PART TWO BEGINS

Standing at the terrace of Reis Margos Fort, near the canon, facing the mighty river Mandovi, Preethy, clinging to Vicky, said “Oh this is lovely! We must come here again, surely after our marriage”. Vikram too agreed. “Let us declare our relationship to our parents and get married soon. See, my dear, it is necessary that we must get our parents’ consent before we marry”. Preethy, still in her ecstasy of the enchanting view, said, “No problem. My parents will not stand in my way. They are broad minded”. Vikram too endorsed. “My parents are in no way different”. They saw a young student couple coming out of a secluded corner which was a small enclosure, just enough room for a man to stand, by the side of canon. In the bygone days it was meant to be a hide out for the Portuguese soldiers to look for enemies on sea. But it is now presently used by tourists, local boys and girls for their private affairs. Both Preethy and Vicky did not want to miss out the opportunity. Preethy said,” Mighty Mandovi meets her lover Arabian Sea keeping the sailing boats and cruises as witnesses. I am Mandovi and you are Arabian Sea. Note this date and we will commemorate this day after our marriage.” They took quite a few selfies for posting them in facebook. Famous artist Mario was not alive to draw a few sketches of this happy go-easy couple and make it immortal forever. But he was very much there living through his sketches in an exclusive room dedicated for the purpose. Both Vikram and Preethy went around those drawings with their free comments filling the room. The spotlessly clean monument stood as silent witness to the young couple, with eaves dropping to their chirruping sweet nothings. May be blessing them!

Vikram and Preety had come to attend a friend’s wedding at Goa and extended their stay by two more days to go around various places. Vibrant beaches of Goa – Colva, Varca, Calangute… beckoned them, golden sunset mesmerized them, paragliding experience thrilled them, Big Foot museum amused them, tattoo designs filled fun for them, Anjuna flea market engaged them with souvenirs for friends, Light House at Aguada Fort and the overview of landscape facing the sea enchanted them, famous Dudhsagar waterfalls dumbfounded them…. Thoroughly soaked in the Nature’s bounties in and around Goa they returned to their hosts who were put up in one of the posh apartments at Donapaula. The lady of the house too wished them well saying the two should come back to Goa for their honey moon. Vikram sent a message to his parents that he was coming to see them and left early. Preethy too went back to her parents. Before leaving she said, ”I will be eagerly waiting for your call. Best of luck to you”. She raised her thumb. Vikram also smiled back at her “Same to you”.

She spoke to her parents and they demanded some more information about Vikram, his siblings, his parents etc..  just to ensure that their only daughter’s future was in safe hands. To the extent she knew she told. For the rest, she phoned him and also sent email calling for details. Her phone call was not responded and email unattended. She wondered what went wrong with him. Why no reply? She was sure he was capable of handling his parents. First of all, what was the need – when no problem was foreseen? But why was he silent? It was hurting and humiliating and very much disturbing.

She willed herself to not check her phone to see if he had replied. It had been about three days now. She hated that she was constantly checking his 'last seen at' status and yes, he had logged in just five minutes ago. Yet she couldn't stop herself. This sinking feeling to find absolutely no communication from him was becoming unbearable, almost torturous.

And then, just as she sat down in her chair, her phone vibrated. With her heart thudding in her ear, she unlocked her phone and stared at the screen. Finally! It was his message.

But when she opened it and read it, she nearly stopped breathing. She didn't know if he was joking or not. What was this? A sinister gift in place of a happy one! A sinister message only .... pouring acid on her!

It was just two lines… “Thanks for everything. Let us part as friends”. Really shocking! What did he mean by this? Was she any doormat that he would use and ignore? He did not even feel how she would be hurt and did not even consider giving her any explanation for his funny strange desolate behavior. She felt as though she was in Ries Margos, this time not on the terrace, but right under the “Death Hole” and Vikram was pouring hot oil on her – a crude way devised by the Portuguese in those days for punishing an intruder or an enemy. She could not withstand the betrayal.

She sent back a message “URGENT. Let us meet now”. But this particular message too fell on a dead phone. Did he delete her number or cut of all connections, sever friendship? Was their relationship coming to an abrupt end, that too soon after they decided to marry? She felt as though she was left alone in the solitary cell of the Ries Margos. Whatever his reasons better known to himself for his dead silence, she could not tolerate his cold, rude refusal, that too with no explanations to her. She called one of their common friends – Prakash and asked him to find out. After about two days, he came back and told her how the sudden twist came up in their love story. Prakash was very honest in telling what was told to him. He did not add any frills to the story. In a nutshell he explained what happened at Vikram’s place.

As Vikram told his parents about his decision to marry Preethy, they wanted to know about her, her parents, her photo and some more basic information. They were not against love marriage nor inter caste marriages. But they wanted to ensure that their son’s choice was a right one.  Vikram thought of impressing his parents with some positive features about the girl and showed them a very good photo, a photo in which she was receiving a gold medal at her college and standing by her side was her proud father beaming with joy. That became the turning point. Instead of boosting the image, it turned out to be a topsy-turvy. His mother asked him to focus on her father’s image and asked was he by any chance Mr. Sabhapathy. Yes, he was. That was the end. They flatly refused and his mother simply said “You decide either me or her”. Vikram was speechless. His mother narrated an old incident which was very relevant now in his life. His mother told him as though the incident happened today – now. On the day of her marriage, but just before her marriage, her maternal uncle, who shouldered the whole responsibility of her marriage, suddenly passed away in the marriage all itself and the marriage had to be stalled abruptly. Her parents met the groom and his people, explained them and asked for postponement of marriage by a month. But they took the ‘death incident’ as a very bad omen and cancelled the marriage. The bride, even before entering their family, ridden with tragedies, could certainly not bring good luck, neither enrich their new family set up nor bring fortunes to the people surrounding her. According to them, what was the pressing need to go for such a bride whose very first step was beset with ill luck. So they cancelled the marriage and went off. They did not pay any heed to the arguments put forth in favour of the bride … that she was innocent and had no role in the tragedy which was beyond any body’s control. Such a ‘brave bride groom’ to boycott her, was none other than Sabhapathy,  who could not convince his parents or other relatives about what might happen to a girl whose marriage got stopped just abruptly.

It was irrelevant now that Vikram’s mother got married at a later date but only after undergoing lot of difficulties. After the marriage, life went on smoothly until now. But they did not want the smooth flow of life to be disturbed and so they were very adamant that Preethy, being daughter of such a ‘brave’ father, just could not be their daughter in law. She might bring all ill luck into the family. Certainly, life would be difficult, not only for them, even for Vikram, Preethy and her parents also.   Encounters with a man whose background always flashed bad memories should necessarily be avoided. So Vikram was left with an option to choose between his parents or his pretty girl Preethy. No doubt, it was a difficult task. He needed time to ponder over. With Preethy, he thought, ‘I may have my love life, but not an easy or comfortable living. Even Preethy too cannot be comfortable in the odd circumstances of facing his mother or her father and there will be many an occasion for both his-her mother-father meeting face to face, in their future lives’. Why should he create tension for all those around him? Instead he might as well part ways from her. ‘Initially it may be hard to forget everything but time is the best healer of all wounds’. He chose to remain in comfort zone. Finally he sent the message – “Thanks for everything….”

 Prakash said, “I am sorry for you, Preethy. But I feel he is right in his judgment”. Preethy, flushed with anger burst out “You men are all the same. Just because his mother underwent hardship, he has to throw me to dust”. Prakash consoled her, “Just think, if your parents come to know about the flashback, what will they think and how will they react? Probably in the same manner as his parents did. So why blame him? He had the courtesy and good manners to be a good guy. He did not hurl abuses on your father nor create nuisance to you. Past is past. Let bygone be bygone. Relax. Start life afresh. I know it is difficult. Time will change. Good days are ahead.”

‘Yes, Prakash was right in saying forget-forgive, good days are ahead… blah blah.’  But she suffered a harsh blow and was unable to eschew the agony silently. Every time she scrolled her phone, a photo, a message, whatsapp, facebook or twitter would pop up something to sprinkle salt on her emotional wounds. It was a torture. Prakash came daily to comfort her.

Her father asked her, “Come on Preethy, what went wrong with Vikram? Why no further development”? She replied. “No Appa, we had a gentleman’s agreement that we would get married only if parents agreed. It seems his parents did not agree”. She showed him the message she received from him “Let us part as friends”.

“Oh, very sorry dear. Take heart. Do not brood over spilled milk. Keep cool. The past is like a closed chapter. Start a new one. The ‘Show’ must go on. So is life”.

Her mother also joined, ‘We are with you, my dear. If one door closes it is not the end of it. Another one opens. Life must go on…This is the right time for you to get settled down in life. We want to see you married. By the way … how about this boy, Prakash, who comes to see you often. What do you say? If you like him, let us talk to his parents’.

Preethy also felt that it was meaningless to lament over her lost love. Vikram was just a name now – an ended chapter, a closed door. He had rightly pointed out -- ‘let us part ways. Prudence lies in moving further’. She was very clear and she concluded… Part One got over, even if it was a sinister experience.

Now Part Two begins …. A sinister gift offered by a bitter curse of life is now turned into a new chapter of good-luck for a better future. A wishful thinking says ‘Let this Part Two journey be a smooth ride’ for Preethy.