Disclaimer: This story is part of the #TornadoGiveaway posts by The Book Club and has been published as-is, in its unedited form on Tell-A-Tale.
Deepti Menon is a prolific writer and one who writes for a diverse set of genres as her contributions to various anthologies prove! She spins a masterful tale about parenting and its pitfalls….
“Veena, you will not talk to that girl next door!” Sumitra’s voice rose stridently and her nose turned a bright red, as it did whenever she lost her temper. “Look at her clothes! Besides, she has boys hanging around her all the time…!” Veena turned away wearily.
Naina was a normal, fun-loving girl and those boys were just friends – a concept her conservative mother could never conceive of, a boy and girl being just friends!
Naina’s parents were a broad-minded couple who had brought up their only daughter with the freedom to do what she wanted.
“We have faith in Naina.” Naina’s mother often said. “She knows how to make the right decisions!” Why couldn’t her own mother say things like that, Veena wondered. Probably the heavens would fall, if she did so!
How Veena longed to be like Naina, confident and picture-perfect, always knowing the right thing to say! Once she had been invited to Naina’s room and had stood awe- struck by the colourful posters, heart-shaped cushions and trinkets proudly proclaiming that this was a teenager’s room. “Oh, how I love your room, Naina!” she gasped, unable to stop touching the cuddly bed spread and the soft silken sheets. Her mother would have had a fit if she had seen her amidst such sinful luxury!
Naina once came over to invite Veena for her birthday party. Sumitra had stood like an avenging angel, blocking her way.
“Veena is studying. I do not want to disturb her. She will not be able to attend your party as we are going to her uncle’s house that evening.” Aware that it was an excuse, Naina pitied her timid friend for having such a harridan for a mother.
However, this disapproval did not stop the two from being friends. Veena went over to Naina’s house secretly and met many of her friends whom she found fascinating. Exams came and went, and both Veena and Naina did well. However, Sumitra dismissed Naina’s achievement, remarking, “Must be a fluke! I don’t see how that girl gets any time to study!”
There were days when Veena would get back from college after special classes and collapse in exhaustion. Sumitra would not have the heart to wake up her tired daughter, and it worried her to see Veena neglecting her health.
Occasionally Naina would call up and Veena’s eyes would light up, as she talked animatedly. But the moment her mother walked in, the animation would die out and she would hang up at once.
The scandal broke suddenly, as scandals always do. Mrs. Feroze, a nosy neighbour, discovered a letter which went thus. “Dearest, you mean the world to me! It is time we broke away from our parents and got married, with or without their blessings. I’ll wait for you in front of Pizza Hut at midnight. Don’t fail me.” No names were mentioned and Mrs. Feroze ensured that the whole world got to know about the letter.
Fingers were pointed, a number of names bandied about, and tongues wagged relentlessly. It came as no surprise when Naina’s name led the rest.
Sumitra told Veena smugly, “See what happens when a girl is brought up with no control! Thinking of eloping with a boy! Shocking!” As she walked out of the room she couldn’t resist a parting barb. “Her parents have got their just desserts!”
The neighbourhood was abuzz with talk, as Naina went about nonchalantly. Sumitra was like a dog with a bone. “What a disgrace! Who will ever marry that girl now? Her reputation…!”
“Stop it, Ma!” cried Veena in desperation. She was getting sick of the constant repetition. “Don’t go on and on! How I wish you were more forgiving, like Naina’s mother!” She stalked out of the room, the first time she had spoken so shortly to her mother.
The following week, a wedding came up and everyone was invited. Sumitra and her husband were watching the proceedings when Naina’s parents came into view. “Look at those two!” she hissed into her husband’s ear. “They are not in the least concerned about their daughter’s reputation!”
“Will you stop this, Sumitra, and try and enjoy the party?” mumbled her long-suffering husband.
Suddenly Naina breezed in, looking lovely in a purple outfit, a few friends in tow. Sumitra turned away with a disdainful sniff, when suddenly she noticed Veena going to greet Naina.
“Veena, where are you going?” she called out sternly. Veena’s face paled, but she walked on as if she had not heard her mother. Sumitra was incensed. She charged after her daughter like a raging bull, and caught her by her arm. “I asked you where you are going!
I told you not to associate with that girl! Especially after the scandal and everything!”
She turned around, an iron fist around her daughter’s hand, and almost bumped into Naina’s mother, who had heard every accusing word. She tossed her head and moved away, dragging an unwilling Veena behind her.
“Excuse me!” the voice was like a gunshot, making them stop in their tracks. Naina’s mother was right behind them, barely holding onto her temper. “I am Mrs. Kapila, Naina’s mother! I would like to talk to you now!”
Sumitra looked her straight in the eye and replied coldly, “But I have no wish to talk to you!” She turned away abruptly, when the ice-cold voice spoke again. “You had better listen to what I have to, unless you want some unpleasant home truths shouted at you across the room!”
Sumitra gave in with a bad grace and allowed herself to be ushered into the next room, which was empty. Mrs. Kapila began, “Why do you treat your daughter like a child? She is a young lady, well able to take her own decisions in life! Look at Naina, for instance!”
Sumitra could take it no more. “How dare you speak of my Veena and your daughter in the same breath? I do not want my daughter to be anything like Naina!” She spat the words out. “I would never want my innocent child corrupted by your daughter!”
She looked at Naina accusingly. “And talking of home truths, isn’t the whole world talking about how your precious daughter almost eloped with someone? Is that what you mean by allowing your daughter to take her own decisions in life?”
Mrs. Kapila cut in crisply, “That is quite enough! For your information, the letter that was found and the intended elopement were all too true. But the girl involved was not Naina!”
Sumitra smirked as she said, “Why should I believe you? No mother would admit to her daughter’s involvement in such a sordid affair!”
“Naina, come here!” The girl came closer, a worried expression on her pretty face. “Please explain what happened on that fateful night to this lady!” Naina stood transfixed, no words coming out of her mouth, as she looked at Sumitra, who said brusquely, “Come on, girl! Why are you looking so guilty? Weren’t you involved in the elopement?”
Naina straightened her shoulders and said firmly, “No, Aunty, I was not involved. However, the girl involved is a dear friend of mine…!”
“Of course, your friends can be no better than you are, can they?” countered Sumitra.
Veena had been listening to the whole conversation with a strained expression on her face. At her mother’s last words, her face paled and she cut in suddenly, saying hoarsely, “Mom, Naina had nothing to do with that letter.” She swallowed convulsively and went on, “That letter was addressed to me!”
Sumitra let out a shrill scream, “You silly girl! Why are you making up things? You don’t even know any boys!”
“Mom, listen to me!” The whole tale came tumbling out – one all too familiar! She had met Nalin at college, and they had taken to each other at first sight. Special classes seemed to be the perfect excuse. After months of friendship, he had proposed, and she had accepted, if only to get away from her overbearing mother’s clutches.
“Mom, it was Naina who noticed how things were between us and she stopped us from behaving foolishly. She reminded us of how hurt our parents would be and that an elopement was no way to start a new life!” Veena spoke agitatedly, trying to convince her mother, who sat as if turned to stone. “Mom, even though Nalin wrote me that letter, we would not have eloped, only because Naina convinced us not to! Otherwise we would have been married by now!”
There was silence after her voice died out.
Sumitra’s heart was cold within her. Her precious child, whom she had brought up so well, so strictly, had almost succumbed to temptation, and Naina, whom she had despised, had averted the catastrophe. For a moment, her mind went blank, and then tears started flowing down her cheeks. The others left her alone, as Veena sat by her mother’s side without uttering a word.
“Naina, my child!” Naina turned around in shock. Never had Sumitra ever spoken to her in that tone! “Can you forgive me? I had only contempt for you, assuming that you were running wild! I am sorry for everything I thought and said about you!”
Naina’s face lit up. “Aunty, please forget all that. Veena is a wonderful girl. You did what you felt was right for her and she reacted the way she wanted to. I am glad I could help her.”
Sumitra gave her an impulsive hug, tears still flowing copiously from her eyes. She turned to her chastened daughter.
“Veena, I am disappointed but I know it has been my fault to a large extent. I should have understood you, instead of trying to tie you down. Shall we forget all this and begin again?” She held out her arms and Veena ran into them, sobbing in relief as the other two slipped away.
Naina smiled as she gave her loving mother a bear hug. “Ma, thanks for being the way you are, for giving me my freedom and for letting me be! You always had the wisdom to know that I would never stray away from you!” And the answering smile on her mother’s face said it all!
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
DEEPTI MENON
“Deepti Menon wears her love of writing on her sleeve! She wrote her first poem at the age of ten, when she discovered how exciting it was to put words together and create a tapestry of images. Having been an Army brat, and then an Army wife, she wanted the whole world to share her admiration for this great institution. So she wrote a light-hearted book on her life within the Army, titled ‘Arms and the Woman’ which was published by Rupa Publishers in 2002.
It was much later that the bug of writing short stories with a twist bit her. Over the past two years, her stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, 21 Tales to tell, Mango Chutney, Chronicles of Urban Nomads, Upper Cut, Love: An Anthology, Crossed and Knotted and Rudraksha being a few of them.
“The idea is to write so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.” These words by the inimitable Maya Angelou find an echo in Deepti’s heart when she writes!”
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Very fitting story in today’s world. Well narrated.
Ruchi, thank you ever so much! Maybe in a world where view points are getting narrower, a story like this works! 🙂
All is well that ends well 🙂
I quite agree, Janaki! If only people could lose their narrow mindedness and live and let live, the world would be a happier place!