NUPUR

“Majak hi kar rahe the hum, Abhisar. Jyada din nahi rukenge hum, reh hi nahi payenge aapke bina hum.”

"I was just joking, Abhisar. I won't stay for too long; I won't be able to manage without you."

He smoothened my hair gently with his fingers.

“Aapko jitne din rehna hai aap rahiye, Nupur. Aapka mayeka hai. Aapke maa-baap hai. Hum kabhi bhi aapko mana nahi karenge.”

"Stay for as long as you want, Nupur. It's your maternal home. Your parents are there. I will never stop you."

I know. Whatever anger he has towards me family, he never stops me from showing my affection towards them.

How can I not love them?

I have spent my entire childhood there. I was born there.

I miss Maa. I miss Babuji. I miss my sister-in-laws. I miss my brothers although I know they never did anything good to me.

But how can I forget them? I'm connected to them by blood.

“Aa jaenge Abhisar.”

"I'll come, Abhisar."

He pulled back and cupped my cheeks,

“Aapki yaad aaegi hume.”

"I'll miss you."

I smiled through my wet eyes, “Hume bhi, bahut jyada.”

"I'll miss you too, a lot."

“Aap hu—” he was about to speak when we heard a knock on our door.

“Didi hongi, aap...kapde peheniye pehle.”

"It must be Didi... you.. you wear your clothes." I said to which he quickly took out his kurta pajama from the cupboard and wore it within a minute.

I moved towards the door to unlock it and as expected, Didi stood there.

She smiled brightly, “Taiyaar bhi hogayi?”

"Are you ready?"

I bent down to touch her feet and muttered,

“Ji didi, aaiye na andar.”

She walked inside and spotted Abhisar standing beside the cupboard.

“Arey, humare devar ji bhi taiyaar hai.”

"Arey, my brother-in-law is also ready."

He did the same as me, bent down and touched her feet,

“Ji bhabhi. Aap itne sawere uth gayi Aaj?”

"Ji bhabhi. You woke up so early today?"

She chuckled, “Sawere? Har roz hum deri se uthte hai kya?”

"Morning? Do I wake up late every morning?"

He let out a soft laugh and shook his head,

“Humara woh matlab thodi tha, Bhabhi.”

"I didn't mean that, Bhabhi."

Didi focussed on me and cupped my cheeks, smiling widely,

“Humne kaha tha na tumhe, devar ji Maan jayenge. Bahut pyaar karte hai tumse.”

"I had told you na, devar ji would agree. He loves you a lot."

I smiled, and my eyes moved to look at him, who was smiling slightly too.

Didi gazed at both of us, then she said to him,

“Aapko pata hai Abhisar, Nupur ka toh bura haal tha soch - soch kar ki uske patidev toh usey jaane nahi denge. Humne kaha tha isey, Kam naa samjhe humare devar ji ko. Biwi ke zid ke aage jhuk hi jaenge.”

"You know, Abhisar, Nupur was really upset thinking that her husband wouldn't let her go. I told her not to underestimate my devar. He will bend in front of his wife's stubbornness."

I bit my lower lip, shyness washing over me.

“Haan bhabhi. Ab ek majbur pati kar bhi kya sakta hai? Khauf bana ke rakhti hai na biwiya.”

["Yes, bhabhi. What can a helpless husband do? Wives keep them on their toes, don't they?"]

Didi  laughed along with him and I widened my eyes, looking at him.

“Aap dono baatein kijiye, hum bahar dekh kar aate hai, bail-gaadi wala aaya ya nahi.”

["You both talk, I will go outside to see if the cart has arrived or not."]

We both nodded and Abhisar walked outside after giving me a final soft gaze.

Didi held my hand gently and cupped my chin,

“Bahut pyaari lag rahi ho. Nazar na Lage kisi ki humari devrani ko.”

"You look very lovely. May no one cast an evil eye on my sister-in-law."

I smiled.

“Aap kab niklengi didi, apne mayeke ke liye?”

"When will you leave, didi, for your maternal home?"

“Aaj sham. Humara gaon thoda nazdik hai na. Raat tak pahuch jayenge.”

"This evening. Our village is quite nearby na? We'll reach by tonight."

I gave her a nod.

“Nupur... Pehli Teej me saas taufa deti hai Bahu ko..”

Her eyes softened.

“Hum dono ka saubhgya nahi ki humari saas humari pehle teej mein Hume taufe de.”

"It’s not our fortune that our mother-in-law will give us gifts on our first Teej."

I gulped.

She cupped my cheek,

“Par... Abhigyan ji aur hum chahte hai ...tumhe saas ki taraf se jo-jo taufe Milne the.. woh hum apni taraf se tumhe bhet me de.”

"But... Abhigyan and I want to give you the gifts that you were supposed to receive from your mother-in-law as a present from us."

“Didi—” I tried to interrupt but she shushed me.

“Ek shabd nahi.”

“Par—”

“Humne kaha na ek shabd nahi, Nupur. Tumhare saaman ke sath taufe rakhwa diye hai tumhare bhaiya ne. Mehendi, mithaiyan, kapde, churiyaan, jewar, sab kuch. Bahut pyar se humne saree liya hai tumhare liye.”

"I told you not a word, Nupur. Your bhaiya has kept the gifts with your things. Mehendi, sweets, clothes, bangles, jewelry, everything. I have chosen the saree for you with a lot of love."

I smiled, my eyes immediately filling up with tears, and I grabbed her hand,

“Aapne itne pyaar se diya hai toh hum wahi pehen kar puja me baithenge, Didi.”

"If you've given it with so much love, then I'll wear it for the prayer, ."

She came forward and pulled me into a tight hug, wiping my tears away.

“Humne humesha se kaha hai, Hume chhoti behen chahiye thi humesha se, aur bhagwan ne tumhe bhej diya humare pass. Itni pyaari behen dedi hume.”

"I have always said that I wanted a little sister, and God has sent you to me. He has given me such a lovely sister."

I pulled back after few minutes, smiling widely.

Just when we were about to stand up, her gaze caught my neck and she traced her fingers,

“Arey.. yeh kya hua?”

"Arey, what happened here?"

I felt so shy. So shy. That I wasn't able to reply.

Maybe she read my shyness, and she immediately chuckled after few seconds,

“Hey bhagwan. Yeh dono bhai ek jaise hai.”

"Oh God. These two brothers are just alike."

I let out a soft laugh this time.

“Humne bahut baar aise nishaano par powder lagaya hai, tum bhi laga liya karo, warna sab puchne lagte hai, jaise humne puch liya kuch aur samajh ke.”

"I've applied powder on such marks many times; you should do it too. Otherwise, everyone starts asking, as if I've asked something else."

“Humne koshish Kiya tha... Ekbar.. kuch samay baad paseene se powder hatt gaya.”

"I tried... once... but after some time, the powder came off with sweat."

She laughed as we stood up and walked towards outside.

“Ekbar bagal ki ek chachi aai Hui thi. Unhone dekh kar pucha, humare pass toh shabd hi nahi the. Humne kaha macchar ne kaat liya hoga, magar fir bhi woh nahi maani, aur sab ko kehne lagi, Sarpanch ji ki biwi ko janm se daag hai.”

"Once, an aunt from next door came. She saw it and asked...I was left speechless. I said it must have been a mosquito bite, but she still didn't believe me and started telling everyone that the Sarpanch's wife has an inauspicious birthmark."

“Sach? Hey bhagwan. Hum toh sochte hai, unhone kabhi yeh sab nahi kiya hoga kya didi, kaise puch leti hai dusron se yeh baatein.”

"Really? Oh God. I always think, have they never done any of this? How can they ask others these things?"

She smiled genuinely.

“Humare pati Hume pyaar karte hai, Nupur, iska matlab yeh toh nahi ki sab ke karte ho na. Kisi kisi ke nasib me toh pyaar ka ehsaas kabhi aata hi nahi. Bas bandh ke reh jaati hai ek rishte me, jiska uddeshya sirf Ghar sambhalna, poori raat pati ki zaroorat poori karna, aur bacche ko paida karke unko paalna hota hai. Pati kabhi puchne bhi nahi aate, tum theek ho ya nahi.”

"Our husbands loves us, Nupur; that doesn’t mean everyone else does. Some people never get to feel love at all. They remain stuck in a relationship whose only purpose is to manage the household, fulfill their husband's needs all night, and bear children to raise them. Those husbands never even ask if you are okay or not."

I smiled too, remembering my home. My mother. My badi bhabhi.

“Sahi keh rahi hai aap, Didi. Humne kabhi apne babu-ji ko Maa se puchte nahi dekha ki woh theek hai ya nahi. Kabhi ijjat se baat karte nahi dekha. Na hi bhaiya ko. Pehli baar iss Ghar me aake dekha... aapko aur Bhaiya ko...kis tarah aap dono ki jaan basti hai ek dusre me. Warna humare liye toh pyaar ka matlab hi dhokha tha.”

"You’re right, didi. I have never seen my father ask my mother if she is okay or not. I have never seen him talk to her with respect. Neither have I seen that with my brother. For the first time after coming to this house, I’ve seen how you both are so devoted to each other. Otherwise, for me, love only meant betrayal."

“Tum yeh baatein kar rahi ho, Nupur. Hume toh pata bhi nahi tha ki bacche akhir aate kaise hai, yaa fir yeh cheezein hoti bhi hai. Buddhu the hum bilkul. Abhigyan nahi hote toh... Aaj toh humara —”

"You are talking about these things, Nupur. I had no idea how children even come out, or if these things exist at all. I was completely clueless. If it weren't for Abhigyan... today would have been—"

I chuckled.

“Hume pata hai, Didi. Aaj kal Kai ladkiyon ko pata nahi hota. Hume toh humari saheli ne bataya tha. Aur woh bhi yahi, ki kaise unke pati raat din bas apni jaroorat Puri karne ka sochte hai. Pyaar ka toh naam-nishan, kuch bhi nahi unke rishte me. Hume laga tha humara bhi kuch aisa hi hasra hoga. Magar Hume yeh mil gaye.”

"I know, didi. These days, many girls are unaware. It was my friend who told me about it. She mentioned how their husbands think only about fulfilling their needs day and night. There’s no trace of love in their relationship. I thought mine would be something like that too. But then I found him."

Our gazes moved towards the main gate, where both the brothers were standing and talking with each other.

“Manna toh padega, duniya ke sabse achhe do mard, bhagwan ne hum dono ki jholi me daal diye hai, jo kabhi pyaar jatane me piche kadam nahi lete. Aur na hi humara saath dene me.”

"I have to admit, God has blessed us with the two best men in the world, who never hesitate to show their love or support us."

I smiled looking at my husband. Didi hugged me from side,

“Gauri-Shankar tum dono ki jodi humesha yu hi banae rakhe. Khub falon-fulo. Aur hume badi-maa banao.”

I hugged her back,

“Humbhi yahi kaamna karte hai. Aur pehle Hume choti-maa banne hai, samjhi aap?”

She chuckled and winked,

“Bahut jald, bhagwan ne chaha toh.”

“Sabse jyada pyaar hum karenge usey.”

She smiled shyly.

“Hum abhi aate hai kamre se, tum chalo.”

I nodded my head and walked towards the main gate.

But when I was just about to reach to my husband, I heard their voice.

“Kuch bhi dikkat ho, humare tak khabar pahucha Dena kisi bhi tarah.”

Bhaiya said to him, upon which he nodded his head,

“Ji bhaiya. Waise bhi inn logon pe Hume bharosa nahi hai. Na kabhi hoga. Bas Nupur ko pahucha kar aa jaenge hum, humara rukne ka koi iraada nahi hai. Kam se kam Nupur ko toh pareshan nahi hi karenge yeh log. Beti hai Ghar ki.”

"Yes, bhaiya. Anyway, I don't trust these people. I never will. I'll drop Nupur off and come back; I have no intention of staying. At least they won't trouble her here. She's the daughter of that house."

I should have moved away. I should have stopped overhearing. But I didn't. I stood still.