Payal looked out of her window and thought where did she go wrong? How come she could never enjoy all the fame and the beautiful life that she rightfully deserved. She was no way less beautiful or deserving than Tina or Sarah.
It did rain at its peak the following week but it did not bother Meghali anymore. Two cups of filter coffee and a rainy walk on the college street marked the onset of a beautiful rapport between the two pure souls.
Her embarrassed mother-in-law, who still had more black than grey hair, often tried to attribute her premature greying to hormonal imbalance caused by the pregnancy. But friends, neighbours, and even complete strangers were not so understanding.
Navya’s excited face turned into a confused one! Amidst all the vibrant ethnic masterpieces, that pink cotton chadar-mekhela set with machine embroidery looked so mismatched!
The guests wanted to have something sweet made by the newest bahu of the family. Krisha hesitantly prepared some ‘sewaiya kheer’ and served it with hot tea. But those two remarks from Bua saas and Mausa Ji made her nervous to the core.
As Titi stretched her hand to reach the stacked tea trays the shawl slipped from her shoulder exposing her back and arms – bare, save the straps of her nightdress, the one Sohini had assured her would not look daring in the confines of the bedroom.
My grandmother muttered something in Tamil shaking her head in disbelief and
went inside. My aunt smiled and patted my father signalling, she is all yours. When both
of them were out of the room my dad laughed out loud.
Their first meeting had been at a bloggers’ meet. He was fresh, and vivacious, and happy. Now, they would occasionally sit in a cafe that smells heavily of coffee beans and cheesy garlic bread, and buy one another coffee, looking into one another’s eyes. He was never tired of her, of listening to her pain, her unfulfilled desires, her midnight tears. Even amidst a crowd, he would find her. He could never miss her. His eyes would wade through even the most dingiest of places, thickly crowded, to her.
