The Marital Conditions - Part 11

What was that?  He wished the kiss was for long time. It was too quick and spontaneous for him to react. Whatever, it left him numb. His mind was blank. It took him back to time when they had shared their first kiss. It was out of blue moon.  She was looking stunningly beautiful and he had lost his heart one more time to her. He couldn't control himself and kissed her passionately. It was their first date. It hadn't gone as planned but the kiss made that night the most memorable night they shared. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember the last time he had kissed her with passion.

The day passed by monotonously. They came home tired. Tia lied on the couch with her shoes thrown recklessly on the floor. As Suhail arrived, he tripped on one of her shoes. He got up angry. Before things could go worse, Mikha arrived at right time. "Tia, you are grown up now. Take your shoes and keep them on shoe rack. It doesn't take a minute or ounce of your energy will not be wasted if you keep them properly.", Mikha said firmly.

Tia got up lazily and sulked on her way towards the shoe rack with her shoes. As soon as she kept them, Mikha ordered, "Please apologize to him and get back to work."  "Why? I didn't do anything wrong. What work? I have just come back from work.", Tia protested. "You had thrown your shoes. Suhail tripped on that. And work! Who will start preparing dinner? I am not here to do maid services. I am here to guide you. Suhail, please help her.", Mikha said.

Suhail and Tia got changed. They arranged the house and prepared the dinner. Mikha only supervised their work. There would be fight sometimes. Sometimes there would be tiny spark of love between them. Mikha ensured there was nothing big.  After the dinner, they were getting ready for bedtime when Mikha called them, "Your day isn't over. What about entertainment? Come, lets watch a nice movie."

Mikha continued the drill for two days. Tia and Suhail automatically got used to the schedule made by Mikha. They wouldn't venture out for work without goodbye kiss. As soon as they arrived from office, they would get started with usual chores and finish the day with a nice romantic movie. There were tiny fights. But love was re-entering their life again. Mikha was satisfied but not happy. There was still something missing.

Suhail and Tia arrived from work. They got back to their usual housework when Mikha stopped them, "You are acting like robots. You don't have to do housework as soon as you come back home. Why don't you talk to each other? Like ask each other about your day. How will you build the bond with each other when you don't discuss your day. Maybe one of you can solve other's problem at work. Come and sit. Discuss what happened." They sat on the couch, staring at each other. Both of them had one question, "Will he/she listen to me without passing any judgements?"

(To be continued)

The Marital Conditions - Part 10

The food was relished by all. Later Mikha started with her gyaan session to the newly married," What did you learn from this lesson? When you are together, even biggest problem may seem tiny and solvable. But when you pit against each other, there will be only chaos and war."

Suhail and Tia stared at each other. They wondered, "Where did that love go?" When they were dating, they understood the essence of love and wanted to be together to feel that essence. Now someone was teaching them the importance of love and togetherness when they were married. Does marriage change a person beyond recognition.

It was time for Mikha and Manav. But Mikha stayed. She wanted to stay for a week to reconcile differences of  the newly married. She wanted to remind them the conditions they had agreed on before marriage.

Her first day mission was successful. She hoped that they learnt something on their first task. But she wasn't convinced. She prayed that at least they learnt what was going wrong between them. They were making their lives complicated. She had to teach them simple lessons which she had learnt on her own. She wondered, " Maybe this generation isn't well equipped for the life. Maybe they were focused on scoring marks than learning the underlying lessons of life."

The next day brought new hope. Mikha woke up with fresh plan to regenerate the lost spark in her sister's life. She saw them hurriedly getting ready for work. They seemed busy with life. Unfortunately they had forgotten the love- essence of life. They were near the doorstep when Mikha reminded them, " You forgot something!" They stopped and looked confused.

"Tia, won't you give your husband goodbye kiss.",Mikha said. Tia was startled. It was long time since she shared anything passionate with Suhail. She nervously kissed him on his cheeks. "You are boring, Tia. Not there! Ok! I will turn my back. Give him the real kiss. Kiss him on his lips." Suhail was nervous. Tia waited for few minutes to gather courage to kiss him. She felt like a teenager experimenting her first kiss. She gave him quick kiss on his lips and left as soon as Mikha could ask her anything. Suhail was shocked. He was numb.

(To be continued)

The Marital Conditions - Part 9

Mikha banged the door. Their fight stopped and they opened the door. Mikha barged inside furiously while Manav followed her. She didn't greet Suhail back when he said 'Hi'. She stood in front of messy hall. There were clothes everywhere. The soiled plates were lying on the dining table next to the sofa. The apartment would have looked better if it was kept better. But neatness was missing in Tia's genes.

Mikha sighed. She could smell something burning from the kitchen. She rushed to see the burnt onions on the pan. The kitchen was messier than the hall. She called Tia. "What is this? When did you clean this place last time?", she asked firmly. Tia looked down and replied softly, "Last week." "Are you sure? This place looks like as if you haven't cleaned since ages.", Mikha said.

"No wonder Suhail hates coming back home to see it like this", she continued. Tia rolled her eyes and started out her list of complaints, "You forgot that even I work. It's easy to complain for him and when I ask him for help, he's never there." "Stop whining! I asked you both to make simple dinner. You guys! Really! Fighting with each other won't give you anything. Work together. Let's start with the cleaning.", Mikha said.

Mikha made Tia and Suhail clean the rooms. Whenever there was tiny fight between them, she would ask them to clean the place all over again. After cleaning, she made them to cook. She asked them to cook something simple and tasty. They shared the work equally. Tia cut the vegetables while Suhail arranged the things required to prepare the dish. There was a moment where the lost love sparkled when they would accidentally bump into each other.

(To be continued)

The Marital Conditions - Part 8

Tia and Suhail felt ashamed. When they met, love struck them at first sight. They would find ways to meet each other. When they got committed, they wanted to be together. Now when they were together, they wanted to break up. Love is strange in this fast moving era. We give up on everything so easily.

We let small issues, tiny stuffs and third persons rule our lives while we don't look for solutions to mend the cracks. Tia and Suhail let their egos defeat their love. They became their own enemy in their love story. They weren't able to understand what Mikha was saying. They were still looking out for faults in each other.

"But.. I ...you didn't understand what I said.", Tia said, searching for words to explain her concern. " Please Tia! Everyone goes through initial hitches in marriage. Instead of complaining and blaming, why don't you guys sit together and sort it out ? It's easy. What's bothering you- that you are burdened with work at office and home and you don't get sufficient attention from Suhail?", Mikha said. 

"I am giving her time and affection. But even I have certain expectation...", Suhail complained. "Can we stop this?! I mean I do understand your frustration, Suhail. But Tia isn't confined to doing house work like me. She has job like you too. Why don't you understand and help each other? Marriage is not only about one doing specific task. It is about giving time and helping each other. Now!! I think if we simply stand here and discuss, we will waste our time and maybe you guys might end up distancing from each other.", Mikha said. 

"From today, you must promise me that you will do what I say. Give me a month, I will sort your marriage. If I advise you more, you will simply listen and follow your own heart.", Mikha continued while everyone listened and agreed. 

The weekend arrived. Mikha's mission to patch Suhail and Tia up started. She had asked Tia and Suhail to prepare dinner plan for Manav and her. They arrived at Tia's place on time. Unfortunately they stood in front of their door, listening to the newly wed's fight. Mikha was ashamed while Manav gave her 'see, I told you' look.

(To be continued)

The Marital Conditions- Part 7

There was complete silence during the lunch. No words were spoken only their minds spoke. "What went wrong? How do I make them understand that they are spoiling their own lives?", Mikha wondered. Tia found it difficult to munch on her favorite dish. She didn't have appetite to eat it.  When your heart is filled with angst and sorrow, food however tasty it is, you lose the appetite.

Suhail looked down at his plate during the whole lunch time. Manav knew that Suhail wasn't capable of handling Tia. She was high maintenance girl. She needed someone who could maintain same lifestyle she was living. He knew he would witness this scene sometime soon but no one paid any heed to anything he said.

When lunch was done, everyone settled in the couch, staring at each other. They were waiting for someone to start. " I can't stay with him any longer. I can't fight anymore.", Tia broke the silence. "What!You are saying this. You are the one who starts the fight. I should be saying this - I can't stay with you any longer. I can't fight anymore.", Suhail argued.

"No! You are the one who comes home barking at me, on the small matters. You have forgotten that even I work. You don't even help. You only complain.", Tia complained. "Ha! Who is saying that? What am I asking you to do ? Just keep food ready before I come and at least clean the house. I am not asking you big things.", Suhail argued back. Manav was enjoying but Mikha couldn't take it any longer.

"Stop it! Stop it, you two! You both are fighting like kids. Where is that love? Where is that promise you made before getting married? What happened to those conditions? Did you forget them?", Mikha asked. Suhail and Tia stayed quiet. How can they forget those conditions? They knew those conditions by heart.

"Do you guys think marriage is a play? When you are bored, you can get away easily. What about those memories you shared? What about those promised you made during the wedding? All forgotten? Tia, how many times you called me and complained about these tiny issues? I gave you the answer! How many times I reminded you about those conditions? Tia, don't you see, your husband left his family for you! Can't you acknowledge him at least with good food and keep the house clean? Suhail, why don't you share her burden? Even she works like you at office. She needs your help. Why can't small issues like this be sorted calmly?", Mikha said.

(To be continued)

The marital Conditions - Part 6

Patience is negative in today's fast paced world. We need everything quickly and want to reach maximum distance at less time. Time is not racing. It is we who have cut short the time. We are involved in so many tasks in less time. In this busy world, Tia and Suhail had no time for themselves to even review what was going. They blamed each other for what was going wrong.

Both of them found reasons ( some apparent, some real and some silly) to fight. Fighting was their new pass time. Tia wasn't aware that she enjoyed fighting more than love. But she didn't understand how bad it was affecting each other. They weren't able to balance their work life with home. Suhail hated coming home to face her tantrums.

Their fights entertained their neighbour. Instead of gluing towards their television, they were more interested in their fights. Who knew the once called the 'made for each other' couple would turn out to be the fighting couple one day! Mikha and Manav learned about it. She was obviously not happy with it.

Manav always taunted Mikha about her mistake of accepting Suhail. He always knew Suhail was not right for her. But Mikha never listened to him. Now sisters were facing the consequences of not listening to him.

Mikha invited them for lunch to discuss the issues. On their arrival, Mikha could feel that the love she felt between them was lost. Their physical appearance was completely changed. Tia looked frail in her white summer dress. Her hair was unkempt and she wore no make up. She loved to dress up. What happened to her? On the other hand, Suhail looked dull. He sported unshaven look. There was stress lines and dark circles under his eyes. He looked older than his real age.

Mikha wondered , " Is this what our new generation thought about marriage? How can such beautiful institution change people and their love for each other?".


(To be continued)

The Marital Conditions- Part 5

A month hadn't even passed. Small cracks began to appear. Suhail was quick to notice them and mend those cracks. He also tried to maintain the same excitement they shared during pre-martial times. It wasn't easy. Tia had issues. She wasn't used to many people in the house. She had issues about everything that was happening in her new house.

The major issue was the background gap between two families. She was solely raised by her sister after her parents died when she was very young. She was always protected from sympathizers, back bitters and nasty people. However her new house was filled with such people. There was no one to save her except herself from these guys. Anyone who came home would look at her with pity eyes and feel sorry for her dead parents. She didn't enjoy such attention.

She wasn't used to kitchen chores. Her mother in law was shocked when Tia said she didn't know how to prepare tea. However her mother in law taught her though she ridiculed her for not knowing how to cook. Tia remembered days when her sister would prepare her favorite dishes without complaining when she was very tired. 

As soon as she came home from work, her mother in law expected her to finish other household chores. She never had single minute to even rest her tired soul to start afresh. Unfortunately delicate Tia was suppressed by these frustration. She did complain to Suhail. Suhail supported her and also explained it to her parents. Unfortunately nothing worked and soon he decided to move out for the best interest of his family.

Everything was fine for three month. He didn't buzz her for not to serving tea or food on time. He also didn't complain when the house seemed messy when he arrived home. He understood that it was new house and it would take time for Tia to rearrange. But everything has an expiry date including Suhail's patience. 

One day he couldn't hold his patience any longer. His day at work didn't go fine. The messy house and no dinner at home spiked his anger. He scolded her,"Why can't you at least keep things properly at home and cook food? I have moved out of house for you when you failed to adjust. You can at least manage house for me." She was furious at his comment and didn't stop to pour her heart out,"I also work at office like you. I get tired. If you really want me to manage the house, why can't you help me? Why can't you share bit of responsibility with me?" The fight started like this and never got over.

(To be continued)