Dots and designs of sandalwood mark her forehead
Crimson is the color of her silk Saree and that of her eyes, too
The mascara is slightly running down her eyelashes and caking her makeup
Twenty Two carat gold bangles adorn her wrists and her head is covered
In minutes from now, she is also expected to cover her face, with a betel leaf
While being carried in a small charpoy on the shoulders of her brothers
And encircled around her unsuspecting, 'to be' husband
Then the women will throw rice on the couple and blow on seashells
And in these few, incongruous moments
Which later, she knows she will never be able to recall properly
She will become Mrs Amarnath Chatterjee....
Presently, the sound of Shehnai commingling with Rabindra Sangeet, falls on her ears
She is looking like the idol of the Goddess Durga; beautiful, but inanimate
Choti is outside, knocking on the bedroom door, “Would you please hurry up?”
Ma and Baba are anxiously awaiting in the terrycloth wedding palace
That is by now, smelling heavily, of incense, marigold and butter
Amar, mildly amused by the inscrutable ceremonies, is adjusting his 'topor',
Somnath Da, adjusting his pink turban, is receiving the gift carrying guests at the gate
Her brothers' wives are seated around the burning fire,
Their chiffons sticking to their bodies in the heat
The guests have just begun their third round of Black & White and Reshmi Kebabs
Her in-laws, unaccustomed to wearing 'Dhutis', are sitting on the floor besides the priest
The priest is mumbling that the auspicious hour is fast passing them by
Maqbool is inside the bedroom, holding her hand, refusing to let go....
Thirty seconds ago, they had broken their forty second kiss
He still kissed like an adolescent, and she, still tasted like laingda mangoes
She adjusts her Saree; carefully
It's parting is still rumpled by his touch
She applies more lipstick; guiltily
Her mouth, still wet with his saliva
PART 2
He looks at her with his sky blue eyes and says,
There are going to be days
When I'm going to be needing just your body
When I'll hate you for asking Baba for money
When I'm not going to talk to you for days afterwards because of that
When I'll think of inventing new ways to hurt you
When I'll scream at you for forgetting to wake me up for the Champions League final
When I'll masturbate to Nicole Kidman in our bathroom
When I'll forget your thirty seventh birthday
When I'll suspect you of having an affair with Mr. Sukumar Bose on the second floor
When I'll smash the crystal flower vase against the bedroom wall
Come away with me
She wants to tell him,
There are going to be days
When you'll see me for whole weeks without make up
When I'll fantasize about Ankur Malhotra while in your caress
When I'll refuse to sleep with you for twenty four days after you flirt with Sonali Di
When I'll be repulsed by your touch after you decide not to have a baby in our third year
When I'll slap you for disrespecting my father
When I'll not allow you to watch the Seinfeld reruns on Sunday afternoons
When I'll say after reading the Winnie series that your poetry is pretentious
When I'll think that our ultimate, Bollywood style, runaway, wedding was a mistake
Take me away with you
Leave the necklace in the closet
Leave the winter in the ground
Leave the past all behind you
Leave the relatives, open mouthed
He pulls her closer to him and starts removing her Saree
One end of it is knotted on the back door and the other draped over the balcony
No one notices the two surreptitiously leaving the two storey house
The Royal Enfield is parked around the corner
Several Friends, a registrar, two marigold garlands and a three room penthouse
Are waiting in
Within seven hours, they will be reaching there
Then for the years to come, they're going to regale their children with stories,
About the night Baba ran off with their Ma
But for now, they drive silently, onto the Highway, into their future
PART 2
Vineeta is suddenly forty three
She has been married to Amar for seventeen years now
Maqbool, you should know that during this time, there are days
When he hesitantly holds her right hand while she cries during Pather Panchali
When he tries to make Colombian omelets she craves for during their year in
When he takes a weekend off from work to take Baba out for golf after Ma dies
When he cleans her vomit from the hall floor after she's had one Bloody Mary too many
When he insists on buying her Japanese food from
So much so that she starts looking forward to them
It is in brief moments such as these-
That Vineeta is overwhelmed that she has chosen him
“You are
Something else”
She says once in a while
They can now resume conversations they left mid sentence, months ago
Those occasional long, long distance PCO conversations with you, notwithstanding
Her love for you is fading
Drying up, just like her now
Yes, she does think about you during some sunsets and occasional monsoon afternoons
But largely, she thinks that
You are so like a poem; intelligent but incomprehensible, beautiful but inanimate
But her tears are real
The sex is real
Rhea is real
So, now in their bed room
Amar and Winnie soak in the sunset
As if they are one person, sharing one soul, one fear, one future, one silence and one bed
In a few moments from now,
She will look out of the window and imagine seeing your face
But just then Amar would awaken and pull her back into his embrace
And for a few blissful moments after that
Oh,You are out of this world..
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