Sapno Ka Shaher

Kal aur Aaj

Sameer entered Aryan's house listening to the 8 knocks of the antique pendulum clock on a wall and he looked around. The living room of the house was pretty big. There were almost three seating arrangements in the living room itself. Major portion of it was occupied by two big sofas, two sofa chairs and a big tea table. One corner had a dining table with four chairs, adjacent to a bar filled with differently shaped bottles of whisky, scotch and wine. At the other end of the big living room, which had a balcony attached to it, there were two antique wooden chairs facing each other and a centre table between them. The latest imported model of Samsung TV and two big speakers were decked on a TV set. Also, there was a Sony company's CD player, which appeared to be imported again, a VCR and a projector connected to it. Sameer figured that Aryan must watch films and auditions on a bigger screen with the help of the projector. The two doors and a passage seemed to be leading to bedrooms and kitchen.

"Come Sameer... have a sit..." Aryan pointed to the antique chairs.

Sameer greeted him with a smile and nodded.

"You need water?" Aryan asked him midway.

"No, thank you." Sameer said politely and went on to acquire one of the chairs.

"Actually, mai bhi bass thodi der pehle hi ghar aaya hu, toh just give me two minutes okay?" Aryan stated.

"Yeah sure." Sameer shrugged.

As Aryan disappeared in the kitchen, Sameer made himself comfortable on the chair and tried to look outside on the balcony through big glass windows. He couldn't see much but only the city covered in lights, which still looked so spectacular. There was something so appealing about this city that no matter how much struggle you go through, you still tend to love this city. He wished he could have shown this sight to Naina someday and see her face glowing more than these lights.

The remembrance of Naina took him to the daytime again. As he and Papa had finished their lunch, Rakesh had gone for the post lunch cleaning and Sameer came back to Naina after keeping his plate. He had offered help to Rakesh but was denied with a reason that he is capable enough to do things on his own. Sameer had just smirked, knowing the real reason behind it that Rakesh was just giving them some privacy and some time alone, as all that Naina had needed that time was Sameer. When he had returned to the bedroom, he made Naina lie down the mattress, with the hot water bag on her stomach and let her sleep again. He had read magazines while seated next to her and kept a check on her if there is any fever or something. Later, when he found he had some time, he had washed some clothes they were supposed to wash the next day.

In the evening, Naina was finally feeling better and the glow on her face had returned. Sameer and Papa had felt relieved to see that but then again found themselves in another dilemma. Since Sameer was supposed to reach at 8pm at Aryan, it implied he needed to leave by 7pm. And at such an odd time, they all were confused if Sameer should leave after having his early dinner or eat some heavy snacks. Naina had proposed she would make quick theplas, but she was strictly warned to not enter the kitchen by the two men. Finally, on Sameer's request, Rakesh had brought samose and kachori and they all relished them quite later than the usual time. Rakesh promised to make a simple meal for the two and khichdi for Naina, as she wanted.

It was time for Sameer to leave, when Naina had just stopped him in the living room. She walked to the Krishna idol in the room and lit a diya. While she was praying to the god, Sameer had just leaned his hips on the trunk and was admiring his wife by folding his arms. In this period of over a year, he had seen a transition in Naina's perspective about periods. When she was on her periods after the wedding, she hadn't entered the kitchen, pooja-mandir and the swimming pool because of her beliefs since her childhood. And Sameer had comforted her that she need not follow all these things and can freely participate in everything she wanted to. He knew it wouldn't happen in one day, that Naina would suddenly start working in the kitchen or do a pooja. But he had given her time and complete freedom to think about the process on her own. It wasn't that he wanted her to forcibly accept the changes, but just that whatever she's doing, she should know why she's doing. And it took quite a few months for Naina to discern the exact reasons behind the whole process of menstruation and the stigma around it. She gradually discovered that women weren't restricted to go to the kitchen or temple because they were impure, but just because in old times women were involved in strained physical activities and would be asked to rest during periods. She soon comprehended that the menstrual blood cannot be dirty where a new life was supposed to be born. And she started taking decisions on her own during her periods. If she wanted to go to the kitchen, she did. If she wanted to go to poojaghar, then she did that too. And Sameer was glad to see that.