Matrimonially, perfect

There she stood, in front of the mirror. Nothing extraordinary, definitely not exceptionally beautiful. A woman with a pear-shaped body and long, black hair stared back at Rachna. She had seen the same person over the years but today something was different. Today, Rachna had made up her mind. She was sick of all the negative energy.

It was as though her resolve was radiating some inner glow which formed a halo around her. Rachna giggled to herself at the imagery. She had chosen to wear a long, block print skirt with a deep, red blouse and she noticed with some pleasure that it seemed to hide a little bit of her pear-shaped body. Up until now her flabby body had never bothered her. Her parents were fat and she had inherited those genes. She had never thought about exercising or getting into shape when she was around her friends. It had never come up in conversation and she was happy the way she was.

She bent down and tugged at an errant thread at the hem of the skirt. Everything had to be perfect today. She stood up and reached for the kohl pencil she kept on her dresser. She never stepped out without applying some kohl to her big, black eyes. She picked up the pencil and noticed it was a little blunt. It had to be sharpened. Her sharpener, specially made for this purpose, was lying nearby. As she sharpened the pencil, she thought about how much Avinash liked her kohl-rimmed eyes. He had told her on their wedding night that it made her the most beautiful woman in the world. That memory sent a warm feeling through her body and she was now more eager than ever to set pencil to eye to get that perfect black underline to her deep, dark eyes.

Perfect she thought. So far everything that she had planned for today was done. The fact that the past three months had had no definite plan was a painful memory she forced out of her mind. Just three months ago, after a grand wedding back home, she had followed a stranger, to a strange country, to live with him and start a new life together. Rachna and Avinash had talked a lot about what she would do, when they moved to Dubai. Rachna had worked as a primary school teacher back home and wondered whether she could continue doing that here. But Avinash had found out, she would have to do a course and pass a test to get a teachers license.

She had set timelines for herself and wanted to get the license as soon as possible. But living away from home and getting used to her husband and her new life had come in the way of her plans. She never thought it would be this hard.

Rachna had met Avinash through a website. Actually Rachna's parents had met Avinash's parents through a matrimonial website. Fate and angels above had somehow led the families to each other. The families had liked what they saw and that meant they were satisfied by each others standing in society, economic acquisitions and familial duties. So the fathers had decided to take things further and that meant it was time for Rachna and Avinash to speak, get to know each other and reach a favourable decision. Rachna was intrigued by what she saw in the picture. Avinash was dressed in a smart, blue checked shirt tucked into jeans. He had a toothy smile that reached his eyes and was standing in front of some monument she did not recognize with a camera around his neck and a fanny pack around his waist. That was the only picture she saw of him.

Somehow that was how she pictured him, every night he had called. That image had been in her mind as she spoke with him for hours. Avinash, standing with a camera in front of a monument, smiling. They had tread cautiously at first and then the conversation flowed. She realised too late that Avinash had asked all the questions. All she had to do was answer. It has been easier than she thought it would be. He had asked her what she expected from marriage, what qualities she looked for in her life partner and where she saw herself five years down the line. It was like he was interviewing her for a job. She had mentioned it in passing to Avinash once and he had immediately stiffened up on the other end of the line and the questions had stopped for the night. She realised that had made him uncomfortable and made a mental note never to bring that up again. After a few days, the questions took a more personal turn. He started asking her about her opinion on children. He had said, ''If things between us go well and we decide to get married, how soon should we have kids and how many do you see yourself having?'' It had caught her off guard and there was an awkward pause. Avinash had realised that and had quickly moved on to something else. But thinking about that question late into the night after they had hung up, made Rachna smile shyly to herself.

She liked him and soon realised he did too. After a few days both of them conveyed their assent to their parents and all hell broke loose. Things moved quickly after that. She applied for a visa, the wedding date was set according to when Avinash could take a few days off, mothers started making lists and shopping for saris and gold and invitations were printed and mailed. Soon. it was D-day and Rachna found herself staring at a gaudy floral arrangement which seemed to proclaim to the world 'Rachna weds Avinash'. That was when it hit her. She was now Mrs Rachna Chandran, married by arranged marriage.

Saying goodbye and moving to Dubai was even worse. She was terribly homesick. She missed silly things, like the irritating sound of auto rickshaw honking outside her house, or the children from the slum, begging for money and food at street corners. She hated the long, never ending roads of Dubai, with its slick concrete and fast, plush cars. The sight of tall buildings sickened her and she longed for the tiny stores, in crowded, narrow lanes.

She had taken her anger out on Avinash, not by yelling and screaming but by sulking night after night. Nothing seemed to interest her anymore. She was bored but refused to do anything about it. She missed home and wanted to go back. Avinash had been surprisingly patient with her. Even when she had woken up night after night, missing her family and whimpering into her pillow, he had held her close and comforted her, told her she could go home whenever she wanted. But he had also let it slip that the tickets were expensive and a little out of their budget. He has set up a webcam for her and asked her parents to do the same, so that she could talk to them everyday and her parents could see her as they spoke for hours. That seemed to help. For awhile.

Two months into their marriage, Avinash had brought up the topic of her teaching license and the timelines she had set for herself. She had nonchalantly glanced at the website he showed her and continued staring at the television. Teaching would just have to wait. Rachna woke up tired every monring. She hated her life. She made breakfast for Avinash every morning and when he left for work, she surfed the web for hours, eating chips or cookies out of a packet, in her nightclothes, chatting with her friends when they came online and hating herself even more when they told her all about their busy lives.

It was during one of those conversations with an old friend that something changed. She was at the lowest point of her funk and her friend was telling her about her wedding that had been abruptly called off after her fiance had changed his mind. Questions were asked and people jumped to conclusions. But no one knew why he had changed his mind. Her friend had casually remarked about how lucky Rachna was. She had found the perfect man and was happily settled far away from irritating, nosy relatives. Away from all of them, where she could make a life of her own, where she could spend every moment getting to know the man she was married to, without anyone around to interrupt. She was in a land where she could spend evenings talking, playing, cooking, laughing in the company of her husband, making a life for themselves where no one else mattered. It was a never ending honeymoon.

At that moment something clicked in Rachna and she got up. She put away her packet of chips, put on some music and cleaned the house, cooked an elaborate meal, showered and while she put on her long, block print skirt and deep red blouse, she thought about her day ahead and just how perfect it was going to be.