SECTION 375…
Harish looked at his watch, it was 7:30 PM. He knew that this time nobody would accept his lame excuse for coming late. He was known as “Mr. Late” in his group. Sometimes he also felt that there must be some connection between ‘late’ and ‘him’. He stepped into his college when all of his friends had graduated. He got his first job by the time all his friends were well- settled in life. And he was getting married when almost all his friends’ children were going to school. This had been happening because of his laidback attitude. He had literally struggled for the smallest of success starting from passing the school to getting admission in a college and then getting a job.
Since childhood, he was a bit of an introvert. He enjoyed things from a distance. He never used to share his feedback with anyone upfront but observed the characters very deeply. His father wanted him to compete for the government services, but he did not live up to his father’s expectation. He was in his late thirties when luckily, he got a job in a private firm and based on which his marriage proposal was accepted. It was like a lifetime achievement award for him.
He shut down his computer, wrapped up his belongings, shoved the bag and came out on the road to take a cab. In Kolkata, getting a cab during peak hours is not an easy job, but he got the same within a few minutes. He reached the restaurant “Mogambo” where all his friends were waiting for him. Before getting inside the restaurant, he combed his hair, wiped his face, and settled his shirt so that he could look decent and formal. He scanned the sitting area to find them. Since there was a dim light in the area so anyone coming from outside would find it difficult to locate the people sitting inside. Suddenly, a voice came from his right-hand side, “Harish! We are here.”
He turned towards the source of the voice and saw the full gang waiting for him.
By now people had embraced technology so they preferred to send out invites through the internet or Facebook or any social media and Harish was also no different from others. He had also done that, but his friends were adamant to get invited through a small get together party and Harish would have to pay the bill. He could not refuse the same and agreed.
“Harish, we knew you would be late today again,” Navdeep dropped his comment as usual in his heavy voice.
Harish’s ear was waiting for more such comments.
He smiled feebly.
“No problem, friends. Since Harish is late as expected, we have ordered one additional item from the menu,” Jhimli giggled.
Harish was silent, but at the back of his mind, he was sincerely calculating the expected bill.
“Oh my God, just see his face. Don’t worry, we will not make you spend much,” Smita pulled his leg.
“No, no, it’s okay. Anything for you all. You are my best friends.” Harish hid his concern under the artificial philanthropy.
He perched on the chair which was reserved for him. Harish had the belief that God has allotted a certain number of words for every individual and the more you spend the words, the quicker you die. That was the reason he did not actively participate in any debate or discussions. He dropped the comments only which he could not control or the same was very important for conveying his message to others.
“How many times have you met Bhabi?” Jignesh asked in a dramatic style, uplifting one of his eyebrows. The gang started pulling his leg as everybody knew he was introvert and shy. His married friends were teasing him with double-meaning questions. The female friends did not participate in their non-veg jokes directly but were approving them by laughing. And every time his face turned pink, he found it difficult to cope with the situation. At last, the party came to an end. Everybody dispersed carrying Harish’s last sentence, “Don’t be late on twenty-first Jan. After all, you people need to manage the show.”
The big day arrived. Harish had to wake up early since the rituals were to start early morning. Guests started pouring in his house. Close friends and relatives were busy carrying out their self-taken responsibilities. Elderly people started reminding for taking out the Baraat whereas the younger ones were busy in their own irrelevant agenda. His house seemed much busier than ever. His father was busy welcoming guests wherein his mother was engaged in performing rituals.
Finally, the Baraat reached the Bride’s house at 3 PM. They were received with a huge, warm welcome. People started exchanging hugs. It was really a great moment for Harish, but he seemed somewhat nervous and preferred to stay quiet. Harish and his bride, Mimi, showed up on the stage. The marriage lasted almost 5 hours and by that time, almost all the friends and relatives were exhausted. It was around 11 PM when Harish reached back home with his bride. It seemed he had conquered his bride after fighting tooth and nail against all rituals and customs.
Now Mimi was his property. However, she was surrounded by women and close friends. Harish wanted to spend time with her alone, but being introvert, it was a challenge to convey his wish. He wanted to throw out all the people from his house who were just wasting his time in superfluous discussions. Mimi was silently listening to their talks.
His heartbeat was running at double the speed. Every minute passed seemed like an hour. And at last, his wish came true. After wasting his valuable 2 hours, the relatives and close friends trailed off from the room. Mimi stood up and went to the bathroom, which was attached to his bedroom. Till Mimi came back from the washroom, he engaged himself in other activities. He opened Google on his mobile phone and typed something on it. Dozens of illicit videos came up. He started seeing the videos one by one and buried himself completely. He was so engrossed in those videos that he did not realize when Mimi came out from the washroom and reached near him.
Suddenly, he grasped her presence. He could not hide his abnormal behaviour. Mimi was looking at him in disgust. Before she could reach any conclusion, he turned towards her. His eyes were red and his facial expression was completely changed. He was scanning her from head to toe.
Mimi was trying to look normal, but she was so scared from within. She had a very different perception of him. By the time she could confront him, he pushed by her shoulder. She could not maintain the balance and fell on the bed. Harish did not wait for a second and jumped on her. It was like a tiger pouncing on a deer mercilessly and not giving a chance for survival. She tried to resist with all the strength she had, but it all went in vain. Within a couple of minutes, she felt helpless. It seemed that the bricks of her dreams were collapsing one by one and she was unable to hold on to them. Like other brides, she too had many untold desires which were burnt on her first day of marriage.
