Marriages are made in heaven they say and anything heavenly must be a matter of joy, so thought Sanjay a most eligible handsome bachelor in his late twenties. Coming from an orthodox family that believed in simple living and high thinking his upbringing had infused such ideals into his character and moulded his nature accordingly. As a young man he was highly successful in life and at twenty nine was a VP in an MNC. He lived in Mumbai, the financial capital of India and had all the opportunity to enjoy life king size. Even so, being brought up with a rigid moral value system he lived an austere life and was a paragon of virtue in an old sense of the term. Because, in the present society where drinking, smoking, partying and socialising with friends including those of the opposite sex is the norm, he would be considered a misfit.
Not that he didn't attend parties but those were related to his business mainly and in all such occasions he played the host, being the head of the company in India. As such, there was hardly any peer pressure to do anything not to his liking.
He, thus, lived in a world of his own where he was the king. However, his only obsession was his job as the VP of the company. This kept him engaged 24x7 and he enjoyed the same to the full.
So, when the question of his marriage came up, he simply left it to the discretion of his parents and other elders. His lone condition was that the bride must be a graduate at least.
Once his parents broke the news among their friends and relations, proposals came dime a dozen. Finally, the bride was selected after following all due procedure. She was beautiful, educated and smart too. Actually, she came from a family of his native area which had a rich tradition of being in politics from the days of the freedom struggle. Thus, the family was highly respected in the locality and were influential. Presently, the father of the bride was also a minister in the State cabinet, too. Clearly Sanjay's family was hardly a match for them in terms of riches but due to their moral standing in the local society and the fact that Sanjay was no ordinary guy anymore, they were eager for the proposal.
The marriage took place with all pomp and ceremony and finally the day or say the night came when the two young hearts would unite to merge into one. This night called the Honey Moon Night or the Fourth Night since it falls on the 4th day after the marriage ceremony is like a mile stone in the life of each married person.
So when the time came Sanjay entered the appointed room tastefully decorated with flowers to find his bride sitting on bed with traditional attire but with a long veil (ghungat) over her head.
He was surprised a bit because he didn't expect an educated smart girl would prefer such a style that was now old fashioned. Anyway, may be she liked it that way as a fashion statement, he thought.
One doesn't know, but at times old things bounce back in life like that. He went near the bride and holding her hands put his lips to kiss them. Next, addressing her in the new name he gave her at the marriage altar he said,
"May I have the honor of audience with the beautiful face of my sweet wife please?"
There was no response as such but a slight shift in the sitting position by the bride. Now Sanjay sat down beside her and tried to take off the veil from her face.
There was, however, no resistance as expected. He could now see his bride's face clearly. She looked so pretty but somehow Sanjay felt something was missing. So he asked her,
"Why don't you speak something dear?"
Oh No! Suddenly, the bride started to sob. She revealed that she was not Gita but Sita (not their real names but mentioned as an allegory). Her family had swapped her as the bride as she was uneducated being a simpleton by birth. They (Sita and Gita) were twins and looked exactly alike. She was a few minutes elder than Gita.
Earlier, her marriage failed everytime so her parents resorted to this trick this time. She begged Sanjay to excuse her and to allow her remain as his wife else she had no option but to commit suicide.
Sanjay was speechless. His only desire to have a little educated girl as his wife was now smithren into dust. He didn't know how to react? He got up from the bed and wanted to get angry but somehow he couldn't.
So, he gave a second look at her bride. The innocence and simplicity her face radiated was heavenly. He wiped her tears and asked,
"You want to be my wife?"
She nodded.
"Then listen carefully. Never think of suicide again. You will remain my wife till end."
(The End)
Viswamitra (27.01.2023)
