Mr. and Mrs. Rao – Part II

Not a lot was spoken over dinner. The three of them left the house after dinner. Mr. Rao locked the door behind him. As they waited for a taxi, Mr. Rao spotted a vendor selling jasmine flowers woven together. He bought a gajra for his wife. Vasant was fascinated at the understanding the couple had. Mrs. Rao stood with her back to Mr. Rao as he asked her for a hair pin. He then proceeded to neatly clip it to her hair. They got into a taxi and reached the theater.

Vasant bought ice cream for all of them. Mr. Rao had no problems feeding ice-cream to his wife. She excused herself and went ahead leaving the two men behind.

“Sir, how did the tragedy happen?” asked Vasant.

“It is a long story. Our elders had arranged for a meeting. Like I told you I had only one wish about the girl I would get married to. Surekha fitted that and we decided to get married. Everyone was happy about the impending celebrations but somehow I got wind that not all was fine. I went and met Surekha’s father. He was inconsolable. He begged me to forgive him. He said that he had cheated me and we should not go ahead with the wedding. I asked him to tell me everything and then he told me the whole story”

“Story?”

“Yes. Surekha has a twin sister, Rekha. To hide Surekha’s tragedy they had dressed up Rekha as her twin. I asked him why did they do this and the poor old man of 65 could not control himself any longer. He said ‘Rekha and Surekha are twins. Their aunt loved them a lot and took both the girls to her village to live with her when they were in school. All was going well when one day this happened. Girls and boys in the school were always competing against each other and would like it when the teacher punished their rivals. So the girls would generally get inside the class and shut the doors. So when the boys would come in late the teacher would cane them. One day the boys decided to take similar revenge and did the same with the girls. And on that day .. during the ensuing commotion Surekha’s hand got caught between the doors and was crushed. The poor kid was crying and howling but her voice got lost in the noise and by the time they realized it was too late. We tried everything from bringing her to Mumbai to taking her to the best of doctors but nothing came through and finally her hand had to be imputed at her wrist. I am sorry that I did this to you, but whenever you become a father maybe then you will understand what I did and why I did it.’ I heard this story and just told him that I will marry Surekha and her only” said Mr. Rao.

“Sir, you are simply great. Knowing that she did not have a proper left hand you still married her. It is really commendable” said Vasant.

“You have to pay for whatever wrong you do in this world” Mr. Rao said.

“I didn't understand sir”

The bell rang indicating that the picture was about to begin.

“I will tell you later. Come on now. Let’s go watch the movie.”

 Vasant and Mr. Rao made their way in. Inside the theater Mr. and Mrs. Rao were electrified as they saw their favorite actors performing on the screen. The sound of their laughter resonated across the theater  It looked as if these two had met their long lost friends are enjoying every second of it. 

They returned back to the house. Having changed into his night clothes, Vasant went out to the balcony.  

As Vasant stared into the silence and the beautiful moonlight that now engulfed the city of Mumbai, Mr. Rao joined him. Vasant was left with no words and no questions but with he was still restless.

“Vasant sir, why did you call me great?”

“Sir, what you have done requires a lot of courage. Most people would have refused the proposal”

“I just could not have done that. How could I when I am the one responsible for her condition?”

“I don’t understand sir”

Mr. Rao was now unable to hide his tears. He said, “I was one of the boys involved in closing the door on her hand. The day Surekha’s father told me the story; I realized what a mistake I had made as a kid. I decided that I would get married to her and will play the role of her left hand. I am happy that god gave me an opportunity to correct that mistake”

Mrs. Rao came out of her room and called Mr. Rao out. When he turned to face her, there were no tears at all. The couple wished good night to Vasant before retiring for the night. As Vasant gazed out at the beautiful moonlight, he realized that Mr. and Mrs. Rao were in tune with life like Lata Mangeshkar would be with her singing and had comedy running in their veins like Laurel and Hardy.