“Late again”,
commented Ashok wryly. Sandhya had just
entered the drawing room after a particular tiring, but satisfying day at
work.
“Who dropped you
home today? Was it Suresh? Or Paul?” Ashok showered a barrage of questions on
her. “Maybe it was Mr. Pradhan?” he
sarcastically asked, before she could even fathom what he was trying to get at.
Sandhya worked as
a copywriter in ‘Kruti Ads’ – a reputed advertisement agency in Bangalore. She was creative, smart and quite
attractive. She had dark eyes which lit
up when she animatedly discussed things, a smooth olive-complexion and dark,
waist-length, glowing silken tresses.
She spoke
intelligently about almost all topics under the sun, and could hold her ground
in any serious debate. There was an
irresistibly appealing aura around her which attracted appreciative looks from
everyone – especially men.
Besides
copywriting, she could even visualize an ad.
Her imaginative mind often came up with unique ideas which she’d pass on
to the Art Director-cum-Visualizer of the Creative Department; Mr. Ganesh
Pradhan. He was open in his admiration for her concepts and praised her
lavishly.
The client Mr.
Mehra was very pleased today, Mr. Pradhan had said when he had that day
incorporated one of Sandhya’s ideas in an ad campaign. Sandhya had been delighted and gracefully
accepted his praises.
“Why don’t we
celebrate your success? Let’s go to a
restaurant today evening, for snacks and tea.
The treat is on me. You can
invite your husband too,” he had said in a tone which brooked no refusal.
Mr. Pradhan had
vast experience in the field of advertising and wielded considerable influence
on the working of Kruti agency (he was one of the partners). Unwilling to displease him, by refusing his
proposal; she had reluctantly agreed.
She had called up
her husband Ashok’s office to inform him about the treat, but he had been out
on official duty then. She had left a
message with the telephone operator, telling Ashok to come to the restaurant.
When Sandhya and
Mr. Pradhan reached the restaurant, there was no sign of Ashok. May be he was busy, thought Sandhya. After the treat, at eight in the evening, Mr.
Pradhan had dropped her by car near her residence.
Softly humming a
tune, she had pressed the buzzer, happily waiting to tell Ashok of her
success.
And here she was,
very confused and unhappy after Ashok’s outburst.
“I’ll make coffee
for both of us,” she said, wanting to dispel the tense atmosphere in the room.
“Go ahead. I don’t want it,” he said abruptly and walked away swiftly into
their bedroom.
Sandhya was
perplexed by his behavior. She made some coffee for herself. Then she sat down on a chair in the
kitchen. “What is the matter with
Ashok? He is so touchy these days. Where have I gone wrong?” she wondered.
“What was it he’d
said? Ah! Who dropped you home today?”
Hmm. So that was it. The crux of the problem. He was
suspecting her fidelity, she ruminated.
Suresh and Paul
were her colleagues. They were
happy-go-lucky guys who sometimes gave Sandhya a lift home, pleased to escort
such an attractive lady. But they were
very decent and respected her. In fact
they were quite in awe of her and very often sought her advice, even regarding
personal matters. And Mr. Pradhan? An elderly man in his late fifties, he was
like a father-figure to Sandhya initially.
Her parents had died in a car accident.
As she had no close relatives, she had been raised in an orphanage.
When Sandhya had
first started working in ‘Kruti Ads’, it was Mr. Pradhan who had encouraged her
and often helped her. Later though, she
would often be irritated by his over-friendly advice and apparently ‘fatherly’
pats on her back. “Dirty old man”, she’d
think uneasily. She had since then
always maintained a polite distance from him.
Many a times Sandhya and Ashok had even joked over the elderly man’s
fetish for her.
“Is Ashok
jealous?” Sandhya flinched as the realization struck her. “Yes, it must be jealously” she re-affirmed
her realization. “Surely nothing else
could warrant such derision.”
******************************************************************************
She had met Ashok
when she had gone to his firm for getting some additional information for her
copy which concerned the services of his firm.
He was a public-relations officer there.
“Yes, what can I
do for you?” he had enquired politely.
His eyes had twinkled at her then.
For a brief moment, Sandhya’s poise had been ruffled as she was caught
off-balance by his innocent charm and confident demeanor. May be he had been aware of this effect on
her as he had shown her to the concerned department. With a smile, he’d said casually, “See you
again.” She had just nodded.
“So this was
love-at-first-sight,” she’d thought then and almost missed what the Ad Manager
was telling her. She had been very
amused by the revelation considering that it was she who had always been
condemning this very phenomenon. “It’s
just not possible,” she would declare, vehemently denying this favorite theory
of her ‘Mills and Boon’-fed friends.
And here was the
same Sandhya, she thought guiltily; hopelessly in love with a stranger. Simultaneously, Ashok too had been fired with
a never-before-felt yearning to befriend her.
Soon they had started meeting each other frequently. Both believed in the ‘chat mangni pat shadi’ dictum, and were thus soon married.
They had been so
happy together, Sandhya reminisced.
Ashok proved to be a considerate partner. He shared the housework with
her and even accepted her odd office timings without demur. Though arguments were common, both respected
each other’s opinions.
Soon their friends
and relatives had started referring to them as the ‘made-for-each-other’
couple.
But in just over a
year, the green-eyed monster had reared its ugly head and smothered all sense
of reasoning in Ashok. He had become
more possessive of his wife. He, who had
never interfered in her friendly relationships with her male colleagues, now
spared no efforts at taunting her with scarcely – concealed barbs.
“You’ve many
admirers”, he’d say apparently in a lighter vein, but the tone would be
undeniably possessive. Sandhya reveled
in his possessiveness, because it obviously meant that he loved her very much. However these comments had now become a daily
routine. Sandhya felt suffocated by his
obsessive nature.
****************************************************************************
“I must do
something to revive the lovable, charming side of Ashok’s personality. I’ll spend more time with him and lavish all
my attention on him,” she resolved.
Having prepared a
simple meal, with his favorite dessert of caramel pudding; she dressed for
dinner in a rose-pink sari and matching accessories. He did like pink, didn’t he? she thought fondly. Then she carefully applied make-up and went
to call him for dinner.
Ashok had propped
himself against a pillow in bed and had covered his forehead with one
hand. His eyes were closed.
“Ashok,” she
called his name softly, and lightly touched his hand. He opened his eyes and
looked at her. He caught his breath as
he thought “Oh! How pretty she looks”. Immediately however, his expression changed
to one of calculated unconcern. He
stared ahead without looking at her.
“Please will you
come for dinner now?” she asked in her most appealing tone.
“I’m not hungry”,
he said gruffly and turned on his side, facing away from her.
Seeing his
uncompromising, stiff back, Sandhya added, “I know you are angry with me. But won’t you forgive me? May be I don’t spend enough time with you,
but does that justify your anger?”
Sensing that she
was getting nowhere, she strengthened her plea.
“Ashok, you’re the
only man I’ve ever loved. No one else, I
repeat, no one else can take your place in my life. I respect and value your opinion. If my work displeases you, I’ll hand in my
resignation tomorrow. But you shouldn’t
nurture wrong notions in your mind. I’m
just friendly with my colleagues. They
respect me and I guess you know that. If
you are still angry with me I’ll not be able to bear it…” so saying, she
lowered her eyes and started sobbing.
Suddenly she felt
Ashok’s hand on her arm. He then tilted
her chin gently and saw her tear-streaked face.
His heart was wrenched apart when he saw how unhappy she was.
“I’m sorry
Sandhya. There’s no need to hand in your
resignation. I’ve been a brute, haven’t
I? I was jealous because I love you very
much and couldn’t bear to see you with anyone else. Due to my stupid ego, I failed to realize
that it’s all a part of the day’s work.
Can I ask you to forgive me?” he asked with those same charming, but now
pleading eyes.
Sandhya happily
smiled through her tears. Everything is going to be all right, now
that I’ve vanquished the green-eyed monster, she thought, as Ashok took her
in his arms.
******************************************************************************
The copyright of this story is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
