The Malhotra Bride (2 page)

She ran the house and her men folk on oiled wheels. She also had a golden heart.

“You’ve really proved your prowess in the business Akshay. May God bless you with greater

success! I’ve got some wonderful news too. Gokul Rishi has offered his daughter’s hand in marriage

to you. They are a prestigious family. It would be an honour to find a match there.”

“Really,” said Tanuja. “Have you checked the horoscopes; how does the girl look; what kind of

people are they—?”

“Wait a minute, are you guys talking about my wedding?” Akshay asked in a low voice. Tanuja

caught on that he was disturbed by Raj’s news.

“Yes, Akshay,” said Raj, rubbing his palms together in pleasure. He was blissfully unaware of the

undercurrents. In fact, he was extremely satisfied with the way things were falling in place.

“Why don’t you freshen up first? We can continue this discussion in the dining room. I have made

your favourite
pakoras
, Akshay.” Tanuja hoped to avert the situation by distracting the men from the

talk of marriage.

“I’m not hungry,” bit out Akshay.

“Now, Akshay, I don’t think losing your temper’s the answer. Why don’t you have a wash and come

down? We can discuss this over snacks,” she suggested gently.

“Right, Mom, be back in ten,” said Akshay as he walked to the staircase leading to the bedrooms on

the first floor.

The flight of steps ended in a small hall. His bedroom was on the right. It was the ultimate in luxury

with an 8’x8’ bed in the centre. A full-length wardrobe took up the breadth of the room on the left.

One of the doors set within the wardrobe opened into an attached bathroom. A full-length mirror was

fitted right in the middle of the wardrobe.

The room was decorated in shades of grey, navy blue and maroon. A floor to ceiling bookshelf was

filled with Akshay’s favourite books collected since childhood. There was a collection of family

photos, and a shelf dedicated to DVDs. An excellent music system had been set up with speakers

placed on all four corners.

There were French windows opposite the entrance to the room. These opened on to a balcony,

which was about half the size of the bedroom. There was a box grill surrounding the three-foot high

wall that was filled with potted plants on all three sides. The balcony looked out on to a rectangular

swimming pool surrounded by lush green lawns.

The fourth wall of the bedroom had floor-length windows facing the front of the bungalow. There

was a recliner and a low table set beside the window at one corner. A study table with a PC and a

revolving office chair created a cosy workspace on the other.

Akshay stepped into the room pulling out the buttons on his shirt. The suit jacket was already on his

arm. He was six feet, two inches tall in his socks, broad-shouldered, lean and muscular. He was

twenty-eight years old and had a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Syracuse

University.

He was a handsome hunk, the ultimate among eligible bachelors. When he walked into a party, the

hopeful mammas could be heard sighing and groaning in turn, literally pushing their daughters into his

arms. He had a shock of thick, jet-black hair, cut close to his head and a clean-shaven face. His

forehead was broad while his dark brown eyes framed by short thick eyelashes shone with

intelligence. His nose was sharp and aquiline, giving him a haughty look. The smile on his finely

chiselled lips never failed to leave a trail of broken hearts.

Akshay helped his father run the family business empire, Malhotra Garments. They manufactured T-

shirts and sold them under the brand name
Maldi
. They had thirty-two retail outlets in Mumbai, Delhi,

Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram. The dividends had doubled, tripled and

quadrupled since Akshay joined the firm. He worked and played hard.

Akshay thoroughly enjoyed his bachelor state. Rich and handsome, he was never short of dates. He

was out six nights out of seven gracing various bars and discotheques along with some society beauty

or other. There was no model or actress who would not give her eyeteeth to spend an evening with

him.

Only he was careful not to date the same lady more than a few times. He was out to have a good

time and preferred to love them and leave them. The society butterflies accepted the expensive gifts

he showered on them as they grabbed whatever he was ready to give. He was yet to meet one woman

who said ‘no’ to him.

To Akshay, marriage was for keeps and he expected the event to take place sometime in the far

future. His freedom was threatened by this talk of marriage, an arranged one at that.

Akshay hurriedly pulled off his clothes and dropped them all over the floor, which just went to

show the disturbed state of his mind. He was not one to be tardy. He had a quick shower. Towelling

himself dry, he pulled on a pair of shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. Slipping his feet into a pair of

rubber slippers, he ran a comb through his hair in an absentminded fashion before taking off

downstairs.

In the dining room, Tanuja was studying her husband, trying to gauge his mood. Seeing he was his

cheerful self, she asked, “Raj, are you aware of the shock that you gave Akshay?”

Raj was busy removing the newspaper from his briefcase. Startled at his wife’s words, he looked

up to ask, “Why, what happened?”

Tanuja explained, “Raj, Akshay was shocked when you mentioned his wedding plans. Even I was

rather surprised. He’s not a kid. I think we should consult him before making promises to people.”

She was slowly working up a temper on her son’s behalf.

Raj maybe a mite absentminded but he wasn’t insensitive. “I’ve only accepted Gokul Rishi’s

invitation to their home. The wedding’s not fixed. Akshay and the girl have to first meet and then get

to know each other before we talk about the actual marriage ceremony.”

His parents stopped talking when Akshay walked into the room. “Ramu,
coffee lekhe aao
,” called

out Tanuja to the manservant. Ramu had been with the family since he was eight years old. He was

cook-cum-waiter-cum-butler-cum-general factotum. His loyalty to the family was absolute. Raj

Malhotra had given Ramu basic education, got him married at the age of twenty-two and given him a

small cottage to live on the grounds of Malhotra Park.

Tanuja served the coffee along with hot
pakoras,
chutney
and tomato sauce. Akshay ate his snack

quietly and waited for one of them to say something.

Tanuja said, “Akshay, the Rishis are a prestigious family. Their elder daughter’s married to Raghu

of Lalwani Group. The grapevine says that she’s a respectable daughter-in-law
and the Lalwanis are

enamoured with her cheerful nature.”

“Mom,” burst out Akshay. “I don’t want to marry a docile ‘yes’ woman who is completely steeped

in tradition.” He controlled his shudder as he imagined his life with such a partner.

Tanuja and Raj were smiling by now. “What kind of girl would you prefer, Akshay? Do you have a

particular type in mind? Or—” his father grinned, “May be you’re thinking of someone special?”

“Dad, please,” Akshay grinned back. “Of course I don’t. You’d have heard of her if there was

someone.” Tanuja was glad to see her son back to his cheerful mood.

“Then what’s your objection to this alliance?”

“I’m not keen on an arranged match, Dad. Both you and mom know that.” He declared the obvious.

“Akshay, what do you think of our marriage?”

Akshay answered without hesitation, “I’d give it hundred percent. That’s the reason why I’d rather

wait and have a similar blissful alliance.”

“Ours was a union arranged by our parents and you just gave us cent percent,” smiled Raj, a loving

expression in his eyes as he looked at his only offspring.

“But then, Dad, you and mom are lucky to have each other. The girls are quite different
nowadays.

They are out to grab what they can from a man.”

“The Rishis are already quite rich. This girl, what’s her name?
Hahn
, Sunita, she’ll not require any

monetary support from us.”

“She’s probably an uneducated dodo.” Akshay could not stop himself from playing devil’s

advocate.

“Akshay, trust your old man to have more sense. She’s a degree holder.”

“Maybe frumpy and a fusspot,” continued Akshay in a light vein.

“How do you know? Wouldn’t it be better to meet her in person before jumping to conclusions? I’ve

her photo. Why don’t you have a look at it first?”

“Raj, where’s the photo? Show it to me now. Why didn’t you tell me before?” That was Tanuja.

Raj removed a full-length shot of Sunita wearing a
salwar kameez
. Tanuja drew her breath in awe.

The girl looked like an angel. She passed the photo to her son without uttering a word.

Akshay ignored it. “I’m not interested, period. I’m still not convinced that I should meet this

paragon of virtue tomorrow. I’m sure it’s going to turn into a horse-circus with all her family

members surrounding us and watching the whole show through a microscope. No!” Akshay was

vehement in his protest.

Raj looked at Akshay, “Look here, son. I’ve already given my word to Gokul Rishi that we’d visit

them tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll understand that I can’t go back on that. What happens after the visit

will entirely depend on you. I don’t plan to press you in any way.”

Tanuja nodded her head in full agreement with her husband.

“Okay, Dad. We’ll go. But I hope you don’t expect me to take this wedding business seriously.”

With a lightning change of mood, Akshay took Sunita’s photo from his mother’s hand.

Looking at it he said, “Hmm—not bad, not bad at all. I’m sure she’ll make some guy a decorative

wife. I wonder how her upper berth functions.” He tapped his own head.

“She’s Sunita. And she’s well qualified - holds a degree in Arts majoring in English. She’s

attending computer classes nowadays. She rides a horse, drives a car, plays tennis and is an excellent

cook,” said Raj.

“Dad, that’s a thorough study. I suppose it’s like any other business deal.” Akshay was surprised.

Going rather red in the face, Raj denied it. “No, Akshay, this is definitely no business deal. I don’t

intend taking a dowry nor do I plan to exploit the Rishi family in any way.”

“Sorry, Dad, I didn’t mean it that way,” apologised Akshay.

“That’s okay, son.”

“Only, tell me, where does this, umm—, Sunita go to learn computers?”

Raj contained his curiosity and answered his son’s question “It’s the Webscan Institute at Andheri.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Raj and Tanuja looked at each other but refrained from commenting.

Three

Morning found our handsome hero get ready for work quite early. Akshay grabbed a bite of

breakfast, gulped down the coffee and rushed out of the house in hurry.

“Bye, Mom, Dad.” He had left by the time they both looked up from the breakfast table.

Kamat came up to him with the keys to the Audi. Akshay took the keys, got into the driver’s seat and

went away like the wind.

Sunita’s photo had triggered his curiosity and he wanted to see her in person without the pressure of

wedding plans and hovering humanity.

Akshay had checked her class timings at the Webscan Institute. Akshay looked at his watch. It was

8.55 am. Good. He was on schedule.

He reached the institute and parked his car on the opposite side of the road. He got out, locked the

vehicle and casually walked to the institute’s gates.

Akshay did not have long to wait. A group of students came out of the building. You couldn’t have

missed Sunita. She appeared the brightest among the dozen or so students who stepped out.

He caught his breath as he blinked a couple of times to clear his vision. The formal studio portrait

had done her no justice. This lovely vision that was walking towards him almost knocked Akshay off

his feet. She was too busy chatting and laughing with her friends to notice him. Luxuriant dark brown

hair hung to her waist. Her eyes were large and expressive, framed by long lashes. He could not miss

the luscious lips as she pouted at someone’s comment. It was not just the boys who were listening

raptly to her words.

Akshay’s observant eyes noticed her taut breasts covered by a plain yellow t-shirt. He moved his

eyes away with great difficulty to check out the rest of her hourglass figure that was fitted into dark

blue designer jeans. The idea of marrying this vision did not seem so farfetched now.

He shook himself. Looks were not everything. He could line up a bevy of beauties at the flick of his

fingers. But they were quite empty and shallow under their lovely hairstyles.

He was definitely hooked by Sunita’s allure. He would meet her in the evening, despite a big family

hanging around.

The students passed him by the gate. Sunita didn’t even turn in his direction. A mite disappointed,

Akshay shrugged his wide shoulders. Time enough for that in the evening!

While Sunita pretended to be busy talking to her friends, she couldn’t help but notice the handsome