The monsoon had begun a week earlier than the forecast, much to the relief of Bengalureans. It was a dull afternoon with grey clouds, which were heavy with the promise of a pleasant downpour. Abhimanyu looked through the slides of his presentation one last time. He slid his arms into the light blue blazer when his phone began ringing. Before answering the call he made a mental note to put it on silent mode during the meeting.

‘Hello…Ma? Is it something important? I have a meeting in five minutes,’ he said impatiently.

‘Are you at work? But today is Madhu’s birthday!’

He froze. The next second, he peered at the table calendar. The date was well registered in his mind but only for the sake of the meeting. His mouth went dry and he was unable to answer his mother.

‘Abhi, don’t tell me that you have forgo—’

‘Ma, I have to go now. I will call you later.’

Without allowing his mind to think about the brief conversation, he put his phone on silent mode. He picked up his laptop and walked into the seminar hall. He knew his mother would understand, because she had been putting up with his impatience and snappy answers for over two decades.

The meeting was over by 7.10pm. Wordlessly he walked to the parking lot and dumped his bag on the bike. Once again his project proposal had been rejected by the investors. This was the third rejection and he had worked a lot on this presentation. He was almost certain that he could convince them. He clenched his fist and tried to reign in the expletives that were threatening to fly out of his mouth. Tears stung his eyes but he did not let a single one escape his eyes. At that moment he simply wanted to hug someone and unburden his pain. Loneliness of the parking lot was tearing him apart. He was desperate to talk to someone. Anyone! But the first person who came to his mind when he picked up his phone was Madhu. Strange enough, he did not fathom why.

It is her birthday today….

Madhuvanthi…his wife of three months and eight days. He quickly took a look at his watch and mounted his bike. Within minutes, he was riding into the rain which had just begun to envelope Bengaluru. Somehow he felt that she was the one he could go to. Maybe because he was cognizant of the fact that he had hurt her. He had pinned his hopes on that project and believed that once it was finalized, he would get a hold on his private life. But everything had come to a naught today.

Despite the sacrifice and suffering, what have I gained? All I did was, push her also into a whirlpool of agony….

His mind went back to the day when they had first stepped into their flat in Whitefield….

Abhimanyu and Madhuvanthi were from Mysore. He had completed his graduation in Bengaluru and begun his career in this city. She had completed her graduation in Mysore and secured a job in Infosys. Their marriage was arranged by their parents, only after their consent was obtained. He had agreed to the marriage primarily to satisfy his parents. His aim was to establish his business and work hard to help it grow. Marriage was never on his mind and he kept giving excuses to postpone it as much as he could. One day his mother put her foot down and he could no longer refuse her. Abhimanyu had spoken to Madhuvanthi only a couple of times before the wedding and their interaction had been for very short durations. Their wedding took place in a couple of months, without giving them a chance to even have a proper conversation. She applied for a transfer in her company and after marriage moved into their rented flat with a slight fear and some expectations.

‘I am sorry.’

His first words to her, when she stepped into their room for the first time that night. The lovely smile on her face disappeared immediately.

‘I agreed to this wedding only for my parents’ satisfaction. My life is at a crucial stage and all I want is to concentrate on achieving my ambition. I don’t want this marriage to become a hurdle in my way or a burden on my shoulders. I am being really unfair to you but I hope you will forgive me. Please let me be the man who I was, before wedding.’

It was an impossible request to make and he knew it. For a few minutes, there was nothing but silence between them. She averted his eyes and stared at the Gulmohar tree outside the window. It had a golden glow in the light of the sodium vapour streetlight.

‘I did not expect to be a burden to you. We have taken vows to lead a life together. If being a husband is a hurdle to your passion, then I won’t insist on being your wife. You are free to chase your dreams.’

Even though he was a little surprised by her reaction, he was relieved to a great extent.

‘You can sleep here. Good night.’

He picked up a pillow and walked into the other bedroom which he had converted into a study. There was a single cot in that room, on which he spent every night thereafter. She was left to sleep alone on that huge and comfortable double cot. Every day they met at the dining table for breakfast and she always greeted him with a sweet smile. Conversations between them were limited to work, parents, grocery, bills and house rent. Most of the nights they did not meet for dinner. He reached home beyond midnight after working on his project and discussions with his friends who were also his business partners. This was how his life had passed before marriage, nothing much had changed even after that. Neither did she stay awake waiting for him nor did she call up to find out when he would be coming home. Yet dinner was always placed on the table without fail, every single night.

Stopping his bike at a traffic signal, he tried hard to recall the last time when he had actually had a conversation with her for more than 15 minutes. His mind drew blank on it.

Not once have I treated her as a wife. She left her family and city to live with me. What have I done for her? But she never complained about it. Today is her birthday and she has nobody in this city with whom she can celebrate. I did not even remember this special day… I was so preoccupied in the morning that I barely even spoke to her. Unusually she had draped a sari today, which caught my attention for a moment. Yet, not once did it occur to me that it was her birthday….

The signal flashed green and he decided to buy her a gift. He took a right turn instead of going straight and rode towards the nearest showroom, to buy her a sari. Suddenly it was pouring cats and dogs! He could no longer even keep his eyes open to ride the bike. Quickly he took shelter in a crowded bus stop. There were many people who were cursing the rain and rueing that it could have started pouring after they reached home. Apparently the rain Gods didn’t act according to their whims and fancies! He picked up his phone and almost made a call to Madhuvanthi, but at the last moment decided against it.

Let this be my first surprise for her….

After 8.15pm, his impatience grew by the minute. The showroom closes by 8.30pm, but the rain did not even reduce to a drizzle. It was still a heavy downpour, making it impossible for him to ride. By the time the rain ceased a little, it was 9.05pm! With a heavy heart, he had to drop the idea of buying her a gift.

At least, let me reach home before she goes to sleep!

On other days, this would not have been anything more than a child’s play for him. Today, it was a herculean task! He still had to cover a treacherous stretch of nearly 12km on a rainy night. Navigating through the waterlogged roads was really frustrating. On some roads the traffic was so dense that he had to literally inch forward. This gave him a lot of time to keep thinking about the woman who had quietly become an integral part of his life, but he had failed to realize it. Once again the drizzle gave way to a heavy downpour. This time he could not take shelter as he was stuck in the middle of the road in a huge traffic jam. The vehicles in the front stopped inching forward and the ones at the back blocked the whole stretch of the road. There was no escape! He was trapped in the web of water logged road and unyielding commuters. The rain soaked him completely and he gave up the fight against fate.

“Damn!” he cursed.

To be continued…