Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Body


"What...??", Neha thought, "not again..!!" And finally shouted at her mom, "I can't go through another humiliation. Please mom, why don't you people leave me alone? Please stop bothering about my marriage. It just won't happen."

And she stormed out of the room.

She sat on her bed, hugging her pillow, and reflecting back on the past two years of the melodrama going on in the family. She was 33 years old, not beautiful but attractive with good features, had a doctorate in English, was earning well as a lecturer at the local university, had a very engaging and caring nature, and always had a smile on her face, but the only obstacle in her marriage was her body. She was obese. Now that she thought of the past two years, the ten-odd guys she had met, had all rejected her because of her body. And she was feeling pretty humiliated by now, and when she heard of the eleventh guy coming to visit her the next day, she thought that she just couldn't take another rejection. She decided to do something about it.

She went to her mother and said, "Mom, I want to talk to this Mr. Mayank, who is coming to meet me tomorrow, right now."

Her mother was surprised, "But why beta?"

Neha was exasperated, her nerves stretched to breaking-point. Controlling her anger, she said, "Please mother, you won't understand. Now will you please give me his number.?"


Her mother was stumped, but nevertheless she gave her Mayank's office number.

Neha called him at his office. The phone rang twice before being picked up by a gruff-voiced man. She asked tentatively, "Am I speaking to Mr. Mayank?" He replied politely, "Yes, may I know who is this?" She said, "Yes, I am Neha. You are supposedly coming to our place with a marriage proposal for me tomorrow." He said, "Oh yes, but-" She cut him in mid-sentence, "Please listen to me. Please don't take me otherwise, but I don't want you to visit us with this marriage proposal. You must've seen my photograph." He said, "Yes, I have, but-" She again interrupted him, "So you know exactly how I look. In fact I don't understand why you agreed to come when you know how I look. The same scene will be repeated again tomorrow, you'll reject me after seeing me, and then make up some excuse, and I'll have to face another humiliation and my parents have to face another disappointment regarding my marriage. So please spare us." And she slammed the phone down.

She was pretty sure, Mayank would not come and had not bothered to dress up at all. So when the door bell rang the next evening, she was surprised to hear her father welcoming Mayank in. She was amazed to hear Mayank say, "I want to meet Neha right now." She was pretty angry at him that he had not paid any heed to her phone call. She stormed into the living room, ready to give him a piece of her mind. But words failed her. There was Mayank, handsome, lean and absolutely fabulous. His photographer hadn't done justice to him. Her anxiety increased, thinking that he'll totally reject her. She started to say something but Mayank spoke before she could get a word out. "I came here today because I wanted to meet you. I want to marry you." Neha was stunned. Was she hearing him correctly? Even her parents were surprised on hearing this. Mayank continued, "I saw your phoograph, and the first thing that struck me was the honesty and dignity in your eyes and on your face. I want a wife, not a model. I always wanted my wife to be a dignified lady, who is honest with herself and the world. I wanted her to be caring, loving and who had the guts to face the truth about anything in this world. And I found all those qualities in you. After you rang off yesterday, I sat and thought about everything you said, and I decided that you are the one I want to marry, 'cos you are honest with yourself, and you were being honest with me. What does it matter if you are a few kilos over the ideal weight? It is just a body. One day it will perish, but what you have achieved in life, how you have made others happy, will always be cherished and you will always be loved for that, not your
body.You'll always look beautiful to me. So please marry me, else I'll keep calling at your doorstep everyday of my life."

Tears were streaming down her face. She realised that whatever Mayank said was from straight from the heart. He really wanted to marry her for the person she was, not for how she looked physically. She was overwhelmed and looked at her parents. They could not believe this was happening. They were so happy. And finally when she looked at Mayank, she knew that she would never regret marrying him.

The marriage took place 3 months later. And the couple looked beautiful and happy, and everybody was amazed at the change in Neha. She was the same as before, physically, but Mayank's love and support made her the most beautiful woman around.

No comments: