It is Ganesh Chaturthi evening.
Suryakanti is relaxing at home.
A lady is sobbing,
“Ma! I am coming home! It’s all over!”
“Omg! What happened?”, her mother worried.
She had just started telling, when the Ganesha ‘aarti’ began in her building and Suryakanti couldn’t hear a thing.
She reached for the remote to raise the volume but the television serial signed off with a ‘To be continued..’
Suryakanti shut the television.
Entering her room, she grumbled,
“I knew their marriage will not last long.”
Suryakanti’s husband, who was peacefully solving a crossword, looked up shocked,
“What?”
“Nothing, that serial which I..”,
“Ohhh..you and your silly serials!!” he interrupted her. “You almost gave me a fright.”
“Ok ..you continue solving silly puzzles, I’ll go and hand over the horoscopes and the cash”, saying, she left the room.
“Why don’t you try doing it online!”, he shouted behind her but to no avail.
“It’s ok pa!” Kavita told him.
Kavita, their daughter and son-in-law Satish had came over to stay with them for the weekend.
Kavita was working as an assistant in an upcoming designer company and Satish too was doing well.
“Why is my right eye twitching?”, Suryakanti worried.
“Coffee is getting cold!”, she called her husband again.
No response.
She rushed to see him.
Hands trembling, she felt his body gone cold.
OMG! No! Kavitaaa, Appa has left us..” she wailed inconsolably.
Days passed slowly. At their insistence, Suryakanti stayed with Kavita and Satish.
It was over a month at Kavita’s place.
Kavita taught Suryakanti how to make purchases and payments online so that she didn’t have to exert.
“I thought the mobile was only for calls!”, she joked. It looks easy but I can’t do it alone!”
“No problem! I’ll help you ma!” Kavita replied patiently.
Just then, Suryakanti received a call from an unknown number.
“Hello ma’am! When can I come to give my daughter’s horoscope? My friend suggested your number. You are very lucky, they said!”
“Thank you! All God’s grace!
I will be going to my own house soon. Will call you then.” Suryakanti ended the call.
“Ma! You are not going anywhere”, Kavita argued.
“But Kavi! My papers, files..I have to meet the families, lot of work dear!”, she tried making her understand.
“Idea! I’ll set up an online platform! You can work from right here!”, Kavita said excitedly.
Suryakanti couldn’t say anything further.
‘Suryakanti Matrimony group’ was formed.
Contacts added.
Horoscopes, profiles and pictures were shared.
Suryakanti was amazed.
“Wow! This is like magic!”
Slowly she began using the app.
She struggled but tried.
“Ohh! I wrote so much just now! Where did it go?” she would panic on inadvertent deletions.
“I did share but how did it land in the status! I don’t even know where it is!!” she got stressed.
She worked online but she would still diligently write down notes and file them neatly.
“Old practices die hard dear!”, she would joke.
One relaxed Sunday, Kavita heard her mother giving free advice. She was impressed once again.
“Madam, it’s ok! I’ll be very honest here. Don’t worry too much on the ‘nakshatra’.
Afterall, the boy and the girl have to like each other. That is most important.”
A few days later..
“Hello! Is this Suryakanti?” said a stern voice.
“Yes”
“What is this Madam? The pictures of the boy you sent were fake. He is a big fraud. How did you not check? Remove his profile immediately. He is a scamster!” the lady went on and on.
Suryakanti was in tears.
She just managed to say,
“My God! My God!
How did this happen?
‘Aiyo’ …I am very sorry..forgive me..I will immediately..”
The caller banged the phone down.
It was like a slap on her face.
Trembling hands, tears flowing down, she dropped down on the couch flabbergasted.
She was shocked.
Even for many days after this incident, she couldn’t forgive herself.
“It’s ok now. We’ll be more careful..”, Kavita tried comforting her.
“No Kavi! No!
It is my mistake!
What if that girl had not been alert.
You know, he was not even coming on video call. That rascal even asked for money.
As Satish said, What if that girl had clicked on that link..
My God! I get nightmares thinking about these.”
“Kavi! My methods may be old, but atleast I am confident of what I am doing. I match the horoscopes, meet the familiies. I look forward to these personal interactions.
I want to be mobile and not tied to some mobile!” Suryakanti finally let it all out.
Soon, Suryakanti went back to her own house.
One evening, Kavita visited her mother.
She saw her chatting away to glory with three other ladies. They were all glued to something.
It was surprising to see that Suryakanti was teaching her friends how to use UPI !!
Kavita realised that while she had given her mother all the comforts, her true happiness was in being independent and letting her be the way she was. Happy and carefree.
Kavita came closer and said,
“Love your status ma!”
Suryakanti was surprised to see her.
“Hello Kavi! What status?What did I do now?!”
“Nothing ma! I am happy to see this real life status of yours, the one with your close friends.”
“Old is gold dear!” Suryakanti smiled the brightest.
Glossary:
‘aarti’ : a specific hymn or devotional song sung in front of the idol.
nakshatra: star constellation
Aiyo: exclamation used to express sudden emotions like surprise, grief, regret or shock.
