2 States The Story Of My Marriage (28 page)

she continued to clap.

The evening progressed with S.P. and Hariharan casting their spell on the

crowd. For everyone else, the main act had just begun. For me and Ananya’s

family, the main act was over.

Ananya’s mother joined us at the table after ten minutes.

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‘You were wonderful,’ a lady at the next table said to Ananya’s mother.

Ananya’s father exchanged shy glances with his wife. S.P. sang Tere mere

beech mein from Ek Duje Ke Liye. I looked at Ananya. Our struggle resembled that

film’s story. I only hoped our end wouldn’t resemble that movie’s climax.

An hour into the concert, Bala came to my table.

‘Krish, come with me. I want you to meet Mr Muruguppa, famous jeweler,’ Bala

said.

‘What?’ I said.

‘Come, he wants to open a ten-crore account. Give him some bull on Citi. I

have to drop Anil at the airport.’

‘Sir, I have guests,’ I said as Ananya noticed my dilemma.

‘It’s fine, we will manage. Dinner’s over there, right?’ Ananya said.

‘Oh, so she is the one?’ Bala said and turned to Ananya. ‘Tamil teria?’

‘Let’s go, Bala,’ I said.

I met Mr Muruguppa, a fat, jovial, fifty-year-old.

‘Punjabi? Tamil ille?’ he said and gave me his card.

‘No. So you are the jewellery king?’

‘What king? Emperor! We are the biggest in Chennai.’

‘Sir regarding your account,’ I said as I noticed Ananya’s family from a

distance. They laughed together over dinner. Several people came up to

congratulate Ananya’s mother. The time to strike was not far away.

‘Mr Muruguppa, actually, I may need some jewellery myself,’ I said as I led him
to the dinner table.

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40

‘Oh, trust me, she is on a different planet since that day. No need for dinner to

thank her,’ Ananya said over the phone.

We were in our respective offices. I had just invited Ananya’s family for dinner.

‘But we didn’t even pay her for the concert. That’s the least I can do,’ I said.

‘You have done a lot,’ Ananya said.

‘Trust me, the dinner is important,’ I said.

‘Really? What’s up?’

‘You’ll find out next Friday at Raintree. See you all at eight,’ I said.

The Raintree restaurant is located in the Taj Connemara hotel, on Binny Road off

Anna Salai. The outdoor restaurant is snug under a canopy of trees of the same

name. Fairylights adorn the branches of the trees and candles light up the tables.

Apart from Amethyst, it is one other oasis in the city.

I sat with Ananya’s family at one of the outdoor tables, my trouser pockets

heavy.

‘This is stunning,’ Ananya said as she looked up at the little lights. She wore a
white fitted dress with sequins that reflected in the semi-darkness.

‘You’ve never come here before?’ I said.

‘No we haven’t. Right, dad?’

Uncle shook his head even as he admired the foliage right above us.

Uniformed waiters served us a welcome drink of coconut water with fresh mint.

They left the menu cards on our tables. The restaurant specialises in Chettinad

food, named after a region south of Tamil Nadu. The cuisine is known for its

intense spices and flavours, along with a large range of non-vegetarian

preparations.

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‘Sir, for cocktails, I’d recommend Kothamalli Mary,’ the waiter said.

‘Kotha-what?’ I asked.

‘It is like a Bloody Mary, sir, tomato juice and vodka, but with Chettinad

spices.’

I looked at uncle. He looked reluctant to nod for alcohol in front of his wife.

‘I want one,’ Ananya said.

Ananya’s mother gave her a sharp look.

‘C’mon, just one cocktail,’ Ananya said.

I opened the menu. I couldn’t pronounce the tongue-twister names of the

dishes. Specials included kuruvapillai year and kozhi melagu Chettinad. I didn’t

bother reading the rest.

‘You know this food better, please order,’ I said.

Ananya’s parents looked at the menu several times.

‘It’s too expensive,’ Ananya’s mother said.

‘It’s fine,’ I said. ‘Ananya, please.’

Ananya took the menu and ordered for everyone. We ordered kozhakattai,

masala paniyaram, adikoozh, kandharappam, seeyam and athirasam. Of course, I

had no clue what went into those dishes; I figured at least one of them would be

edible. The waiter also suggested we order idiyappam, rice noodles bunched up

like a bird’s nest.

‘How is the IIT preparation, Manju?’ I asked after the waiter left.

‘Good, I came tenth in the Mylapore mock IIT test,’ Manju said.

I nodded. ‘So, any more singing offers?’ I said to aunty.

Aunty smiled. ‘Don’t embarrass me. But I did find another Guruji who has a

modern approach to Carnatic music.’

I turned to Ananya’s dad. ‘How’s the bank, uncle?’

‘Good, your presentation is still being talked about.’

The food arrived; spicy, tangy and delicious.

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‘This is great,’ I said as I had the masala paniyaram, a tastier cousin of the idli
and shaped like a ball.

The Raintree staff brought a trolley with ten chutneys to choose from.

‘I swear, Delhi needs to taste this. We haven’t gone past the paneer masala

dosa yet,’ I said as I took a spoonful of the tomato tamarind curry with

idiyappams.

‘You like it? I can make it at home,’ Ananya’s mother said.

I realised that the right moment was near. Maybe at dessert, I told myself. We

scanned the dessert menu. Ananya’s father chose a coconut ice-cream. The deep

love for this fruit among South Indians is inexplicable. The ice-cream arrived in an
actual green coconut shell.

‘Superb,’ Ananya’s father said, a signal I took as ready get-set, go.

‘I want to talk about something important,’ I said.

Ananya’s father looked up from his ice-cream.

‘If it is OK?’ I amended.

Uncle nodded. Ananya’s mother looked at Ananya and me.

‘Manju, you too,’ I said. He kept his face so close to the ice-cream bowl, his

spectacles were smeared.

I had everyone’s attention. ‘Hi,’ I cleared my throat. ‘Uncle, aunty, Manju, I

came here six months ago. It is no secret why I chose Chennai as my first

posting. However, I cannot stay here forever. I met Ananya almost three years

ago, and apart from our first fight, I’ve loved her every day since that day.’

Ananya took my hand in hers from under the table.

‘And we thought our love is enough reason for us to get married. We thought

our parents will meet at the convocation and things will be smooth. Well, we were

wrong.’

The waiter came to collect the ice-cream plates. I told him to come five minutes
later.

‘We could have run away. We could have forced our decision on you. However,

Ananya told me she had this dream of both sets of parents smiling on our

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wedding day. And so, I want to see if we can do that. Also, I didn’t think we had

done anything wrong that we had to run away.’

Ananya’s parents kept a deadly silence. Either they were listening carefully or
the ice-cream had been too cold.

‘And ever since I came to Chennai, I have tried to be accepted by you. I don’t

expect you to love me like you do Harish, but at least you can accept me.’

Ananya’s mother wanted to talk. I signaled her to wait. ‘And while you may not

love me, I don’t want you to merely tolerate me either. Somewhere in the middle

lies the acceptance I am talking about.’ I slid my right hand inside my trouser

pocket and collected the four mini boxes with my fingers.

‘Keeping all that in mind, considering your daughter’s happiness and taking a

view of what you know of me,’ I said and paused to breathe. I took out the four

little red boxes and kept them on the table. The boxes said “Muruguppa

Jewellers’ on top. I opened the four boxes. Each had a gold ring. I stood up from

my chair and kneeled on the floor.

‘I, Krish Malhotra, would like to propose to all of you. Will all of you marry me?’

I said and held the four boxes in my palm.

Ananya’s parents looked at her and me in quick succession. Manju’s mouth

was open, the coconut ice-cream very visible inside.

Ananya’s father gestured to Ananya on what to do.

‘After you, mom and dad,’ Ananya said, ‘and Manju, you too.’

Manju picked up his box. ‘Nice, real gold?’ he asked.

I nodded.

‘Argentum, atomic number seventy-nine,’ Manju said as he held the ring inhis

hand.

‘Uncle?’ I prompted. My knees had started to hurt on the concrete floor.

‘if you promise to take care of my daughter,’ Ananya’s father said, ‘then it is a
yes from me.’ He bent forward and picked up his box.

Ananya hugged her father. ‘Thanks, dad,’ she said, ‘I love you.’

Ananya’s father blessed her with a hand on her head.

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Ananya’s mother said, ‘It is not that we don’t like you. But our communities….’

Mom, c’mon,’ Ananya interrupted her.

Ananya’s mother took a minute to respond. ‘I know he will take care of you.

But will Krish’s parents treat my daughter with respect?’

‘We’ll work on that, too,’ I said, aware another challenge awaited me in Delhi.

“If they do, then?’

‘Then it is a yes form me,’ Ananya’s mother said.

‘Yay!’ Ananya cheered. Aunty took her ring and Ananya planted a kiss on her

mother’s forehead.

‘Akka, you haven’t picked yours,’ Manju said as the mother-daughter affection

continued. When they separated, both had tears in their eyes.

‘Oh, of course, where is it?’ Ananya picked up her ring.

I came back to my seat.

‘Sir, did you enjoy your meal?’ the waiter said as he cleared the plates.

‘You bet I did,’ I said, tipping him more than the bill that night.

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41

‘I will miss you,’ Bala said as he handed me my transfer papers in his office.

‘I wish I could say the same,’ I said. Bala’s chin dropped. ‘I am kidding, cheer
up. I won’t be there to blackmail you anymore,’ I said.

Bala had agreed to make my case with Anil Mathur for the same reason. My

transfer to Delhi took two months to execute. I wanted to be home soon. After all,

I had finished my Chennai job. Of course, we had a few more battles to win.

Ananya would have to deal with the full force of Punjabiness. However, life is best

dealt with one disaster at a time.

Operation Delhi would have to be quick. Ananya convinced her bosses to

send her to Delhi for a week. After all, every HLL manager must have North India

exposure, Ananya had argued.

Ananya’s parents came to drop us at t he airport. Ananya’s mother worried about

Delhi, given its status as the worldwide capital of eve-teasing.

‘Mom, the HLL guest-house is safe. I won’t be out much,’ Ananya said.

Ananya’s dad had his won concerns. ‘Remember, we have said yes. But you

are not married yet. Don’t embarrass us,’ uncle said to me as he bid us goodbye.

‘Of course, uncle,’ I said, trying to figure out what he meant. No sex, I guess.

Ananya and I went inside the terminal. She grabbed my arm as her parents

melted out of sight. The flight took off. I brought out my notebook to explain the

next stage to Ananya – Operation Delhi.

‘So, I have to agree with your mom, whatever she says. Like whatever,’ Ananya

said, twenty minutes into the flight and thirty thousand feet high in the sky.

The plane passed through an area of turbulence.

‘Yes, never disagree,’ I said, tightening my seat-belt, ‘and the timing of your
trip could not be better. My cousin sister Minti is getting married next week. You’ll
come to the wedding, meet everyone, bingo, done.’

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Ananya lifted the armrest to hold my arm tight. ‘I’m sure I’ll be fine with you.’

‘See, you have to win over my mother. My father won’t agree ever, so he is not

part of the equation. Make mom happy, OK?’

‘Lower the armrest, it is not safe,’ the flight attended said in a strict voice as
she passed the aisle.

When you are part of a couple, you don’t realise how cheesy your affections

are to the outside world.

‘Who does she think she is?’ Ananya huffed.

‘My mother?’

‘No, the airhostess. What’s with the thick red lipstick? Is she a flight attendant
or an item girl?’