An Epiphany

An Epiphany

'Sorry dear, I can't do it.'

Pawan yanked the sticky note sheet from the bathroom mirror, and read the message again – ‘Sorry dear, I can't do it’. He could not believe it. How can she step back when a step forward would be opening a whole new world for her, he thought. He swung around and stomped out, shutting the door behind him with a bang.

"Sujata, Sujata! Where are you?" He marched to the kitchen, where his wife was preparing breakfast. “What’s this? He slammed the sticky note on the kitchen table. “How can you do this now? What’s wrong with you?” he shouted, continuing to spread the shaving foam on his face. Sujata wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand and continued to chop the onion, pressing hard on the chopping board. Pawan stared at his wife, waiting for her to reply. “Madam, should I wait or come back tomorrow for an answer?” She continued to chop, pressing even harder.

Pawan stormed out of the kitchen.

xxx

“Oh, there she is,” whispered the stout lady to the one sitting by her side on the sofa. “She doesn’t walk with a limp, and her hands are fine too. A little tall for our Pawan but will do.” The duo was sizing up the would-be bride for Pawan.

Sujata demurely placed the tray on the central table and started to pour tea from a teapot. “Beti, why don’t you bring the eatables before serving tea?” Sujata’s mother said, whipping her face with the end of her Sari. She was perspiring profusely despite the AC in full blast. Sujata placed back the teapot and retreated into the adjoining room.

“Our Sujata is an excellent cook. Her father used to like her cooking much more than mine. I don’t know how she learned to cook so well. Not from me for sure, I’m horrible at cooking,” said Sujata’s mother, laughing nervously.”

 “YouTube! Children learn everything from the internet these days,” said the stout lady.

Sujata walked in with a tray with an assortment of biscuits, freshly fried Russoles, and onion fritters. Pawan, sitting next to his mother tried to sneak a peek at her face but she had drawn her ‘pallu’ – veil - way down over her face. Sujata picked up the teapot again. Her hands were shaking. “Don’t worry Beti, we will pour the tea ourselves,” said Pawan’s father helpfully. His wife gave him a sharp look but said nothing.

“Sit down Beti. Your mother says you prepared all these eatables for us by yourself! How nice of you,” said the stout lady sitting next to Pawan’s mother. She was his aunt. “Just the kind of girl we are looking for our Pawan. He is very particular about his food. Spoilt by his mother,” the Aunt said, laughing loudly, trying to emphasize what she had said.

“Thank you, Aunty,” Sujata whispered almost inaudibly. She wished her mother had not mentioned her cooking skills. Thank God she hadn’t waxed eloquently about her washing clothes, sweeping the floor, or cleaning the house talent! Usually, she used to anxiously list out all of these and many more of the qualities that would make her an ideal housewife. No mention was ever made of her educational qualifications and her extra-curricular talents. “Have they come looking for a cook or a wife for their son?” Sujata thought bitterly.

“Please do not mind me saying this, but I am known for plain speaking. Sujata is a bit dark-complexioned for our liking, but I don’t think that should bother Pawan too much, what do you say Pawan?” his Aunt asked Pawan.

“What can I say, I have not even seen her face.” Everybody guaffed at Pawan’s expense.

“Don’t worry Pawan, very soon, you will get to see her face every day,” said Pawan’s aunt.

“Pawan, why don’t you and Sujata walk out to the veranda and get to know each other better? Meanwhile, we will enjoy our tea,” said Pawan’s father, trying to ease the awkward silence.

The two walked out; Sujata leading the way. “So, your name is Sujata, nice name,” Pawan said, once they were out on the terrace.

“Thank you.”

“Do you always keep your face covered like this? I like to look into people’s eyes when I talk to them.” Sujata raised her pallu and gave a fleeting glance at Pawan’s face and dropped her pallu once more.

“Ah! Come on. Please don’t be so shy. After all, if everything goes fine, we will soon be husband and wife, no?” Sujata remained silent; her face still hidden behind the veil.

“Am I the first boy who has come to see you?” Pawan asked, trying to draw Sujata into a conversation.”

“No, there were a few before you.”

“What happened?”

Sujata drew back her pallu, faced Pawan, and said, “They didn’t like the colour of my skin. I am too dark-complexioned, they say.”

 “Oh! How I hate this whole process. Asking a girl to walk, talk, turn around, perhaps sing a song, or dance in front of strangers, and most importantly, show her homemaker’s skill, and finally when they are done with that, reject her just because she is …….. Pawan stopped, swallowed hard, and continued, “It’s as if the girl is not a person but an object. Horrible. I hate it.”

Sujata was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. She started to sniffle. Hurriedly, Pawan handed her a clean handkerchief, and said, “I’m sorry if I’ve hurt your feelings. I didn’t mean to.”

At that moment, Pawan thought Sujata was the most beautiful girl he had ever met. And with that simple gesture, he had Sujata dump all her dreams and aspirations into the proverbial dustbin and fall for him head over heels.

As they walked back into the room, Pawan asked, “You didn’t ask me what I do for a living?”

“I didn’t feel it necessary. My father used to say, “A man should marry only after he stands on his own feet. I supposed you did!”

“Oh! Yes, I do. I am in the business of advertisement; the creative part.”

Everyone in the room looked up at them expectantly and heaved a sigh of relief when Pawan beamed at them happily.

 Soon they became man and wife.

xxx

“Are you feeling alright?” Sujata asked as Pawan stepped into their cozy little apartment.

“Yes, I am. Just feeling tired. Had a horrible time with a demanding client. No matter what I put up, he was not satisfied. He’ll be back tomorrow again. I hope Mr. Khanna will be there to support me when he comes.”

“Mr. Khanna, your boss?”

“Yes, he has his way with people.”

“What are these?” Sujata asked, leafing through the stack of papers Pawan had put on the dining table.

“The drawings and the catchphrases over which we were squabbling the whole afternoon. I was thinking of working on it after dinner but now I don’t have the energy. I will show Mr. Khanna what I’ve done so far tomorrow and ask him to decide.”

The next day morning, Pawan hurriedly put the papers in a file and rushed to his office; he wanted to be there before his boss arrived. When Mr. Khanna walked into Pawan’s cubicle, he had already spread out the drawings with the catchphrases on the table. Mr. Khanna picked up one drawing and exclaimed, “Wow, Pawan! Fantastic job! Well done my boy.” Pawan looked at the drawing with a puzzled look on his face.

“What’s it Pawan, don’t you agree?”

Pawan looked at the drawing carefully. Surprised, he said, “But Sir, it’s not my job. I mean, I didn’t draw it! And I didn’t write the caption either.”

“Then who did it for you? But whosoever has done it, he’s done a fantastic job. With little professional training, he can do even better.”

“No idea Sir. When I took the papers home, it wasn’t there but…., wait a minute Sir, let me ask.”

“Hello, Sujata, this is me. Did you draw something on one of my papers last night?” There was silence on the other side.

“Did you?”

“I’m so sorry, dear. I thought your boss would be angry with you for coming back with the same old drawings and captions.” Pawan dropped down on the chair, put his elbows on the table, and covered his eyes with his palms.

“Pawan, is everything alright? Are you okay?”

With his eyes brimming with tears, Pawan looked up to his boss and said, “It was my wife, Sujata, who did it, Sir. She never told me …..,” he choked up and began to cry uncontrollably.

xxx

“Congratulations Pawan! We’ve done it, boy! We’ve not only bagged that difficult deal, but our ad has won the national award! But why am I congratulating you? It is Sujata who deserves the kudos,” Mr. Khanna shouted as he walked out of the office one evening. And don’t forget to bring her along to the award function next week. I want her to be there on the stage to receive the award.”

“By all means, Sir. She will be there,” Pawan shouted back happily.

“By the way, when will it be convenient for her to join?” Mr. Khanna asked.

“Join what, Sir? Party?”

“No, you fool. I’ve just signed her appointment letter. We are taking her in as an Assistant Creative Director under you. Any problem?” Had Mr. Khanna not been his boss, Pawan would have kissed him on his bearded cheeks.

xxx

“Why didn’t you tell me about this before? You are such a gifted artist with a command over ‘ad-lang’ - advertisement language. You’ve not only won an award but my boss has just issued an appointment letter for you. And what a selfish, chauvinist fool I’ve been all these years! How couldn’t I ever think that a woman can do more than clean and cook? I am so sorry dear.” And handing over a letter, Pawan said with a flourish, “Here you are Madam, Assistant Creative Director, Khanna & Sons,” Pawan. “Welcome to the gang, dear!” Pawan took Sujata into a tight hug.

xxx

It was on the next day that Pawan found the sticky note on his bathroom mirror. In his state of disbelief and disappointment, Pawan had forgotten to read what was written on the backside:

 ‘I won’t have the time, dear. You are going to become a father soon.’