The Marriage With Conditions

The Mukherjee family was very excited about the marriage of their daughter Sona with the IT executive Rupam. The household was very busy with the marriage preparation. Sona was getting too many calls from her would-be husband Rupam. Since their engagement six months ago they had been constantly hooked to each other over the telephone. Rupam was supposed to land in the city that day arriving for their marriage. So he wanted to take his bride Sona for a long drive the last one in their bachelorhood. But Sona coming from a very conservative family was not interested. Rupam however had his way and was successful enough to draw out Sona from her cocoon.

Rupam wanting to impress his bride was trying to show off his driving skills to his fiancé when he almost met with an accident. They were saved just in the nick of time. The car coming from the opposite direction was alert enough to avoid the mishap.

The occupant of the car was Dr. Kunal. He got down to have a peek into the car driven by Rupam. Due to the impact of the about to be an accident, Sona had closed her eyes in fear and had almost fainted. Dr. Kunal spoke to Rupam who was very shaken with fear marked on his face. He learned from him about their misadventure and smiled in Rupam's heroism. Dr. Kunal took them to his hospital nearby and gave Sona some analgesics to bring her back to senses.

Then he took Sona and reached her to her family members asking them kindly not to chastise her for her disobedience as this was just an aberration in otherwise a very dutiful girl. The Mukherjee family showed their gratefulness to the doctor and invited him and his family to the marriage that would be held in a couple of days. Dr. Kunal was taken in by the cohesiveness of the joint family of the Mukherjee's and was very articulate about it seeing so many members living there together cheek in jowls. The Doctor met a young member of the Mukherjee clan and was very impressed with his behavior. Later on learning that the young man, Soumyo by name was a scientist and a doctoral candidate, Dr. Kunal was full of admiration. 

Dr. Kunal had narrated this story when he had returned home. The occupants in his home beside him were his college-going daughter Bulbul and his sister Jui. His wife also a doctor had stayed back in the states when Dr. Kunal had returned home with his little daughter at the time of his parent's death. Since then the doctor had stayed back in his home country. 

The next day one senior member of the House of Mukherjee, uncle Sham and his nephew Soumyo went to the Doctor's House with a formal invitation.

There they were given a rough welcome by the Doctor's daughter Bulbul. As she was not aware of who the persons were and what invitation they had brought. Later her aunt who was aware of the matter managed the crisis ably. Soumyo, the well-mannered boy that he was was critical of Bulbul's behavior and commented on it which Bulbul did not take pleasantly. She was the proud girl of her rich daddy and was not used to receiving sermons by unknown educators.

Bulbul's chirpiness had caught Uncle Sham's eye and he had formed an opinion regarding a would-be future relationship. He also narrated the amusing incident when he returned home. His daughter Jhilik recognized Bulbul and said that they were college mates. Uncle Sham's other nephew Rik and his wife Misti were amused by the incident and started pulling Soumyo's leg hoping that he would think in terms of a tentative relationship.

But if Soumyo and Bulbul would be having a relationship that would be born and bred in the fire. Because no one liked each other.

Incidentally, there occurred some more incidents which gave birth to a general abhorrence for Bulbul in the mind of the perfectionist and puritanical Soumyo. Unfortunately, he was a witness to these unpleasant scenes. Bulbul was a spoilt child and that was conspicuous from her wild ways. Once Soumyo spotted her going in an open vehicle with her friends both male and female swaying with loud music blaring out from the music system.

On another occasion, Soumyo was treating his colleagues to coffee in a restaurant when he was made to feel disturbed by the presence of Bulbul and her very noisy soulmates.

Soumyo, the brilliant student that he was, was very soon felicitated with his doctoral degree in a hall packed with distinguished guests and accompanied by his family members. Dr. Kunal Basu was now a regular invitee in all of the Mukherjee functions. He was very impressed with the recognition that Soumyo was getting. He was wishing to make Soumyo his jamai, son in law, but could not flaunt his audacious wishes. He knew that if he could send his wayward daughter into the Mukherjee household as a bride, then his daughter's life would change and she would become more disciplined and well mannered.

Dr. Kunal Basu lamented the absence of his wife's contribution to his daughter's growing up. Even his daughter missed her mother very much and she was very sensitive in the matter. Dr. Basu had got the news of how her daughter had misbehaved with Soumyo on a couple of occasions. He had given her a mild draw down also.

But the Mukherjee family very much loved the Doctor's daughter. Being a friend of Jhilik, a Mukherjee daughter, Bulbul had come to their house. She got tremendous love and affection from the joint family Mukherjee elders. They all really loved her. 

Dr. Basu was looking for an excuse to invite the Mukherjee household to his house. His daughter would soon celebrate her twenty-first birthday. On the occasion of this birthday, Dr. Kunal invited the full Mukherjee household to his house.

At the celebration of the birthday, Bulbul had a call from her mother from the United States. This antagonized Bulbul very much because she didn't like the idea of her mother just complying with her duties through polite telephone calls. Out of tremendous anger, she started crying. She was inconsolable. Only Rik's wife Misty could console her.

Dr. Kunal Basu finding the situation ripe and jumped to it. Expressing his audacity he asked the Mukherjee patriarch for his permission for the marriage of Bulbul, his daughter with Soumyo, the Mukherjee scion.

Initially, it may have come as a shock but later the matter had sunk in. On the contrary, the Mukherjee patriarch and his wife and his brother with their wives were all happy with the proposal. Because they all had a liking for Bulbul.

Only they were worried about how to get Soumyo to agree on one who absolutely loathed the girl.

The Mukherjee elder however got the confirmation from Soumyo about the marriage because Soumyo could not refuse what his elders wanted him to do. 

Now Dr. Basu had to get his daughter to agree.

Dr. Basu got a chance to express his views. His daughter's graduation results were due. The result was a shocker. Bulbul

could not clear the exams and fail. Dr. Basu asked her for her decision and didn't get any concrete answer. Then he spelled out his wishes about her marriage to Soumyo. Bulbul, although hated him so much couldn't help but agree. Then she told her father that she would marry but she had her condition. She said that she would again appear for her exams next year and if she qualified with a first-class she would walk out of the marriage and return home. Dr. Basu agreed and smiled inwardly that once Bulbul made her entry into the Mukherjee household then her moving out was the decision of their household matriarch. They would never let her leave and fulfill her desires of the marriage with conditions.