‘It’s courtesy my grand children. Think about the devils, and here they come,’ said the old woman affectionately as Prem and Preeti, aged five and three, flocked to her.
‘Don’t you remember me?’ asked Sandhya, inviting them into her arms.
‘You’re our beautiful Sandhya auntie,’ said Preeti while Prem remained shy.
‘Raja, I’ve heard that your father-in-law performed your wedding in style,’ said Perindevi. ‘By the way, how much dowry did your wife fetch?’
‘How I wish you were aware of the Archimedes Principle,’ said Raja Rao. ‘Just the same, you can appreciate that the more the groom is fascinated by the bride, the more he loses on the dowry. My father-in-law weighed me light for that.’
In the mirth that followed, as all eyes were on Raja Rao, none took note of Sandhya’s reaction to her husband’s banter.
‘It’s fun time with the relatives,’ said Raja Rao, as they stepped out of his sister’s place after dinner, ‘especially if wife is around.’
‘More so,’ she said trying to be sarcastic, ‘when her father is made fun of.’
‘You know,’ he said, cajoling her, ‘all that was in jest.’
‘Have I asked for your clarification?’ she said rather curtly.
‘So you want to hang me,’ he said tying his handkerchief to his neck, ‘without a hearing even.’
‘I only thought you’ve the gift of the gab,’ she said in the same vein. ‘And now I realize you’ve theatrics to boot.’
‘And you, in spite of your kaali avatar now,’ he said endearingly, ‘have the heart of an angel.’
For once, she seemed not pleased, and, in time, they boarded the city bus that barged in to the bus stop. After that long ride of silence they reached home. As Sandhya headed to the bed straight, however, after greeting her in-laws, Raja Rao followed suit.
‘Why make a fuss,’ he said turning her towards him cajolingly, ‘over some lighthearted nonsense.’
‘Who stopped you from finding a father-in-law who could have weighed you by gold?’ she turned her back to him.
‘I wonder how you took it all amiss,’ he said in wonderment. ‘Anyway, let’s forget about it. You’re God’s own gift to me, and you know that.’
‘Let’s forget about it,’ she said nudging him. ‘Good night.’
‘Sandhya,’ he said persuasively, ‘remember that sex is a gift of nature for both the sexes. If you start believing that you’ve more to give than receive in it, the woman in you would suffer as wife. Then, you’ll never be able to experience the joy of being a woman. Don’t ever demean lovemaking as an instrument of sexual blackmail. It helps you to know that sex is not about male satiation alone but is as much a womanly fulfillment.’