Aboli

Part 41

They say you can keep a flower concealed but cannot mask the fragrance it exudes. As summer gave way to monsoon the mother noticed the teenager whom she had borne and nurtured over the years blossom into a young woman. She watched quietly as Sanyukta lined her eyes with light feathery strokes of kohl, dressed her hair neatly, rubbed on lip balm and misted herself with deodorant  before leaving for work. Her body language and gait was more ladylike and graceful. She had come a long way from her unfettered and unadorned original self, from being someone who rarely bothered to glance into the mirror. Anju wondered if this metamorphosis had anything to do with Sanyukta spending more time with her mentors at work. 

Anju knew that while Randhir was committed to building a career, for Parth life had begun to revolve around Vidushi. She feared that Sanyukta being on the cusp of youth, could become inspired by Parth's romance and fall for someone at the office. It was only natural for a girl her age to be drawn to the opposite sex. Anju could never forget how she had fallen for the charming Harsh Shekhawat like a ton of bricks and had suffered agonisingly when she had to walk away from him. No, her daughter would not suffer a heartbreak if she could help it, she had to warn the impressionable girl before it was too late. She sighed, she was relieved that Sanyukta was going back to college soon. 

There was no visible attraction toward anyone in particular but Anju knew that if Sanyukta chanced to meet somebody she could lose her focus easily. She felt it was time to remind her daughter of her academic goals, she had no choice but to pursue a career that gave her the means to fend for herself. Life had taught Anju a hard lesson, her woes had compelled her to become financially independent in order to survive. Her daughter would have to follow suit, there were no shortcuts to success unless one was prepared to compromise on one's integrity. Falling in love was a luxury Anju and her daughter could ill afford, and the reason for that was too complicated for her to explain to the inexperienced. 

"If you love that Shekhawat boy truly and want him to be happy then you will marry the man we have chosen for you! You cannot be impulsive and selfish." Anju could never forget her uncle's words, and her eyes teared up. No Anju, you cannot be weak after all these years, what happened was for everybody's best, especially for the man you were deeply in love with, she tried to console herself. She decided she needed a distraction to dispel her thoughts and went into the kitchen to rustle up something for her daughter who would be home soon. Emotional eating was not new to Anju, it had compensated for hours of loneliness. Anju was making popcorn when Sanyukta returned. "Ma, this smells so good!" Sanyukta chirped happily. "Go freshen up, I'll make us some coffee!" Anju said, sending her daughter into her room. 

In a few minutes mother and daughter were sipping the freshly brewed coffee and munching on warm popcorn. "Ma, when do you start you training?" Sanyukta was referring to her mother's new job position. "I guess it will be a couple of weeks before the training commences." Anju replied. "I am so happy you breezed through the interview to be selected." Sanyukta smiled at her. "You know this happened because Harsh roped me in!" Anju said softly, her voice trailing off. Sanyukta was perceptive enough to know the reason for her mother's discomfiture. Anju rarely approached Harsh, rather she took pride in being self-reliant. After helping her find a teaching job over twelve years ago Harsh had largely left mother and daughter alone at Anju's request.

Sanyukta had never understood what exactly went wrong between Harsh Shekhawat and her mother, she had never dared to ask. It was confusing because there was no acrimony or discord between them. Everyone knew that they were in love, but one day Anju suddenly broke up with him and settled for an arranged marriage with a man recommended by her guardian, her dead mother's only brother. Although Harsh was distressed initially he too went on to marry the girl chosen by his father. His wife had given him two sons within three years of the marriage while Anju suffered miscarriages and bore a daughter later, much to her husband's disappointment. After becoming widowed the single mother never remarried, resigning herself to her fate.