Made in Heaven
“A Science Graduate—that was my dream –wife
Other things were of little importance;
What I got was a look-alike of Nargis as wife, famous in –laws,
Much landed property and money from them.
Till date she has been putting her thumb-impression —
Not her signature as she is still learning it!”
“I and my lady-love had decided to marry and
Kept the plan a secret —to reveal it at a right time
To give pleasant surprise to everybody;
My dying father’s decades old oath came in the way—
Minutes before he died, he made me promise to
Marry his dead friend’s helpless daughter
It was a decision to be taken in a moment
Like one between the devil and the deep sea:
I had to honor his last wish.
My wife has remained my wife
As my last breath is going out,
And my lady—love my mistress!”
“She was good-looking and innocent
And I blindly fell in love and proposed to her;
And soon retracted my proposal and
Suppressed my desire when I came to know
That we belonged to different castes–
As inter– caste marriage was a taboo!”
“A novice in love, I was not sure if I can ever get a bride
But things changed for the better; was invited to interview
And to be interviewed a couple of times in search of a bride;
Little memory of them now remains.
Time passed and I got fascinated by a girl amid a hundred
Not knowing exactly why and sent feelers soon to
Bring the girl’s horoscope to be matched with mine.
I got the first shock of life when my astronomer
Gave his ruling –total mismatch of the horoscopes.
Fear of getting further shocks
Made me wait for a perfect horoscope –match.
Finally a horoscope arrived with
A black and white photo
Of my brother’s friend’s niece
Whom I had never seen
Or with whom I had never talked;
I saw her half hidden face on our marriage altar
She and her black and white photo
Have still been with me
For the last thirty three years!”
That’s probably why they say that
Marriages are made in heaven,
Aren’t they?
(2014)
