Behind The Door of Mannat

Lanterns of Hope

How was your 2023? Must be like a rollercoaster. Laugh in one day and tears in another. Ha ha… Don't worry about that. It was normal. Life would not be completed without it. We sometimes need both to make our lives balanced. Suffering, pain, will always be here and be a part of us. But the most important thing is how we can get through it. You did it and you survived throughout the year. That was amazing. I hope next year will be easier for you. Well, maybe you will need to put in some effort like you did last year. But I am praying it will be paid as much as the effort you put in.

“Jeeja ji! What are you doing here?”

I step down the wall and turn. My saali looks at me with furrowed eyebrows.

“Everyone is down there enjoying and celebrating but here you are isolating yourself from us. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, of course. Just received a call from a colleague. Nothing serious,” I smile at her trying to assure her that I am fine. “What brought you here?”

“Didi is looking for you. She said she needs you to light the briquette.” Tanisha points at the corner with her chin. I follow her to the garden without a second thought, knowing my wife will be mad at me if I do not show up in any seconds.

We set up a small new year party at my Sasumaa house in Lonavala just for our family. Our relatives are here too. I thought it would be a good idea if we celebrated the new year's eve together in her house and luckily she agreed. We usually visited her during religious festivals only. She and Tanisha were the ones visiting us the most. Now we made it different and I am grateful it runs as it should be.

“Hello, ladies.” I greet the Mukherjee cousins who are busy preparing ingredients for our barbecue party. I see the men are gathering on the other side of the garden. But I choose to join the ladies. They seem to have something more interesting than business talks which I believe is being discussed amongst the men.

“Shahrukh! Where have you been? Kajol is already upset. Hurry up,” Sharbani says while chopping the onion. I take a glance at my wife who glares at me. She stands near a grill not far from her cousins. From where I am standing I can see it has been lit. Tanisha joins her, grilling the meat.

“Why so hurry? It's just ten. The party will not start early, na baby?”  I ask my wife as I sit on a chair near the cooking table. The question draws laughter from the cousins. Meanwhile Kajol did not answer me. Her cheeks turn red but the frown in her forehead is still there.

“Our family gathering won't be completed without Shahrukh teasing his wife in front of people,” Sunita comes from inside the house. She brought some meat and seasoning for the barbecue.

“Then he ended up sleeping on the sofa for the whole night.” Tanisha joins in.

We all laugh again except for one person. She throws a roll of tissue at me while looking at me sharply. God, she looks so scary.

“Thank you for the humiliation, Mr. Khan. Now please go and join your group before I lose my patience and change my mind to grill you here along with this meat,” She says while pointing at me with tongs. The night is suddenly full of laughter only. Kajol becomes more upset as her cousins do not take her side. What do you think I will do after that? Left them as she suggested? Of course not. I ignore her warning and keep teasing her while the cousins keep laughing. It is always so good to be back home and spend time with family. A time which you might not get from others and anywhere.

“Excuse me, my dear people. Real sorry for ruining the atmosphere. But I assure you it will be worth it. Can I have your attention, please?” Ayan comes into the garden with house staff bringing a lot of lanterns in their hands. Everyone's eyes are on them. The lanterns instantly catch our attention. The kids are most excited about it. They can't stop touching and playing with it. Aryan helps the staff prepare the lanterns, lighting them one by one. But what are they for? What are we going to do with them?