Unkindled Love

Chapter 3

Guys, abhi yeh thodi Abhi and Gautami ke family ki History hai.
It's kinda complicated
Agar samajh mein na aaye toh Jane Dena as it's not so important for the
story
If you want you can skip this, but vote kardena thoda please😛❤

Gautami's grandmother should have been born in a kshatriya, or warrior family, for she was extremely aggressive. She was ready to fight with anybody, anytime, anywhere! She did not even require a reason, because she disagreed with everything. People used to say that her poor husband could not put up with his wife and so had died at an early age.                                             
But the truth was that he had died because he was old and had been a  slave of many vices. Although he was rich, he was arrogant, uneducated and chauvinistic. She was his third wife. They had only one son, Satish.

Gautami's grandmother had become a widow at a very young age and
probably that had made her frustrated and irritable. Though she was
uneducated, she was an intelligent lady.
Satish grew up like his father but with an education. He was not very bright, and extremely lazy.

It took him several years to complete his degree course, and when he did, no one would give him a job. He was not too keen to find one either. So, he stayed in a small town in Maharashtra though he was jobless! His daily routine was to wake up anytime after 10 a.m., play cards, get home and relax. Never in his life had he earned a single paisa. Gautami's grandmother had hoped that
marriage would make him responsible.
As it is customary in some castes, a, marriage alliance would not go
beyond the four districts. Hence, from the neighbouring city itself, the
educated Komal was chosen.
By the time Komal came to her husband's house, all the lands had disappeared due to the Tenancy Act
(**they had some land issues before and Komal ke aane ke baad vaapis
woh issue aagya)

Though the economic situation became very delicate the pride and
arrogance of the family remained intact. Sensitive Komal gauged the
situation quickly and took up a teaching job at a local school.

She was the sole breadwinner for the family now. But still, Gautami's
grandmother would show her authority as a mother-in-law and utter pungent words that would hurt her. Komal an introvert, never said anything. She neither looked down upon her husband nor defied her mother-in-law.

After many years of Satish and Komal's marriage, Gautami was born and
indeed, she brought a change in their lives. Though Satish Kawale paid
no attention to his wife, he would always be concerned about his daughter.

Gautami grew up with a jobless father, a domineering grandmother and a timid, loving mother. Komal took utmost care to bring Gautami up with strong values and a good education. Gautami inherited her love for literature from her mother and even as a child spoke pure Marathi

But she would argue with her grandmother and also question her father. She grew up a bright, extremely
accommodating and an extrovert girl.
Her neighbour Mohan Biswas had a different story.

Mohan's family were Smarthas. His father Raghav Biswas was a shade
better than his neighbour Satish Kawale. But he died when his son was still in middle school. He had been a clerk at the post office. Sunaina, his wife, was a cunning, manipulative, fierce and an extremely practical lady. Raghav had left behind two children. The elder child, Suhana was an average-looking girl and not at all a good student, whereas the younger one, Abhyudaya, was good-looking and very intelligent. He was the apple of his mother's eye!

She had pinned all her dreams on him.
She had an older brother, Bhanu. He was a sweet-talker but a very shrewd man. He was the only one who had stood by her when her husband passed away. No one but himself had known the reason then.

He had four ugly daughters and he had an eye on Abhyudaya, hoping that at some point in time, he would be able to get Abhi to marry one of his daughters. Otherwise, he was not a man to help a single person without a vested interest.
Suhana took longer than usual to complete her degree.

As she was not good-looking, it was a little difficult to find a groom for her. With great
difficulty, Bhanu finally found one and soon, Suhana was happily married. When she gave birth to a son, it was treated like quite an achievement.
Gangakka (Grandmother) felt that her daughter was very fortunate.

Abhi was unlike his sister Suhana who had inherited all the bad qualities of their mother. But Abhi was focused on his studies and didn't care about the rivalry between the two families, or Bhanu's role in their lives.

_________

In the space between the two houses, there was a bakula tree. The bakula is about the size of a neem tree and has a lovely canopy of dark green leaves. The tree lives for at least a hundred years, and the more it rains, the more flowers it bears. The bakula flower is very unusual-it is tiny, pale greenish-brown in colour, and is shaped like a crown.

As flowers go, it is unattractive, but it has a divine fragrance. Even when the flowers dry and become brown the mild fragrance remains. When the tree is in bloom, the flowers formed a carpet on the ground beneath it. The bakula flower is a favourite of the gods too!

It was May end, the ripe fruits on the mango tree hinted the end of the mango season. Farmers eagerly awaited for Shravan, the rainy season- a season that brings happiness to nature as well as human beings. The bakula tree stood gracefully, as usual, spreading its fragrance. It was evening, and the flowers lay on the ground, forming a carpet of blossoms.

Gangakka (Abhi's Grandmother) had a small house in a big compound. She and her husband had wanted to extend it once they became prosperous, but unfortunately that never happened. Though Gangakka had a bitter tongue, she was hardworking. She did not waste her time after she finished her cooking. She had made a beautiful garden, with many flowering bushes and vegetable plants. It was a part of her ritual to wake up early in the morning, pick flowers and make a garland, to offer at the temple nearby. This was irrespective of the season. She believed that this kind of deed would bring prosperity and happiness to her children.

But Gangakka was very unhappy about one thing, and that was the bakula tree. It stood exactly in the middle of the common compound of the two houses, indicating that it belonged to both of them. Not only did it give flowers, it also gave the best shade. And that's what made Gangakka angry. Nothing would grow in that shade. She thought the tree was a nuisance, that it took up a lot of space. In Gangakka's dictionary, everything was measured in terms of usefulness. Be it a human being or some material. So, the tree became a bone of contention between the two families. She would keep telling her neighbour to cut off the tree so that she could grow more plants and get some sunshine too.
Abhi's room faced the bakula tree.

Throughout the year, the mild scent of the bakula wafted in through his window. He had developed a special attachment to these flowers and so he opposed his mother's idea of
cutting the tree.
On the other side, nobody except Gautami had the time to tend the
garden.

Her father, Satish Kawale had no time for any work, let alone looking after the bakula tree. Komal would always be busy with her school work and
Rindakka (Gautami's grandmother) was an old woman.

Rindakka did not want to cut the tree, not because she loved bakulas, but because Gangakka wanted to. In spite of the battle between these two fierce women, the bakula continued to bloom every day.