Recollection and Reconciliation
P.Krishnamoorthy
By the time Asha reached the venue of the wedding reception on the lawns of Hotel Paradise in Delhi, invitees and relatives were there in large numbers. Grace and Jacob , the bridal couple were on the podium in their adorable wedding costumes, acknowledging the guests’ gifts and greetings. While most of the male attendees were in customary black suits and tuxedos, the female folks were in formal attire as they do not want to upstage the bridegroom and the bride. The ‘Ava Maria’ music played in instruments by the orchestra added cozy ambiance for the occasion. Grace spotted Asha even at a distance. Grace’s sparkling smile greeted her warmly as they were meeting after a long break of five years since their college days. Hurriedly Asha reached the podium and the hug Grace gave her was reminding of her last day’s hug in the college. This emotional meeting made her feel the warmth of their old personal and intimate friendship. When she introduced Jacob to her, Asha congratulated both for their married life. For a moment Asha envied her to have the most handsome Jacob to be partnered for her life time.
There was a sudden and surprise interruption by Mathew, Grace’s elder brother. As other guests were waiting to greet the wedded couple, Asha moved to a side and Mathew followed her. They were looking at each other for a while and their eyes exchanged their old memories in silent lingo. Asha could see tears in his eyes waiting to fall as a reflection of his guilty conscience which he discreetly wiped them with his fingers. To conceal her reactive feelings, Asha bowed her head to avoid his disappointed apologetic looks. Curiosity compelled her to know whether he was now married, and if so who was that lucky lady? A cute five-year girl dressed in white attire suddenly came, calling him ‘Papa Papa! Mummy wanted to give this to you” and gave his cell phone. Asha’s question was answered with the girl’s entry, but still leaving the suspense as to who was the lucky one.
Grace and Asha were close friends in the college. During her first visit to her home, Mathew was introduced to her. He was very smart and handsome. He always appeared meticulously dressed to kill in his various costumes. His dress sense appealed to her indelibly and, with the days pass by, she became his passionate admirer. His gentle manners combined with a positive profile made her obsessive towards him. That bloomed to a close togetherness between them. Mathew also reciprocally loved her. In one of their meets, he openly proposed his love to her. She knew she would have tough time to convince her home for the marriage with him as she belonged to an orthodox traditional hindu family. But her happiness was short-lived as, in one of their meets, Mathew gave her the startling news of his moving to U.S for higher studies.
Back home, Asha’s mother was laid up with critical final stage of cancer sickness. She wanted Asha’s wedding to be celebrated before her end. There was also no news from Mathew for a long time. Grace had moved to Delhi with her parents on transfer. There was no way for her to contact Mathew. Having reconciled to reality, finally Asha became the wife of Satish, her mother’s distant relative. Satish also was a smart guy with a polished personality and gentle manners. He was well placed in a multi-national corporation in Bangalore. He was a go-getter with anybody. Their horescopes were also compatible in all respects. As the days rolled by,Asha had no problem to reconcile to the fact that one should compromise with what one gets, instead with what one aspired.
After five years she got the wedding invitation from her old friend Grace. She knew that Mathew definitely would be there in his sister’s wedding where she could meet him. It was an unwritten law that the first love always carry its reminiscence for life time. At the reception, though she felt complacent on revisiting those happy memories with him, she also felt guilty on her revisit. On a second thought she realized when her first love affair was a closed chapter, even to think of it now, was doing injustice to the present life with Satish. This led her to another stage of guilt where she felt of not divulging her earlier love affair to Satish either before the marriage or after anytime in past five years. Having known Satish, she was sure he would not mistake her for this ghastly lapse.
Satish was in Mumbai on company business for a week. Asha decided to put an end to her mental agony on her earlier love, by confessing to Satish on his return. She would apologise to him for holding it all these years. In spite of her rehearsals she was confused as to how to start the conversation with Satish when he arrives. On his return to her surprise, she found Satish was in a depressed mood. Satish was even evasive for an answer for her various queries. Finally on her persuasion, he had to spill out the beans to her.
The guilty conscience of Satish made him to divulge the cause for his distress as he was embarrased to confess to her about his earlier love affair. Before his marriage he was in love with Sheila, his college mate. Both the families agreed to their proposal and the engagement was fixed. On the previous day of the engagement, one of his father’s relatives, a leading astrologer, advised to cancel the engagement function. According to him after his study of their horescopes, they were not compatible in many respects. The positioning of the planets and their movements were such, the couple would be childless for ever. After extensive deliberations among family members and also on a second opinion, his engagement with Sheila was finally called off. Still Satish was not fully convinced on astrological predictions as his love with Sheila overpowered such planetary predictions.
Satish, while attending a dinner in the residence of Sushil, his Mumbai colleague, to his surprise he was introduced to Sheila as Sushil’s wife. Sheila was also shocked to see Satish after five years. Both were trying to recollect their happy old memories even during that short rendezvous. Sushil was busy attending a telephone call inside. Their invisible exchange was disturbed with the entry of a five year old boy. His features and color were not resembling either of Sushil or Sheila. As Satish was puzzled over this, she was in tears and confirmed they adopted him due to her gynecological deficiency in child bearing. By her confession Satish was convinced on the astroleger’s planetary prediction in her horescope on the eve of his engagement with Sheila.
Satish apologized for not divulging that to Asha before or after their marriage. Now Asha could see Satish’s relief from his guilty conscience. Asha seized that opportune moment and revealed her ‘untold’ story to him. Noticing his smile at her narration, Asha tantingly said that their quid pro quo deal of exchanging their secrets was over. When Satish was casually enquiring on the effects of Asha’s planetary predictions, the calling bell sounded a visitor at the entrance. Asha opened it to see her friend Dr. Sylvia, gynecologist was there. On her way home, she wanted to inform them the very good news that the medical test reports were positive.
When even a happily married couple happen to meet their earlier lovers after a long break by accident or circumstantial conspiracy, their subconscious minds would again revive their buried bygone memories of romantic relationship. This would manifest into greater proportions to seek redemption from their concealed guilty feelings. Love would happen only once, and the second time would always be a compromise made to forget the first.
Recollection and reconciliation unquestionably play a vital role in our life journey.
