Geeta’s Life p Basab Dasgupta C

Geeta’s Life

Basab Dasgupta, California

Geeta’s father worked in a coal field in Dhanbad as the chief engineer in the coke firing plant. It was far from their relatives, but money was good and company provided car and living quarters. Besides, Dhanbad is a sizable city in Jharkhand with a hilly climate and all the conveniences of shopping, medical facilities, schools, and entertainment. Many places of tourist interest are nearbya.

Geeta attended an English-medium high school with students from various parts of India. Everyone was bilingual in Hindi and English. However, she could never become close to any of her friends in school or neighborhood mainly because of cultural differences.

However, there was a Punjabi boy, Parvin, who had an eye for her. He was a goodlooking kid with fair complexion, sharp features, and pleasant personality. He was completely enamored by Geeta. He preferred the softer and gentler demeanor of a Bengali girl compared to the Punjabi girls who seemed a little rough around the edges. During their final year at high school the mutual infatuation blossomed into a full-blown romance. The pair could not spend a minute without seeing each other.

Geeta’s parents, Prasanta and Swapna, had plans to send her to a college in Kolkata. They had preliminary talks with Swapna’s sister in Jadavpur who was gladly willing to accommodate Geeta. Jadavpur University and many other colleges were within easy commute by bus or train. They expected Geeta to be excited at this prospect.

It was a real shock for them when Geeta declared that she would prefer to continue living at home and attend the local Guru Nanak College. Geeta mentioned that it would be difficult for her to live away from her parents and comfort of her own home; besides her aunt’s place in Jadavpur was small not to mention coping with the hustle and bustle of the big city. Her parents could not argue much as they also secretly wished that Geeta could continue living with them.

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Parvin applied at the Indian School of Mines. It was not just a school for mining engineering but had several curricula suitable for almost any industry around the Dhanbad area. Geeta and Parvin had made a secret pact that they would both study in Dhanbad and would continue to see each other. Their plan worked; both of them got admitted to their respective schools of choice. Everyone was happy including Geeta’s parents.

A year later, Prasanta and Swapna got the wind of their daughter’s romantic relation with Parvin. Geeta and Parvin were spotted in restaurants or movie theaters by their Bengali friends who immediately informed them. It was a difficult task for them to confront Geeta on this issue. Geeta had been a good daughter throughout her teenage years. She maintained good grades, was well-behaved in social interactions and helped with household chores. Although her parents were not against her having a Punjabi husband, they definitely had the vision of a Bengali son-in-law from Kolkata. They thought that Geeta was too young to get involved with a guy in such a public manner and worried that Geeta’s own education would suffer.

Swapna first tried gentle persuasion to discourage Geeta from letting the romance go too far. She emphasized the differences between Bengali and Punjabi cultures regarding food, language, literature, social customs, interactions with in-laws and overall values. Since Geeta was somewhat lonely it was natural for her to think that she was in love, Swapna explained. It was nothing more than youthful infatuation. Also, Parvin’s future was uncertain. Swapna told her that there were dozens of guys from good families with established careers in Kolkata ready for the opportunity of marrying a sweet, attractive, and educated girl like Geeta. Also, their own plan after Prasanta’s retirement was to go back to Kolkata. They did not want their only daughter living in a faraway place like Dhanbad or perhaps even Punjab.

Geeta was adamant in her conviction; “Parvin loves me, ma and I love him,” she said. “You won’t understand it because yours was an arranged marriage!” She had no doubt that Parvin would excel in his academic pursuit, secure a good job and that she would be well accepted by his family. She just knew that they would live happily ever after.

Initial friendly parental advice soon turned into heated exchanges. Nothing that parents said made any impact on Geeta. Her view was that she knew what she was doing; even if things went wrong, she would gladly face the consequences and not be a burden on her parents. She even gave some veiled threats that she could find some place where she could live by herself away from all the restrictions and control of her parents. Her parents backed off and just pleaded with her to use discretion.

Swapna’s comment about availability of many well-qualified men for Geeta was not wishful thinking. She had already selected some potential candidates after investigations together with her sister through various matrimonial ads. She knew that these teenage romances could end abruptly for many reasons and could not let Geeta be devastated.

Swapna never explicitly asked Geeta how far her romance with Parvin had progressed as far as physical intimacy was concerned. She was concerned that Parvin might entice Geeta into something she did not want to do. She had a false sense of security though because there were not too many places around town to provide them with an opportunity.

Swapna did not have to ask. Geeta came to her one day in tears and confessed that she had missed her period. This time Geeta was not defending the situation; she was seeking emotional support from her mother. It was clear to Swapna that her daughter was in severe anxiety, embarrassment, and fear. Geeta was not ready for this outcome no matter whatever she might have had thought about her love for Parvin.

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Swapna was an astute person. She saw this as a blessing in disguise. She immediately figured out that if Geeta was indeed pregnant this was the opportunity to take Geeta to Kolkata and arrange a quick wedding. Abortion was out of the question as both Prasanta and Swapna were religious persons. A marriage with Parvin also seemed to be an unwise scenario. Parvin’s family might not be thrilled by the turn of events and blame Geeta. Most importantly, Geeta’s few brief tearful comments told Swapna that Parvin was not really in favor of keeping the baby, much to Geeta’s disappointment.

Swapna was glad that she already had a headstart in seeking an appropriate groom. She almost immediately left for Kolkata with Geeta. Geeta did not object nor expressed a strong desire to stay with Parvin. It was a rude awakening for an eighteen-year-old girl from her fairly-tale dream of a romantic life with Parvin.

Events came together to fit Swapna’s plan. The final candidate turned out to be Gautam who had a high-tech job in Bangalore with a promising future ahead of him. His widowed mother lived mostly by herself in their family home in Bhawanipur. His younger brother worked near Kolkata and visited their mother regularly.

Gautam’s mother had been bugging and begging him for the past several years to bring a woman to the house to take care of the household as she had several health problems. Gautam was very busy with his work and had to travel often throughout the country and sometimes to places like Singapore and China. From his point of view, an ideal scenario would be to have a wife who would stay with his mother to take care of her and periodically visit him in Bangalore.

This was perfect for Geeta, Swapna thought. Geeta could take care of her mother-in-law and tend to her pregnancy away from probing eyes of her husband. Swapna herself could temporarily move to Kolkata to supervise Geeta’s health and arrange a physician of her selection who could support Swapna’s suggested timeline regarding Geeta’s conception and expectation of the baby’s birth.

It was perfect for presenting the charade that the baby was Gautam’s. The fact that Gautam was preoccupied with work and his mother was anxious for his wedding allowed arrangement of a hasty marriage. Geeta’s loneliness and boredom in Dhanbad and desire to go to college in Kolkata were given as justifications behind planning such a speedy wedding.

The wedding ceremony went without a hitch. Gautam took Geeta with him to Bangalore for a few weeks following the wedding and then she returned to her mother-in-law in Calcutta. The news of Geeta’s immediate pregnancy did not surprise anyone; Gautam’s mother was thrilled at the prospect of a grandchild and pitter-patter of a baby around the house. In fact, the news brought Geeta very close to her mother-in-law.

When the due date arrived Swapna’s handpicked doctor declared, following her plan, that the baby was born prematurely by about six weeks so that there was no inconsistency between date of birth of the baby and date of consummation of the marriage by the baby’s parents. It was a boy. Geeta named him Partha – with initial “P” as in Parvin.

Geeta decided to discontinue her studies. Her married life was comfortable. Apart from Gautam’s well-paying job, his late father left a sizable inheritance. Partha became the apple of Geeta’s eye and center of her universe. Her life revolved around catering to every little need of her child.

Even though Geeta spent about a week or so per month with her husband, she enjoyed spending time in Kolkata with her son more. She could also see her relatives as often as she wished. Gautam was delighted that Geeta became so devoted to his mother.

Partha grew up to be a handsome intelligent young man. Geeta did everything with Partha –

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going to movies, visiting relatives, shopping. She made sure he had the right clothes, ate the right food, and did not have to do physically strenuous activities. He had a private tutor during high school years. Partha returned the favor; he did very well in his academics and got admission at the Presidency College.

A major life changing moment came when Partha went to USA for his graduate studies. Geeta was not ready to let go of him, but eventually agreed considering the future career of her son. However, the strong bond of mother-son relation remained intact. While studying at University of Maryland, Partha called his mother every day and gave her all the daily details of what happened. As soon as he settled down, Geeta came to visit him for one month; Gautam was too busy to join her. Partha took her mother to visit Washington DC, New York City, Niagara Falls and other nearby attractions.

After his mother returned to India Partha started to feel for the first time in his life the need of another woman. He knew that he was now ready for marriage and craved for a woman who could fulfill all his needs. In his usual habit of sharing thoughts with his mother he let Geeta know about this wish. There was no shortage of well-qualified beautiful potential brides for a guy like Partha.

He selected Sumitra from the list Geeta provided based on her looks, education and his personal interactions through e-mail, telephone calls and WhatsApp. Sumitra seemed to have the right mixture of feminine appeal and knowledge of the world affairs to intrigue Partha.

He took a couple of months off during summer and to get married in India. Gautam spent lavishly to arrange the wedding of his only “son”. The ceremony and reception took place in style. The newly married couple enjoyed a few days of “honeymoon” in a luxury hotel on a beach in Kerala.

Partha finally started to break the bond with his mother. He realized that it was a lot more fun to be able to share everything, including physical intimacy, building a nest, and planning a future life with a woman of his own. Coincidentally, Gautam’s mother passed away not too long after Partha’s wedding and it was logical for Geeta to permanently move to Bangalore to be with her husband.

Geeta never felt comfortable in her intimate encounters with Gautam and did not quite enjoy the love life the way a wife should. However, just like most Bengali couples, she never had to express any real delight in the act, and he was happy once his needs were met. They also practiced various birth control techniques.

One night, Gautam seemed to be very passionate and perhaps a little strange. At one point he held Geeta against his chest, looked straight into her eyes and asked “What do you think about the idea of having a child of our own?”

Geeta was stunned!

Apparently, Gautam knew all along that Partha was not his son. Right after their wedding he had instructed Geeta to take daily vitamin pills which were really birth control pills. Gautam took this sneaky approach because he felt awkward in telling her that he really did not want a child right away. The fact that Partha did not seem like a prematurely born baby added to Gautam’s conviction. However, he was happy with Geeta and the arrangement they had, especially because his mother was so pleased and freedom Gautam had in his professional career.

Geeta was simply awed by Gautam’s sense of understanding of the whole situation and his acceptance of Partha like his own son. What a remarkable difference with Parvin, Geeta thought, who did not even want to see his child born. She was suddenly overcome with a deep feeling of respect and love for Gautam on that night which she had never felt until then. She was now ready to do anything to please Gautam. It seemed that it was not just one, but two happy married lives started at about the same time!

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