The Publisher's Book of Love

3- As Grey as Charcoal

Dhanashree sat silently in a tense position staring at her father who finished cleaning the dining table and sat back in his chair facing her, then looked at her quietly.

"You don't have to be so harsh with your mother, child".

She scoffed, and replied accusingly," She is planning to take away my independence! I won't let her do this. I'll run away".

"To Apurva I suppose? And become a third wheel between the newlyweds?", her father said gently, staring at her in a manner which made her uncomfortable, because she knew that he could read her every thought and emotion.

Apurva Gugale, now Konar, was Dhanashree's best friend who lived in Tamil Nadu ever since she got married the previous year. She was an intelligent engineer, specialising in mechanics, and had married a man of her choice with the approval and blessings of her parents. She had invited Dhanashree to live with her and set up another branch of her publishing house there, and Dhanashree had secretly planned to shift there for a couple of years to focus on her business and to escape from her family till the topic of marriage settles down a bit. But now that she realised her parents knew about this, they wouldn't let her go anywhere so easily.

"Why are you after my life? What is the use of getting me married? I don't want to give up on my work. Convince aai na, baba. Don't do this to me" " she said with her face scrunched up, her voice desperate.

Aakash sighed, "Your mother has scared you too much. What makes you think that you will have to leave your work after marriage? And marriage is neither a cage nor a jail if you marry the right man, and in the right family. Look at your mother, she worked for so many years, and we both shared all our responsibilities. She pursued her M.B.A. after marriage. Did marriage hinder her education, work, or restrict her independence in any way? Looks, she's still working and earning."

"But that's different! You know the Patil's daughter. She went to Kolhapur after marriage and her husb-"

"Her case is different", her father interjected, "But we and you are smart enough to know how to make the right choice. We won't marry you off to just anybody. You may choose the man of your choice. But you need to meet men for marrying".

Dhanashree gritted her teeth in annoyance, "But I don't want to marry. What part of not marrying do you not get?".

Aakash shook his head. "This is yet another phase of a human's life. Just like how you didn't wish to study in your childhood or complained about going to college, consider this another phase of your life. While I won't deny that people do have a particular choice of whether they wish to get married or not, I regret to inform you that you don't have such a choice. We would like you to be happy with a good, hardworking man, and we hope you wouldn't make this difficult."

He continued. "This may sound harsh to you, about us taking decisions of your life, but we have always made important decisions for you, and you have never done anything without our approval, beta. You weren't the best academically, so we began teaching you stock at your wish before you turned eighteen. Then you wanted to start a business, and we didn't interfere in these choices, because we believed in you, and still believe in you. All these years, you have achieved great heights, and we are extremely proud of our daughter. You have amazing skills and capabilities, and you will always have our blessings. You are an independent woman, you probably earn more than anyone of your age, and you earn even more than Abhiraj at the moment. Do not consider this as some form of restriction upon you. Rather, take it as a new journey, a challenge to find a good worthy partner for yourself, who will not suppress your skill, and will help you grow in all fields of life".

Dhanashree quietly listened to the words of her father, knowing that he spoke from his experience, and he indeed thought that this was the best route for her. She didn't want to disappoint her family, and at the same time, the thought of sharing her precious and lazy life with someone made her feel creeped out. She hated sharing.