Tuesday 29 August 2017

Dad’s Doll

Her dad was silent, wooden faced. Her mom was listening in complete disagreement. The conversation was between mausi and Suman. Mausi said, 'It's too much. Had he earlier told me about the distance, I would have dropped the idea of coming too far.' Suman said, 'Jungle me tha uska ghar.' Mausi said, 'Uska ghar? It was not even his own house.' She further said, 'Didi, can you show your brother-in-law's double storey house to someone saying your own?' Facial gestures of Suman's mom said, 'disgusting!' though she didn't utter even a word. Suman said, 'Mausi, did you notice his attires? Everybody else was better dressed than him.' Mausi said, 'The boy who came to drop us station was smart.' Suman said, 'Even I noticed, he had got quick reflexes. They were calling him Manoj. He was the son of dadi's nephew. I liked his dadi also. She had nicely draped sari like we usually do. All other ladies were mismatched.'

After quite some time, Suman's mom said, 'Anyway, I will not marry Suman here. It's too far from our place. I will be lost in this big city if someone ask me to come here alone.' Suman said, 'His sister whispered to chachi about my teeth.' Mausi asked, 'What did she say?' Suman replied, 'Daant bade hain. This much I could listen. I felt like saying that once I open my mouth they all adjust automatically but then refrained myself.'

Her father suddenly got interested and said, 'they commented about your teeth?' Suman's mom said, 'I can agree to get Suman marry with Manoj.' She coined the statement at mausi and tried to get an agreement. Suman smiled controlling her teeth to be visible but failed. She blushed and unlocked her phone and then locked again. Her father looked at her mother and then he also waited for mausi to say something. Mausi, however, kept quiet for a moment and then said, 'He also lives in their neighborhood, in a rented room. But yes, he is well mannered.'

Suman said, 'Mausi, did you notice the girl who just got down at the last station? How cute she was! I think all Haryana, Punjab girls are like her. We have seen so many on our way back. Why will guys like Manoj agree to marry a girl of a small town? He will manage to get a better girl.' All were unable to say even a word. Dad's eyes were dry, worried, and clueless. The girl got down at the last station was undoubtedly looked rich and beautiful and presumably possessing all the luxuries possible but the girl sitting next to him was his own doll, ‘darling of her dad’. So what if she had little big teeth. They never caused him to love her little less. Suman Said, 'Mausi, try to find out some guy in our own town. I will not marry Manoj or any other guy in this big city no matter whether he earns twenty thousand or fifty thousand.'

- Amit Roop

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