You and I, plus 2 years of marriage!

CHASTE GANGES 

{16}

Ronav was surprised to see Nithyayuvani sitting in the living room.

‘Hey, you are early today. When did you come?’ he asked kissing her forehead. He was heading towards the bedroom when she called out to him.

‘We have to talk,’ she said looking straight into his eyes.

‘Sure, let me freshen up. I will be back.’

‘Ron, this is important,’ she said in a strained voice. His eyes widened with surprise.

‘Are you pregnant?’

‘Yeah, with Brad Pitt’s twins!’ came her instant reply.

‘No wonder, Angelina Jolie is divorcing him!’ he said guffawing at her. She rolled her eyes and let out a long drawn breath. Pulling a chair he sat in front of her.

‘Tell me Nithya, what is it?’

She swallowed hard and gazed down on the floor.

‘Ronav, please don’t be angry with me for hiding this truth from you for so long. Most of all, please don’t hate me,’ she beseeched. Taking her hand in his, he squeezed it in assurance. It meant more than words.

‘My brother is gay.’

‘What?! You mean Nihal is gay?!’

She mutely nodded her head. His eyebrows burrowed and he was lost in thought for a few moments.

‘What is the problem now?’ he asked kissing her hand. She was shocked by his reaction.

‘Are you not mad at me?’ she asked meekly.

‘Why would I be mad at you, love? I was certainly surprised but he has not done anything wrong to hate him or you. Although, I am a little disappointed that you didn’t reveal it to me earlier. It only brings me to the conclusion that you did not trust me enough to share this truth.’

Nithyayuvani, threw her arms around him and let out tears of relief.

‘I was quite not sure about how you would accept it. I am so sorry, darling.’

‘Why wouldn’t I accept it? He is your brother and I know how much you love him. Moreover it is not a crime to be gay. He is family and we don’t give up on family,’ he said caressing her hair. She calmed down and he wiped away her tears.

‘Now tell me, what is the problem?’

‘Anna wants me to go home. His boyfriend Krish has got an offer from his office to work in the US. Actually he was on the verge of being fired from his job because he was gay but his colleagues stood by him and shot a mail to the US headquarters. Gay marriage is legal there and gay couples have special privileges too. Moreover his company has offered a job to anna and has invited them to stay there as a couple. It is too good an offer to refuse.’

‘Hmmm… this could be their only chance to lead a happy life without any social stigma or fear,’ reasoned Ronav.

‘He is going to reveal his truth to amma and appa. It is a very big step for him and he wants me by his side.’

‘He is right. You should go. But I am going with you.’

‘What? Why?’

‘It is time you revealed your truth to your parents. We cannot go on for long like this and being in a live-in relationship has only made me greedy. I want to share my life with you in every way humanly possible. For that, we need our parents to approve of us. My mother would be more than happy to accept you as her daughter and my father would be very glad to see me happy with you. That just leaves us now with getting your parents’ approval,’ he said shrugging.

‘Do you really think that this is the right time for it?’

Nithyayuvani was not very convinced with his proposal.

‘Nithya, I can understand your apprehensions. But trust me, we should not keep them in the dark anymore. It will only give them more pain. No matter, how hard it is, we should do it.’

She was at loss for words. Her mind was burdened with so many unanswered questions that she simply closed her eyes and buried her head in his chest. This was her way of escapism. Being so close to him just felt right and all her worries ceased to exist in their tiny little world. It was a state of complete surrender to love. He wrapped his arms around her and she was home.

***

Nihal would have preferred death than to see the disgust and anger on his mother’s face. He had always been her favourite among her three children. His father was stoic and the silence was screaming in their home. Krishna stood at a distance from Nihal with Nithyayuvani next to him. Only minutes ago, the house was filled with a festive atmosphere to welcome the guest home. Except Nithyayuvani, nobody at home were aware that the friend Nihal had invited home was actually his boyfriend. After lunch, he had broken the news to his parents. Nilanjali stood in a corner waiting for her mother to unleash her anger.

‘I am so ashamed of you, Nihal. Not once did you think about us or the dignity of our family? I cannot believe that you were indeed born in this house which taught you about the rich tradition and culture. You are such a disgrace to the family!’ thundered Devayani. He was paralysed with grief hearing his mother utter those words.

‘What has he done to disgrace this family?’ rang a voice loud and clear in the living room. Each one present was taken aback to see who had asked that question. It came from Nihal’s 75-year-old-grandmother. Slowly she walked up to her wooden chair and sat down facing her stunned family.

‘Amma, do you even know what Nihal just said?’ asked Ashok.

She raised a hand to silence him and gave a cursory glance to her daughter-in-law.

‘I know and I understand. Before branding your son as a disgrace, I want each one of you to know something that happened in this same house 48 years ago. Do you remember Venkataraman?’ she asked her son.

‘Uncle died when I was barely a child of two years,’ replied Ashok impatiently. His mother Meenakshi smiled at him wryly.

‘Died? He committed suicide before daybreak. I still remember that day or rather I could never forget it. When he did not come down for breakfast as usual, I went to his room and found him hanging from the ceiling fan. He was your father’s youngest brother and was known as a very kind-hearted man. Nobody knew why he had taken that extreme step. The preparations for his impending marriage had just begun that week. Your grandparents reeled under shock and grief for years. Your grandmother never recovered from that grief till her death. For me, Venkat was not only a brother but also a good friend. He was a lecturer and taught me how to read and write within the early months of my marriage. His suicide always puzzled me because even I could not spot anything amiss in the last few days of his life. A week after his death, while I was cleaning his room, I came across a notebook in which he had written about his life. He was in love with a man, a French lecturer, in the college. The marriage arranged by his parents had been suffocating him for days. He could neither stop the wedding nor reveal the truth to anyone. He felt so guilty and ashamed of himself that he felt death was better than life…’

Tears streamed down her wrinkled face. She wiped them with the edge of her cotton sari and fixed her gaze on Devayani.

‘That night I burned that notebook and a small picture of his lover. I could not get myself to tell this truth to even my husband. This secret was locked in my heart and I was determined to carry it to my grave. Venkat did not deserve to die at that young age. Back then, he did not have the courage to reveal the truth and it was not his fault because even if he had told anyone, his life would have been worse than death. But today our child has a chance at life which Venkat never had. Don’t kill his dreams and lose him forever. Let this cruel legacy end with Venkat.’

Ashok and Devayani were stunned. They never even imagined that their mother had carried the burden of this secret for decades in her heart. Nihal fell at is grandmother’s feet and sobbed like a child. She caressed his head and embraced him warmly. Later she beckoned Krishna affectionately. He reverentially touched her feet and she blessed him with a happy life.

‘What is your name?’

‘Krishna.’

‘Krishna… you are named after the one I pray to every morning. How can I not like you? Welcome to our family,’ she said and kissed his forehead.

‘Thank you daadi,’ he said with tears welled up in his eyes.

Nithyayuvani was overwhelmed. She had never even imagined that her septuagenarian grandmother would be the champion of gay relationship in her family. She was musing at how unpredictable life was, when the door-bell rang. She almost jumped out of her skin. Nilanjali went to open the door and returned with Ronav in tow. He gave a charming smile and greeted her parents who politely welcomed him but were clueless about the unexpected guest. Taking a deep breath, Nithyayuvani stood beside him and held his hand.

‘Amma, appa, he is Ronav. I have known him for the past three years and we are in love.’

World was spinning around Devayani and Ashok got the second shock of his day. Meenakshi let out a hearty laugh.

‘What a day it is! Nilu get some sweets from the kitchen. I want to celebrate the addition of two more grandsons to my family.’

‘Amma, how can you accept all this so easily?’ asked her dejected son.

‘Life is an excellent teacher, Ashok. I have lost a lot in life to value the happiness each day brings with it. The sooner you accept the truth, the better it is. Count your blessings and thank God that you still have reasons to live through each day. Not everyone is as lucky as you. Learn to appreciate what you have.’

Meenakshi’s words reverberated in the entire house. The family which was on the verge of breaking into fragments had been bound even stronger with the wise words. It was the triumph of rationality over the years of meaningless prejudice.

Love knows no gender. Whether you love a man or woman, love is love.

                            The End