CHAPTER – 10

                                                

It is a bright Sunday morning, Gauri and her mother is en-route to market for weekend purchases. They were waiting for signal to turn green, when suddenly a car coming at high speed banged into their scooty from behind. The man behind the wheel was talking on phone and didn’t notice the signal. At the impact of the bang, Gauri and her mom lost balance and got thrown to sides while their scooty skied away.

Her mother hit her head on the ground and got her hands scrapped. Gauri had her helmet on, so though she hit her head, she is saved from injuries. But she lost her consciousness in shock. Her leg seems to have injured badly and her churidar is by now soaked in blood. Her mother started screaming seeing her unconscious and soon enough people gathered around them. The man who caused the accident is apologizing profusely and tried to help them into his car. People who gathered around aided him though they are hurling abuses at him.

Gauri’s mother tried calling her husband but his mobile is switched off and the land phone went unanswered. It seems like he took Chikku for a walk through the colony in their absence. She didn’t know what to do and is terrified beyond limits. She soon dialled Madhav’s number.

“Hello”

“Madhav...Madhav...Gauri...”

She started crying and Madhav got tensed. He had still not woken up since it is a Sunday. But seeing it is a call from Gauri, he took the call. But hearing her mother’s frantic voice, he became alert.

“Amma...what happened? Why are you crying? Where is Gauri?”

“Madhav....Gauri met with an accident. I’m not getting your father-in-law on phone. I’m scared, she is still not conscious and I’m alone here. Please can you come?”

“Don’t worry. I’m on my way. I’ll try to get through Papa. You please hold yourself up. I’ll be there in 5 minutes”.

He got the name of the hospital they were heading to and kept the call. He couldn’t keep a straight head after that. Barely taking time to dress he rushed out taking his car keys. As said he was there in hospital within minutes. He got through Gauri’s father while driving and informed him to head to hospital with Chikku. He rushed to the causality session and saw Gauri’s mother getting her wounds tended.

“Amma, where is Gauri?”

“She is in observation room”

“Is she hurt?”

“Doctor said her leg is fractured. She hasn’t gained consciousness; that’s why they have kept her in observation I think”

“How did this happen?”

“We were waiting for the signal, a car suddenly banged into us. He was coming in full speed and on phone, hence didn’t see the red signal.”

Madhav gritted his teeth.

“And where is that man?”

“He left after admitting us here”

“What? How can he leave like that? Did you note the car number?”

“No”

He ran his hand through the hair in frustration.

“Ok, you get your wounds dressed. I’ll go and see the doctor. Papa is on his way”

She nodded still trembling slightly from the accident. The unexpected incident scared her and she still seems reeling from it. He headed for the observation room but couldn’t enter inside. So he asked the nurse for the doctor’s cabin.

Doctor assured him Gauri is fine. Her left leg is fractured and it might take a month or two before it is back to action. And she has got some scratches on her body which will heal with time. Doctor explained that she lost consciousness because of shock. They have kept her in observation just to make sure there are no other complications. He thanked doctor and left his cabin assured.

Gauri’s father reached by then and her mother is weeping in her husband’s arms now. A sense of relief has washed over her face, he noticed. Chikku saw her father and ran into his arms crying. He held his daughter close to his heart and tried to stop the moisture in his eyes. He is also shaken from inside at the unexpected turn of events. Chikku is asking for her mother and he tried to soothe her with words.

He conveyed what the doctor said and asked his in laws to relax. When it was lunch time, he got coffee for them when they refused to have food. Then he took his daughter to the hospital canteen to buy her lunch. She was tired after all the crying. After making sure she is fed well, he asked them to leave for home with Chikku. But they refused since Gauri is still not awake.

“It is due to the sedatives. It will take time for her to wake up. Amma looks tired. It is better she goes home and get rest”.

Her mother was luckily saved from major injuries. She just had two stitches on head and some scratches on her hands which is already dressed. She looked weak. After a lot of convincing from Madhav, they left with Chikku who was getting cranky in the hospital atmosphere. Madhav promised to inform them when Gauri wakes up.

“I’m here”

That kind of convinced her parents and they left. Madhav eased into a chair in the corridor before the observation room and closed his eyes. Last hew hours changed the radar of his life once again. The fear and agony he went through from the moment he heard about Gauri’s accident has shook his core. The feelings he thought to have evaporated, resurfaced with double the force. He is again going back to the old lane of life which he himself took leave of.

Gauri and Madhav was a normal happy couple two years ago. Problems arose after he got promoted and his work life started demanding more time and energy from him. Same was the case with Gauri. Soon after delivery she went back to work and they got too busy in their lives handling work, home and parenthood. All of a sudden their life turned mechanical which went in a cyclic pattern of home-office-kid. Their professional life and parental life took precedence and Madhav found himself frustrated by all the responsibilities that came his way. Gauri too felt it but like most women, the mother in her took charge and she pushed back everything else. She forgot to be a wife or herself in this entire hullabaloo.

They forgot ‘romance’ in their relationship and life fell into a pattern. Work life tapped into him to a large extent and when he is back home, he couldn’t find it in him to indulge his wife or kid as he would like to. Initially Gauri took it in stride, understanding the work pressure but when she found him not making an effort to focus on their personal life she reacted. And that brought about differences of opinion in their lives. Madhav never responded to her arguments and often gave her silent treatment which agitated her even more. Suddenly she felt like he has lost interest in her and their life. To her it appeared as if he is ignoring her. It added to her insecurities of not looking beautiful as a result of the maternity weight.  

But there are two sides to each story. When Madhav got bogged down with the heavy duties of a family and professional life, he expected Gauri to be by his side to see through it all. He wanted his wife’s attention, romance, time and efforts solely for him. But Gauri, like most women, transformed from a wife to a mother and her daughter became the centre of her life. She got busy in handling her work life and her daughter that she forgot to give equal time and attention to her husband. Now, if we are to read it from her perspective, maybe she will also have the same complaint that she expected Madhav to be by her side while she handled the new role in life.

But the truth is, neither of them actually tried to talk it out. Lack of communication, misunderstandings, and insecurities led to distance in the relationship. Madhav got fed up of this routine life which consisted of work pressure, groceries, bills to be paid, loans and insurances, working wife who is fully focused on her baby; to such an extent that one day he asked for a break from everything. That left Gauri shocked and hurt. She sought out reasons for this decision and her bruised heart couldn’t accept any that Madhav put forth. She just saw them as excuses and tagged it as escapism. Uncaring words and ignorance led them to the pinnacle of a divorce in no time.

Their parents tried to intervene and sort out matters but Madhav could not bring himself to take a stand. He did realise major fault lay in him, his insecurity and his lack of will to hold his family together led to this downfall. He in fact felt ashamed that he often felt jealous of his daughter for having her mother’s attention and felt he is a bad parent to have such feelings. Counselling sessions that are part of divorce proceedings did help in making him realise that all these feelings are natural and withdrawal is not the right path ahead. But he felt he failed as a husband and a father. It started affecting his career as well.

In all this, he again came to a wrong conclusion that Gauri deserved better. He felt she deserved a better chance at life with someone who would understand and appreciate her. But no matter what, the love and concern remained intact between them. And it became all the more evident to him after this accident. He realised what he was going to lose and desperately wanted to make amends. And so, in that hospital corridor, he finally found clarity.

But what will Gauri’s response/decision be?!

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Though their reasons to lead to a divorce might sound silly, these are very common reasons for splits and distances in most marriages. Some overcome it through maturity by handing their responsibilities and reviving romance again and again amidst it. But some choose escapism or use it as an excuse to have other indulgences in life like alcohol, affairs, serials, social media and gossips. They maintain the relationship but it will never be the same again. In short, most marriages fall into the category of convenience, compromise and adjustments from these root reasons.

It takes a smart couple to handle it the right way, and mind you, its two people effort any day. No matter how hard one of them tries to work the relationship clock, they will never find success without the constant cooperation and will of the other partner. Married life is a long journey which can never be saturated without two people giving it their all!

Hence it didn’t come as a surprise when Gauri decided to give their marriage one more shot. Yes, Madhav and Gauri might have faltered slightly in their steps but they loved and cherished their relationship enough to repair it off its shortcomings. While her parents found this accident to be a blessing in disguise at the new turn of events and felt happy, her friends rejoiced at this news too. They had seen how Gauri tried to hide her pain and act nonchalant with regard to her divorce in past, but they couldn’t help questioning her decision to make sure she’s in the right frame of mind while at it.

“You’re sure right? Not taking any decision under the influence of emotions na?”

“Yes. Hmm, I can’t deny, I’m influenced by my emotions but not blinded to the practicality as well”.

Esther smiled in relief knowing that Gauri is taking this step with precision. All her friends were present when she is packing up to leave for her husband’s home. Tej and Thara are on conference call while Aaradhya and Azmia is having a Skype session with the group. Anjali as usual couldn’t make it, but she did convey her happiness through phone yesterday. This time, Thara refrained from giving any opinion, she just supported the conversation and it didn’t go unnoticed by her friends. But the atmosphere is filled with happiness that it didn’t jinx the situation.

“Well, I’m happy for you. But I just want you to be considerate of your feelings as well. It should not be a decision made for Chikku alone. That will be a big mistake you do to yourself”.

“No Jo, Chikku is definitely one of the factors that compelled me to take this decision. But it’s as much a decision for me as it is for her. From the moment of our separation this is what I waited for; I want, what we had, once again”.

“I seriously don’t understand what is so special in marriages when half the time it’s dipped in problems and compromises”.

“Well you’ll get to know when you get married Tej” Gauri giggled.

“I hope you both live up to this second chance Gauri. My best wishes”, Aaradhya and Azmia wished her via skype.

“Oh don’t worry, if the second chance didn’t work out, she’ll definitely keep giving him third and fourth chances until infinity”.

The sarcastic comment came from none other than Joanna. But Gauri had a befitting reply.

“No Jo, I didn’t give HIM a second chance, but to US. And I did not give it being a fool in love but because I genuinely believe we deserve this chance. But a third chance is not going to happen. We will make or break with this second chance”.

“Bravo. Go for it girl. You’re gonna rock this second innings”.

Gauri smiled at their encouragement. It’s not that she doesn’t value self-respect or her ego is not big enough, like Joanna suggested by her sarcasm; but she values what she has got and is not keen to lose it. But that doesn’t make her a ‘weak’ woman or ‘anti-feminist’.  She did make him walk up and down her doorstep for a week before finally agreeing to give their marriage another round to play out. Also she couldn’t overlook the mistakes she made too. Any day it takes two to tango. But this time she will make sure the two tangos to a happier phase.

 Rectifying mistakes, asking forgiveness, forgiving and moving on doesn’t lessen your self-respect but gives a new direction to live the same life again in a different way. Also it’s a good lesson in today’s generation when solution to every marital trouble is divorce.

But again we cannot glorify or underplay Gauri’s decision. It is ultimately a personal choice and as long as it works for her, it is worth it. Let’s hope Gauri finds what she is seeking.