She had not felt like this for a long time now. However, today as she walked out of the office, she felt her spirits lift as a tiny drop of first rain fell on her cheek. She looked up and smiled at the clouds. Suddenly the premises of the office looked so unfamiliar and yet so pleasant to her. There was the most enchanting smell of wet earth coming from the lawn. She took a deep breath and walked out of the office premises. The trees on the road side were spotless green as the rains washed them. As she walked on the road with her heavy bag on her shoulders, she felt lighter in heart. She looked around and saw colorful umbrellas. Roadside hawkers were covering there stalls with blue plastic sheet. Some were rushing to get a shade even though it was just a drizzle. And then there were others who were welcoming the first rains with open arms. She wanted to feel happy too. She wanted be carefree and joyous, dance in the rain as she had done on many occasions as a teenager.
How Rajan had also loved rains! How they have had innumerable conversations over a hot cup of coffee in their balcony, enjoying the rains! And the occasional chai & pakorah at the roadside stalls to enjoy the beautiful weather. But then what happened 8 months back. She still couldn’t understand what broke her 2 year marriage with Rajan. There was no breach of loyalty on either side. Their families were also happy, after all it was an arranged marriage. There were no financial troubles. Richa could see something was disturbing Rajan for a couple of months but he never agreed to talk to her about it. And one day when he came back from work, he said living together was not worthwhile. He said he didn’t feel connected to her. He had to even make efforts to talk to her. She tried to make him understand that they’ll do everything to understand each other better. Their families intervened too. But this marriage had to meet its fate and it ended. She didn’t know what to do or say. She didn’t know whether she loved him or not but she definitely had made up her mind for spending rest of her life with Rajan. “Ah! I probably did love him”, she thought and her heart sunk deep in sorrow.
But today she wanted to feel happy again. She had always had a special thing with the rains. She had been a dreamy teenage girl and her creativity had been at the best during the rains. She had to dream again. All those dreams which she had thought were too foolish. All those dreams which she thought didn’t matter after she got married. She didn’t need any answers from Rajan. She just needed to fall in love again. Fall in love with so much beauty that was there in the world. In love with herself. In love with her dreams. She smiled as she realized she was quite drenched in the rain. She moved to the chai stall on the roadside, drowning her sorrows in the first rains.
How Rajan had also loved rains! How they have had innumerable conversations over a hot cup of coffee in their balcony, enjoying the rains! And the occasional chai & pakorah at the roadside stalls to enjoy the beautiful weather. But then what happened 8 months back. She still couldn’t understand what broke her 2 year marriage with Rajan. There was no breach of loyalty on either side. Their families were also happy, after all it was an arranged marriage. There were no financial troubles. Richa could see something was disturbing Rajan for a couple of months but he never agreed to talk to her about it. And one day when he came back from work, he said living together was not worthwhile. He said he didn’t feel connected to her. He had to even make efforts to talk to her. She tried to make him understand that they’ll do everything to understand each other better. Their families intervened too. But this marriage had to meet its fate and it ended. She didn’t know what to do or say. She didn’t know whether she loved him or not but she definitely had made up her mind for spending rest of her life with Rajan. “Ah! I probably did love him”, she thought and her heart sunk deep in sorrow.
But today she wanted to feel happy again. She had always had a special thing with the rains. She had been a dreamy teenage girl and her creativity had been at the best during the rains. She had to dream again. All those dreams which she had thought were too foolish. All those dreams which she thought didn’t matter after she got married. She didn’t need any answers from Rajan. She just needed to fall in love again. Fall in love with so much beauty that was there in the world. In love with herself. In love with her dreams. She smiled as she realized she was quite drenched in the rain. She moved to the chai stall on the roadside, drowning her sorrows in the first rains.
