As she stepped out after bath, she noticed that her pair of jeans and a shirt had been replaced with a saree. She frowned and shouted in irritation, “Maa, I’m not going to wear this… No saree please.” “Paagal mat bano, maine tumhe kal hi keh diya tha. Hum khandaani log hain, aur tumhare yeh faltu aajkal ke khayalon ke chakkar mein yeh rishta haath se nahi nikalne doongi. Ab bas… Bahut ho gayi tumhari marzi. Ab jaisa main kahungi tum vaise karogi, samjhi.” Sheena sulked and sat down next to the blingy saree. There was no way she could go to a trendy café wearing this sequins laden zardozi embroidered bright pink saree.
It would be her second meeting with Sameer. The last time she had met him, she was sandwiched between her parents and he was stuck between his parents. It was the typical “ladke wale dekhne aaye hain” drama with her being dolled up in a fancy red saree bringing tea in tray. She was least interested in him and all she could do was count minutes as they passed while 15-20 odd people belonging to the two families, chatted in the same room the routine fare, family background, education, family business and common contacts. She hadn’t spoken a word and Sameer spoke only when her father had asked him what kind of job he had. Her father had asked in Hindi, but Sameer had replied in grammatically perfect, clear and concise English, “I work in a multi-national company in the marketing department and my work usually revolves around developing promotional campaigns both in print media as well as social media.” She immediately looked up and their eyes met. There was something about him, his smile and the twinkle in his eyes, that caught her attention.
So, he was the first guy she had agreed to meet again though it had been 2 years since she had broken up with her boyfriend from college. She had always been a rebel in the family; the first to go and live in another city for graduation, the first to take up a job and the first to openly be in a relationship before marriage. She had to put up a fight for all of this but while she could manage to hold on to the first two, she was forced to break up with her boyfriend as he belonged to a different cast and his family was not as financially sound as hers. Moreover, her family was orthodox to the point of extreme. In the small town where they lived, they had the reputation to be one of the most traditional and orthodox, always concerned about their honour. It took her father two full days to even agree to the boy’s request to meet her alone. Her father had proposed another family meeting in case he wanted to see her again, but the boy was firm that he would be more comfortable meeting her alone. And the way he stood his ground, was all it needed for Sheena to be interested in him.
But now she sat on the bed, planning to cancel the meeting. She just couldn’t imagine herself wearing this saree to see him. Nevertheless, her mom was adamant (with her dad silently supporting her) that she wears a saree for her date.
“Maa, main saree pehen kar nahi jaane wali hoon. Achchha chalo jeans bhi nahi pehnungi. I will wear a kurta. Is that okay?”
“Tum job interview ke liye nahi jaa rahi ho. Shaadi karne jaa rahi ho. Aur shaadi ke baad saree hi pehenani hai tumhe.”
“You must be kidding me, okay. I am not going to wear a saree ever… Even after I get married. Main bilkul aapke jaisi nahi hoon. Main ek modern ladki hoon aur main shaadi ke baad saree nahi pehenane wali hoon. In fact, I am going to tell Sameer that today.”
“Tum aisa kuchh nahi bologi. Aur na hi aisa kuchh karogi. Jaise hamare ghar ki sari ladkiyan karti aayi hain, vaise hi karogi. Shaadi ke baad koi jeans veans nahi… Saree hi achchhi lagti hai… Aur naukri toh bhul hi jao.”
“Fir toh main shaadi hi nahi karungi.”
“Bakwaas band karo aur apni bhabhi se kuchh seekho. Anjali, ise samjha aur saree pehenana bhi sikha. Pichhli baar aise chal rahi thi jaise paon mein bediyaan hain aur bas abhi giri ki abhi giri.”
“Obviously, just look at what all you make me wear… Uss din woh heavy lace border wali Bandhani pehna di aur aaj yeh heavy embroidery wali saree fir pehna rahe ho… They have so much of weight at the bottom ki meri kamar par tikti hi nahi hai. Aapko aadat pad gayi hogi, main toh sach mein kai baar girne wali thi.”
“Offo… Mera toh sir dukhne laga hai. Anjali, mujhe bahut kaam hai, ab tu hi dekh. Ise saree pehen ke hi neeche aane dena.”
Her mom left and she looked pleadingly at her Bhabhi. “Bhabhi, I am not going to wear this.”
“Achchha baba, par ab towel mein hi baithi rahogi kya? Dekh, tujhe yeh nahi pehenani mat pehen. Main apni ek achchhi si saree lati hoon jo aaram se sambhal jaye. Woh pehen le.” With this her Bhabhi ran to her room next door.
“Achchhi sarees se hi toh problem hai. Yeh achchhi sarees are totally not my sty…”
Her Bhabhi was standing there with a beautiful hand-painted silk saree, with bright boats and mountains and clouds. The multicolour skirt border on orange base looked so youthful and fresh that she couldn’t protest anymore. In fact, when she stepped down to leave, her mom was also speechless looking at her. She just smiled and asked her to be good in front of Sameer.
Sheena walked into the café reluctantly. Sameer was already there, and he stood up on seeing her. She walked over and they exchanged pleasantries. She took a seat and he asked her whether she would prefer tea or coffee. She chose a cup of cappuccino from the menu and politely declined anything to eat that Sameer had offered. She had come here with a list in mind that she wanted to say to Sameer, but she wasn’t sure where to start.
It was, however, Sameer who kicked off the conversation, “Actually, I wanted to meet you alone and talk to you. When we meet with so many people around, it becomes so daunting that it’s difficult to figure out whether the person you have come to see is actually the right person for you or not.”
“Actually, I want to thank you for asking to meet me alone. I have a few things to say to you which I just could not have said in front of my family. My family is slightly orthodox, but…” she stopped as reluctance got the better of her.
“It’s okay... Please say freely. If you have any concerns you can tell me without hesitation. Is there something you want me to take care of after we get married? Do you have any concerns?”
“Not really concerns… But I would want you to know some things about me before you say yes.”
“Sure… Please tell me.”
“I am working in a company as Training Lead. It’s a good job and…” she held her breath, “I would like to continue to work even after I get married. Hope you don’t have a problem with that.”
Sameer looked at her with unblinking set eyes and she immediately lowered hers. As if sensing her beating heart, he said to her, “Yeah, me too… I too would like to continue to work after I get married. Hope you don’t have a problem with that!”
She looked up at him totally shocked. And he started laughing out loud. “Relax… I am okay with that. I am anyway looking for wife who is an educated, confident, outgoing woman, someone whom I can connect with and not someone whose whole world is inside the four walls of our home.”
Sheena relaxed and grinned, as she let down her guard and blurted out, “Thank God!” This made Sameer laugh out even louder and Sheena joined in too soon. They then chatted non-stop for almost two hours.
As they were leaving the café, Sameer opened the door for her as they stepped out, “Do you always wear a saree?”
Sheena looked at him uncertain of what to say. Therefore, he said, “I mean, this is the second time I am meeting you and honestly, I wasn’t expecting you to wear a saree to a café. But you are looking fabulous today… Very pretty… And amazing!”
Sheena smiled and said, “No, I don’t always wear a saree. In fact, this is the second time I am wearing one. And this beautiful saree today has taught me something… It has taught me that a saree doesn’t define you as modern or orthodox. It takes the personality from the wearer. So, I guess you will see me wearing a saree often even in the future.”
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