A Letter
A Letter
I was born and brought up in Mumbai this was my first impression.
I have stayed all my life at Ghatkopar and studied there till high school. My health was getting worse and a soothsayer asked my parents to change the home. My father was looking for a comfortable home for our family of three and he came across a place called Dombivli.
He came to know that there are good English medium schools for me and he booked an one bedroom, hall, kitchen home.
I was excited with the a new welcoming home and I made the balcony space as my bedroom. My parents stayed in the main bedroom and it too had French windows. The apartment looked like a mini Bungalow.
My dad had a car since those days and I went to school every day in the locomotive like a prince in his chariot.
I was not a good student but my dad bought news pens for me , every fortnight. My pens were so attractive that I made many friends by lending them pens to write.
I was not interested in studies and enjoyed all soaps that my mom watched those days. Somehow, I completed the homework. At free time, I would help my mother with small things in Kitchen or drying clothes. I was trained like a girl, though a boy at that age and now a man in his late 30's . I was very good at studies as a kid but here in the new school, I was not and was a distracted child.
My dad had lost hope that I would do something great in my life and luckily I passed tenth with 48% marks. I was sent to a good college and I completed my BA with the same grades. I also started underestimating myself due to my father's criticism that I am a dumb boy.
I supported him in his business and one day he insulted me for sending some miscommunication to the client. It was my mistake. my fault and my carelessness. I knew it it was my folly but he calling me a useless in front of his staff and especially Jenny - his assistant, hurt me deeply.
I thought of doing MA like my friend Marilyn but I passed an international online test and got selected for a media job in Japan.
I was proud of my achievements. I realised that grades were just numbers and God is good.
I vividly remember coming to India to celebrate my birthday with parents and when I was 25, my paternal Grandmother was keen that I should get married. I was not keen but on her request, we went to Rajkot - we have a palatial home in the city.
I had been there in my high school and college vacations but Grandma was keen that my wedding took place in that three-story home. I still remember the day when I went to see Pooja, my lovely wife for fixing our alliance. I was wearing a lavender shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
I was 25 and she was 19. My Grandma had got her proposal from a local matrimonial society.
I was impressed with the Tulsi tea, she made when I asked her for a cup of black tea. She was not that beautiful.
She was fair but not slim and fit like me. We were asked to talk and whatever questions I asked, she had answered it nicely!
I just asked her career plans but she said she wanted to be a housewife. I am personally a good cook but I wanted to know if she knows cooking. She nodded in affirmation and I left the decision on my parents. My dad with a modern mindset, wanted me to date her for a while so we started with messages and phone calls.
We shared jokes, poems, recipes, local news, followed by some serial stories. One month passed and we again went to my Punji's home for fixing the engagement. That day she had cooked all my favorite food, starting from appetisers to main course and desserts. The food tasted amazing and I asked her again if she is fine to marry me. I was working abroad and that is the reason I wanted her to be sure. I did not have any plans to settle in the foreign land. She would be staying with my parents for a while, till I made money for some years for our secured future and vacation- babies.
Of course, I was planning to take her for our honeymoon to the country I worked in. She was fine with it and I asked her to complete the graduation once we got married. I just wanted my wife to be graduate.
Within the next 15 days, I was getting married. On my turmeric ceremony day, my mother revealed to me that I was born in this city and the first four years of my life were here in this mansion . Later for my dad's business reasons, we had shifted to Ghatkopar. I liked my Dombivli home more though. Mama also told me that a child getting married at the home where he/ she is born is auspicious.
My ancestral home was big enough to host a wedding. We have a big lawn and my marriage took place there. We have a big swing on the terrace and the house is surrounded by trees like mangoes, Gulmohar and Coconut. Mummy also has a vegetable garden at the terrace. I loved that organic food and after marriage, Punji stayed in that home with my parents.
Day and nights being separable made us love each other more and more.
Punji had taken Philosophy and I was a Literature graduate. She passed the exams and I allowed her to be a housewife. Now I am a father of the 8-year-old girl. We have our family tensions as Punji feels I may betray her though I have never cheated her. My dad's brother wants to sell that ancestral home and wants his share but I still have my wedding memories.
Mr. Raunak Bhavankar closed his diary and opened his laptop. He had to send an urgent email. He wrote:
Dear Vishal,
Tomorrow, I am singing the final papers of Bhavankar Mansion. The deal is fixed between me , my dad - Mr Niraj Bhavankar and your dad Nirav Bhavankar.
I want to see my daughter getting married at our ancestral home. I am so happy that today, my papa is proud of me. He hugged me tightly and I could see the droplets of his tears welling up in his almond coloured eyes, when I gave this reason to him.
He never wanted to sell this home but we know your dad and our beloved uncle is undergoing a financial crisis. There was a sudden need for this sale. I hope my uncle is happy and may all your family issues are solved with this deal.
I don't have any grudges and I am always your big brother.
You are invited always and feel free to come to our ancestral home, any time you feel like coming!
Love,
Raunak Bhaiya
" A home is where the heart is! Don't break a home for your needs, it has many memories attached. Even the empty rooms and furniture are attached to us. It is just that we need to feel it."