Seetha Kalyanam Vaibohame

Rail Sneham

Seetha glared at Arun for which he touched his ear lobes in gesture of an apology and whispered a "Sorry maa" but she turned to look away. She stared out the window at the nothingness as it was dark. As the train started to move fast and the breeze hit her face, Seetha's stomach started to grumble. It wasn't her usual dinner time yet but, for some reason, she was hungry. Maybe it was just the journey.

Parvathy noticed Seetha glancing at the food basket that was under her seat. Seetha felt reluctant to say anything but Arun knew that his wife was hungry so he said, "Amma, adhu ennavo theriyala indha train la erinaale konja nerathula pasikka aarambichudardhu. Adhu yenne therila." Parvathy smiled knowing that he was speaking on behalf of his wife. She slowly pulled out the basket and said, "Seetha, unakku onnu theriyumo? Ivanum, periyavanum kozhandhaiya irukkarthe ippidi thaan naangal varsha varsham Coimbatore lerndhu Trichy varaikkum povom. Appo ippidi thaan Iva rendu perukkum vandi yerina pasikkum. Naan oru career la puliyodarai, thayir sadam ellam eduthundu varuven. Aparam ovvoru urundaiya rendu perukkum maathi maathi kuduppen. Ivan ava Appa madilerndhu erangave maatan."

Seetha smiled listening to Parvathy reminiscing. Parvathy pulled out three newspaper packets that were tied with twine. She handed one each to Seetha and Arun. Arun leaned forward towards Seetha and shut the window shutters down. He then looked at the confused Seetha and explained, "Kaathu la poochi edhavudhu saapadula vizhaama irukka thaan moodinen. Saapta aparam thorandhukalaam." She nodded in agreement but before shutting the window they made sure to wash their hands with the water in the bottle.

Seetha slowly pulled the twine and opened the newspaper cover only to be invited by the smell of the next layer of wrapping which was the banana leaf. Her mouth was watering already. She then opened that layer to be engulfed in the aroma of idlis covered completely, on both sides, with home made molagapodi. The idlis were packed when they were still hot so the aroma of the banana leaf had been absorbed by the idli making it extra delicious. Seetha could not wait anymore. She quickly broke a piece of the extremely soft and spongy idli and put it in her mouth. Yummm....it was delicious. She literally inhaled the 4 pieces. She ate it all a bit too fast that she started to have hiccups.

Just then the long arm beside her extended a cup of water saying, "Paathu maa paathu. Medhuva saapdu maa." She was embarrassed by the way she had gobbled up the food but was grateful for the water which she drank. Parvathy offered her another idli and looking at Seetha feeling reluctant, she said, "Vekka padaama saapudu kozhandhe. Ava Ava vayathu pasi ya ava ava thaan paathukanum. Nee chinna ponnu. Nanna saapadra vayasu. Ippidi vekka paduvaala? Indha innonnu eduthukko. Ennoda vayasukku enakku 3 ku mela saapda mudiyadhu. Aparam vazha pazham irukku. Flask la paal um kondu vandhirukken. Kuduchutta jannal a thorakkalam. Jillunnu kaathadikkum. Sugama thookam varum. Vidinja Madras ethiduvom."

Seetha smiled and nodded. She looked up at Arun and then looked at her molagapodi laden fingers. He chuckled and said, "Naan andha wash basin la kai alumba poren. En kooda variya?" She nodded and got up only to sit back down due to the moving train. She looked up at him helplessly. He chuckled and held out his other hand, "En kaiya pudichukko maa. Medhuva vaa." She glanced at Parvathy who gestured her to hold Arun's hand. Seetha held on to his hand and slowly started walking.

He let her lead the way and remained close behind in case she lost her balance. She slowly tiptoed to the washbasin and turned on the tap. She washed her fingers and then gargled her mouth. She then dried her hands in the pallu of her saree. She held on to the railings while he did the same. When he had to dry his hand though, she extended her pallu towards him. He smiled and looked into her eyes. He dried his hand in her pallu. Somehow, this action and the way he was looking at her made her blush. Since the had a moment of privacy, he asked her, "innum en mela kovama irukkiya maa? Naan thaan appove sorry sollitene." She looked up at him with a glare and said, "Naan eppidi bayandhutten theriyuma. Innime indha madhiri enna bayamurutha maaten nu en mela sathyama sollungo." He placed his hand on her head and said, "Innime enna panninaalum unnoda manasa nogattikkama nadandhukkaren. Ippo aavudhu konjam Siri maa."

She instantly flashed a smile and him and his hand automatically went to his chest. He smiled and said, "Seri thirumba seat ku polaama?" She nodded and turned around to take the lead yet again. While they had barely taken a couple of steps, the train decided to break and Seetha lost her balance. She gasped, afraid that she was going to fall but right then a protective arm came around her, wrapping around her waist. Before she knew, she turned around and grabbed his shirt, her face on his chest. He pulled her closer in a hug.

Both their hearts started to palpitate instantly. The close proximity felt new yet exciting. There were butterflies in their stomach. The moment froze for them and although the train had come to a standstill they remained in the position for a few moments. Just when Seetha realized it and was parting away from him, the train started to move again only to push her back towards her husband who, this time, decided to wrap his arms around her only to get a gasp and a "Achacho ellarum paakara" from her. Then she pulled herself away from him to walk back to her seat.

Both of them could not sleep that night but was it because of the train's movement or the incident from earlier? That's something only Seetha and Arun would know.

Brinda Subramanian