The Abysmal Chasm

Chapter 2

Now that Sai had finished packing the books, her most essential belongings, she moved to pack her clothes. Owner of just two suitcases, Sai knew she'd be unable to take along all her clothes, so she began sorting them in two piles. One pile she was going to ask Aai to donate, the other would go in her suitcase. "What do I do with this?" It was the nauvari she had worn on her so-called wedding day.

Sai had been forced to marry Virat Chavan. The mission the ACP had come to lead in Gadchiroli, per the newspapers, was a huge success. Vithal Mane and his entire gang were behind bars. The Gadchiroli jungles were safe, at least from the deforestation. But in the process, Sai's Aabba got killed to save Virat. Breathing his last, Kamal Joshi requested Virat take care of Sai, and the forever indebted Virat could not refuse. He made a promise to the dying man, his teacher, his savior. Of course, little did he know that the promise would result in him marrying Sai. The entire village had made this demand. "You have promised Kamal Sir. And the only proper way to fulfill the promise is to marry Sai."

Both Sai and Virat had tried talking sense into the people, but alas. Sai requested Virat to run away. He had refused. "I never run away from my responsibilities. You however, you are free to run."

One thing Sai was not, at least back then, an emotional fool. Her goal was to become a doctor. She had to do this for her Aabba. The marriage then was going to be a means to that end. "Since you are not going to refuse marrying me and I have no place to run to, I guess I have no choice but marry you."

She had not expected to hear Virat say. "Good. But Sai, I am just taking on your responsibility, and that is it." The question on Sai's face was evident. "Sorry, Sai, I am sure what I am about to say is going to hurt you, but it's best we are honest with each other.

"Sai, please do not ever expect anything from me as a husband. I will never be able to treat you or care for you as a wife. I have promised someone that I will never love another woman."

"It's Pakhi, right?"

"How do you know?"

"Well, I have seen the hurt in your eyes when you talk about her. I know you told me she is your best friend who is married to your brother, but the way you speak about her, Virat Sir, it's clear that she is more than your best friend.

"Anyway, it's between you, your brother and her. And I am not upset. In fact I am grateful to you. Now I know why Aabba spoke so highly of you. I will only remain your responsibility and nothing else. I will never come in between you and your love."

"It's not like that Sai...."

She did not let him finish. "Now it is my turn to be honest with you. Accepting you as my husband is a pill I never want to swallow. How can I? You are the reason my Aabba is not here. It should have been you, not my Aabba! So Virat Sir, once I am able to take my own responsibility, whenever that is, I will be free to leave, get out of this sham of a marriage. Agreed?"

"Agreed. It's a deal. You are free to leave, but only when I am convinced that you are financially independent and will not need any support from me." Little did they know how dearly this deal was going to cost them.

Although Virat told Sai not to expect anything from him as a husband, he set forth his expectations from her, his wife, soon after the wedding ceremony. "Sai I know for us this is just a deal but to the world we are a married couple. My family is traditional. I live in a pretty large joint family and each and every member will have certain expectations from my wife. You will have to fulfill them." This was his first passive-aggressive order for Sai.

When Sai met the Chavan's for the first time, she wanted to tell Virat Sir, "You were not kidding when you said your family is traditional. I feel I have just stepped on the sets of some 1930's ka period drama." Thinking this, she had smiled and given Bhavani Nagesh Chavan, the matriarch of the family, Virat's aunt, a reason to berate her at the doorstep itself. "Marrying a non-Maratha girl was not enough? You had to marry an imbecile who has no manners? Here we are all upset and she is smiling."

If it were not for Virat Chavan's Aai, Ashwini Chavan, that day Sai would have had to buy a return ticket to God knows where.

Sai bonded with Aai instantly. For the first time in her life, she had permitted herself to call someone Aai. That very day she promised herself that she would never ever hurt the woman who took a stand for her despite the disrespectful reproaching from Ninad Chavan, Virat's father.

Sai's most valuable inheritance were her principles: do no wrong, if within your means stop others from wronging, never let anyone wrong you, find joy in little things, show others how to find joy in little things, and most importantly, live each moment to its fullest. With such strong values, within a year, Sai won over the hearts of some members of the Chavan family. And in the process, Sai brought the Chavan clan, if not all the way to 2021, at the very least to the early 2000s. She had had to fight battles at many levels to do this. Sometimes Virat Sir stood with her and sometimes against her. Each time Virat had stood against her, he had unintentionally tried to break her a little. He had unsuccessfully attempted to mold her the way he wanted her to be. But by remaining true to herself and Aabba's teachings, Sai had instead started changing Virat. And as days turned into months, Virat fell in love with Sai but couldn't get himself to tell her; Sai had built a protective wall around herself. Behind that wall, however, Sai did harbor feelings for Virat. Was it love? She wasn't sure of that. She cared for him deeply. His care and concern for her had not gone unnoticed, but that did not permit her to love him. She had to be true to her promise.

Amongst the people she had not yet befriended at Chavan house was Patralekha, Chavan house's role model of a daughter-in-law and Virat Sir's Pakhi. Pakhi Didi had made it apparent that she disliked Sai within the first few days of her arrival at the house. And this had come as no surprise to Sai. "If I had been in her place I would have hated me too." Sai used to console herself.

By constantly interfering in Sai and Virat's lives, with very little and at times no pushback from Virat, Patralekha had left no stone unturned in keeping Sai away from Virat. So yes, Sai had never permitted herself to love Virat as someone more than a guardian, but care for him she did, very profoundly. After Aabba, if there was anyone she had a real relationship with, it was Virat.

When Virat Sir and Pakhi Didi were so in love, Sai had always wondered why Pakhi Didi married Samrat Dada and not Virat sir. She had, by happenstance, overhead a conversation between the two forlorn lovers and learned the truth.

"You have betrayed me Virat. I married your brother because you gave me no choice. I did not want to lose you again. You had promised me that you would not let any other woman in your life, on the basis of that promise I married Samrat. You had also promised to be my friend. You broke all your promises. You let that mannerless filth in you life...."

"Pakhi, not another word about Sai, she is my wife. What could I have done Pakhi? Her father saved my life. Marrying Sai, taking on her responsibility is the least I can do to pay it back."

"And what about me Virat. Samrat is gone. It's been a year he has been reported as missing in action. He is not coming back. What about me? You know na Virat I am still living in Chavan nivas only to be near you and you keep ignoring me...."

"I have never ignored you Pakhi, see I am here talking to you. You are my friend and will always be my friend and Samrat will be back, I promise you. Everything will be alright when he comes back."

This conversation had left Sai unsettled. She felt she was entwined in a plot of a sick daily soap. All her insides were churning; she wanted to throw up. To get herself out of the mess, Sai had attempted to leave the house, but Virat Sir had stopped her. How could he let her go? Life without her had very little meaning for him. If only the two could just talk it out?

Army officer Samrat Chavan did return. Once again, it was Sai's doing—everything good that had happened in Virat's family since their marriage could be attributed to Sai. She was like a fairy. All she needed to do was sprinkle her magic dust to spread joy. On returning, Samrat gave Patralekha a choice: he had made it clear he wanted to move out of her and Virat's way. He wanted to give her a divorce. And Pakhi Didi did pounce on it, but Virat Sir refused her to her dismay.

He told the entire household. "Patralekha is my friend and will always remain a friend but there is no scope or option of anything else between us. My request to both of you is to give your relationship one chance." And they had decided to. Samrat wholeheartedly, Patralekha, only to meet her diabolic goal of never letting Sai forget her insignificance in Virat's life.