Love of my Life

27.

"Appa.. Amma... ummm... I want to tell you something..." Sana said in a dubious voice to her parents.

It was already Saturday evening and she had been waiting since morning for the right time to have the conversation with them but she couldn't besiege the courage during the whole time. She was reassuring herself, talking to herself, preparing the talk and also took help from Sid by texting him and also called him once in between to get a energy boost. She was stressing out, nervous to an extent that cannot be described.

She planned to talk at lunch time and when it was lunch time, all four of them were sitting in the dinning table having food made by her mom and she made a feast after after a long time. Sambhar, Rasam, potato fry, beans curry and also Payasam (Kheer), all of them were happy and relishing their favorites, chatting. She didn't had the heart to spoil the good time they were having after a long time, almost a month to be precise. She thought to wait and maybe talk during tea-time when they all sit together again after the noon's nap. But then Monty di's mom came in, aunty upstairs, downstairs popped in and making a chaos at home talking to her parents. She missed that opportunity as well...

Now it was 7pm and silence prevailed at home after everyone left, she had lite the Diya at 6pm and prayed to her God for little bit more longer, to give her strength and to make her parents understand her situation. They were in their bedroom, Appa in a wooden recliner in his phone, maybe checking WhatsApp messages or browsing Facebook, he was not a tech geek, whatever little he has learnt from his kids and friends, he used that for his social media browsing. Amma was doing something in armoire, that was her pass time, cleaning, sorting, even folding the folded clothes again, clean the cleaned places again.. Sana always wondered why her mom wants to find and detect the unwanted work and do it for nothing, that is the reason she tells her that she has OCD problem or she wondered if all mom's are like that.

"Come Kulandai (baby or bacha) enna achhe (what happened)?" his dad peeked up through his reading glasses. He was in his half sleeve white color inner Tee and white lungi. He is a stout man but tall, had a protruding belly and salt and pepper hair with a handsome sharp face.

"Why are you so dull today? You are not yourself, I hope flu virus is not transmitted to you.." her mom suddenly got up to touch her forehead to see her temperature. Her mom is a caring and loving lady, very simple in chiffon saree she wears but gorgeous. She was married in a very young age of 18 and both kids were born immediately after, which makes her look very young. She always adored a big maroon bindi in her forehead as in her culture women have to wear the bindi since there birth being a Hindu and that was the reason Sana always wear one herself, except when she wears a western clothing, that too due to peer pressure at school and college.

"Temperatures toh nahi hain, thank god! Today just have Kaanji (rice broth) for dinner." Her mom sat next to Sana worried in the bed.

"I am fine Amma but I want to tell you both something" Sana again said meekly tensed and her hands getting cold and face heating up making her red. "Please listen and stay calm and don't judge me" she started the heat making them look at her in full concentration. 

"What is it Sanaya? Do you want something, or did you do some mistake? Tell me!" Appa questioned her this time. He would always call her in her nick names Sana or Sanu.. but when he says Sanaya she knows he is in his stern self and she cannot tease around. 

She took a long breath and looked at her parents who had a interrogating eyes, "Appa, I like a boy and I love him and would like to have a future with him" she said out fast in one breath, her forehead sweating anticipating their reaction.

"WHAT?? what did you say? you like a boy? do you know what you are saying? don't joke around Sana, this is not funny at all" her mom scolded her slapping her arms. 

"It is not a joke Amma, I really love him, he is VP of VS Corporations and he loves me too. He wants to marry me and wants to ask that from you both." Sana said gaining a bit confidence as she has already disclosed the main thing and now she can give other explanations of their questions. 

"Isliye beja tha tujhe job main? Tune toh hamara bharosa hi thod diya Sana!" her mom shake her furiously. "Kuch toh bolo aap Subbu Appa.." she asked her husband who was just staring at Sana shocked, his glasses out in his hand and phone in his lap fallen. 

Sana jumped towards his dad sitting down in the floor catching his legs and requested, "Appa, please listen to me, he is a very good man, well do to, respectful, just meet him once Appa, please.. he will not disappoint you, I can guarantee on that. Ek baar milke faisla lena appa." 

He dad was statuette, "What is his name?" he asked.

"Sidesh....Sid..." she said shivering.

"FULL NAME.." he asked seriously in a high tone. 

"Sidesh Sharma" Sana said tears welling up her eyes seeing his father's authoritarian, tough side towards her. She has always been her father's pet, he would always cajole and coax her, he would never raise his voice and seeing this side of him was breaking her heart. 

"Atleast he is a Hindu.... and not a different caste," he stated. 

"He is also a Brahmin Appa, a North Indian Pandit.." she convinced him, not thinking of any logic in that right now, just wanted to show Sid on a good picture in front of her father.

"Sana, we had always trusted you and never thought you would do this to us, what will we say to our family.. Pyaar karne se pehle kuch toh soch leti.. How will we ever face them now?"  her mom was crying and yelling again face palming her forehead. 

Sana abhorred this scene her mom was making, she somehow knew that her mom would be the most upset but when it hit reality she despised the reaction she was showing. Her mom was a 10th pass out, married young and had been in her husband's shadow for 44 years of her life. Sana somehow know that it's because of his father's fear she is reacting this way, but Sana was confident that when she converse with her alone, she will make her understand. 

It was her father who was a hard nut to crack and difficult to convince because of his thoughts about caste, religion, ethos and his prestige. He had never compromised his Hindu Brahmin lifestyle in his 57 years of his life. 

"Amma, please think about me right now!! not the relatives we have, Koi soch ke pyaar nahi kiya, ho gaya bas.. I haven't done a crime amma, just loved someone and wants to spend my life with him." Sana cried siting down in the floor. 

Just then Subbu came inside hearing the chaos.. "Kya hua? Why are you all shouting?" 

Her mom again wailed explaining him the treacherous hideous act Sana has done. 

"Can you keep quite Seetha?" her dad yelled at her mom this time, standing up with his wrist holding at back. 

"Sana, it might not be a crime for you.. but for us this is something horrendous. In our family no one can dare to marry out of the caste or language or religion. He is a North Indian, though a Brahmin... but still he is not a Tamil Brahmin. But still you are my daughter and I want to believe you and give you a chance. I want to know if he is the right person for you or not. Call him and I will see after that" her Appa announced. 

"Par..." her mom wanted to say something but stopped by her dad. "No more talks about this now... Subbu go and Seetha go prepare for dinner, I don't want to discuss this anymore. Sana you call him and tell him to meet me tomorrow at noon." 

When it comes to social consequences, they've got all different people acting in different ways, very difficult to even have a proper criterion of logic,  For to change the norms, the very foci of attention, of a cultural system is a difficult task - far more complex than that of changing an individual's attitudes and interests. It won't be easy for Sana and Sid but where there is a will there is a way!

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