Chapter 2 : Her

Pune:

" Pari beta, please consider this for one last time. The groom's side is very good and broad minded. They also said they would allow you to work after marriage. You're not getting younger anymore dear. Please meet the boy and talk to him" Mrs. Shilpa Deshmukh was trying her level best to convince her daughter. 

" But Maa, this is what I've heard for the last 9 matches that you picked. Even before I could say my answer, I'd be rejected for the reason of my skin tone or my job. I don't want to be materialised again Maa. It's really humiliating when every boy asks me about my cousin who is a shade brighter compared to me than talking to me about our future. " Pari let out a frustrated sigh with her mother's pleadings. 

Pari Deshmukh, a 26 year old IIMS graduate working for Tech Mahindra Pune as business analyst for the last 3 years. Born and brought up in Pune as the only daughter of Ajay Deshmukh and Shilpa Deshmukh, she is her family's pride. When she cracked the entrance for IIMS, everyone in her family praised her, but as per her good-looking and dumb cousins, she was nothing but a looser who tries to cover her ugliness with academics. 

Pari wasn't the standard fair and lovely girl from the commercials. But she had a beautiful honey tone skin which was often regarded as the wheatish skin tone by everyone around her. Her lustrous mid-length black hair and prominent facial features were obviously ignored by her jealous cousins since they never managed to reach her level in terms of academics.

While her cousin sisters decided to get hitched to rich men as soon as they graduated with their basic degrees, Pari decided to pursue her dream of studying in IIMS. As soon as she graduated, she was picked by Tech Mahindra as trainee and after the completion of training period, she was recruited as business analyst. Though many international companies had shortlisted her, Pari decided to stay in her hometown for her parent's sake. 

After working for a year, her parents started with the usual melodrama of 'Please get married, it's the right time'. Knowing her parents' adamant attitude, she decided to accept her fate. But to her distress she would be rejected after a cup of coffee her parents forcefully let her serve to the boy and the stupid most reason was her skin tone.

Pari was never ashamed about her looks nor did she complain about it. 'I'm comfortable in my skin and that's what matters the most' was her thought initially. But her so-called family and relatives had successfully implanted the idea of beauty standards which sometimes made her feel inferior in front of her milky skinned cousins. But then too, she decided to ignore it as she lived in better situations than her cousins who still spent their husband's money unlike her who is independent in her mid 20's.

Today was one such day where her mother decided to convince her for the prospectus groom who is supposed to meet her in three days. Though she was tired of getting rejected all the time, she couldn't be harsh on her mother. So finally after a long time of discussion, she agreed to meet the boy.

If only her first love didn't betray her, she would have been happily married by now. Archith Upadhyay, her batchmate in IIMS was her first love. They were a cute couple, very much in love with each other when they were on campus. She trusted her love enough to lose her virginity to the man she loved. But unfortunately he backed out at the very moment she mentioned about marriage after she got placed. 

" I'm sorry Pari, I tried convincing my parents but you know they don't support inter caste relationships. I can't decide things on my own. So it's better for us to survive without each other than suffering together " were his last words to her. She was broken at that time would be an understatement. But again, rejections and lowly comments were nothing new to her. So she decided to focus on her career rather than her love life. That's why she ended up with the option of having an arranged marriage as she didn't have spare time to waste on impressing men with standard norms for beauty. 

Even in the traditional matrimonial hunt, she couldn't find a proper man for herself. While some men had problems with her skin colour, some more were worried about her career. So this time she decided to go through the saga of meeting a boy for the one last time. 

Her best friend from IMMS, Sonal had suggested that she could join her company in London which had better scope for an academic genius like Pari. But she kept denying it because of her family. Even during their last call, Sonal talked about the upcoming recruitment drive in her company and pestered Pari to join. 

Pari had googled the company's name and the search results were really tempting her to join there. She checked their recruitment portal and the requirements for the position was literally matching her job in Tech Mahindra. Hesitatingly she applied for the interview and the very next day she got a reply mail that asked her to attend the interview on 30th May, which is exactly in a month and she informed Sonal about it. Sonal was more than excited and booked the flight tickets on her own for her friend right away.

Pari was still confused about how to inform her parents as they never thought of sending her out of the country, that too all alone. So she decided to wait till it's favourable time for disclosure. Next day it was time to meet her family's choice. She got a half day off from the office to be home early as she had strict instructions from her mother.

She wore a blue saree and tucked her hair with a clip at the back. She picked a decent piece of jewellery which wasn't too heavy and looked elegant. Because of the constant pressure by her mother she applied a light make up as she wasn't a fan of heavy, cakey makeup. When she stood in front of the mirror, she looked beautiful to herself and she decided to stop further decoration. 

In the evening the boy Lakshy and his family visited her home. After the initial pleasantries, her mother asked her to walk to the living room where the guests were present. She walked into the room filled with strangers with a simple smile on her face. Her cousins who were willing to bully her were already present there throwing their disgusting looks on her. 

After the usual interview by the groom's family, she was asked to talk to the boy in private. She had already guessed his reply since he kept stealing glances with her younger cousin Nisha sitting in the hall. Still she had a ceremony to complete, so she walked to their balcony with him and sat in the easy chair placed there expecting him to talk. 

" I heard you work for Tech Mahindra, must be a good pay scale right?" He asked as he settled comfortably in the chair. One more money minded creature, she thought.

"Not bad. They pay decently well for our hard work" 

"So.... What about your past relationships? You know...it's better to know about each other before entering any relationship" He spoke with his jovial tone. 

" I have had a relationship during my college days. But we broke up as soon as I got placed. I didn't bother getting into one more after that"  She replied with a decently polite tone. 

"Ohh.... I thought you wouldn't have any past stories. You know.... it's difficult for girls like you to catch a man's attention. That's why you must be settling for an arranged marriage if I am not wrong" He started laughing at his own non-existent joke. 

"Sorry to interrupt, but what do you mean by 'girl's like me'?" She wasn't going to tolerate it anymore. 

" Hey, don't get offended. I meant the intellectual types. Getting into IIMS and landing in Tech Mahindra. So you should be more like the mugger type. Sorry if my words hurt you "

" That's ok. I was impulsive too" She tried to minimise the damage. 

"So... since we are talking about the past , let me be honest too. I too had a few relationships back in college but not too serious ones. Recently I used to date my colleague and she was a desperate type of girl. So I decided to call it quits. I really hate girls who are willing to lose their virginity before marriage. I mean, it's really pathetic for a girl to do that. I prefer my wife to be Virgin"

" So are you a Virgin Lakshy? " She was expecting him to reply with a yes as he was expecting her to be one. 

" Actually.... No... But that doesn't matter though. A man has needs and weak moments. It's a common thing right? "

That's it... She wasn't planning to hear anymore nonsense from him and she made two important decisions of her life on the spot and she was crystal clear about it. 

" I think we had enough conversations Lakshy, its better we go and meet our families " She spoke, controlling her anger. He smiled at her and walked towards her family. 

"So... Both of you are smiling, so shall we consider it as a yes from you?" His mother asked them. 

" I don't have any problems I guess" Lakshy spoke with a smile. 

" But I do have some serious problems, Uncle and Aunty. I'm sorry but I wouldn't want to be part of this arrangement anymore " She announced loud and clear to everyone in the room. 

" Pari, what nonsense is this? Lakshy is such a nice boy, he even accepted you so why are you rejecting him? " Shilpa asked with tears in her eyes as she was almost happy that her dream of seeing her daughter in wedding outfits was nearly coming true as the boy had agreed. 

" Maa.... I expect a man to be respectful towards women. He clearly doesn't belong to the community of men who respect women around him. How can I trust a person who badmouthed his ex just to satisfy his male ego? I'm sorry but I'm not interested in becoming someone's bride who has least sense of respect towards women"  She blurted out in a breath.

" Expecting my wife to be a Virgin isn't some big thing, Pari. I can't lead a life with a second hand girl." That's the moment she wanted to really slap him. 

" If that's the case then you should have been loyal to your future wife right? How did you end up being a non virgin when you expect your partner to be chaste and pure. This mentality of yours is really sick and you need to change it for good. I'm sure your parents wouldn't appreciate you bad mouthing about a girl. So please find your way out of my house. I'm not interested in continuing this conversation anymore... Sorry everyone for wasting your time "

She walked out of the room to her room and slammed the door shut. She texted Sonal about confirming her decision to attend the interview and asked her to help with the accommodations to which Sonal readily replied with a happy yes. 

After hours of wailing and cursing her fate, Shilpa finally decided to talk to her about daughter. So during the dinner table she was expecting her daughter to say sorry, but Pari ate her food in silence. 

" With this attitude of yours you won't be able to find a man, Pari. Girls need to be flexible to lead a happy life. For me, Lakshy looked like a decent boy. You should have thought before accusing him" Her aunt Shalini spoke like the typical nosey relative. 

"If that's the case, why not talk to him about Nisha, anyway he was more interested in her than me throughout the conversation we had in living room" She spoke with her uninterested tone. 

" You don't speak like that with the elders , Pari. Just because you earn some little amount doesn't mean you can behave this way. Now I regret sending you for higher studies, I can't even find a decent man for you. Look at your cousins Rithika and Deepti, they are all married and have their own beautiful family. I'm already sabotaged with your skin tone and your attitude is making it impossible for me to find a match for you. What are you planning to do with your life Pari? Staying unmarried forever? Why can't you let us live in peace? " She hurled on her daughter. 

" Maa.... Stop saying things like these. I'm not some loser Maa. I'm earning my livelihood and leading a happy life. I freaking don't need a man who judges me for every action of mine. I don't have any issues with my skin but everyone else has and that's clearly not my problem. I don't need a man who thinks of me like a servant in his house who can satisfy all his needs. I'm looking for a life partner and not an owner. "

She stood up and went to wash her hands paying no head to the arguments in the dining table. She walked to her room and closed the door and straight away went to sleep as she plugged in her earphones. Music was always a way of escape for her.