17.You & Me - Sandhya
“Aunty I met Thulasi in her boutique today and there I also met a person named Ranjan.”
“Ranjan!”
“Yes, he told me that he is Thulasi’s fiancé and of curse Thulasi didn’t deny it. So I thought probably I will talk to you about this.”
“He told you that? How dare he?”
Dinakaran was really surprised by Saradha’s anger. He has never seen anyone in Saradha’s family losing their temper. Though he was amid of a serious conversation, he couldn’t help imagining Thulasi scolding him. When she is angry, will her eyes shine like stars and her face turn red?
His thoughts were disturbed by Saradha’s voice.
“Hello! Hello!”
“Sorry sorry aunty…” replied Dinakaran urgently with a sheepish smile.
Saradha looked at Dinakaran thoughtfully and said,
“I don’t know where to start sir.”
“Please aunty, call me Dinakaran. It’s ok even if you don’t approve my love. Let’s come out of this sir… Please” interrupted Dinakaran.
Saradha accepted with a smile and continued…
“My husband and Ranjan’s father were very close friends. Atleast that’s what we thought! Their friendship stayed at their level and rest of us seldom got a chance to meet him or others in his family. We were not like this at that time. My husband owned a profitable export business and we were in a much better financial situation. Almost five to five and a half years back when Thulasi was in her third year of graduation, Ranjan visited our home. He had seen Thulasi in some marriage video and told us that he likes her a lot… Thulasi was only 20 then and she was just a child to me but her father liked Ranjan’s proposal… Ranjan suggested that we initiate the marriage proposal from our side so that it will appear more formal. My husband obliged and everything went on fine. It was decided that we will arrange for betrothal immediately and the marriage after a year or so… Slowly Ranjan’s parents started to show their original face… They demanded for a ten lakhs car, 10 lakhs in cash, more jewellery etc etc… But it was not behind our reach, so though we felt a bit nervous about their greediness, there were no immediate issues… Unfortunately, almost at the same time there was a huge loss in my husband’s business but still he was determined to go ahead with the marriage plan. Of course we had some money in our savings and there were quite a few properties too… But that was not enough for Padma, Ranjan’s mom …”
Saradha stopped here and looked at Dinakaran,
“I still remember that day Dinakar! It was the day of their engagement… Padma started cribbing for small small things and there was so much chaos… And this Ranjan who said that he was head over heels in love with Thulasi, didn’t even open his mouth… Atlast my husband reached the breaking point and lost his temper… There were so many heated conversations… Ranjan’s parents accused us of cheating them… That’s all fine, you know what, Padma cursed Thulasi and said she is unlucky and she is the reason for all the unfortunate incidents… Today Ranjan says that Thulasi is his fiancé but even the engagement function didn’t happen that day!”
Dinakaran was quietly listening to Saradha.
“You might wonder why Thulasi didn’t come into picture in this story so far. But Thulasi was never in the picture. She had never met Ranjan before that fateful day… And listening to Ranjan’s mother that day had a very negative impact on her… Even now, she believes she is unlucky and she keeps saying that again and again… But I can understand her feelings… Thulasi was just twenty then… There were hundreds of relatives, her college friends and so many other people… Padma’s accusation in front of such a big crowd has given her the negative thoughts… And of course as if this shock was not enough for our family, just after six months, Kumar absconded and we had policemen and bank people visiting our house… They said they have to bid most of our properties… This third shock was too much for my husband…”
Saradha’s eyes filled with tears…
“Sorry aunty!” said Dinakaran in a comforting voice.
“It’s ok… That was such a terrible situation… He was the pillar and once we lost him everything fell apart… You know Dinakar, even arranging for his funeral was a difficult task… Ranjan and his father did come there hearing the news… But they didn’t even offer to help for the funeral… It was our neighbors who helped us… And then Thulasi found this flat for us… It was so very difficult but now it all appears just like a dream…”
“So you didn’t see Ranjan after that?”
“When we were packing our things to leave the house, he visited us to inform that he is travelling to America. The funny thing is even then he told Thulasi that he loved her… I really wonder whether even knows the meaning of love! That was the last time we saw him or his family…”
“Hmmm…..”
Dinakaran remembered the sense of relief in Thulasi’s face when he entered the room in her boutique.
“Don’t worry aunty! All your bad times are gone now! I have shared a very good news with Thulasi. It will be ideal if she shares it with you… And aunty if Thulasi reflects my affection, I assume that you don’t have any difficulty in accepting our love…“
“No… And of course there’s no question, I am sure Thulasi likes you too…”
“Aunty!!!”
“Yes, I know about Thulasi… I have noticed the difference in her... I was not sure… But now I don’t have any questions…” said Saradha with a smile.
“Thanks aunty… I can assure you that I will take care of her well and make sure that she is happy…”
“I don’t have any doubts about that Dinakar… I have met your mother too, she is a gem of a person!”
“And Thulasi and my mom are very close friends… So aunty to make the calculation even, let us both become friends too…” said Dinakaran with a wink.
Saradha laughed heartily. Her heart was full of joy. She liked both Dinakaran and Krishna. They were ideal match for Thulasi and Kavya respectively… What else does a mother wants?
Dinakaran was working out in the tread mill when his mobile phone started ringing. Though the call was from an unknown number, he attended the call and was surprised to find Saradha in the other end. He had shared his mobile number only a few hours early, before leaving her flat.
“I am sorry to disturb you Dinakar. Are you busy?”
“It’s ok aunty, tell me.”
“Thulasi called me few minutes back and told me that she will be coming late… She said that she is going to beach… She usually goes there when she is upset. And today I think it’s something to do with that Ranjan. I usually ask Kavya to talk to her to cheer her up but now I thought, you will be a better choice…”
“Yes aunty I am the perfect choice… Don’t worry, I will talk to her. But I don’t want to talk to her through phone. So, how can I find her in that crowd? Hmmm….”
“That’s not a problem Dinakar. You should be able to identify her. She will be usually near the stranded boat near the shops… “
“Thanks aunty…”
As Saradha said, Dinakaran easily spotted Thulasi. She was sitting all alone in the beach starring at the sea. He went near her and sat next to her…
To be continued...