Uncle, Aunty and a hug
Mansi spotted them - uncle and aunty. They were sitting on one of the backseats of the marriage hall of a friend's wedding. She was seeing them after a good 15 years and she was happy to see the there. No. Happy would be an understatement. She was thrilled!
"15 years was a long time. The present day Mansi would be very different than the Mansi, aunty and uncle would remember," she thought. The families had stayed close to each other in Mysore. Uncle had been so much fun. He was in the forest department and when she was a little girl, he would regale Mansi and her sister with the stories of his adventures in the forest. Mansi's father and uncle got along very well and had been the best of friends.
Uncle had a daughter - Divya. Divya was a very active teenager - extremely good in studies and very involved in her extracurricular activities. And since she was such an active teenager, she was rarely visible at her home. Once she finished her studies, she got "campus-recruited" in a good position in one of the MNCs in Mumbai. Whenever Divya was in town, Mansi looked forward to meeting her. She was one of the most interesting teenagers she had met. They both got along very well and knew each other's deepest secrets. Divya was not the only reason she liked going to the house. She liked the family itself.
That day when Mansi saw uncle and aunty at the wedding function, she ran across the room, holding her two year old son's hand.
"HIII..." she called out.
To her surprise, the “hi” that was returned back was restrained.
She did not understand that. “Were they not happy to see her?"
"That expression must have been a mistake,” she said to herself and called them again.
"Hello!!!" she said as she waved her hand. "How are you both doing?"
Uncle and aunty gave back a restrained smile. "We are doing fine. Just fine." they seemed to say.
Uncle and aunty's facial expressions seemed to show regret along with some arrogance.
“Why were they sorry?” Mansi thought in confusion. Putting the thought aside, she pushed her son forward and said "Aunty, see my son!" She smiled widely hoping to see some of the old friendliness. She saw some more arrogance on their face.
That put Mansi back to reality. "Meet my husband," she said - this time with a peaceful smile. Her voice was back to normal by then and she had made peace with herself.
As Mansi sat with some time to herself, she thought over whatever she had heard about the family from her father. Uncle had long retired from the forest department. Divya had continued working in the company she had joined 15 years back and had by then grown to be in the top management of the company. Mansi herself, in contrast, was primary school teacher. She also remembered a bitter fight that had happened between Divya and her. There were things that had happened that had left Mansi deeply hurt but that was long back and she had long moved on.
As she remembered the regretful face of aunty, she couldn't help wondering with a little sadness, "What were they sorry for? For Divya? In spite of her good career, was she not leading a happy life?"
"Were they sorry for her that she did she not scale up to Divya’s professional achievements?"
"Or on second thoughts, were they still carrying the burden of the 15 year old incident?"
She shook her head in disbelief as she turned back to her son, who was calling her by then and felt bliss as she scooped him in her arms.
"Wish I could hug them both and get them to smile too," she thought as she playfully ran behind her son.
"15 years was a long time. The present day Mansi would be very different than the Mansi, aunty and uncle would remember," she thought. The families had stayed close to each other in Mysore. Uncle had been so much fun. He was in the forest department and when she was a little girl, he would regale Mansi and her sister with the stories of his adventures in the forest. Mansi's father and uncle got along very well and had been the best of friends.
Uncle had a daughter - Divya. Divya was a very active teenager - extremely good in studies and very involved in her extracurricular activities. And since she was such an active teenager, she was rarely visible at her home. Once she finished her studies, she got "campus-recruited" in a good position in one of the MNCs in Mumbai. Whenever Divya was in town, Mansi looked forward to meeting her. She was one of the most interesting teenagers she had met. They both got along very well and knew each other's deepest secrets. Divya was not the only reason she liked going to the house. She liked the family itself.
That day when Mansi saw uncle and aunty at the wedding function, she ran across the room, holding her two year old son's hand.
"HIII..." she called out.
To her surprise, the “hi” that was returned back was restrained.
She did not understand that. “Were they not happy to see her?"
"That expression must have been a mistake,” she said to herself and called them again.
"Hello!!!" she said as she waved her hand. "How are you both doing?"
Uncle and aunty gave back a restrained smile. "We are doing fine. Just fine." they seemed to say.
Uncle and aunty's facial expressions seemed to show regret along with some arrogance.
“Why were they sorry?” Mansi thought in confusion. Putting the thought aside, she pushed her son forward and said "Aunty, see my son!" She smiled widely hoping to see some of the old friendliness. She saw some more arrogance on their face.
That put Mansi back to reality. "Meet my husband," she said - this time with a peaceful smile. Her voice was back to normal by then and she had made peace with herself.
As Mansi sat with some time to herself, she thought over whatever she had heard about the family from her father. Uncle had long retired from the forest department. Divya had continued working in the company she had joined 15 years back and had by then grown to be in the top management of the company. Mansi herself, in contrast, was primary school teacher. She also remembered a bitter fight that had happened between Divya and her. There were things that had happened that had left Mansi deeply hurt but that was long back and she had long moved on.
As she remembered the regretful face of aunty, she couldn't help wondering with a little sadness, "What were they sorry for? For Divya? In spite of her good career, was she not leading a happy life?"
"Were they sorry for her that she did she not scale up to Divya’s professional achievements?"
"Or on second thoughts, were they still carrying the burden of the 15 year old incident?"
She shook her head in disbelief as she turned back to her son, who was calling her by then and felt bliss as she scooped him in her arms.
"Wish I could hug them both and get them to smile too," she thought as she playfully ran behind her son.
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