Unkindled Love

Chapter 12

As expected, Gautami was made to feel unwelcome in Gangakka's house. Still, she wanted to win over her mother-in-law. So she tried to help her in the kitchen. But Gangakka made it clear that the kitchen was her domain and she didn't want Gautami to enter it.                                                   
She would say, 'You have just married. You do not know our customs. So please don't bother about cooking.'                       

Within a week, Gautami got bored. When she went to her house, her grandmother would ask her innumerable questions,
'Gautami, what did your mother-in-law give you in marriage? I saw her in a saree shop the other day. Did she get you a saree?'

Gautami could not answer any of her queries.When Abhi was there, Gangakka would be cordial but when he went out she would show her true colours by saying hurtful things to Gautami.

'I really don't understand your customs. You call Abhi by his first name and that too in a short form. We believe that if you address your husband by his name, you shorten his lifespan. Your mother should have taught you all these manners. There is a saying, The quality of the saree depends on its thread and the nature of a daughter depends on her mother.'

In the previous generations, when the husband was usually older than the wife, he would not be addressed by name. But Abhi was only ten months older than Gautami. Besides, they had grown up together. So it was hard for Gautami to change.

Whenever she tried, Abhi would not allow it, saying, 'Gautami, get out of that old custom! When I can call you by your first name, you should also be able to do the same. First, we were good friends and now, I have become your husband. That's all.' 

Abhi would also tease her saying that he knew she would some day become his wife and that is why he wanted her to call him Abhi.

Gautami would become very dejected whenever Gangakka hurt her like this. Her mother was such a gentle, docile person, she would never have taught her daughter wrong things or given her bad advice. Gautami felt very helpless when her mother was criticized by Gangakka, but she said nothing. 

Ten days after the marriage, Abhyudaya and Gautami came to Bangalore. It was the month of August. The monsoon had set in and it was pouring in Bangalore. Bangalore rains are so different from the rains in Mumbai. The continuous rain would disrupt local life, but the disciplined citizens of Bangalore never complained. Gautami was shocked to see her small single-bedroom apartment at Whitefield (An Area In Bangalore, A Posh One).It was probably smaller than a room in their Bandra house. There was no question of a garden or a bakula tree in a place like Bangalore.

'Abhi, why should we pay a thousand rupees rent for such a small house?'

Abhi laughed at her innocence.'Gautami, it is very difficult to get an apartment in Whitefield without paying an advance. Be happy about this house. It is only thanks to Vasudev that we got it.'               

'Abhi what's so great about Whitefield?'   

'Gautami, Whitefield is a very expensive area. It is very well connected. Gradually, you will understand all that.'                         
Abhi reported for work, as a software engineer, on the appointed day. He was on probation for six months. Among the many people who joined the company that day, he was the only person who was married. Though it seemed a little odd, Abhyudaya was never embarrassed about it. Gautami was left alone at home. She would keep remembering her mother,her own house, and the quiet atmosphere of their hometown.

All these memories would make her homesick. Her eyes would well up with tears. Komal had not shed a single tear at her daughter's marriage. She had held it in sheer willpower. Now Gautami started seeing her mother in a new light. At least for her, life was fun with a loving husband, a new city, new experiences . . . But for her mother? Her only friend was Gautami!