Novel Illusion – Chapter 1

Today the entire hustle-bustle of Rajesh’s wedding reception. Rajesh had intentionally selected a spot, neither at an over-crowded town centre nor too far outside the village, surrounded by the green lawn. Under the pretext of reception, all of Rajesh’s old college friends, had purposely gathered and were chatting in a group, just for the sake of nostalgia. Suddenly, through the crowd they saw Priya entering there and all the chat stopped instantly. Priya, of the college days and the one now, was appearing to be radically different. At that time she was a youthful girl on the brink of adolescence and now she was a fully-blossomed beautifully charming woman. Perhaps, none of them had ever seen so well-dressed and that is why they were sensing that striking difference. All of them were staring straight at her. Priya gave a mild smile while paying a glance at everybody and all of them too responded at her in the same manner with a mild smile of recognition.

After reaching near the group, she gave the bouquet to Rajesh to congratulate him and said, ‘Congratulations and wish you a happy married and prosperous married life’.

‘More than being happy, prosperity is important’, somebody from the group commented, and once again the group was revitalized.

Then Rajesh too took the lead to introduce his wife to Priya.

‘Priya, meet my wife, Kamal’.

‘You need not tell me what is clearly visible’, Priya funnily replied, ‘Only telling the name is sufficient’.

Everybody endorsed her remark with another stroke of laughter.

One friend, then explained, ‘That’s not the matter Priya. Telling that is also equally important. What happened once is that once during the wedding of a friend of mine, both his wife and her sister were mingling enthusiastically in the crowd and our friend did not bother to specifically introduce his wife to all of us such that throughout the wedding we were assuming his wife’s sister to be the actual wife of him’.

Once again everybody passed through a stroke of laughter.

‘Under the pretext of some other friend’s name’, somebody clipped, ‘is he telling the mischief he has committed in his own wedding reception?’ and one more thunder of laughter passed through.

‘This is my friend Priya’, Rajesh attempted to introduce Priya to his wife, ‘Myself, Priya and Vijay, we had an excellent group during our college days’.

‘How shrewd is Rajesh’, somebody seized at the opportunity, ‘in order to avoid any misunderstanding he has carefully inserted Vijay’s name in between’.

That comment sparked off another round of laughter.

After seeing Kamal feeling awkward, the same friend offered an explanation to Kamal, ‘Don’t take me seriously, I was just pulling Rajesh’s legs. It’s all in the fun’.

But, the same friend continued to say, ‘I cannot give the same guarantee about Vijay and Priya’.

Now it was Priya’s turn to blush.

‘Look at that, look at that’, another friend of them jumped at the opportunity, ‘how pinkish have her cheeks become immediately after joining her name with Vijay’.

Priya was continuing to feel blushed and she was confused how to react over this.

‘How is that Vijay has not yet arrived?’, Rajesh took the lead to change the focus of whole discussion.

‘He will definitely come, haven’t you given him the invitation or forgot it while keeping all your focus on wife?’, somebody else said.

‘Oh No! He is my best friend! Will such a thing ever happen?’, Rajesh quickly replied.

Few moments passed in peace.

‘So Rajesh? Have you made any plans for honeymoon or not?’, another friend started making fun of Rajesh by turning to change the topic under discussion.

‘Of course yes!’, Rajesh replied with meaningful gesture at his wife.

Now it was Kamal’s turn to blush.

‘What plan have you made?’, Rajesh’s friend does not seem to be in any mood to spare him.

‘Simla’, Rajesh replied.

‘Oh! Only domestic!’, I had thought you would go out of India.

‘It takes long time to reach out of India! He doesn’t have that much patience to wait!, yet another friend taunted.

Discovering that the discussion is becoming increasingly mischievous and absurd, Priya moved from there to another group of guests, by formally saying, ‘Excuse me’, under the pretext of finding somebody from the acquaintance.

Vijay entered the reception venue from the gate the very moment Priya moved away from the group of Rajesh, his wife and his friends to another group of women. He was accompanied by his family i.e. his mother and sister too. Vijay’s mother was a barely educated woman and his sister was slightly elder to him and introvert in nature. After entering the reception venue Vijay started glancing here and there but Rajesh was completely attentive of him and he was well aware whom Vijay was searching for. When Rajesh stared at one his friends and gave a mysterious smile the entire group of friends too noticed Vijay and they also started smiling in the same mysterious manner. Yet, Vijay was unaware of them and he was continuing to look here and there as though searching for somebody. Just then, one of the friends standing in that group raised his hand and said loudly,

‘Here! Here! Come Here! We all are standing here!’.

Another boy from the group said sarcastically to Vijay, ‘Mr. Rajesh, the host of this function, for whom you are searching, is waiting for you here’.

Now Vijay was left with no choice to pay attention to the group and he approached Rajesh and his friends on the dais along with his mother and sister.

‘Think of the devil and the devil is there’, one from among the group said, ‘just now we were talking about you only’.

‘At least once in lifetime, please manage to reach in time’, one of them mischievously said to Vijay.

‘Why? What happened?’, Vijay could not figure out his contention and he asked.

‘My friend! Till this moment she was standing here only’, Rajesh whispered into Vijay’s ears knowing fully well of the presence of Vijay mother, while pointing at Priya.

Vijay looked in the same direction where Rajesh was pointing at and noticed Priya there. Priya too was looking at him alone and they both exchanged a sweet smile of acknowledgement. But Vijay found it little odd to immediately leave the group of his friends behind and approach her. Perhaps, she too faced the same problem since she was standing among all ladies.

‘This is my best friend Vijay’, Rajesh introduced Vijay to his wife.

‘Yes! Yes! You had introduced him in our wedding’, Rajesh’s wife said, ‘I am aware of it’.

Vijay handed-over his gift-box to Rajesh and said, ‘And this is my mother and my sister, Shalini’.

Rajesh, in turn, handed over that gift to one of his friends standing nearby and bowed before Vijay’s mother to offer his respect. Rajesh’s wife too followed him and bowed before Vijay’s mother.

‘Live a happy life together’, Vijay’s mother blessed both of them.

‘Didn’t you get your father along?’, one of them asked Vijay.

That friend asked this question and suddenly the atmosphere in that group became serious because almost all of them were aware that Vijay’s father was almost always be under the stupor of liquor and Vijay would always avoid carrying him along since he was known to be very whimsical. Similarly, he would also avoid taking his sister along because of her introvert nature. She too disliked to mingle with group of people and therefore Vijay would rarely take her anywhere along. But today Vijay had brought his sister especially for Rajesh’s wedding reception since Rajesh had insisted for it. Apart from her introvert nature there were many other reasons why Vijay would avoid taking her along which were very awkward for him to describe. Therefore, if at all anybody would insist, he would simply put up the problem of her nature as an excuse. That way, Rajesh had insisted Vijay to bring his father along and had personally invited his father too which he too had willingly accepted. But Rajesh was well aware that he would not come and Vijay too would resist him even if he expresses his desire to come. On the other hand, even Vijay found it convenient to carry his sister along, instead of bringing father, because it was one and the same to honor Rajesh’s desire. Therefore, conveniently, he had sought to bring his sister along. Finding that the entire atmosphere had become serious, Rajesh was puzzled about how to restore it back to normal. Since everybody in the group was knowing about Vijay’s father, Rajesh was aware that the one who asked such a question was either ignorant about Vijay’s father or had intentionally asked that question to put Vijay in an awkward situation.

‘Mother! Please come here to meet Vijay’s mother and sister! Were you not so keen to meet both of them’, Rajesh addressed his mother and found a good excuse to change the topic.

Rajesh’s mother came there and after the exchange of few smiles, she carried Vijay’s mother and sister to the same group of ladies where Priya was standing. Priya smiled at Vijay’s sister, Shalini, and also offered her respects to Vijay’s mother.

Even though Vijay was busy chatting among his friend’s group of men, all his attention was over Priya and she too was doing the same. Although she was chatting among the group of women she was watchful about Vijay. Vijay’s mother and his sister were standing adjacent to Priya. Vijay’s mother was talking something intensely with Priya. Vijay realized that it was an excellent opportunity. He can always approach his mother under the pretext of talking with her and then talk with Priya.

‘Excuse me’, Vijay formally said to his group to slip out of them.

‘You are indeed excused’, one of his friends again remarked mischievously.

But Vijay ignored that remark and approached his mother. But right at the same moment, some other lady-friend of Priya came near her and holding her hand pulled Priya somewhere else. Vijay was thus disappointed.

‘What?’, Vijay’s mother asked him.

Having approached his mother, now Vijay had no choice but to say something to his mother.

‘Mother, why are you standing all the while? Go and occupy some chair otherwise your knees shall pain as usual’, Vijay said.

‘Yes! I’ll go after some time’, Vijay’s mother replied and ignored him to continue chatting with other women.

Shalini, being shy by nature and introvert, was unable to understand what she can talk with strangers and was also unable to locate anybody whom she knew well. She glanced at her mother but mother was intently busy talking whether or not she knew women around her. Now Shalini started getting bored. She looked here and there for a chair but all chairs were placed far away from her. She did not want to leave her mother alone and therefore she simply stood against a pole and delved deep into her own thoughts. Suddenly she realized that somebody was signaling at her standing on the steps of that premises. When she turned around to look at that individual she discovered that the same young man was waving his hand to attract her attention itself.

‘I don’t seem to know him’, Shalini thought.

‘Then why is he calling me?’, Shalini was puzzled.

She turned around to see her mother but mother was not being seen anywhere around nor could she find her brother, Vijay. When paid a second careful look around, she noticed her brother but he was standing too far away. She once again looked at the same youth who was waving his hand at her standing from the steps.

But Shalini failed to comprehend why was he calling?

And she found it odd to even go at him without intimating her mother or brother about it.

In the meantime, that youngster himself approached her.

‘Your mother is calling you upstairs’, that young boy said to her.

Shalini felt tremendously relieved.

So many questions and doubts about that young boy had gathered in her mind in split second’s time.

She thought, her introvert nature alone was responsible for this.

‘Brother always advises her to learn the art of mingling and talking with people. Leading a lonely life is a hurdle in the path of one’s social and psychological progress’, Shalini’s thought process warned her.

‘Yes, my brother is right to say that. If I become little extrovert and mingle among the people such weird thoughts won’t appear in mind’, Shalini concluded.

‘Perhaps mother must have called me for the same reason that I am standing here alone without talking with anybody or perhaps mother must be wanting to introduce me with somebody’, Shalini thought to herself.

And she started walking behind that young boy.