothers... She had tried her best to take good care of her sister.
Geeta, too, had never let her feel the absence of their mother. Bhavika and she didn't get along well. Geeta had accepted her as her own daughter, but Bhavika couldn't overcome her negative mindset. Even so, on Bhavika's birthday, Geeta had made her favorite Puran Poli and fed it to her.
Bhavika could never forget this kindness.
00000000000 (To be continued)
