Uresh Rai

Drama Romance

4.9  

Uresh Rai

Drama Romance

The Ring

The Ring

22 mins
509


April 2017

It was a typical sultry April evening in Kolkata. Raj had his ear-phones plugged in. The phone was ringing on the other side. Talking to Nisha while riding his bike had now become a habit for him. There would not be a single time when he would ride his bike and not dial her number. He just loved her voice. He loved talking to her.


“Hello.” One word from her and an instinctive big smile surfaced on his face. His eyes lit up in joy.

“Goooood Eveeeniiiing, Baby!” He replied animatedly, imitating Vidya Balan in Lage Raho Munnabhai.

“What was that Raj?” She asked. The tone of her voice confirmed that there was a sweet smile on her face.

“Nothing, I just wanted to put a smile on your face and I guess I succeeded,” Raj replied with a triumphant grin.


They talked for the next half an hour about how they spent their respective days. They smiled, they laughed, discussed a few of their life’s future plans, disagreed on many things and agreed on a few. Making her angry on small, insignificant and irrelevant things was the biggest guilty pleasure for Raj. He used to enjoy those moments because that would invariably give him enough reasons to try out new ways to woo her. Every single time he would come up with something or the other ‘out of this world’ way and she would give in with a luscious beaming smile displaying her milky white incisors. Her smile was the most contagious thing for Raj. It was her smiling face that made him believe that the world is still a happy place to live in.


As he hung up the phone, Raj straightaway drove to one of his best friend Dipak’s house for an evening hangout.

“Look who has arrived!” Dipak welcomed him with open arms.

“Why are you being so formal, buddy?” Raj said.

“Forget me, what is this thing with you? Your face seems to be glowing with joy, anything special?” Dipak asked offering him a chair to sit.


“Nothing much, I was just talking to Nisha over the phone. This smile just pops up every time I talk to her.” Raj blushed.

“Oh! ho.. It’s Aunty's effect.” Dipak said with a wider grin on his face.

“Stop calling her that, the sooner you do, the better it will be for you. She is your Bhabhi, call her that. The day she comes to know of this will be our last day on this planet.” Raj said sharing a loud laugh with Dipak.

“No, c’mon, there is a reason I call her Aunty,” Dipak replied, lying back on his chair.

“And what is that?” Raj asked, knowing well that there could never be a rational reason behind that.


“Let me explain.” Dipak started out in his ever explanatory and analytical way, moving his hands in all the directions in air, like a professor of philosophy.

“Every time I see you after you have talked to her or met her, you seem to be invariably happy and at peace with everything. That girl takes care of you, even though unknowingly, like your Mom. That’s why I call her Aunty, you see, I am not being illogical here.” He ended his clarification sipping a glass of water that was kept on the adjacent table.


Raj could not help but laugh at this. “You and your logic.” He said and shared a high five.

“I know my logic, you don’t need to explain that to me,” Dipak replied, keeping the glass back on the table.

“What have you planned for her birthday?” Dipak asked.


“Birthday!!” Raj was surprised at this question popping up out of nowhere. “Dude, her birthday is still four months away. Why would I think of it now?” Raj replied.

“That’s the problem with you committed guys. You take your partners for granted. You do everything to have them in your life and once they are yours, you just tend to ignore their presence in your life. Girls love surprises buddy. Think of something that you have never done before for her. Surprise her. Do something that she would never expect from you.” Dipak gave him another lecture on relationships in the most lively way possible. The irony was that he himself had been single all his life.


“There is nothing that I have not done for her. I have kneeled in the middle of the road to propose her, I have danced and sang songs for her. I have given her the weirdest of gifts. I don’t know what else is left to be done?” Raj said.

“Have you ever given her a ring?” Dipak asked. That question put Raj in a spot of bother. He had actually never thought of it.

“No.” - was his subtle reply.


“Look, you are talking about the weirdest of gifts that you have given her, and yet you have not given her the gift that every girl wants from her man. Imagine bro, you getting down on your knees slipping in the ring into her hands. Can there be anything more romantic than that?” Raj was already lost in a world of his own.

“That would be wonderful..” Raj said, “But wouldn't the budget be a bit high?” He said with a bit of hesitation.

“When did you start thinking of budget, and that too for Aunty? If you fall short of money, I am always there to help you out. So, don’t think twice. Just go ahead with the plan. She would love it.”


“Yeah sure. And thanks bro! for such wonderful advice.” Raj hugged him tightly as the two shared a light banter among themselves.

The next morning he was standing at the gates of the newly opened ‘Tanishq-showroom’ in town. With a lot of ambivalence and anxiety, he stepped into the showroom. That was the first time that Raj had set foot into a jewelery store. The uneasiness that was imploding within was clearly showing up on his face. He was sweating even in that chilled air-conditioned territory. All around him there were pieces of those precious stones that were so alluring that he wanted to buy all of them at once. He imagined Nisha in each one of them and every time a stunning image of her flashed in front of his eyes.

“Can I help you, Sir?” He was brought back to reality by a beautiful female voice from behind.


“Umm…. Yeah! Of course!” He quickly turned back to reply. A lady draped in a beautiful black saree with golden border was standing in front of him with folded hands.

“What are you looking for Sir?” The lady asked again with the same humility.

“Oh! Yes, I was looking for a ring. Something pretty and affordable at the same time.” Raj replied as his eyes lit up with the mere thought of gifting the ring to Nisha. He thought of the evening when he would slither the ring into her tiny fingers. Her hand with the ring in it would be the most beautiful thing that he would ever get to witness.


“Come with me, Sir.” The lady instructed Raj to follow her. In the next few minutes, a hoard of rings was there in front of him to choose from. Every single ring was unique and at the same time beguiling in its own way.

“How much does this cost?” He picked up a nice looking gold ring with a glossy diamond fitted at its top.

“Rs.27,500/- Sir. I must say your choice is quite superb. Any girl would die for a man having a choice like this.” The sales-woman was busy using all adjectives that she could to persuade Raj to buy that ring but his mind was still stuck on the first thing that she said, “Rs.27,500/-”


With a bit of hesitation, he said, ”Well… You see..” - he took out his handkerchief from the right pocket of his jeans, his mobile phone fell on to the ground in the process. He picked up his phone, slid it back into the pocket and wiped the drops of sweat that were quite strikingly visible by that time. The oddity of his demeanour was speaking volumes of what was going through his mind.


He recomposed himself and continued, “Actually my budget is not that high. Can you show me something under Rs.15000/-.” He knew that even that amount was too high for him that moment, he would have to forgo every single penny of his savings for that. But he was ready to sacrifice that much in order to buy a priceless evening for Nisha.

“Definitely Sir..” She replied with an annoying stare. “But you won’t get a diamond in that range, Sir…” She concluded.


“Okay!” Raj replied. There was nothing more that he could have said, At least his pocket didn't allow him to ask for more.

Within a few seconds, all the rings that were put on display for him were taken out of his sight and a new pile was there for him to choose from.

His eyes got fixed on a beautiful piece that had a tiny heart craved out in it. The heart itself was so beautiful that none of the other rings caught his attention.

“How much for this?” He picked up that ring to ask the price.


“Let me check Sir!” The lady took back the ring to check the code engraved in it. She took out a chart and after some calculations she said, “Sir, it will cost you Rs.13,250/-.”

His eyes lit up hearing the price. He would now have something left in his bank even after paying for the ring, That was enough to cheer him up.

“Pack it.” He ordered like a boss. He was elated. His happiness knew no bounds. The prospect of having a beautiful candlelit dinner on her birthday followed by a typical “on his knees ring ceremony” was already giving him jitters. He tried hard to hide the wide grin on his face but was unable to do so. The lady at the counter too reciprocated by smiling back at him.


The next few minutes passed by in a flash. Her ring was right in front of his eyes in an equally beautiful box which again was kept inside an attractive carry bag displaying the logo of Tanishq. Raj took out his credit card and gave it to the lady at the counter to make the payment. Once he was done with the payment procedure, he proudly took possession of the ring and came out with the biggest possible smile on his face.


It was a small thing, but he knew it will have a big impact on their relationship. Not because of the price tag attached with the gift, but because of the feelings attached to it. Like every other relationship, his relationship with Nisha was also going through a rough patch and he knew he had taken the first plunge in the right direction to improve everything between them.


Raj walked out of the store not only with the ring but also with a belief. The next thing that he did was quite obvious, he called Nisha. He wanted to tell her all about the ring, but then, it was supposed to be a birthday surprise for her. He had to curb all his thrill before Nisha picked up the phone.

“Hello!” He heard the sweetest voice from the other end.

“Hii tangdi kabab…” Raj quipped with a wicked smile. He knew what was coming ahead.

“I am warning you for the last time, if you call me by this name one more time, that would be the last time we would talk.” She was fuming, the rage was perceptible in the tone of her voice.


“C’ mon, you know why I call you that. I love your legs. Your sexy, slender and tender fine legs.” His reasoning was followed by loud laughter.

“There is nothing to laugh about. I am disconnecting the phone.” Before Raj could say anything further, there was a beep sound already piercing his ear-drums.


He could not make out what had happened in the last 30 seconds. All his excitement and exuberance were taken for a ride for a silly joke that was never intended to hurt her in any way. After all, the first time when he called her tangdi kabab about a year ago, she absolutely loved it. She laughed her heart out hearing such a funny name conferred to her. She was flattered to know that someone could even admire her legs. But she had changed. The same things that she used to love now seemed annoying to her. Making her smile was getting tougher with each passing day for Raj. It was this change in her that perturbing. This was not the first time that she had disconnected the phone like that.


Days passed by. Raj still loved to talk to her, provided she agreed. In the month that had passed, they talked for not more than two or three times. He did all that he could to resuscitate their relationship. Their daily conversations were limited to formal questions like “How are you?”, “Did you have your meal?”, etc., that too when Raj called. It seemed as if she had completely forgotten how to dial Raj’s number. Even the frequency of their dates had decreased considerably. Now, they would not meet as often as Raj would have liked. It would take Raj at least a couple of days to convince her to go out on a date. Raj had no idea why her behaviour had changed so dramatically. From whatever little he could make out of their daily chats, it seemed she was bored of him. She seemed bored with his antics, of his filmy ways to show his love for her. These were all speculations that were running through his mind.


Amidst all these Raj was under prodigious pressure from his family members to get married. In the last couple of months, he had refused at least half a dozen marriage proposals citing one reason or the other. With every new proposal came a new headache for him to find a suitable reason to refuse.

By the beginning of August life had taken a complete U-turn for Raj and Nisha. From someone who used to be her best companion, Raj was now just one of the companions for Nisha. It’s quite usual in any relationship for one of the partners to lose interest or get bored. From whatever little Raj could perceive out of her changed conduct, it was quite evident that she seemed to have lost interest in the relationship. But that should never come in way of the love that they had for each other at least a few months back. Hard times in any relationship are meant to be fought out.


Raj firmly believed that it’s the hard times that test the commitment of one partner towards the other in any relationship. Nisha’s changing attitude with every passing day was shattering for Raj, to say the least. Every time a new marriage proposal came to Raj he would inform Nisha of the same. He would tell her to take their relationship to the next level, but Nisha seemed to care the least for whatever he said. It seemed she had started to take his presence for-granted in her life. There was nothing from her end that would make him believe that she too wanted him as much as he did.


The date was the 6th of August, co-incidentally friendship day. In the two previous years, she gave Raj one yellow and one black friendship bands that Raj never took off. He looked at those bands, there was a smile on his face with a tinge of pain in the heart. Circumstances had changed completely. That day he would have considered himself lucky even if he somehow got to meet her, the friendship band was totally out of sight. Add to that, one of his relatives was about to visit his place with a girl’s family for another marriage proposal. Raj had no clue whatsoever about how things would proceed. At that moment he needed Nisha by his side. He tried several times but Nisha didn't pick up the phone. He was infuriated and at the same time broken. He knew that it would be very hard for him this time to refuse once again.


In the meantime, the girl’s family arrived and surprisingly the girl was also with them. Raj was totally unaware of this. In his knowledge, only the girl’s father was coming with his relative. He was obviously kept in the dark about the whole affair. He gave a stern look to his Mom. His Mom looked back with an equally stern face. That was enough for Raj to understand there would be very little that he could do if both the parties reach an agreement. He locked himself in his room while the ‘unwanted’ guests were enjoying their snacks.


Raj once again picked up his phone and called Nisha, this time the phone got disconnected after two rings. She had cut his call. The pace at which things were slipping out of his hands made Raj more and perturbed with every passing minute.

“Raj…” He heard his Mom calling him. His anxiousness was oozing out in the form of sweat beads on his forehead.

He came out of the room in his track-suit only. He desperately wanted the girl to reject him. He intentionally dressed up in the worst possible way that he could.

“Hello beta, come have a seat.” The girl’s father greeted him as if he was in their house and not the other way around.


“Ask him if you want to know anything.” Raj’s mom told the girl’s father. Her father replied back with a forced smile on his face.

“What is your name beta?” Raj could never understand why every girl’s father that he had met till now had to ask this question. Did they really come to see the supposed-to-be husband of their daughters without even knowing his name?


Nonetheless, he replied and what followed next was a half an hour grueling session of questions and answers. He replied to each and every question in the most impassive way possible. He also had a ten minute one on one chat session with the girl. There seemed to be no conclusive reason for him to refuse this marriage proposal. The girl was good looking, smart, polite, career-oriented - in short, every single reason that he gave to refuse previous marriage proposals were totally covered by this girl. It seemed mom had done her homework this time before calling the girl’s side.


“They are happy with you. What do you say?” Mom asked Raj. Her eyes clearly warned him to not to say no this time. She wanted to hear an emphatic ‘yes’ from her son, and she was not wrong this time. The girl was too good to be refused in ideal circumstances.

“If you say yes, then they want the two of you to get engaged today only.” This came as a shocker to him. Things were panning out swiftly but this was too quick for him to react.


“Mom, can you give me ten minutes?” She agreed, but her eyes clearly said, “Don’t you dare refuse this time.”

Raj didn't waste a moment to get back into his room. He quickly picked up his phone lying on the bed. He checked for any missed calls from Nisha. The notification tab of his phone was blank. He was disheartened, but this was not something that he had experienced for the first time in the past few months. He dialed Nisha’s number. With every ring, his heart started throbbing a little faster. Never before he had wanted Nisha to pick up his call so desperately. Sitting on the bed he was continuously shaking his legs. In front of him was his cupboard and in the drawer of that cupboard was the ring.


He was all lost in his thoughts when suddenly his call was answered by Nisha. It seemed as if God was right there sitting by his side, listening to his prayers. But his joy was short lived.

“Don’t you understand that if I am not answering your calls from the morning then I must be busy with something, now don’t call me again.” Nisha didn't even bother to wait for Raj to speak and disconnected the call.

Raj was bewildered by this apathy of Nisha towards him. He was broken, inside-out.


“Tuck-tuck…” He heard a knock on the door.

“Raj, come out, everybody is waiting for you.” His mom said.

He quickly recomposed himself, wiped his tears off and went out of the room.

“What have you thought?” His mom pushed him to the corner of the wall and asked.

Raj looked at his mom’s eyes that were expecting him to say yes, and on the other hand, was Nisha who didn't talk to him for whatever might be the reason. A ‘yes’ could put a smile on his mom’s face and a ‘no’ would give him some time to sort out his broken relationship for which he was not quite sure. He chose for the first option and reluctantly said ‘yes’.


The moment he agreed, his mom was over the moon and so were the other members of his family. The smile that suddenly adorned every face in the house gave him a relief that at least someone was happy, even though he had to sacrifice his own happiness for it.

A small ring ceremony was arranged in a hurry. It seemed as if they had thought of the whole thing well in advance. Suddenly, the ring appeared out of nowhere. Raj and his ‘fianceé’ sat opposite to each other and they were asked to exchange the rings. Raj took her hands in his hands and slowly slid the ring onto her finger. While doing so he was continuously thinking about Nisha and the ring. He had always imagined living this moment with Nisha and not with someone else. The ring finger of his left hand, the veins of which were directly connected to the heart, now had a ring in it.


Within a few hours, his life was turned upside down. By the time the guests left, it was already dark.

“Mom, I will be back in an hour.” He told his mother and left.

He was on the verge of an emotional outburst at any moment and he did not want to do that in front of his family members who were all very happy for him. He drove his bike straight to the banks of Hugli. He leaned on the boundary facing the river. That was the moment. He could not hold himself anymore. He burst into tears. He cried, he sobbed and he howled. A few people present around him did not stop him from crying his heart out. Nisha’s smiling face was flashing in front of his eyes. He wanted to end his life right there. He wanted to jump into the river and end his agony forever. But he was not a coward. He was thinking of the evening that he had planned for Nisha’s birthday. - How beautiful it would have been? How Nisha would have reacted to the ring? - All these thoughts made it more and more difficult for him to stop crying.


He put his hand inside his pocket and took out a small box. It was the ring. He looked at it and tears started flowing more swiftly. As he opened the box, a drop of tear fell upon the ring and glided along the border of the heart engraved on it to take its shape. Raj looked at the two hearts and smiled, at least the two hearts met. He carefully took out the ring from the box and once again looked at the heart that his teardrop had carved out. The street lights reflecting through it made ‘his heart’ glow.


He stretched his hands without beating his eyelids. Tears rolled down his face. He eased his grip on the ring. The ring did not make any sound as it splashed into the river. The tiny waves that it generated were lost in the river in moments. He turned back, closed his eyes and for one last time remembered his ‘glowing heart’ as tears once again gushed out of his eyes.



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