The girl who wanted to elope

Chowdhary Baldev Singh had a difficult night, the intermittent sleep which he had encountered during the night made him feel that he had not slept at all. Beside him on the bed lay his heavily pregnant wife Sushma. Chowdhary Sahab was worried. He had been married for the last eight years but he was still waiting for a child. In the last five years Sushma had twice experienced miscarriages. The fact that even after eight years Choudhary Sahab did not have a child had by now become a talking point in the village gossip where marriages are considered just a prelude to reproduction.

This time when Sushma had become pregnant, Choudhary Sahab had taken heavy precautions lest any mishap may occur. As he silently watched Sushma sleep by his side, he remembered that only a few days remained, as per the doctor’s advice, for the delivery date.

The delivery was safe and Choudhary Sahab welcomed his daughter with a celebration the scale of which the village of Jagdishpur had not witnessed for a long time.   An even bigger celebration was held during the ceremony of namkaran, the eleventh day of the childbirth, wherein almost half the village was invited. Despite the fulfilment of the long-cherished desire for a child, somewhere deep inside his heart Choudhary Sahab had wished for a son, perhaps this was the result of his upbringing in a society heavily loaded in patriarchal traditions.

Just after the family priest had performed the purification rituals and a sacred fire ceremony (havan) to invoke blessings for the child, Choudhary Sahab whispered the name of the child in her ear. Choudhary Sahab named his daughter Rajesh. Although some close relatives counselled Choudhary Sahab that the name was more appropriate for a male, but Choudhary Sahab paid no heed. Rajesh became the accepted name and soon the phonetics of Rajesh started sounding good on the girl child. Rajesh became every body’s darling and her father’s heartthrob.

Rajesh was a very ebullient child, much to the delight of Choudhary Sahab she played pranks with her elder cousins and other house staff all of which in normal course would be easily classified as a sign of naughtiness. Being the only child in the household, Rajesh enjoyed a heavily pampered lifestyle which continued much beyond her childhood years. As Rajesh stepped into her teenage, her beauty also became apparent. She blossomed into a very nice-looking girl. On occasions when Choudhary Sahab sat on his reclining chair, his mind would invariably wander to the moment when Rajesh would be of marriageable age. This thought process would always culminate in silent tears. The joy of watching Rajesh waltz from one room to another in joyful mood was the best pastime for Choudhary Sahab.

The village of Jagdishpur was not big. The hierarchy of social status was still too evident in the society. There was a distinct demarcation of the population on caste lines. Choudhary Sahab enjoyed a high status in the society.

A couple of miles from the Choudhary household was the house of another noted personality of Jagdishpur. Thakur Jitendra Singh commanded a decent clout in the society due to his political background. He had inherited a political lineage wherein his father and grandfather had all been elected representatives from Jagdishpur in the State Assembly. Thakur Jitendra Singh was also the sitting MLA of Jagdishpur. The one thing that separated Thakur Jitendra Singh from his illustrious father and grandfather was that he had moved with the times. He had imbibed in his political repertoire all the traits of a modern politician which were necessary to win elections. Gone were the days when the local MLA cared about the general populace, Thakur Jitendra Singh relied heavily on intimidation, coercion and oppression. These tactics had been instrumental in his resounding electoral wins. 

Being born in a family of politicians, proverbially with a silver spoon in his mouth, Thakur Jitendra Singh’s son Bhawani was, to say the least, a spoilt brat. Thakur Jitendra Singh, in the hope of taking his political legacy forward, had deliberately coerced everyone to call his son Chhote Thakur. Thus, it was not a coincidence that even before Bhawani had completed two decades of life, his writ ran across Jagdishpur. Bhawani didn’t believe in the rule of law and treated Jagdishpur as his fiefdom. Few in Jagdishpur had the courage to defy Chhote Thakur.

It was not surprising that Bhawani had often seen Rajesh in social events and in village gatherings, he knew she was the daughter of Chowdhary Baldev Singh. Bhawani developed an instant liking for Rajesh. Getting the girl of his choice was not a big deal for Bhawani but he knew Chowdhary Baldev Singh was an influential person in his own right. The understanding that Rajesh may be a difficult prize to pursue, Bhawani played safe. He sent feelers to his father Thakur Jitendra Singh that he wanted to marry Rajesh. Thakur Jitendra Singh felt happy that Bhawani wanted to marry Rajesh and had asked his father to approach Chowdhary Baldev Singh. At the core of his heart Thakur Jitendra Singh was always unhappy with his son and the fact that he was behaving sanely in matters of mate selection was a happy reaffirmation of sorts.

The two gentlemen in expensive attire who visited Chowdhary Sahab on the Sunday afternoon came with several boxes of sweets and fruits. The visitors were ushered in the drawing room and Chowdhary Sahab welcomed the strangers. Ceremonial polite talk followed before the strangers opened up. After a lengthy introduction that included paeans about the family of Thakur Jitendra Singh, the strangers told Chowdhary Sahab that Thakur Jitendra Singh wanted that the two families should come together through the marriage of Chhote Thakur with Rajesh.

Chowdhary Sahab felt bewildered by the events that were unfolding before him. It was true that till now Chowdhary Sahab had never given a serious thought to Rajesh’s marriage. Despite the unexpected proposal, Chowdhary Sahab didn’t allow his thoughts to reflect on his countenance. After a sumptuous feast of goodies that were laid on the table to welcome the guests, Chowdhary Sahab escorted the guests to the outside with folded hands. In a guarded tone he did remark that he will discuss the proposal with his wife and revert back.

Chowdhary Sahab returned to his living room in a confused state of mind. He was fully aware of the political clout of Thakur Jitendra Singh. In the next thirty minutes he told Sushma about the proposal that he had got from Thakur Jitendra Singh. The normally talkative Sushma went silent, engrossed in thought she decided to take Rajesh in the loop.

For a change, very little discussion took place that evening, however, every person read each other’s thoughts and needed very little effort to come to the conclusion that it was not proper for Rajesh to marry Bhawani. That evening Rajesh didn’t come out of her room. Sushma too complained of a headache and slept early. Chowdhary Sahab sat on his recliner chair weighing options. The answer was foregone but the problem was how to tell Thakur Jitendra Singh and sustain the after effects.

A week had passed since the two emissaries of Thakur Jitendra Singh had come to Choudhary Sahab. After a long and protracted thought process, Chowdhary Baldev Singh selected a clerk in his office to go to Thakur Jitendra Singh’s House and convey that Choudhary Sahab had no plans to marry his daughter for the next couple of years.

Thakur Jitendra Singh went livid on hearing the reply. For several decades he had got used to always hear ‘yes’. Bhawani went into a rage but his father counselled him. In a conversation laced with profanities, the father son duo vowed not to forget this social snub from Choudhary.

Despite the reply to Thakur Jitendra Singh, the atmosphere in the Choudhary household remained grim. Choudhary Sahab and everyone knew that Thakur would not take this rebuff lightly. It was a quiet evening when sitting together, out of sight of Rajesh, Choudhary Sahab suggested to Sushma that they should find a suitable boy for Rajesh and solemnize the marriage without any delay.

Someone had told Choudhary Sahab that the son of the Zamindar of village Bareitha, a village approximately ten kilometers from Jagdishpur, had recently got a good job in Infosys, the renowned computer company. Choudhary Sahab went to the Bareitha village and made effort to meet Sumit. Choudhary Sahab spoke with Sumit and found him affable.

It took a month of exchange visits between the two families after which the marriage of Rajesh and Sunit got fixed. Fortunately, and to his intense satisfaction, Choudhary Sahab realized that Rajesh was also happy after meeting Sumit. It didn’t take long for the two families to fix the date of the marriage.

News of the impending marriage of Rajesh reached Thakur Jitendra Singh. This was the first time in many years that someone had snubbed the Thakur. With a shattered pride he started thinking about his next action.

The sullen atmosphere in the Choudhari household was now replaced by a sense of gaiety. The preparations of the marriage started in earnest. Time was short and therefore all preparations had to be expedited. In the hectic ongoing preparations Choudhary Sahab had all but forgot that the instigation for this marriage had started with the proposal coming from Thakur Jitendra Singh.

With the consent of the two families in place, Rajesh started to have long phone conversations with Sumit. The two gelled perfectly. Sumit found Rajesh very interesting, she would make requests which had an element of prank. Sumit loved everything about Rajesh. On one occasion Rajesh called Sumit at midnight and asked him to bring chocolates for her and throw it in her room through the window. Preposterous at it seemed to Sumit but he did drive ten kilometers on village road at midnight and delivered the chocolate to Rajesh much to her delight.

A week remained for the marriage. Choudhary Sahab had made elaborate arrangements for everything. The decorations had already started almost seven days before. Invitations had been sent to all those in the village who stood somewhere in the hierarchy.

Since the marriage date of Choudhary’s daughter got leaked in the village gossip mills, a silent preparation of a different kind was also underway within a select group in the house of Thakur Jitendra Singh. The mood of this preparation was very different compared to that in Choudhary Sahab’s house.

The marriage day had arrived. Choudhary Sahab had taken over the reins of all preparations. For another reason, he wanted to make himself busy lest his mind start thinking about the impending marriage and the fact that Rajesh would move to another address.

As the day progressed, Rajesh was constantly on phone. She laughed and joked with Sumit. Rajesh was scheduled to visit the beauty parlor for her bridal preparations at four in the evening. She looked at the clock, it was two pm. She realized that the night was going to be long and decided to close her eyes for a couple of hours.

Sleep was not forthcoming and Rajesh’s mind started creating pranky thoughts. She relived the memory how a few days back she had coaxed Sumit to bring chocolates for her in the dead of the night and then throw the packet in her room through the window. This thought brought a smile to her. Rajesh had never been a big follower of social norms and she started to think of the social events which will be played out this evening in the name of marriage customs. Her mind created a collage of events beginning with her wearing the traditional red lehnga, the sight of the baraat, the beeline of guests all animated not for the bride or the groom but in expectation of a lavish food. Rajesh found all these forthcoming events bereft of any excitement. She felt that marriage celebration had nothing to do with bride and the groom, all celebration was targeted towards the guests who had nothing to do except fill themselves with free food. Rajesh felt bored. She looked at the clock, it was three in the afternoon. On an impulse she pressed Sunit’s number and pressed the phone to her ear.

Sunit was much busier than Rajesh. Since the morning, he had been overseeing the preparations and the incoming guests. He glanced at his watch and felt relieved that it was still three in the afternoon. The bus which will take the baraat to Jagdishpur was ready and there was still four hours for the departure of the baraat. At that very moment, Sumit’s phone rang. Looking at the screen, he smiled. It was Rajesh.

Sumit could not believe what he heard on the phone. Rajesh had put before him a request which was next to impossible to comply. Rajesh told Sumit that she was bored with these traditional marriage rituals. She wanted to romanticize this moment for her and Sumit alone. Sumit was bewildered to hear what Rajesh was saying. Initially Sumit thought that what Rajest was saying was just a joke but listening to Rajesh further, Sumit realized that Rajesh was serious. To cut this disturbing conversation short, Sumit asked Rajesh what he could do now to create the romantic atmosphere which Rajesh was talking about. The answer that came from Rajesh made Sumit dizzy. Rajesh told Sumit that she wanted to elope with Sumit.

While Sumit’s mind was taking time to analyze the impossible request, Rajesh told Sunit he should come to the beauty parlor where she was scheduled at four pm and discretely take her somewhere where they would marry. Sumit pleaded with Rajesh as if a toddler was asking his dad for a candy, but Rajesh, in a manner befitting her character did not listen to Sumit. She was adamant. Before finishing the call, she mentioned the name of the beauty parlor and the time four pm.

Sumit was so well acquainted with Rajesh’s mental attitude and he knew convincing her was not possible. But mate selection is such an evolutionary pleasurable activity that despite all these tantrums, Sumit didn’t flinch. His mind started finding solutions to the weird diktat from Rajesh.

Thakur Jitendra Singh didn’t mince words while he detailed his plan to his henchmen. Bhawani was agitated and wanted to be a part of the plan but the political acumen of Thakur Jitendra Singh dictated that Bhawani should not be seen anywhere.

Sumit hatched an excuse which somehow convinced his father that he was going to pickup some friends and would join the baraat near Jagdishpur. It was unusual for the groom not accompanying the baraat but his alibi worked and Sumit found a good reason to leave his home at around quarter to four. He drove straight to the beauty parlor not knowing what was in store. He shuddered to let his mind wander to the thought of thinking about the consequences of his action.

Rajesh had reached the beauty parlor ten minutes before four. She commanded her escort to remain in the car while she went inside the parlor. At dot four she received a message on whatsapp, Sumit had sent message that he had reached the parlor and was waiting at the back door. Feigning nature’s call Rajesh found a reason to go out of the parlor. With a grin that defied the wicked intentions, Rajesh silently sat on the seat next to the driver, and Sumit drove off. Rajesh had eloped!!

The black Thar jeep stopped right in front of the parlor. The three men who darted out from the back seat were not in a mood to conceal their intentions. They barged into the parlor.  The receptionist froze. One of the persons who had forced himself inside the parlor asked where was Rajesh. The receptionist woman shrieked but didn’t answer. The three men went inside all the cubicles but didn’t find Rajesh. A frantic phone call was placed. Thakur Jitendra Singh picked the call and listened. His face changed contours. When he spoke, it was a bundle of profanities. In a hostile voice he told Bhawani, who was standing near, that Rajesh had left the parlor before his men reached the place. Thakur’s mind raced, he made a plan B. Working on the knowledge that the baraat from the village Bareitha would start at six in the evening, he shouted instructions to the henchmen to lay a siege in the baraat’s route and kidnap Sumit.

The unfolding events at the beauty parlor were noticed by the woman who had escorted Rajesh to this place and who was sitting inside the car, a short distance from the parlor. The panicked woman went inside the parlor as soon as the Thar jeep had departed. She looked around for Rajesh. Rajesh was not there. No one had seen her for a while. Frantically the woman reported this matter to Choudhary Sahab. All phone calls to Rajesh yielded no answer. The phone was switched off. Choudhary Sahab slumped on the chair. He knew this was the work of Thakur Jitendra Singh, perhaps Rajesh had been kidnapped.

The baraat started late from the village Bareitha. Thirty-five took their seats. As per programme the baraat would make a halt at a guest house just on the outskirts of Jagdishpur where Sumit would join and then proceed to Choudhary Sahab’s house.

The baraat had travelled some five kilometers when it encountered a road blockage on the road. A log of tree lay on the village road virtually cutting the path. As the bus came to a halt, two armed men entered the bus from the rear door and started abusing everyone creating a panic. Everyone stood still. The two men scanned the bus looking for someone. The passengers realized that after a two-minute search of the bus the men who had entered the bus also panicked, their countenance changed. The passengers heard that one of the intruders was telling someone on phone that the desired man was not in the bus. Using abusive language among themselves, the men went outside. The baraat was shocked but after a ten-minute delay started for Jagdishpur.

Oblivious of the chaos at home, Rajesh felt ecstatic in the company of Sumit. She glanced at her watch, it was seven pm. Her mind prompted her that this was the time when, as per the programme, the baraat was to arrive at her home in Jagdishpur. She thought that if she had adhered to the programme Sumit would be riding a horse leading the baraat and she would be in her red bridal suit. While her mind was conjuring these images, she looked at Sumit sitting beside her on the driver’s seat. She laughed at her own joke. She had indeed experienced the joy of elopement. 

After the brief intrusion of the unknown men which had rattled the baraatis, the bus reached the guest house on the outskirts of Jagdishpur. Sumit’s father had made dozens of phone calls to Sumit but found that his phone was switched off. He didn’t confide his thoughts to other baraatis but he was very worried. His mind started linking the event of the evening when some men had entered the bus and the fact that Sumit was untraceable. He shivered.

The guests had started arriving at Choudhary’s mansion where the big pandal had been erected. Choudhary Sahab was making phone calls to Rajesh but received no answer. He was sure that his daughter had been kidnapped by the men who had raided the beauty parlor in the afternoon. In the milieu of these disturbing thoughts, he fainted sitting on his recliner chair.

It was nearly eight pm and the baraatis were restless. Sumit’s father found it hard to sell excuses to guests explaining where was Sumit and when the baraat would start for Jagdishpur.

Sumit’s mind was also in a tizzy, he was fully aware of the consequences in his house by his absence. For an umpteenth time, he told Rajesh that they should now tell everything to their parents. Rajesh was sound asleep with her head leaning heavily on Sumit’s shoulders. Rajesh found this sleep the best sleep she had ever had. She experienced a heavenly bliss.

Sumit took the decision; he started his phone and called his father. The excited reply of Sumit’s father was in such a high decibel that Sumit had to disengage the phone from his ear to hear the conversation. Sumit’s father first words were ‘are you safe, son’?. It took another series of intelligent excuses and a good ten minutes for Sumit to explain why his phone was switched off and why he was late in reaching Jagdishpur.

Sumit next called his would be father-in-law. Choudhary Sahab had regained consciousness. On hearing Sumit’s voice, Choudhary Sahab couldn’t control himself. He started weeping. In his wavering voice between sobs, Choudhary Sahab told Sumit that someone has kidnapped Rajesh and that she was untraceable. In the next ten minutes Sumit convinced Choudhary Sahab that Rajesh was safe and that shortly she will be returning home.

Sumit drove straight to Choudhary Sahab’s house. Even from a distance he could see the big pandal. Rajesh clung to Sumit as if she was hanging to a lifeline. The car went up straight to the house. Rajesh alighted from the car and ran inside the house. The few guests who saw this scene did not understand why Rajesh was still in normal clothes. Choudhary Sahab saw Rajesh and could not control his tears. This was the first time in many years that Choudhary Sahab hugged Rajesh. No questions were asked. Choudhary Sahab was happy that Rajesh had escaped the kidnappers.

The baraat entered the pandal three hours late. Sumit looked resplendent as groom. The rituals started and Rajesh followed all traditions in letter and spirit. Even without the bridal makeup, Rajesh exuded happiness that had no comparison.

The conjugal bed was decked with flowers. Rajesh waited for Sumit to enter the room. Outside she could hear the laughter and the giggles that ensued between Sumit and his sisters who, as per tradition, needed their monetary reward before Sumit could be allowed to enter the conjugal room.

As Sumit entered the room, he could see Rajesh sitting in a red gown on the bed. She lifted her head to have a glimpse of Sumit. As their eyes met each others gaze, both broke into a big smile. It was now Sumit’s turn to say ‘lets run away’.