Sunaina was struggling desperately to keep a foothold on the cliff, she was clambering…she was not getting a hold...her hands were clammy, her knees were bruised and was giving away, she tried desperately to clutch onto something but failed…she fell into oblivion…Sunaina woke up with a start. Ok, so it was a nightmare, but it seemed very real. She was sweating profusely, she rubbed her eyes and somehow pulled herself out from her deep slumber. This afternoon siesta has become a habit for Sunaina ever since she has started leading the life of a house wife. Sunaina, a workaholic who had never been idle in her life was somehow enjoying this role of a housewife. She enjoys waking up early in the morning, cooking breakfast for her husband, packing his lunch, cleaning the house, cooking, sweeping , mopping , dusting and all other mundane tasks which she had never before in her life imagined she would do. Soon after completing her education Sunaina had started working. She started with a very humble job of a marketing executive in a small company. She was not a student of extra ordinary caliber but was extremely diligent. Sunaina’s burning zeal to excel had paid off and she had very quickly risen up the corporate ladder. Now when she compares herself with her peers, she finds that she has done much better than many of her peers in school and college.
Sunaina was lucky to have a supportive husband who had never stopped her from pursuing her dreams. But of late she started noticing that her job was taking a toll on their relationship. They were drifting apart. They lived like roommates who met once in a while and if they happened to sit together for a cup of tea they would exchange pleasantries and discuss the weather and politics. To Sunaina’s exasperation they no longer even fought. Her husband no longer complained of her untidiness and carelessness and she no longer complained when he smoked in the bathroom or left the wet towel on the bed. Had they become more tolerant or just indifferent? Sunaina wondered where had she gone wrong, where was her marriage heading to?? Is it wrong for a girl to pursue her career once she gets married?? But all the while she had tried to strike a balance between work and home…then where did she go wrong? The most frustrating thing was Sushant never complained and this infuriated her even more. If he would complain then she could point out her contributions, the amount of hardwork she puts in to make sure that they lead a life of luxury which would not have been possible with just Sushant’s income.
It was at this point that Sushant needed to shift to Pune. He had a lucrative job offer in hand promising a significant hike and a dream job. Sunaina now had the choice either to quit her job and move to the new city with her husband or continue staying in Hyderabad. It was a difficult decision to quit her job at a point when she was doing so well and just at the verge of an imminent promotion. But Sunaina decided that her relationship with Sushant meant a lot more to her than her job. She felt tired, tired of trying to beat others and reach the top, her ambition was draining her out, she needed a break. Sunaina’s boss pointed out the foolishness of her decision, he felt she was slaughtering her career. He reasoned with her saying that people do have long distance marriages; she could definitely continue her job in Hyderabad at least for some more time. But Sunaina was adamant, being a Taurean, she was a stubborn bull, once she made up her mind on something she very rarely changed her decisions. Thus started a new phase of life for Sunaina, she took a break from her promising career with the hope of giving a totally new dimension to her married life- a life of marital bliss and contentment. She wanted to enjoy the little things that bring joy between a couple which she could not earlier due her professional commitments.
The day Sunaina stepped into the new city which would now be her abode atleast for the coming 2-3 years she felt an excitement, an excitement she had not felt since a long time. Sushant had come to receive her at the airport. Sunaina nervously checked her makeup, she wanted to look good when she met Sushant. She was meeting him after a long time span of two months. During this period Sunaina was reminded of their courtship period before marriage. Sushant would call her frequently; they would talk for long hours resulting in dark circles in her eyes and lengthy mobile bills. The moment he would call she would be filled with a child like excitement. Things had changed after marriage; things had not been too rosy. They found themselves to be very different, their likes, dislikes, tastes, character traits, nothing seemed to match. Sushant greeted her at the airport with a pleasant smile. It was evident that he was glad to see her. Being a man of few words he very rarely expressed his emotions.
Sunaina was dragged out of her reverie by the shrill ringing of the doorbell. She peeped through the eye hole only to see the smiling vibrant face of her landlady-Mrs Sharma. She released an exasperated sigh. These regular friendly visits from her landlady has become a torture for her. The well meaning elderly lady thought she was being helpful. She lived a floor above; a widow with both her sons settled in the US, she was lonely. She made it a point to talk to everybody, the milkman, the newspaper wala, the laundry man and any other person who stepped into Sunshine apartment at any time of the day. Most of the time Mrs Sharma would be seen sitting in the verandah, she had very little work to do. She noticed who ever entered the building and made it a point to shout a 'hello' to the person below before enquiring about his purpose of visit. Mrs Sharma was rather cute looking, petite, fair, plump and must have been quite good looking in her young age. Her silver straight silky thick hair made her look very elegant. The first time Sunaina had been to her flat, she made it a point to flaunt her pictures from her photo album. She was very much aware of her striking good looks in her young age. Time had cruelly taken away most of the beauty but the lingering traces were also not insignificant. The streaks of grey on her temples and the wrinkles on her face somehow blended well and still made her look beautiful. Mrs Sharma would share her recipes with Sunaina although she would not ask for it. She would advice her on everything, the furniture of her house, the colour of her curtains, the decor of her house and most of the times her advices were unasked for. Then one fine day Mrs Sharma asked Sunaina that why had she not been able to get a job yet in the new city. Sunaina had not expected such a blatant question and was a little taken aback. Mrs Sharma said, “Beta, I think you are not trying enough, there are so many good companies here in Pune and you are an MBA, still you are sitting idle at home. Give me your CV, I will give it to my friend’s daughter, she works in an MNC, I think she can help you out”. Sunaina would simply give a polite smile and a nod of head which meant that she was simply being polite and did not need these unwanted advices and help. Mrs Sharma ignored all subtle hints and one fine day commented that she did not like the curtain separating the living room and the dining space and insisted that she remove it immediately. Sunaina was a little indignant, it was a bit too much for her. She pertly told Mrs Sharma she rather preferred the curtain to be where it was. Suddenly Mrs Sharma appeared to be a little crest fallen, she managed a quick good bye and left.
Sunaina felt guilty for her rudeness. She felt apologetic and in the evening baked a cake (recipe given by Mrs Sharma) and went upstairs and rang the bell. Mrs Sharma opened the door, was a little taken aback since Sunaina hardly would pay her a visit but somehow managed a smile and invited her in. Sunaina stretched out her hands and offered her the cake. She gave a broad vibrant smile, well rehearsed and said “Guess what Aunty?, I finally made a cake with your recipe, please do taste it and let me know how it is, although I can vouch that it cannot taste as good as yours. I must admit I have never before tasted as good a cake as you bake, not even at the ‘Bake Rocks’ who are well known for their baked stuffs.” This was unlike Sunaina, she hardly talked much but today she wanted to make up for her rudeness. It seemed Sunaina’s flattery worked. Mrs Sharma beamed and said “Your uncle used to love my cooking, he would always share his lunch box with his colleagues in office and they would simply love it. Even my sons would invite their friends over to our house, they loved my butter chicken”. My husband’s friends used to say “Bhabiji, you should open a restaurant, you cook like a professional chef .” Mrs Sharma’s eyes became glassy, she again was switching to her flashback mode, Sunaina snapped her back from her reverie saying “Aunty why don’t you participate in ‘Master chef’, I bet you will win the show. Your sons and their family will watch you on television and feel so proud of their mother”. “Beta, they do not have any time to talk to me on the phone for 5 minutes and you think they would have the time to watch me on television.” Sunaina became careful, she did not want to tredge on these personal grounds. She quickly changed the topic of discussion saying “aunty do you like panipuri?”. “WHAT???? beta, is this my age to go and eat panipuri on the roads”. “forget about age aunty, it’s all in the mind..let’s go out and have some fun”. After some hesitation Mrs Sharma agreed, she dressed up in a nice floral printed pastel salwar suit matched with pearl earrings and a pearl necklace. She looked elegant, her long silver hair neatly tied into a bun. Sunaina could not help but say, Aunty you really look beautiful”. To which Mrs Sharma smiled shyly, a knowing smile since this old lady must have received many such compliments in her lifetime. The next two hours were wonderful. To her surprise, Sunaina too started enjoying herself. The outing which she had meant as a treat for the old lady turned out to be enjoyable for her as well. She shared a unique camaraderie with this old lady who had nothing in common with her, a lady of an older generation, a house wife who had not seen much of the world and had led a cocooned life and she who was a confident independent young lady of this era ready to take on this world. Yet they had one thing in common, both were lonely. Mrs Sharma lonely in her widowed forsaken life and Sunaina was lonely in spite of being surrounded by numerous people.
Life carried on, months passed by, Mrs Sharma’s curiosity did not subside. Sunaina now had learnt to overlook and ignore Mrs Sharma’s inquisitiveness. Mrs Sharma still paid unwanted visits and now Sunaina made it clear through her actions that she did not appreciate these frequent visits. But Mrs Sharma was oblivious to such hints, she would chit chat non stop about her daily experiences, the kitchen sink getting clogged, the exorbitant rise in the price of vegetables, the ‘kamchor’ maid and many other such boring stories. Sunaina would hardly pay attention to all that she was saying and would respond with a brief nod and a ‘hmmmm’ at times. It was around this point of time that Sunaina and Sushant decided on organizing a party on the occasion of their marriage anniversary. It was now that Sunaina needed Mrs Sharma’s help. Sunaina was not much of a home maker and she wanted her flat to look perfect, she wanted the decoration to be perfect, the food to be good. Mrs Sharma advised her on everything. She even offered her some show pieces she had made herself and a crochet embroidered table cloth which she had stitched herself for adorning Sunaina’s glass centre table. She helped Sunaina in decorating her house, offered to prepare the dessert for Saturday’s party. A few days prior to the party while deciding on the guest list Sushant commented “Sunaina, don’t you think we should invite Sharma aunty for the party, after all she has helped you a lot?”. Sunaina retorted “Are you crazy Sushant??? What would that old lady do in our party?? She would be a total misfit and we would always have to be careful in what we say and do, you would have to ration on drinks, mind your language, you don’t want to shock the poor old lady, do you???”.
On the morning of 14th May, Saturday, the door bell rang at the wee hours of 8 a.m, Well, 8 a.m is very early for Sushant and Sunaina in the weekends. Droopy eyed and yawning Sunaina climbed out of bed, wrapped the dressing gown and opened the door and there she was, Mrs Sharma with a broad smile on her face “Good morning dear! A very Happy Marriage Anniversary to both of you, Please call Sushant , I want to wish him as well”. Sushant by now had woken up, he came to the door smiling and said “Thanks a lot aunty, please do come in and have some tea”. Mrs Sharma immediately stepped inside and extended a bouquet and a small gift wrapped packet and said “Please open it and tell me whether you like it”. It was a beautiful painting of a man, woman and a child painted by Mrs Sharma herself. Mrs Sharma winked with a hint in her eyes and said “The man and the woman in this picture are both of you, only the little one is missing, I want your life to be as complete as this picture”. Sushant and Sunaina smiled politely in reply.
The party turned out to be a success. Sushant and Sunaina’s friends commented on how well decorated her house was, complimented them on their taste. Many of their friends thought that the show pieces had been made by Sunaina. Sunaina lied and said that this is what she has been doing since the past few months sitting at home. “Sunaina, you are extremely talented, you should show case your talent, why don’t you put up your handicrafts and paintings in some exhibition” Rahul commented. Sunaina replied humbly “Well, I do not think it is that great, I am just an amateur , dabbling with some colours and I do this only for pleasure, it is my hobby you see!!”. The halwa prepared by Mrs Sharma was a big hit, everybody simply loved it and Sunaina offered to mail them the recipe, she preferred not to reveal that it had actually been cooked by Mrs Sharma. After all she was a smart young woman of this generation and she did not have much qualms about enjoying the appreciation which were actually deserved by the old lady. She knew that it is wise to grab whatever comes one’s way.
Days passed by and life carried on at its usual snail pace. Sunaina now had started feeling bored. She thought now it was high time she gave some thought to her career. Afternoons now seemed lazy with nothing much to do. Mrs Sharma would still visit her frequently and carry out monologues with her, she was just happy to have a patient listener. Life would have dragged on in the same manner but one single incident turned everything topsy turvy. It was a hot afternoon, Sunaina was preparing herself for an afternoon siesta after slouching on the couch for some time and surfing through channels and not finding anything interesting to watch on TV. Suddenly the doorbell rang, Sunaina lazily lifted herself from the couch and peeped through the eye hole. A young man of about 30 was standing at the door. Sunaina asked “what is it?” he replied “Madam, courier”. Sunaina yawned and opened the door but before she could even react the man pushed his way into the room and closed the door. Sunaina got horrified “who are you and what do you want?”. The man took out a knife from his pocket held it in her throat and hissed “I will slit your throat if you shout , just do as I say and you will live, give me whatever valuables you have in the house, money, jewellery, give me the key to the almirah”. Sunaina felt weak in the knees but her senses told her it would not be prudent to do anything stupid at this point. She did as he said, gave him the keys. He busily began searching the almirah, Sunaina knew this was her chance, she tried to run towards the balcony and ask for help. She was about to run to the balcony when the man caught her and slapped her hard. She tried to resist and shouted ‘HELP’ but before she knew anything she heard a thud and an excruciating pain in head and felt something warm trickling down her head, to her horror her head was bleeding profusely. Before she knew anything she fell unconscious on the floor.
A sharp pain woke Sunaina up, she looked around her. The clean white bed and the saline drip told her senses that she was in the hospital. She felt a throbbing pain in her head, her hands instinctively went to her forehead. Her head was bandaged. Sushant was hovering over her with an anxious, worried look in his eyes. He had dark circles in his eyes, it seemed he had not slept the entire night. He asked worriedly “How are you feeling, are you okay?” Sunaina somehow managed a faint smile and nodded. She felt tired and felt her eyes closing and she fell into a deep slumber. Over the next few days in the hospital Sunaina’s recovery was quick, thanks to the care of her husband and Mrs Sharma. Mrs Sharma made it a point to visit her twice every day in the morning and evening. She would cook some healthy nutritious food and bring it for her. She would bring books and magazines for her and read it out to her because Sunaina was too weak to read herself. Sunaina was touched by Mrs Sharma’s affection . She had not expected so much from this kind old lady. This lady was doing things for her which her mother would have done for her had she been alive. Sunaina felt a lump in her throat when she remembered the numerous times she had felt irritated and had mocked at Mrs Sharma’s actions. A tear trickled down her cheeks in remorse.
The day Sunaina was discharged from hospital and reached home she was surprised to see her home speck less clean and found it to be as it was when she had last seen it. Sushant told her it was Mrs Sharma who had made it a point to keep her house clean and well maintained even when they were not there since Sushant too had been very busy managing between his office and the hospital. Sushant told Sunaina had it not been for Mrs Sharma, Sunaina would have lost her life. Mrs Sharma had observed the courier man from her balcony and his mannerisms had somehow triggered her suspicion. She came downstairs and rang the bell to their flat but nobody answered. So she returned to her flat but some how she felt something was terribly wrong. She again came downstairs and saw the courier man running out of their flat , down the stairs. She called out to him but before she could do anything, he had fled. Mrs Sharma rushed inside the flat and found Sunaina in a pool of blood. It was Mrs Sharma’s presence of mind that saved Sunaina. She immediately called the ambulance, wrapped a bed sheet around Sunaina’s head and called Sushant and informed him about everything. Mrs Sharma immediately called the police as well and let them know about the burglary, she had smartly noted down the number of the motor bike in which the burglar had come. She also provided a description of the man to the police. Before long the police managed to nab the culprit and recovered the money and jewellery that he had stolen. He was a part of a gang whose modus operandi was to carry out such burglaries when housewives were alone at home in the lonely silent afternoons in secluded neighbourhoods, when there were very few people around. Sunaina felt humbled by whatever had happened. She had always ridiculed Mrs Sharma , she had always thought Mrs Sharma was a dumb old lady and now she had been proved wrong. She felt guilty for all her thoughts. She , a smart young women who had fell victim to this burglary had been saved by this unassuming old lady by her presence of mind, wit and keen observation. Sunaina decided that she would never again be judgemental, things are not always as they seem and as it is said ‘never judge a book by its cover’. Over the next few years ‘Sharma aunty’ became Sunaina’s best friend, Sunaina taught Sharma aunty to use the internet and so Sharma aunty now gets to chat with her sons and grandchildren and see them on the webcam. Sharma aunty writes a cooking blog and her social networking friends simply love her recipes. Sharma aunty now has a facebook account and is active on social networking sites. She has a virtual family of her own on these sites, the age of her friends range from 16-60. Sunaina has improved on her cooking skills, thanks to Sharma aunty. She has learnt embroidery, stitching crochet and knitting sweaters. She has started painting, it is amateurish but she is improving. Sunaina wants to give a shape to Sharma aunty’s aspiration of opening a restaurant known as ‘Shailaja’s kitchen’. Well, Shailaja is our very own fond Sharma aunty’s first name- Shailaja Sharma. Shailaja Sharma who had always been known as Mr Upendra Sharma’s wife would now be known for her own little achievement. Sharma aunty would decide on the décor of the restaurant and other artistic aspects and Sunaina would take care of the business part. Well, although we do not know whether Shailaja’s kitchen would be a success , yet Sharma aunty has already got her share of fame. Sharma aunty’s act of bravery and presence of mind was written about in all the news papers. Sharma aunty now has a reason to live , has something to look forward to. Sunaina too is happy that she will get to test her entrepreneurial skills. Sunaina and Sharma aunty’s friendship is becoming stronger day by day, they share a unprecedented camaraderie, a bonding, a love which does not have any specific name. Well friends, if you happen to pass across Shailaja’s kitchen please drop a hello from my end to our fond Mrs Sharma!!
