Catching the last train.......

I was born and brought up in a non-descript village in an eastern state of India and happened to be the only child of my parents. As my father had to discontinue higher studies because of family pressure, his only dream was to get his daughter educated to the highest level. My academic record was impeccable with many jewels under my father’s watchful eyes and with my “above average intelligence and diligence”. I ended up becoming a Chartered Accountant which is still believed to be one of the toughest professional qualifications in my country and my father was visibly proud of his daughter’s achievement.

I was busy studying till an objectionable age (girls generally get married long before reaching that age in our society) .While my father was wondering whether there was anything after that which I might and should try to study for, my mother was having sleepless nights as the thought of getting his daughter married off still did not occur to my father. This eventually led to my mom having admitted in a hospital under a psychiatrist for a severe nervous breakdown and that was a “wake-up” call to the father-daughter duo obsessed with higher studies!

The sequence of events that followed once my mom came home from hospital, was nothing short of high-level drama. There were advertisements in all prominent newspapers in the matrimonial section in the country “seeking suitable match for a highly educated, independent minded and financially independent daughter of a retired school teacher parents”. Within a fortnight, my father was seen sorting out suitable candidates from heap of bio-data and phone line was almost jammed. I was being given the update on a daily basis as I was away in Delhi in a ‘working women hostel’ all the while. After much deliberation on the suitability of the prospective candidates, I rejected all of them.  I was no longer a village girl after so many years in Delhi and apart from being educated and well employed, the groom should also be “presentable”!!Since “presentable” is a very vague term and could include many things, none of the candidate fit the bill! My mom fell sick again because according to her, all the candidates were worth considering.

Time was flying fast and hope of getting the ‘suitable match’ was fading away!

…… I decided to marry anyone of my parents’ choice, presentable or not presentable, fearing another nervous breakdown of my mom. During one of these days, I met one Mr. Ray, a Chartered Accountant, in connection with a professional assignment. Well, he was educated, well employed and presentable! For me, it was almost “love at first sight” and hope flickered in a moment when he showed willingness to join the professional firm where I had been a partner ever since I qualified. When he eventually shifted and settled in Delhi and became my colleague in the same office, I tried to gather necessary information to pass on to my father in anticipation. We became good friends very soon and I was getting more and more convinced that he was God-sent. I waited patiently for hints from his side but he was non-committal. So after many sleepless nights, when God was not doing anything, I dropped the question in front of him:

“Do you have plans to get married recently?”

He smiled and said, “Well, yeah, in about six months’ time. I am going home next week and decide on this part after discussion with my mom and my fiancé’”  

I could not say any congratulatory word but only sensed a feeling within myself that I missed the last train only for fraction of a second!! The next morning I got a call from my father requesting me to meet one gentleman who had shown immense interest in marrying me looking at my bio data and photograph. I agreed to meet him immediately and started looking for another job as it would be difficult for me to sit next to the guy in the same office whom I found presentable but was taken by someone else.

Somehow, the matrimony did not materialize and the next week Mr. Ray came back from home trip . I asked him formality sake, “how r things at home?”

He replied matter-of-factly,” Oh everything else is ok and I broke up with my fiancé”. Instead of feeling sorry for him, I sprang up from my chair and came to his cabin, “are you still interested in marrying someone? What type of girl would you be looking for?”   

He looked at me and said with a smile,” Yes, I am still interested in marrying and looking for a simple, family-oriented, educated girl”.

 Hope flickered again and I had the terrible feeling that it was my last chance to catch the last train and if I got late this time around, I would be left waiting in the platform for the entire life. I closed my eyes, took a long breath and asked, “Do you think, I qualify to these requirements?”

He looked at me again for few seconds and said,” I have never given a thought to this” and left the cabin for attending a meeting with a client. I also left office in a few minutes as the thought of rejection was terrifying. I needed some time to think whether I should sent the resignation by post tomorrow or should I continue as if nothing happened. I managed  to office the next morning and was so relieved not seeing him in his cabin. As I was trying to find a particular document from the filing cabinet, someone tapped on my shoulder lightly and I turned back to see him standing with a bunch of red roses and a divine smile in his face. Oh, so this was it – rejection with flowers. I retorted back, puzzled, “What are these roses for?”

“I have thought over it and so………”, he went to his cabin.

“So what? Tell me clearly as I hate ambiguity”. I was desperate to catch the last train.

He came back to my cabin while I was still examining the red roses for possible hints and said, “Will you marry me please?”

I threw the red roses high up in the air, sprang up on my feet and ran to make a call to my father. Finally, I managed to catch the last train!

…….. after so many years, sometimes when the kids are sleeping and Mr. Ray is snoring off to glory, I take a long look at him and say to myself reassuringly,” Not only I could get on to the last train, I was the only one on board”.