Furiously wiping her neck and face with a hand towel, Meenu comes out of her special hell – that small airless, hot, stuffy arena where she daily performs her feats. No mean feats either – try a 24×7 job of pleasing four adults, one moody teenager and two kids, who are there on permanent basis and two almost permanent hanger-on’s – with your cooking. Yes, cooking.
Meenu may have switched off her gas burners but she is herself on a slow simmer throughout the day. The Father-in-law’s (FIL’s) dictat is ‘no cook’– no outsider in the kitchen to keep its sanctity intact; women of the house should cook. But the plural automatically turns into a singular. The Mother-in-law (MIL) feels that she has had her innings. So that leaves only Meenu. Naturally her husband and bachelor brother-in-law are above such menial tasks, though neither is averse to shouting if their taste buds get tingled the wrong way.
The Sister-in-law (SIL) is not ready to acknowledge that she has been married off and she has a home of her own. She is a doctor – a doctor! This has to be said in hushed, respectful tones – married to a doctor. To oblige the two sets of parents she had a child – now it is too much to expect her to bring up her child as well. She has a busy routine. So in the morning on her way to the hospital, she drops her daughter at their place. Meenu has to bathe her, feed her, look after her, as well as her two sons.
Meenu has been married for seventeen years. Yet she has to keep her head covered all the time – after all, she is the Daughter-in-law (DIL) – the daughter is free to wear the latest western outfits. The FIL had been very specific. No working girl. He wanted a ‘homely, domesticated, tamed’ DIL and had chosen Meenu because she fitted the bill. At times, Meenu feels that the synthetic saris were specially designed to make her life hell. With her head covered, palloo tucked in her waist and having six pairs of hands, metaphorically – she is the perfect example of an ideal DIL. Recently she tried to keep her head uncovered; the FIL threatened her with a raised hand in a raised voice.
What is her husband Nitin’s role? Very simple – bribing Meenu with chocolates. Meenu’s complaints made to him are no more than a child’s tantrums which have to be humoured. “Yes Meenu, I understand. You are sick of your routine. You are tired, you are fed up, come on baby, let us go for a long drive.” Chocolate number one is the long drive, number two is a halt at Meenu’s favourite eatery, number three is shopping, the results of which Meenu later presents to the rest of the family as gifts from her own parents.
Nitin is unable to solve Meenu’s problems. He is in the joint family business and the father holds the controls. Meenu’s father had seen the flashy SUVs standing outside Nitin’s home, the sound reputation of the family in the business world and had thought he was lucky. It was a brilliant catch. Everyone had appreciated Meenu’s kismet. Meenu’s father had assured the to-be in-laws that she was not interested in pursuing any job. If Nitin were to protest, to take cudgels on Meenu’s behalf, he will be thrown out of the house and business and be left with no standing in the market. His ancient (20 years old!) engineering degree won’t fetch him a good job. So he has honed the art of offering chocolates to Meenu – the right amount at the right time.
There are no problems in Nitin’s life – he is having his cake and eating it too. He considers himself a very understanding, accommodating, cooperative loving husband. Moreover, he does not have to shed his sweat in the kitchen. Meenu, a commerce graduate and a volleyball champion, has lost her team spirit, killer instinct – even her ability to aim. Her desires have shrunk so poorly that now she longingly looks at her sons playing gully cricket and wants to join them. Alas, she is tethered to the kitchen; raring to run, to play but reminds herself she is a grown up involved in the serious business of living and her father has yet to marry off her two younger sisters, her sons need their father. Therefore gradually she accepts the chocolates.
For the sake of holding on to her family, Meenu has let go of her personal aspirations. She is living a life of quiet desperation. But for how long? She is no more the unsure, uprooted bride. How long will she accept Nitin’s chocolates?
Life goes on – the twist waiting on some turn.
palloo – end of a sari, draped over the shoulders. Used to cover the head in some communities in India
kismet – fortune
(Image source:Steven Depolo from Wiki used under a CC BY 2.0 license)
