25-08-2021, 04:04 PM
Sheetal on the other hand was in the exact opposite situation of Sandeep. The chances she took were paying off and each day brought her closer to the fruition of her efforts. Her dad was almost of the verge of getting married again and she was very pleased with her. Her confidence grew and she was delighted at the way things had turned. She had brewed some tea and was taking it to her father who along with his friend was watching a cricket match in progress. As she served tea and namkeen, her father thanked her and remarked to his friend,
"Just one more wicket to fall and it will be a clean sweep for India. Why is this fellow not giving up. 10 runs and an over, as long as he remains there is an outside chance that he can upset everything. His wicket is important, hopefully bhajji will get his wicket."
Sheetal walked away towards the kitchen but suddenly her pappa's words took on a new meaning. Sandeep was the last batsman and he was refusing to give in. It was so clear the way he was absent for the ceremony when her aunt had come. But there was no chance really. His mom was hooked on to her pappa and she wasn't going to go back.
"Oh shit no" the sudden scream of her pappa brought her running back to the hall.
"What happened?"
"That rascal has hit a six and there are 4 more balls remaining."
Everyone was now focussed on the T.V. To their dismay, the next ball yielded two more runs.
Suddenly what seemed a victory was reversed to a defeat. It was even visible in the body language of the Indian cricketers on the field. Their shoulders were all slouched and their heads were shaking in disbelief. It took 2 more balls and 4 minutes for the last batsman to hit a 4 and seal the match.
"Saala, where the hell did he come from. He turned what was a sure victory to a defeat for us."
Sheetal went back to her room. She wasn't very interested in cricket. She found it overrated. But what had just happened was causing concern. Before she went back, her aunt had a word in private with her. She had told her that everything was good expect for Sandeep's absence. In her opinion, a mother's weakness is more her children than anyone else. And if Sandeep did throw in everything against this marriage, his mom might have second thoughts. She suggested that Sheetal talk to him and at least find out what his concerns were. Once that was known some steps could be taken to address them. But how would she even attempt it, this guy was proving to actually be a pain and keeping himself away. She was not very happy to deal with his and was hoping Sandeep would not turn out to be that last batsman and change the course of the game.
Sheetal went to bed early as she had to wake up to study the next day. But she did not sleep well, a mixture of her aunt's warning as well as watching the last few minutes of the cricket match kept coming back in her dreams. It was as if Sandeep was that last batsman waiting with his ace till the last over and then hitting the ball out of the park to win the match. She woke up sweating in the middle of the night.
"Goodness, what have I been dreaming of".
She realised that she was sweating and got up to go and drink some water from the kitchen. As she gulped down cold water, she calmed down and resolved she would not let it happen. There would be no last minute heroics or anything by Sandeep that would change the course. She had to take the initiative or risk something untoward happening. No that was not even an option in her mind. She decided to call Sandeep and meet him to take this head on. And she would do it the moment she finished her classes and came home.
Sandeep on the other hand was trying to weigh the pros and cons of continuing his approach of non-cooperation. He took a calculated gamble of staying away when Vijay and his family came to meet his mom. It was a formal ceremony and his mom had insisted initially that he should be there. However, she left it to his choice and told him that while she would really be happy if he attended, it was his freedom and she would never force him. Unknown to Sandeep, his maa had changed her mind on the advice of her best friend who told her to give Sandeep his freedom and respect his choices so she can demand the same from him in the worst case scenario. Unknown to anyone, Sandeep wanted to know how things went and to his disbelief, he decided to purchase a spy cam and place it in the flower vase that was in the hall. At night, after he ensured his maa had gone to her room, he quickly took the small cam that was stuck to one of the leaves of the artificial flowering plant in the vase and went to his room. It took him a few minutes to download the footage and view it on his laptop. His rationale mind was screaming No, No don't do this man, this is not right. But reason seemed to lose to his emotions. He played the footage and saw everyone there. He was surprised and not surprised at what he saw. His mom was dressed like a bride to be and she had put in efforts to look good despite her age. Again, it proved to him that his non-cooperation movement was not having any effect. It was almost as if he was refusing to get on to a train that was destined to leave in a few minutes from the platform. Whether he boarded it or not would have no effect on the departure of the train or those who had already boarded it. He had to make up his mind. He wanted to keep things the same while at the same time keep communications with his maa open. His mind presented multiple possibilities and he fell asleep debating the pros and cons of each.
"Just one more wicket to fall and it will be a clean sweep for India. Why is this fellow not giving up. 10 runs and an over, as long as he remains there is an outside chance that he can upset everything. His wicket is important, hopefully bhajji will get his wicket."
Sheetal walked away towards the kitchen but suddenly her pappa's words took on a new meaning. Sandeep was the last batsman and he was refusing to give in. It was so clear the way he was absent for the ceremony when her aunt had come. But there was no chance really. His mom was hooked on to her pappa and she wasn't going to go back.
"Oh shit no" the sudden scream of her pappa brought her running back to the hall.
"What happened?"
"That rascal has hit a six and there are 4 more balls remaining."
Everyone was now focussed on the T.V. To their dismay, the next ball yielded two more runs.
Suddenly what seemed a victory was reversed to a defeat. It was even visible in the body language of the Indian cricketers on the field. Their shoulders were all slouched and their heads were shaking in disbelief. It took 2 more balls and 4 minutes for the last batsman to hit a 4 and seal the match.
"Saala, where the hell did he come from. He turned what was a sure victory to a defeat for us."
Sheetal went back to her room. She wasn't very interested in cricket. She found it overrated. But what had just happened was causing concern. Before she went back, her aunt had a word in private with her. She had told her that everything was good expect for Sandeep's absence. In her opinion, a mother's weakness is more her children than anyone else. And if Sandeep did throw in everything against this marriage, his mom might have second thoughts. She suggested that Sheetal talk to him and at least find out what his concerns were. Once that was known some steps could be taken to address them. But how would she even attempt it, this guy was proving to actually be a pain and keeping himself away. She was not very happy to deal with his and was hoping Sandeep would not turn out to be that last batsman and change the course of the game.
Sheetal went to bed early as she had to wake up to study the next day. But she did not sleep well, a mixture of her aunt's warning as well as watching the last few minutes of the cricket match kept coming back in her dreams. It was as if Sandeep was that last batsman waiting with his ace till the last over and then hitting the ball out of the park to win the match. She woke up sweating in the middle of the night.
"Goodness, what have I been dreaming of".
She realised that she was sweating and got up to go and drink some water from the kitchen. As she gulped down cold water, she calmed down and resolved she would not let it happen. There would be no last minute heroics or anything by Sandeep that would change the course. She had to take the initiative or risk something untoward happening. No that was not even an option in her mind. She decided to call Sandeep and meet him to take this head on. And she would do it the moment she finished her classes and came home.
Sandeep on the other hand was trying to weigh the pros and cons of continuing his approach of non-cooperation. He took a calculated gamble of staying away when Vijay and his family came to meet his mom. It was a formal ceremony and his mom had insisted initially that he should be there. However, she left it to his choice and told him that while she would really be happy if he attended, it was his freedom and she would never force him. Unknown to Sandeep, his maa had changed her mind on the advice of her best friend who told her to give Sandeep his freedom and respect his choices so she can demand the same from him in the worst case scenario. Unknown to anyone, Sandeep wanted to know how things went and to his disbelief, he decided to purchase a spy cam and place it in the flower vase that was in the hall. At night, after he ensured his maa had gone to her room, he quickly took the small cam that was stuck to one of the leaves of the artificial flowering plant in the vase and went to his room. It took him a few minutes to download the footage and view it on his laptop. His rationale mind was screaming No, No don't do this man, this is not right. But reason seemed to lose to his emotions. He played the footage and saw everyone there. He was surprised and not surprised at what he saw. His mom was dressed like a bride to be and she had put in efforts to look good despite her age. Again, it proved to him that his non-cooperation movement was not having any effect. It was almost as if he was refusing to get on to a train that was destined to leave in a few minutes from the platform. Whether he boarded it or not would have no effect on the departure of the train or those who had already boarded it. He had to make up his mind. He wanted to keep things the same while at the same time keep communications with his maa open. His mind presented multiple possibilities and he fell asleep debating the pros and cons of each.
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