Second Honeymoon

By Suguna Kannan

 

Nikhita, known to her friends as Nikki, was furious with her mother – maybe it was the result of her helplessness or was it the petulance of a pampered child thwarted of her desire and comfort? Whatever be the reason, the household became tense with her fury. Her mother-in-law Lakshmi hurried to hush the toddler and keep the pre-schooler out of Nikki’s way by whisking them away to her room.

Nikki and her husband Narayan were both a software engineers, who lived in the suburbs of San Jose, near Silicon Valley. When their elder son was a toddler, they had come to the Silicon Valley with stars in their eyes. The intervening years had been difficult with the birth of the second child, but they had managed with help from their respective mothers, who took turns to come and help them out with the kids and household work. Nikki’s feelings towards her mother-in-law Lakshmi were lukewarm at best…she just tolerated her though Lakshmi was affectionate and just as helpful as her own mother Raji. Lakshmi was a little in awe of her daughter-in-law, whose education and smartness had charmed her calm and easy-going only son. She was also a little afraid of Nikki’s temper though in these four years of living with Nikki, she realized that Nikki was basically like a jackfruit – rough on the outside but soft and sweet inside. Nikki was quick to anger but regretted her temper and was quick to apologize when she saw reason.

After nearly two years, Nikki was preparing to re-join the work force and her mother-in-law's visa was expiring soon. Nikki had asked her mother Raji, to come over to San Jose to help with the care of the children. Raji had said, “I cannot leave your father and come. He has just retired and needs me to be with him.” Nikki had retorted saying, “What do you mean ‘I cannot come’? What, if he has retired? Why does he need you? Are you going to have a second honeymoon? I never expected this of you Amma!” and she had cut the call infuriated at the idea of her mother saying ‘no’ to her. Her anger continued to smoulder inside her. When her husband returned from work, she poured out all her rage and anguish to a bewildered Narayan, who could not make out head or tail of what was happening. When he understood the reason for her anger, he was bemused – he recalled his elegant, calm, and sedate mother-in-law, who was the opposite of his hot-headed wife. He was sure that there was some solid reason for her refusal since he knew how supportive she had been to Nikki as well as her brother Nikhil. He decided that it was best to let matters simmer down before taking any action.

The next morning, he was surprised when he saw an email in his inbox from Raji. This was what she had written -

“Dear Chi. Narayan,

You may be surprised to receive this mail from me but I wanted to explain why I refused Nikhita’s request to come to the US.

As you are aware, I hail from Narsipatnam, a small town in Andhra Pradesh, though my ancestors were originally from Tiruchi. My father ran a small Udupi hotel and the income that it generated was just adequate to feed our family – my parents and my two younger siblings. As soon as I finished high school, I was married off to your father-in law, Krishna Sarma, who had two younger brothers, twin sisters, and a widowed sickly mother. He was a bank clerk and not much older than me and the only reason he had for not demanding a dowry was because his mother could no longer manage the household due to her ill health. They owned a house in the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. My mother had trained me well and I was quite adept at managing the house efficiently. The task of looking after my mother-in-law and the four siblings of my husband kept me very busy since my mother-in-law was very orthodox and did not like having servants in the house. My day would begin at 4.30 in the morning and end very late at night. I hardly saw my husband, who was often held up in the bank being the junior most clerk.

Three years later I had Nikhita and Nikhil followed two years later. Both my brothers-in-law and sisters-in law completed their studies and were married off. I had to manage the deliveries of my sisters-in-laws and settle the squabbles of my brothers-in-law with their respective spouses with minimal support from your uncle. Meanwhile, your uncle had been clearing bank exams and just when our children were at the crucial +2 level, he was transferred to Nizamabad. We decided that in view of his mother’s health and the children’s education, it would be better if I stayed on in Visakhapatnam and hold fort. That was the beginning of transfers for your uncle all over South India. Every transfer led to a promotion and there was no financial constraint. My mother-in-law after being bed ridden for several years passed away six months after Nikhita’s wedding. By then Nikhita was pregnant and since it was a difficult pregnancy, she stayed with me at Visakhapatnam while you were in the U.S settling down in your job. When your son was a toddler, she decided to join you and needed my help to settle down in San Jose. I agreed readily since Uncle was still in Bellary and said he would manage. I was with you people till six months ago – life was not easy in the U.S for a small-town girl like me but I endured it for the sake of Nikhita.

After I returned from the U.S, it took me nearly two months to get our house repaired and repainted. Two months later, Uncle retired and at last joined me in our house. After 34 years of married life, we were together for the first time alone in a house. Initially Uncle found it difficult to settle down and demanded a lot of attention from me. He expected to be waited on hand and foot by me and I obliged because it was not a new experience for me to look after someone. However, he soon got bored of being waited on and began helping me. Having lived on his own for several years, he is quite adept at managing the house. We have developed a routine, which does not require much conversation. He helps me to keep the house clean and with tasks in the kitchen without much fuss. We have at last begun to enjoy each other’s tastes in food, music and reading. We at last understood the importance of being alone and experienced true companionship - in which we are discovering each other’s likes and dislikes. All his life, he has lived away from home and slogged for the family. He deserves happiness and company in this phase of his life.

Please make Nikhita understand this. I am not saying I will not help you. All I ask for is time and when we are secure in each other’s company, we would like to come and help you with your issues.”

Narayan’s eyes misted over as he reached the end of the mail, and he experienced a mixture of emotions as he thought of his parents-in-law. He felt remorseful when he remembered his own father staying alone in their ancestral home at Rajahmundry and managing alone while his mother Lakshmi came to the U.S to help Nikhita and him. He resolved to have his father join them in the U.S because he realized that his mother also must be missing her husband of 40 years!

  

 Still from Mithunam(2012) Telugu drama film directed by Tanikella Bharani featuring                             S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Lakshmi.  Courtesy: movie.webindia123.com