Nirgala was having a good afternoon reuniting with her sister-in-law Siri, whom she admired, and with her seven-year-old nephew Harsha and five-year-old niece Harini after almost two years. Siri filled her in on the latest family news on the way home as the kids tried to get the attention of their aunt towards their playful acts.
Nirgala hadn’t visited India in six years, not since her father’s demise and subsequent first death anniversary rituals. Her homecoming this time was an obligation to attend her own brother’s housewarming function. Her brother Abhi had built an independent duplex house in an upcoming neighbourhood of Hyderabad suburbs, deciding to rent out the apartment their family had been living in all these years, and Nirgala was there as to take part in all the rituals Abhi and Siri had planned for the big move.
Abhi had huge expectations on these festivities and rituals: it was the first major festive event in their household since their father’s death, and he wanted everything to happen smoothly. Nirgala was aware of it, and that was hugely burdensome for her. She knew that as long as she was surrounded by her relatives, it would be difficult for her to maintain her cool.
I should maintain my cool. She kept repeating to herself all along the way, just as she had kept conditioning her mind on the flight to India.
As they got off the car, got up in the elevator and made it to their home, Nirgala’s heart beat faster. Entering the apartment, Nirgala’s gaze ignored the couple of women who were sitting in the living room, who had stopped gossiping midway upon spotting her, and instead, cheerfully headed off towards one of the bedrooms which she knew was her mother’s room.
Her mother, Sarala, a sixty-one-year old woman dwelling in traditional values, looking a little frail yet stoic, was sitting at the foot of the bed with two other peer aged women who were her cousins, and animatedly talking to them. As Nirgala burst into the room, high on excitement to see her mom finally, Sarala looked up at the door taking in the view of her daughter. A smile broke onto Sarala’s face and Nirgala dropped next to her on the bed, putting her arms around her mother in a bear hug.
“Amma!” Nirgala murmured, breathing in the familiar, homely scent of her mother, the warmth of her mother’s body making her feel home.
“You have lost weight. Are you not eating well?” Sarala asked almost instinctively, a routine question any Asian mother would ask on first spotting her kids after a long time.
Nirgala pulled back and with her arms still around Sarala, she looked into her eyes and said with a beaming smile, “Me? I am way fitter now than before. I eat, workout, sleep and take care of myself really well. So, don't worry.”
Nirgala’s happiness of seeing her mother was punctuated by half-hearted greetings from her two aunts. They were smiling alright, but sounded off as they spoke in high-pitched tones, saying, “Nirgala! So long! How are you? You look so frail and weak. Living alone must be taking a toll.”
Nirgala said quick hellos to them, and said as smoothly as she could, “Oh, not at all. I have all the time in the world to work out and have good fitness. My health stats are the best now. So, don’t worry about me much.” She gave them a flattering smile as if she wasn’t bothered by the snide in their comments.
After an initial round of greetings with the few relatives who had arrived early for the housewarming function, Nirgala took up he residence in her nephew and niece’s room. She placed her luggage in a corner and took a much needed shower. She sat down afterwards with Harsha and Harini and opened her backpack to reveal the duty free chocolates she had bought for them at the airport.
“Here, have these for now. I got these for only you both,” she instructed as she passed them the chocolates. “Don't tell the others that I've got more with me. Else, people will finish everything up in an hour. I will give you the rest of it the day after tomorrow, after the whole housewarming ceremony ends and the guests leave. Okay?”
The kids nodded, understanding the necessity for secrecy in having a stash of chocolates at home.
”Okay. What about my dresses? Did you get them?” Harini asked.
“Yes, I did. We'll take them out after everyone else leaves. Okay?” Nirgala gave her a fond look.
“Okay,” Harini agreed.
Nirgala was sharing an anecdote of running into a kid who resembled Harsha in the airport with the kids when three older women, who were Nirgala’s paternal aunts (her father’s cousins to be exact), filed into the room smiling pretentiously at Nirgala, followed by Sarala who looked apprehensively at her.
Nirgala nudged Harsha and Harini, “You guys go ahead and play outside. I will come and join you in a while.”
The kids ran out of the room while the ladies sat down on one of the two kids’ beds.
“So, how are you?” One of her aunts asked. “It's been so long. You didn't come to India after your father passed away, right?”
“I came here for his first death anniversary too, to hold the anniversary ritual,” Nirgala answered with a poker face.
“Oh yeah, I remember now,” another aunt confirmed.
Nirgala gave them a watery smile.
“How is your job?” the second aunt asked.
Nirgala answered with obvious excitement, “Terrific! It is an amazing workplace and I get a lot of benefits. Automotive industry, you know, progresses so well.”
“Isn't that tough for a woman?” the third aunt began. “You should have chosen a computer desk job instead. Why go through all that trouble?” She turned to the other women in the room and proclaimed, “I told my daughter to go for simpler careers. She needs to get married and have a home of her own. Industrial and physical work is not good for women.”
Nirgala raised her eyebrows at the ridiculousness in her aunt’s statements. Politely, she questioned, “Did you ask you daughter what her career goals are? Or what her dream job is?”
Her aunt stated defiantly, “She doesn't have to work for long. Getting a good job after college is just to make her profile look better. She doesn't have any financial obligations. Once she gets married well and settles down, she can choose to quit and take care of her home, or continue with her job if her husband agrees. Making a good family should be a priority for any woman.”
Nirgala gave a pitiful smile, very sure of the fact that her aunt’s daughter was brainwashed with these ideas as well. She wasn’t going to argue with an old woman set in the patriarchal mindset of age old generations. It was a waste of time and energy.
“How are you living these days?” second aunt asked as if trying to close the previous topic.
“Really well. I always have a good life,” Nirgala answered honestly.
“Look, your brother's already bought a second house and has settled down so well. What about you? How long will you live all alone in Germany without a house or family of your own?” the first aunt brought in a fresh topic of contempt.
Nirgala tried her best to hide her irritation as she answered, “I already have a house. I bought an apartment five years ago. Mom must have told you, I believe. I think you forgot. My house has a river view, and a couple of years ago the housing prices increased a lot. So now my apartment valuation is really high. It is an amazing home, warm and cozy. And I have a fabulous social circle there. So, I just never get bored.”
“I heard you got married there,” the aunt said flatly, as if she was stating a fact, with a tone that clearly said she was lying just to irritate her.
“What?” Nirgala was shocked.
“Didn't you get married to someone in Germany? A foreigner, I heard.” Her aunt looked like she was digging in to get some dirt.
Nirgala understood where this was headed to. Her aunt knew she wasn’t married, but she was trying to incite a rumour and an argument to make Nirgala look as low as possible. In her own home.
She rolled her eyes and then composing herself, spoke as sarcastically as she could, “Oh, did I get married? How come I didn't know that? Wait, didn't you hear that I have three kids too? I heard from someone that I hid them all somewhere in Germany.”
All the three aunts in the room looked at her perplexed. Sarala looked taken aback and peered at Nirgala reproachfully.
Nirgala then gave a smile and assured, “See, that’s how runners work. Don't believe in anything unless I tell you myself. I am not a coward to hide things. And you know I am not married. My mom would have thrown a huge party if I really were.”
As if to salvage the situation, Nirgala’s brother, Abhi turned up at the door. “Hey Niru!” he greeted warmly, a big smile playing on his face and his arms wide open to welcome his sister.
“Brother!” Nirgala got up from the bed excitedly and sprang towards Abhi, giving him a brief hug.
As they pulled apart grinning at each other, Abhi remarked, “You look okay. I thought you tanned a lot when I saw you in the video call last week.”
Nirgala chuckled. “Bad lighting. You look tired. Is there anything I can help you with? Let's go. I have been dying to see the new house. Maybe I can help you with the decorations.”
Abhi turned around and led Nirgala out of the room, saying, “Sure.”
They made it to the living room, away from the earshot of their aunts. Abhi tilted his head sideways to whisper to Nirgala, “Escaping aunties?”
“You bet!” Nirgala whispered back. “Thanks for the save. You came at the perfect time.”
Right on cue, Harini and Harsha came running to them.
“ Kids! Wanna go out? I will treat you to ice cream,” Nirgala called out to them.
“Yes!” they shouted in response.
“Drive us out. I will ask Siri if any shopping or grocery tasks are pending. We can get them done by the evening,” Nirgala suggested to Abhi.
Abhi pointed at the kids and doubted, “With them at your heels?”
“Why? I love having them towing with me. They are well mannered compared to a lot of other kids. Besides, when will I get a chance to spoil them again?”
Abhi nodded with his lips puckered. “Okay.”
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