My wife, my best friend!

Posted by: Sakhi on: July 14, 2008

• In: Anger | Anguish | Death | Fiction | Food for thought | Friendship | Life | Love | Marriage | Relationship | Separation
• 37 Comments

Sridhar couldn’t sleep the whole night. It was his wedding night and he was tossing and turning in his bed. According to the rituals in his caste the husband and wife are not allowed to consummate the marriage until they have been to the “kuldevi” for “aashirvaad”.

 

Sridhar’s marriage to Pallavi was not a love marriage nor had they met each other before marriage for more than a couple of instances! But Pallavi’s dove like eyes, her soft smile and princess like demure had bewitched Sridhar. He had waited for this day, oops night, for so long! Damn, the rituals!

 

Everybody teased him in the morning as he went down to meet his new wife to take her to the temple. He tried show anger but the smile playing on his lips gave away his mood.

 

It had been six years since then. Sridhar and Pallavi were envied for their love and understanding for each other. They were inseparable and had become best friends.

 

Sridhar was very upset today. He could hear Pallavi screaming with pain from across the door. He wanted to be on her side in such pain but elders in his family restrained him from entering the labour room.

 

“Damn rituals!” he thought.

 

Suddenly the screams died down and the nurse came out to call the father of the baby. As he went inside the room he saw a little bundle in white with only a pink face glowing from inside. He would not forget this sight ever. His daughter looked so tiny and so beautiful, just like her mother! He wanted to jump around like a kid. Pallavi slept peacefully. The exhaustion didn’t show on her face.

 

Suddenly on the next day of the delivery Pallavi started bleeding heavily. She had suffered from secondary post partum haemorrhage and the bleeding was not at all getting controlled.

 

With a blow from the blue, Pallavi passed away, with the same softness sealed on her beautiful face.

 

Sridhar didn’t cry, didn’t cry at all! He was absolutely shocked.

 

He had not only lost the mother of his new born child but his wife, his best friend, his soul mate!

 

He kept starring at the photograph somebody from the family had got enlarged, framed and garlanded. He just kept starring at her. Suddenly he heard his baby cry and something broke lose inside him. Tears started pouring as he saw his wife being prepared for her final journey.

She looked even more beautiful than usual.

 

As he started to go along with his wife for her cremation he was stopped by his Tau.

 

“Tu nahi jaa sakta, beta!”

 

”But why? She is my wife!” Sridhar was bewildered.

 

“Abhi teri ummar hi kya hai? Hamaare samaaj mein jiski shaadi phir se ho sakti hai woh smashaan nahi ja saktaa!”

 

“What are you talking about, Tau? It’s only been 12 hours since Pallavi is no more and you guys have started thinking about my remarriage?” Sridhar was absolutely shocked.

 

“Damn rituals!”

 

“But, you have to think of your child also…” Tau trailed off.

 

“Whether I remarry or not or whether my child needs a mother or not is not the question at the moment. My wife has passed away and I am going to bid her the farewell and that’s all!”

 

“But, beta... the rituals says…”

 

“To hell with your rituals, to hell with everything….” Sridhar’s thunderous voice echoed in the large hall….

Tags: Anger, Anguish, Death, Fiction, friends, Friendship, Life, Love, relation, Relationship, Separation