Episode 5: Of a tale(marriage) full of sorrows

On either side you had a pathetically boring husband who would get angry at every little thing and an absolutely innocent, foolish wife who always thought that the angry husband liked him. Of course like a rare sun in Cherapunjee, there were those dinners, movie, and delicious homemade food (and sex), but in the midst of it all there was only a shadow of love. They were just ten when they were married and the year was 1960. It had been 40 years since then, still they had no child. The Parsis in the provinces murmured that Farooq hated the idea of having kids.

But the truth was known by those two only. Farooq was incapable of producing Kids. A bigger disappointment! It was shivering to even think of an aloof Marian living away from everybody sitting in the house all day and waiting for the late night abuses from an equally frustrated husband.

But they had their share of luxuries. Farooq was an engineer and had gone on to become quite wealthy. Thus Marian remained to be the only beneficiary of the pleasures that his reaches brought.

But cherishing it alone too was painstaking. Other than Farooq, Marian knew of only her servant Mithali who was 20 years younger and more beautiful than a normal servant could be. The girls enjoyed their private pleasures.

Mithali used to take Marian out of her palatial bungalow and let her take in fresh air of the world. She was the one who first introduced Marian to new things like Mobile phone, color TVs and walkman. She used to take Marian out for movies of Amitabh Bachchan, Melas on Marine drive and sometimes even at wine shops.

Then one day she took Marian out for Mela and introduced her to her fiancée- Jaykishan. Marian then was very happy for Mithali momentarily but then realized that she would lose out on the only remaining friend.

But call it a reversal of fate or good-luck of Marian that Mithali stayed!

Apparently after her marriage, Jaykishan died the next day in a car accident. Mithali was a battered widow then in pain and anguish of losing his love. But Marian was kind and accepted Mithali to live with her.

This resulted in angering of Farooq who didn’t allow at first of Mithali living in his house but later understood the loneliness of his wife.

So, Mithali stayed!

But even then, Mithali being around didn’t change much of the husband-wife equation. It only delayed the worse. Thus after years of trying, Marian made herself firm and tried to give herself a final go and asked her husband to devote sometime on mending the relationship which had remained sluggish.

The Alibag trip was the first time ever they went out of Valkeshwar together. Last time when they both had been out she remembered was for his humpty-dumpty’s digestion problems to visit a doctor.  

It was just a one day picnic to Alibag but Marian had prepared for it for a long while. And at the age of 50, standing in the queue with chirpy little youngster who seemed to have come for some of their friends’ birthday celebration, they both looked rather an odd couple going out on a trip to Alibag.