Divorced At Seventy

At the age of seventy, I have fixed my routine ever since my retirement of being a professor of applied mathematics at one of the prestigious universities in the suburbs of Kolkata- the city of poets and literates. I wake up in the morning with the whistle of the pressure cooker every day whilst my wife Sapna is busy cooking a feast for our daily breakfast. At times she might tease me saying “TT professor sahib it’s morning already!” as my students had nicknamed me from professor Tirthraj Tripathi to “Professor TT”, which sounded much like a railway TT keeping my anger on my nose at times but Sapna really loved it.. She might say:” its love from your students and its good know that they feel that much close to you…” Sapna knows how to relieve my anger in seconds just like water to fire. 

It’s just the two of us now, with a family of a son – Siddharth (now in America working for IBM) and daughter –Pavni (working as a fashion designer in Paris being a single mother). Sapna is proud of our kids to have grown independent like us. Sapna used to work as a professional chef back in our youth days and then, when kids came along she parted most of her time with them leaving her passion and her profession. I didn’t think it as a wise option as women should be self-exploring and independent but then love won the battle against career and dreams; she is a lot motherly person as one might say! 

But after these many years my morning starts with a lavish breakfast followed by morning rituals, some house chores to help Sapna and the outdoor adventure!... yes after everything is settled at home I set myself out for a stroll around the city, at times treating myself to some roshgullas or kachories. Sapna likes to stay home, trying new delicacies that she learns from the internet! She uses Ipad(her precious treasure!) which pavni gifted her last time she came to visit us. To her, Sapna is still very young and an intriguing kid who always wishes to learn something new.

 I visit a garden where people usually come for having some pleasure time. I like feeding birds, watching dogs play with kids, young people having leisure time, chitchatting women and at times some bibliophiles. It reminds me of my youth days when I and Sapna used to visit a park for some quality time; ours was a love marriage after all! Life seemed to have passed really at the pace of a cheetah I guess, it still feels as if yesterday we were courting and today we have crossed 45 years of our married life together.

We are totally opposite, it’s like having the same origin and walking in opposite directions… for example, we both love food but she loves savoury whereas I am fond of sweets, we both love to read books but she chooses to read mystery or romance when I pick some contemporary or maybe self-help books, we both like red where she likes roses and I like hibiscus… but then too life’s been cherishing all these years with her and I often laugh when I lure back in flashback. 

After the visit to the garden, I visit the market for some fresh vegetables and fancy groceries that Sapna wishes to use in her new “Experiment”. She is one of her kind indeed, so determined and full of enthusiasm and happiness. And that’s why maybe I cannot love anyone as much as I love her. After the market, I take my way back from the main lane to Howrah Bridge through my way to hotel saffron and then to the newspaper vendor buying my copy of the evening paper and back home. 

After dinner, I watch Television. for some time reading the paper and/or a book, Sapna and I play cards for a while and then go to sleep hoping to see my beautiful wife with her new food decors the next day.

*

It was raining outside and I woke up late. Maybe because I didn’t hear the whistle of our cooker, so I just pulled myself up from the bed and went to the kitchen calling Sapna for my towel. I found one briskly written letter on the kitchen table..

“Dear TT, am going out to meet one of my old friends who has come all the way from Melbourne to meet me after a long time. I have kept some cut fruits and biscuits for you to eat, make tea for yourself, and yes your towel is hanging outside on rack! 

Behave yourself and don’t miss me much. I will be back by evening.

Yours Sapna”

Well, even in letters she sounds bossy, doesn’t she? But the fact that she knows what I would ask for still amazes me! *mild laughter with happiness* 

So unlike every other day of my routine, today I started my day without Sapna. It feels a little weird, to be frank, but yes! I am not a kid like she says, it’s just that I love her company. I took my breakfast and went out a little early today. I was sitting on my usual bench at the garden reading Pamela Dorman today but it didn’t really apt me today. Then I went walking around the park but something was so out of place that I didn’t feel good enough to do anything. I didn’t had any list of groceries today so from the garden, I decided to hope into Banny’s café for some early lunch and then back home. 

There was a couple sitting in the cafe when I walked in. As the light was low, I didn't know who they were until the woman turned around, and I saw it was my wife. Well, a little was I surprised because she went to an “all girls” school so mostly all her friends were old ladies and we attended the same college so I knew all her friends from there but this was some unknown oldie (man) I wasn’t aware of. She was a bit surprised seeing me there all of a sudden then gathering her amazement she introduced me to Mr.Pratik Parekh who happened to be in Melbourne ever since he left Kolkata in his middle school. Apparently he was Sapna’s childhood neighbour cum friend.

He was a man in his seventies who looked much younger than his age and had a much athlete sort of stature. He stood up for our formal handshake and then again went back to his position sipping his black tea. I sat there for a while till I had grabbed a sandwich or something and then had planned to go home but somehow something didn’t felt right with this man. Maybe some sort of jealousy was creeping in my head as first time in these 45 years of married life and 3 years of courting each other I saw Sapna this different and so much cattery with someone other than me and so I didn’t like it somewhat but then I just dumped the foodstuff into my mouth as soon as I could and stood up to go after paying the entire bill because I didn’t want to sound like that pathetic husband who would come spying behind his wife and then behave as if it surprised him too. I went back home but something was odd, I never felt like this ever before. I sat there in the veranda with my book mostly waiting for Sapna to get back home… 

I don’t know when I fell asleep but when I woke up Sapna was in the kitchen making dinner being back to herself. I hurdled my way back to the kitchen table somewhat expecting to know her day but instead found some papers on the table.. I took them to get a peek when Sapna said “ yes Tirthraj, they are divorce papers…I want a divorce!”. I was so aghast as never have I ever saw Sapna like this before and why divorce all of a sudden? What did I do? When did all of these get this worse? While I stood there keeping my mouth open in the wildness of these sudden events all these thoughts just stood there on my Adam’s apple wanting to get a way out of my mouth but it never happened. Sapna started saying something but I could not hear her. Her voice felt distant and my eyes started to blur the picture in front of my eye..

And with a jerk I got up from where I was asleep some time ago, my book fell down which rested upon my lap, sweat beads flowing down my forehead and it took a few seconds to come to senses…apparently the pressure cooker was the reason of my coming back to reality. “IT WAS ALL A DREAM!!” I muttered to myself. Sapna was back, in her kitchen preparing dinner. I wanted to talk to her about her day with Pratik so just like my dream, I hurdled through the kitchen table. “Why does all of these seem so familiar…” I again self-talked… but when I saw papers lying on the table, all my melanin turned pale!... slowly pacing through the kitchen I sat on the chair, half-conscious I peeked through them when Sapna said “This month’s electricity bill is at hike TT! How can you be so careless!”. Well, I sat there on a chair breathing as fast as a sprinter and without uttering a word I faintly heard the scolding of Sapna, thinking of all of that, which just happened.

Have you ever faced that moment when you just saved yourself from huge public embarrassment just by an inch? So was my condition. This probably was the worst nightmare of my life- getting divorced from my beloved at seventy! 

*

Whenever I give a thought to that incident … I laugh thinking about my childishness and love for Sapna even at this age! She is right, I am a kid; a super envious kid who is really afraid to lose my love. But although I am a person of mathematics I am a little superstitious too! I have never been to Banny’s ever since. As said “ there comes a time in life when the strongest men are tested! “ And I suppose this little incident in my life tested my possessiveness about Sapna- my dearest wife; the love of my life.