Chapter II: Seen From Below
When Arunabh entered to their room, he saw Rini was sitting on the bed with full of rose petals. Fragrance of rose was so strong, even a man of stone might be romantic. Arunabh was not a youth known for his romance. But on that day, his mind also became somewhat romantic.
When Rini saw Arunabh closed the door and approached the bed, she got up from the bed and tried to touch the feet of Arunabh as per rituals. Arunabh did not allow her to do that and moved quickly backward. Then he said, ‘You are equal partner in my life. Your status is not below my status in any respect. Never try to touch my feet which only show dignity of a wife is not at par with her husband. That is against my principle of equality of husband and wife.’
Rini understood he is a different type of man, albeit in a positive sense.
He put his hands on her arms and helped her sit on the bed. He removed the veil from the face of Rini and told, ‘Do not keep a veil on your face in future. You are very beautiful. Your face is a visual delight for everyone around. Let all enjoy the brightness of your face. Let others to envy me for having an extremely beautiful wife!’
Rini did not understand how to react to his comment on her beauty. On seeing Rini mum he started talking again. ‘On our meeting in the cafeteria, you appeared to be very bold; you hugged me and then kissed me.’
‘No, I did not kiss you!’Rini objected to his false comment.
‘I clearly remember, you kissed me on that day!’ Arunabh insisted.
‘No, I did not. I only whispered with the request not to leave me till my death.’ Rini did not want to budge her ground as she was truthful.
‘That is unfair! You requested me not to leave you. But you keep your choice open ended. By the way, when you are going to leave me?’
‘At my death only!’ She was forthcoming with a strong statement; Arunabh realized. From his sitting position he hugged her and kissing on her forehead told, ‘I also promise you, I shall not to leave you till my death.’
Arunabh saw Rini’s eyes became moist. ‘Are you unhappy leaving behind your family?’
‘Yes. But, I am extremely happy to be with you. I must confess to you, I did not fall in love with you on our meeting. I started loving you from the day when you cancelled our marriage. I can do anything for you and staying with you for whole of my life!’
Arunabh kissed her again; this time on her cheek.
‘Rini, as a youngster I was always fascinated by one photograph of Lord Shri Krishna with Mother Radha where the God was taking rest putting his head on her lap. Both of them were so engrossed to look each others’ eyes, it appears nothing in the world was more important for them during that period of time.’ Arunabh closing his eyes tried to imagine essence of that eternal love.
‘Would you like take some rest on my lap?’ Rini asked Arunabh with a low voice.
‘Yes, of course, if you do not mind.’ Telling that without waiting for Rini’s reply prepared himself for the rest.
He stretched his legs and placed his head on her lap. She looked very beautiful from below: Arunabh thought. With a natural instinct, she put her right hand on his hair and slowly started running her fingers through the thick black hair. He slowly removed her sari from her shoulders and looked at her eyes passionately. Both of them looked at each other for some time. She thought, she had to live with this man throughout her life. He has an ordinary face with an extra-ordinary heart. She loves the inner side of this man, who has a golden heart for which any lady could have sacrificed everything to posses him. She felt lucky to be his wife.
Arunabh thought in a complete different line. She is so beautiful- she had married him due to some compulsion only. Will their marriage be sustainable?
‘Are you happy to be my wife?’He asked.
‘Why do you ask this question? Do you have any doubt in your mind?’She did not answer directly.
‘You are extremely beautiful! Contrary to that I am an ordinary looking person. You could have got a more handsome person as your husband! I feel sorry for you on that account!’ He told these words with full of genuineness.
Rini did not say anything. A drop of tear fell on the face of Arunabh. Sudden drop of hot tears made Arunabh to get up from the lap of Rini. But Rini pushed her head down and wiped out her own tears and tears from Arunabh’s face.
‘Would you keep a request of mine? If you promise me that you are going to keep the request for your life, I shall think that will be the best gift you are giving to me on the first night of our married life!’ She told very quietly.
‘Tell me dear. I promise you, I shall try to keep your request rest of my life.’
‘Nobody has forced me to marry you. There was no compulsion to marry you except one, as I have told you earlier, I started loving you from the day when you refused to marry me. I love you as a person and as my husband. I never think anyone in the world would be more suitable for me as husband. I want to die as your wife only. For me, you are the most handsome person in the world. I am for you, only for you. You can do anything with me, I shall not complain to anyone for any of your actions. I love you so much! I can sacrifice everything for your happiness!’ Arunabh had no problem in judging her honesty in those words.
‘Ok, I understand your feeling about me; but what is your request?’
‘Never ask me, whether I love you or not. Never ask me whether I am happy with you or not. Never ask under what compulsion I agreed to marry you. Never tell me that you are an ordinary person. You are and you always will be special to me.’ She said with a choked voice.
‘You wanted to keep one request, but you have given a list of it. But I promised you to keep all of them.’ With a pause he again started, ‘I told you on that day, after marriage I would tell you, why I have taken a U turn on my decision to marry you. Would you like to know now?’
‘If you want to tell me, I shall like to hear it from your mouth. But I know why you have decided.’ She said politely.
‘Oh my darling, you can read my mind also. Then tell me why I took a U turn after meeting you. Remember, if you are wrong, I am going to punish you.’ Arunabh smiled.
‘There may be two reasons for that. First you have a golden heart to understand that if you refuse to marry me after our engagement, my family will have to face a humiliating situation. Even I may not get a groom for next few years or I may have to die as a spinster. Though I guess the second reason, I am not going to tell you.’
‘First reason is wrong. Second reason, you are not telling me. So you are going to be punished twice!’He said with a mysterious smile.
‘I know that I am hundred percent correct in my answer. But still I am ready for any punishment you would like to give me!’She said teasingly.
‘The only reason I took a U turn is, I love you from the very first day when I met you for the first time. Now you should be ready for your punishment. Are you ready?’ He got up from her lap and he pulled her near.
She did not utter anything expecting a strong hug or something more. But he did not do anything except patting on her cheek.
‘What is your expectation from our marriage? Only love from me or something else?’ Arunabh wanted hear something from her, which might be exciting for both of them.
‘Every woman wants love from her husband at all the time. Then she wants to be a mother, every woman wants to carry a child of her husband in her womb; but for that she needs blessing from God and elders and true love from her husband. To be a mother, a wife has to make sacrifice her shyness of a girl to her husband, the first male who is allowed to see and touch every part of her body after attaining adolescence, by offering her soul, mind and a bare body without any cover. She has to sacrifice her chastity forever! I am no exception, I want to be the mother of your children and from today my body, mind and soul are for you only. I am going to sacrifice my shyness and allow your hands to touch every part of my body. I allow your eyes to see every part of my body. You are allowed to pierce my body and mi
nd through your love and spirituality. You are allowed to be my master of my body and mind. My thought will start from you and end with you.’ She stops here.
‘Do you want to say, I have a win-win situation all the way? As husband what role do you expect I should play?’ Arunabh asked playing his hands on her arms.
‘Every husband also wants to impregnate his wife to become a father. For that, he has also to make a supreme sacrifice, may be more than a wife who has to sacrifice only her shyness; his ego. He has to come down to the level of his wife in the bed to make her a mother. Normally, a wife is less educated, less in age and experience, less in exposures to the outside world, less physically powerful and above all, always less in stature in almost all societies of the world. The husband has to expose everything to his wife what she has to expose to her husband, both physically and mentally. He has to share everything he has, physically, mentally and emotionally. He has to take solace in the arms of his wife when he is rejected by the whole world due to his failure. Both husband and wife have another moral duty, if anyone is ill, other should not take any outsider’s help except medical person; he /she has to nurse his/ her spouse thoroughly. I am promising you, except doctor, I shall not allow any nurse to touch your body except for the para medical works. I shall also not allow anyone touch my body parts except for surgical or delivery work for my baby. My body is only for you and for my children, up to some extent. Your body and mind are my most revered temple for me, where I want to be the only priest. My every offering of my body and soul is going to be an offering to my God.’
Her explanation about the roles of husband and wife made him more closer to his wife both physically and mentally. He pulled her to his arms and started pressing her back tenderly. He could hear her heart beat clearly. But he wanted to hear something more from his wife, hitherto he did not hear from a young lady. He loosened his grip and kissed her forehead and told, ‘I want to hear something more from you on love between husband and wife. Your talks make me closer to you. You know I am very talkative. But I have a feeling now that, I am always talking only nonsense having no depth in my talk.’
‘Do not say that, my love. I am telling you only my feeling as wife of a person who is superior to me in all respect. Not only I respect you, but also I love you. I am offering my body and mind to you with happiness like a woman delivers a baby with happiness forgetting the pain before the delivery. I want to be happy with you leaving the pain of leaving my comfort zone. I was a happy as a daughter with my parent and as a sister to my brother. My whole world was revolving around them. Within a day everything has changed. Now for me, everything revolves around you. For everything, I shall be dependent to you. It applies to you also up to some extent. I am leaving everything behind me, including my surname and my identity. Till yesterday, I had filled up every form as daughter of so and so, but from today, I have to fill up any form as wife of Arunabh. By doing so, I am not becoming unhappy, rather I shall be proud that I am sharing everything with a person of the stature of Arunabh who is not an ordinary person in the society.’ Arunabh was surprised to hear those words from a lady who was known for her economy in words.
‘I heard that wife starts talking after one year, but you have started from day one.’ He laughed.
‘Are you teasing me! I am not going to say anything from now.’ She showed artificial anger.
‘You are the first girl whom I dare to tease. I hope you will not going to stop that also.’ Arunabh asked her with folded hands to tease further.
‘Ok, permission granted, my dear hubby.’ She retorted with a beautiful smile. Arunabh could not resist himself from kissing her on her cheek. His kissed flushed her face red. She looked more beautiful. He placed another kiss on her other cheek.
‘Do not love me so much! I may have a heart attack right now!’ She told coyly.
‘Yeah! If you die, I shall be arrested for murdering a newlywed wife!’ Rini put her hand on his mouth to stop him from saying further.
Instead of removing her hand from his mouth, he again kissed her, this time on her hand. She immediately removed her hand.
‘I am feeling thirsty! Do you?’ Telling this Arunabh got up from the bed and took some water and offered the water bottle to Rini. She was also feeling thirsty. She took the bottle and drank some water and then said, ‘I am sorry! It should be other way round. I should have offered water to you. I should know when you are hungry and thirsty. I should also know when you want what!’
‘Yes, being my wife, you should know!’ With a heavy voice Arunabh told. Rini’s face became pale.
‘Hey darling, I am joking. Do not be upset. Both of us do not know each other very well. It is only our first day. Further, I do not believe that wife has all the responsibilities to satisfy her husband and husband has none. We have talked for a long time. You might be hungry also. Let us find out if we find something to eat.’ Arunabh got up from bed to search out some food.
This time Rini was also in his tow. But nothing was found in the room to eat. Arunabh told Rini, ‘Stay back in the room, I shall bring something from the kitchen.’
When, Arunabh left the room Rini went to the wash room as she was suppressing her feeling for call of nature due to her shyness. When she was relieving herself, she heard a commotion in the kitchen. When she came out of her room, she realized that all the lights of house were on and a number of pairs of eyes are making a thorough scrutiny of her whole body. She became nervous. But Arunabh’s mother Madhuri, rescued her by saying, ‘Oh, my sweetheart! Go to your room. By the time you must have understood, what a fool you have married. You have to take care of him like a grown up child. He is still having a childlike quality!’
His sister in law (cousin’s wife, who came for the marriage) commented, ‘After doing so much hard work, Tintin (Arunabh’s pet name) must have been very hungry!’ When everyone looked at her, she said, ‘I am talking about the reception party.’ Everyone could understand what she actually meant.
Rini wanted to run from the corridor to her room, but her legs stuck to the place where she was standing. Again her mother in law came to her rescue and led her to the room, though she did not enter to her daughter in law’s room. By the time, Arunabh returned to the room triumphantly with some fruits and a packet of biscuits in his hand.
Closing the door, he smiled to his wife innocently and said, ‘Sorry, it took little time. Will you like take biscuit first?’
Rini could not control her tears. She embraced Arunabh tightly and started weeping. Her tears mixed with vermilion made the white kurta of Arunabh reddish. He patted her back to comfort her, but that made her weeping more profuse. Arunabh led Rini to the bed but did not let her sit her on the bed. Instead he forced her to sit on his lap. However, that did not deter her from clinging to the neck of her husband. Every breath made her cling closer to the chest of her husband. Now instead of patting her, he also embraced her tightly. Slowly her weeping was substituted by heavy and short breathing. Arunabh removed her face from his chest and for the first time he pressed his lips on her.
How long they were in that position, they could not remember, but hunger got better of them. The moment Arunabh reminded about biscuits, she released him from her arms, so did Arunabh.
After taking two biscuits and an apple each they gulped some water. Then Rini asked, ‘what happened in the kitchen?’
‘Nothing great! I was looking for some snacks in the fridge when I accidently dropped the container of the chicken curry which made a noise. As usual Mom came there after hearing the sound. But, for the first time in my life, she did not scold me, what she usually does. The commotion attracted the rest of the family members and all of them looked at me as if I murdered somebody. I also did not care of their presence and took a packet of biscuits and those fruits. While on the way to my room I heard my father was telling to Mom whether I shall gain some maturity or not in near future. What Mom told him in reply I could not hear but I heard my father as saying that he was much ma
tured at the time of his marriage. Anyway, why you were crying?’
‘Ok, let me go to the kitchen first to clean up the mess you have created.’ When she was about to go, Arunabh caught her from behind and told, ‘Do not create another problem for me. They will think, I am sending you to the kitchen and they will kill me! On the very first day you will be a widow!’
Rini tried to get out of his clutches; but in vain. ‘Release me, you are hurting me. It is painful.’ Arunabh released her immediately.
Rini giggled and she showed her thumb and her tongue indicating that she be fooled him. This time, Arunabh pulled her and embraced her tightly and told, ‘This time I am not going to release even you cry for your release!’
‘Do not you like to hear, why I cried for so long.’ Arunabh realized, he had a bounden duty to know why his newlywed wife cried so intensely. He released her from his arms and sat on the bed.
Rini was standing before him in such a tantalizing way to tell him what happened half an hour ago, Arunabh could not but pull her to sit on her lap. She was actually waiting for that. She again put her arms on Arunabh’s neck and told what happened.