The Runaway Bridegroom (16 page)

   “Chanda, you never asked me what the surprise is about,” said Mohan, sensing that all was not quite hunky dory.

   “Bharat told me Pappa,” said Chanda in a subdued voice.

   Mohan gave Meera a swift glance to catch her reassuring nod before saying, “Well Chanda, it’s like this. Your Mamma and I went to an astrologer who assured us that we’ll be able to find Veerendra quite easily. That’s when the two of us went to meet his family. Veerendra is not in touch with them either. But Surendra
ji
has come here in the hope that we can trace Veerendra with the astrologer’s help.

   Chanda pretended an interest that she was far from feeling while she swallowed the hot tea with great difficulty. She pushed her plate away as she thought that even one more bite of the
kachori
would choke her. Meera couldn’t believe what she saw in front of her eyes. She had been sure that Chanda would be thrilled that finally something was being done about her single status. But it was obvious that Chanda wasn’t at all happy.

   Chanda felt hunted at the look of hope on her parents’ faces. What could she tell them? She looked at her brothers in turn. They also appeared quite happy with the idea of locating her errant husband, even as every man was looking at her intently, scowls of varying degrees on each one’s face.

   Into this scene walked in Surendra, confident about his daughter-in-law’s welcome. Why not? The rest of the family had been so nice to him over the past two days. And moreover, the astrologer had been very clear that Veera would be found and he would definitely get back together with his child bride.

   Chanda went pale as she tried hard to keep down the little bit of breakfast she had consumed.

Twenty-seven

   Chanda got up in a hurry, her hands automatically coming together in a gesture of greeting as she said, “Namaste!” her voice subdued. No force on earth could have made her touch h
er father-in-law’s feet. As it was, she felt such a fraud. For the first time in her young life, she couldn’t bring herself to share a truth with any of her family members. No wonder her nerves were frazzled.

   Surendra walked closer to the beautiful young woman who was his daughter-in-law. Tears shimmered in his eyes as he looked at her innocent face. He was glad that she obviously led a secure existence despite her husband abandoning her as a child. He touched her head in a blessing and Chanda shut her eyes as a strong emotion gripped her. She felt torn.

   It wasn’t this man’s fault that her husband - his son - had run away. And he had obviously suffered. She opened her eyes to give him a hesitant smile. Surendra put it down to shyness.

   Surendra held her small hands in his as he said, “I’m so sorry for what you had to undergo because of Veera, my child. I—”

   Chanda shook her head in protest just as Mohan cut short Surendra’s apology. “Surendra
ji
, please let the past go and let’s look forward to a much better future.”

   Surendra felt overwhelmed by the affection bestowed on him by the Maheshwari family. He held his daughter-in-law’s hand gently as he led her to the sofa. He sat her beside him and quizzed her about her life in general.

   To begin with, Chanda felt quite choked with thoughts of Ranveer crowding her mind. But soon, she sat up straight and answered all the questions that Surendra had for her.

   Surendra couldn’t help but admire the way Mohan and his wife Meera had brought up their children. All were so well-mannered and obviously educated. He couldn’t help wondering about Veera. But then, the astrologer, Vidyasagar, had insisted that Veera must be very well educated and doing great financially too. A deep sigh shook up Surendra from within as he thought of his missing son. He wondered whether he would ever set eyes on him again. But then, Mohan and Vidyasagar had given him a lot of hope.

   The rest of the family came to sit around the father-in-law and daughter-in-law.

   “So,” said Mohan, “according to the astrologer, Veerendra must be living in or around Delhi.”

   Chanda looked at her father in surprise and asked, “How is that possible, Pappa? Can the astrologer find out the whereabouts of a person just by seeing his horoscope? I can’t understand.”

   Meera smiled widely as she said, “That’s the beauty of it all Chanda. You don’t know Vidyasagar
ji
. He’s just amazing. You know something, he saw your horoscope and immediately said that you and your husband were in the same place.”

   Chanda went pale. What could they mean by that? She tried to recall the names and faces of all the men she had met since going to live in Delhi. She couldn’t imagine any one of them being her errant husband.

   “I don’t understand, Mamma. I never met Veerendra. I’m sure I would’ve known if I had,” she said, a frown on her face.

   Mohan continued from there. “It’s like this my dear. Vidyasagar
ji
could pin point where Veerendra must be positioned geographically. He said that it was very close to you. In fact, I was quite irritated with the astrologer in the beginning. I told him that you stayed in a ladies’ hostel and so it wasn’t possible for Veerendra to be close to you.”

   Chanda stared at her parents one by one. What were they saying? She couldn’t understand. She shook her head, obviously perturbed. How could they trust the words of an astrologer and drag her father-in-law into the picture? She couldn’t believe that her parents could have acted so foolishly.

   Mohan then explained their visit to the astrologer, the conversation, the astrologer insisting that Veerendra’s horoscope had been wrongly written, how he must be very intelligent, probably a professor or a computer whiz, how all he touched would be turning to gold and more.

   Chanda listened to her father without interrupting him, a dazed expression on her face. Could all this be possible for someone to predict by just seeing a
janam kundali
? She found it difficult to comprehend. But then, her parents sounded so sure. So much so, that they had contacted Veerendra’s family and convinced them too.

   Then what about her growing attraction for Ranveer? Chanda closed her eyes in sheer exhaustion. She didn’t think she could take any more. She recalled her latest meeting with Ranveer, how he had kissed her. Her throat closed up as tears stung her eyes. She heard her father’s voice in the background as her mind stopped registering his words.

   Chanda’s head buzzed with lack of sleep, the shock of meeting her father-in-law and the fear that she might never see Ranveer again. To everyone’s shock, Chanda dropped from the sofa down at her father-in-law’s feet in a dead faint.

RANVEER SAT IN FRONT of his laptop, trying to get some work done. It was Sunday and he hadn’t heard from Chanda. He had been hesitant to call her as she must be quite busy with her family. She had gone for just two days and he didn’t want to interrupt their reunion. But he so missed her.

   Was it only a few weeks since he set eyes on Chanda? Ranveer couldn’t believe it. It seemed as if she had been a part of his life forever.

   Ranveer decided then and there that he would get in touch with his birth parents in the village and go forward with getting his marriage annulled. But before that, he wanted to see Chanda once again and reassure himself that their feelings for one another were genuine.

   Ranveer couldn’t wait for Monday morning to come fast enough.

Twenty-eight

   Lakshman opened the door to Chanda’s bedroom. It was late in the evening on Saturday. The family had left her alone after lunch as it was obvious that she didn’t want to be disturbed. But all of them had been surprised when she hadn’t come down till now.

   The room was in darkness as Lakshman looked at the bed. Seeing that Chanda wasn’t there, he turned towards the light switch when he noticed that she was sitting at the window. As he walked towards her, Lakshman was shocked to notice her posture. She looked defeated as she sat there, her knees drawn to her chin while her face was buried in them. Her small body shook now and again as sobs overcame her.

   He walked to his sister silently and placed a hand on her head, stroking it fondly. Chanda raised startled eyes to see who it was. Seeing her favourite brother, she fell into his arms, crying.

   Lakshman held her tight, not saying a word. He waited for the tears to abate before pulling her gently towards the bed. He made her sit down before taking a seat next to her. Again, he willed her to talk with his very silence.

   Slowly the story came tumbling out. Chanda didn’t leave anything. She told him how she had always kept away from boys and later men, believing herself to be a married woman. She said how she met Ranveer and couldn’t help the growing attraction right from first sight. Once her sorry tale was over, she looked at Lakshman with red-rimmed eyes.

   “I love him, Lakshman. I can’t go back to become Veerendra’s wife. How can I? All these years there was no news of him. Now suddenly after I meet someone I love, his father turns up after Mamma and Pappa go to an astrologer who has a lot to say about him. Why? Why me?” She smote her forehead before Lakshman could stop her.

   He took her hand and held it tightly as he hugged her. He thought hard, not saying anything. Lakshman was a man of few words and when he spoke, it usually struck a strong chord with the listener.

   Chanda put her head on her brother’s muscular shoulder and waited for him to come up with a solution. She was confident that it would be in her favour, just as it had always been since childhood.

   After some time he told her, “I’m sure you can take a week off from your college and work, can’t you?”

   Chanda looked up at him, her dark eyes searching. What did he want her to do? Not that she had an argument. She was just curious. She nodded as she said, “I think I can.”

   “Tell you what? Why don’t you take a break from everything while Ram and I sort out things here? You go to Mount Abu and just chill. Who do you want to go with? The twins or Mamma-Pappa?” He stopped to answer his own question, “I think Mamma-Pappa is out of the question as Surendra Uncle is here just now. Do you want to go with Bharat and Shatru?” He looked at his little sister, love overflowing in his heart. He had adored her from the moment she opened her eyes for the first time.

   Chanda looked at Lakshman steadily as she asked, “Will you go with me?”

   “I’m sorry Sweetie. I’ll be best off holding the fort here. This thing needs to be sorted out before we decide what to tell Veerendra’s father. I wish that he hadn’t been dragged into the picture at this stage,” he said, echoing Chanda’s thoughts. “But then, it’s already done. Ram and I will set out to find the errant Veerendra and set the record straight. You—”

   “Will it be expecting too much to ask to go on my own? I don’t think I’ll be good company for the twins. You know they love fun and just now I’m not in the mood for it,” said Chanda. She felt strongly that she wanted to get away from everyone. She wouldn’t have minded Lakshman’s company as he knew how to keep silent. Chatter was one thing she couldn’t stomach just now.

   While Chanda’s family was very close and loved one another absolutely, each one also knew how to give the others their space.

   “You must go alone if that’s what you want, Chanda.” Chanda blushed when he said, “Give me your Ranveer’s contact number before you leave. I’ll only get in touch with him if and when it’s absolutely necessary,” he smiled, looking at her red face.

   Chanda nodded her head. It all sounded so simple. She only wished that the next week was already over. What a weekend! And she had expected to spend it in Ranveer’s arms.

   Chanda pulled at Lakshman’s elbow just as he got up. “Lakshman, can you give me another SIM card? I don’t want Ranveer to call me when—.”