CHASTE GANGES 
{14}

‘I am Simran,’ said the lovely woman gently shaking Krishna’s hand.

‘I am Krishna,’ he said with a polite smile. They were seated in a posh Coffee shop in Chennai. She ordered Cappuccino while he settled for an Ice tea. He barely made eye contact with her and absently stared out of the window for a couple of minutes.

‘By the way, I work as a Software developer in Infosys. My family lives in Lucknow and I am living in Chennai for over a year now,’ she said trying to start a conversation.

‘I see. I work in Accenture as a HR Manager and I came here eight months ago.’

He showed no interest in extending the conversation. Silently he was fuming at his mother who had put him in this situation. She had been successful in emotionally blackmailing him to meet Simran, a prospective alliance for him. Simran was a tall and pretty girl from Lucknow. She was an educated working woman who was a perfect match for Krishna in his mother’s eyes. There was nothing he could say to convince her otherwise. So he decided to meet Simran and make his intentions very clear to her. Pensively he sipped his tea while she stole surreptitious glances at him. He was a handsome guy and she secretly wished he would consent for this proposal. Before personally meeting him, she had done a thorough research of his profile on Facebook. She was very much impressed by his posts and pictures and had already made a decision to marry him. Yet his silence was proving to be a huge hindrance and she assumed that he was actually an introvert.

‘What are your hobbies?’ she asked casually.

Krishna shifted uncomfortably on his chair. It did not take him much time to guess what was running on her mind but he did not want her to carry anymore false hopes. This was always the most difficult part of an arranged meeting and he felt sick in the pit of his stomach.

‘Simran, you are a really nice girl and I am certain that you will make an excellent wife, but I cannot marry you. I am sorry,’ he said earnestly.

She looked at him aghast and for a moment could not believe what she had just heard. But there was no mistake because his face was sullen and his eyes wore a distant look.

‘Don’t you think it is a little too early to decide?’ she asked crestfallen.

‘Trust me, the sooner you know it, the better. I am really not interested in marriage and I don’t want to keep your hopes high in any condition. I hope you will understand.’

His words had a formal tone and he did his best to not be nice to her. It was better if she hated him rather than pine for him.

‘Are you in love?’ she asked eying him keenly.

‘It’s none of your business,’ he said brusquely. Simran no longer wanted to stay there.

‘Thanks for the coffee,’ she said and walked out of the coffee shop without looking back. This time he had been almost rude with the woman and he was not very happy about it. But at least he had the consolation that he had successfully put an end to that marriage proposal. He let out a long drawn breath and finished the tea. Just then his phone started ringing flashing one of his friend’s name. Their conversation lasted for a good 10 minutes and at the end of it Krishna was left dumbfounded. Quietly he pondered for a while and made a quick decision.

I should tell Nihal!

***


Ronav was washing the dishes while Nithyayuvani wiped and arranged them on the shelf. A Hindi melody was playing in on her phone in the kitchen. It was 10.40pm on a pleasant Saturday night and she sang the song in her pleasant voice. He blew her a kiss when she caught him staring at her.

‘You sing well,’ he said finishing the last of the dishes. She winked at him and cleaned the shelf of the kitchen. Once she was done, he lifted her and made her sit on the shelf. Wrapping her arms around his neck she kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair. He stopped the music player on her phone and looked up at her.

‘Sing for me,’ he said gazing into her eyes. The request was straight from his heart and she just could not refuse him although she was not a very good singer. She sang one of his favourites while he watched her with affection. Somehow he found it very romantic and so did she. It was a very intimate moment. After finishing her recital, she bent down and kissed him hard.

Later they both settled on the couch to watch a live football match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. She leaned in is chest and comfortably snuggled closer to him. He put one arm possessively around her and thanked heavens for blessing him with a girlfriend who shared his love for football. It was quite an interesting match and they both rooted for different teams. At the end of first half, the score was even with both the teams scoring one goal each. This set the stage for quite an interesting battle in the second half. Nithyayuvani moved away from him and stretched her limbs. Suddenly she could feel his lips and hot breath on her neck. Instantly she turned around and his urgent lips met hers with a strong desire. Without holding back, she gave in to the lust that was slowly consuming both of them.

‘Make love to me,’ she said hoarsely. He broke the kiss and looked at her surprised.

‘Really? Are you sure?’

Although they both had been living together for over a month now, he had not crossed his limits into her comfort zone. He had firmly made a conscious decision to not get intimate with her until she trusted him enough.

‘Yes,’ she breathed and kissed him passionately. He pulled her onto his lap and held her hips. Out of nowhere, her phone began to ring violently. She gave a start and broke the kiss. Cursing under her breath, she picked it up.

‘Why the hell is my brother calling me now?’ she wondered loudly. He laughed at her annoyance and gestured her to speak.

‘Hello anna, what happened?’

The next moment, she froze. Recovering soon, she moved away from Ronav.

‘This is not true! Who told you?’ she thundered.

‘Don’t you dare lie to me Nithya! I am not a fool. Krishna’s friend gave us this information and there is no reason why I should not believe him. You better come out with the truth and please don’t insult me by lying,’ Nihal said furiously.

Ronav watched in amusement as she paced up and down the living room. Sometimes she listened, sometimes she was wildly arguing. Towards the end, she mellowed out and disconnected the call.

‘Hey, come here,’ he said standing up. Quietly she went to him and put her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and soothed her back.

‘What happened darling?’ he whispered.

‘Anna got to know that I am living with you. He is mad at me,’ she said letting out a tired sigh.

‘Hmmm…  I can understand. His anger is not unusual because our society is still not open to the concept of a live-in relationship. But you have told me that he loves you immensely, he can’t stay mad at you for long. Don’t worry, love.’

He gently kissed her head bringing a smile on her face.

‘I know. Since childhood we both fight a lot but at the end of it we love each other more than before. His anger won’t last for more than a couple of days.’

‘The second half has begun,’ he said glancing at the TV. She pulled away from him and switched off the TV.

‘Hey, what are you doing?’ he asked frowning at her. Nithyayuvani gave him a crooked smile.
‘Let’s play the game we began some time ago,’ she said brushing her lips lightly against his.

‘You are so unpredictable,’ he breathed pulling her closer.

***

‘Shall I get you some tea, uncle?’ asked Krishna politely. Sreenivasan, the owner of his 1BHK rented house had visited him unexpectedly.

‘No, there is no need for it. I am here to tell you that you should vacate this house as soon as possible,’ said Sreenivasan curtly.

Krishna stared at the retired Bank Manager bewildered.

‘But, why? I have regularly paid the rent and the bills. Why should I vacate?’

‘Your behaviour is unacceptable Mr. Krishna. It would be better if you vacate soon.’

‘Uncle, what do you mean? I have never created any disturbance to you in all these months. In fact you considered me to be a part of your family,’ he said intensely.

‘Do you think we are blind? We are a much respected family in this locality and we don’t want to tarnish our reputation because of you. I want you out of here within 10 days and not more than that.’

‘I am not vacating without a proper reason!’ protested Krishna.

‘Alright! I thought that Nihal was your friend and that is why I didn’t object to him staying with you. Yesterday, I saw you both hugging and kissing while I was passing by your window. Disgusting! I will not tolerate this rubbish under my roof. Just leave this place and don’t ever come back.’

Sreenivasan stormed out leaving Krishna shaken and shamefaced. He was stoic. A few minutes later, he looked around the walls which had made him feel at home for the past eight months. Those same welcoming walls had now disowned him and waited with bated breath to knock him out of the house. His heart was overwhelmed with anguish and he dropped his face into his hands. Tears streamed down his cheeks for a sin which was never his.

                               To be continued...

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