Two Minutes

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 29; the 29th Edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The topic for this month is 'TWO MINUTES'.

1935:

“Radha, where are you? Come soon. Get me my pagadi “shouted Ramrao. Radha came running inside the room. Managing the nauwari sari was still a difficult job for her. She was wearing it since 8 years as it was the traditional Brahmin apparel for women in those days.

She went to the wooden cupboard beside the bed and took out the white pagadi and gave it Ramrao. Ramrao took it with a smile on his face and looking into her eyes he said,” Thank you my dear wife” for which she smiled him back and put her head down evincing her shyness. Having said that he left for work.

Radha was 18 years old and Ramrao, who was 35, then, was her husband. In those days girls were married at the age of 8 or 10 and sent to husband’s house. The worst part of this marriage is that the groom often used to be too old for the bride. In this case Ramrao was 27 and Radha was 10 when they tied knot. It was the time when women were only confined to four walls of the house and they weren’t allowed to go outside, educate themselves and talk to strangers.

Ramrao was the first son followed by two sisters, out of whom one was widow and lived with them, and four younger brothers, out of whom two were from his step mother. His step mother had taken sati when his father died. They were basically landlords having loads of acres and thousands of workers working under them. Since they belonged to upper caste, they practiced untouchability.

Raghu, the eldest son of Ramrao’s step mother was of Radha’s age. Right from day one of Radha’s arrival, Raghu hated her. He himself didn’t understand why he hated her. She would always speak with him in a gentle way but he retorted in a rude way, without uttering any word but making gestures. This made her feel bad and would cry; after all she was only 10 years old.

Ramrao was an intellect and an ahead-of-his-times thinker. He disagreed to marry Radha but his family forced him to do so. He still didn’t budge, but when his mother attempted to hang herself protesting his decision, he had to accept Radha. He always spoke to Radha calmly and treated her like a small child; gave her fine tips on how to handle the family, how to respect everyone’s opinion and never be rude to them and so on.

But things changed once Radha attained her puberty at 14. She had got a mesmerizing body. Her beauty doubled when she was in the nauwari sari. Her hair had become very silky and would shine in the sun. Her blue eyes made it impossible for anyone to stop staring. Immediately after this, the family members arranged for their first night; but Ramrao expresses his dissent and insisted them to not force him and wait until she was 18 years.

Raghu used to go to convent school where British students were more prominent along with upper caste boys. Radha always took care of him with love and affection as she did for all others. She used to make dishes he would like and still couldn’t escape his rude gestures. Raghu was of 18 years too now and off late, he started observing Radha. Only this time with a different angle- angle of attraction.

Whenever he saw her in red color nauwari sari, he would get an uncanny but sweet feeling. His heart used to pound faster than usual. In evening when all the ladies of the house sit in the veranda and chat, Raghu used to observe her by hiding behind a pillar. Many times, Radha caught his eyes. At first she used to smile and neglect, but later even she couldn’t resist looking at him. Soon it became a habit and both would keep staring for hours together. They used to go in the backyard and simply stare with frequent smiles; but never dared to talk. Nobody had a clue of this.

Ramrao also fell for her beauty and couldn’t control the desire of putting his hands on her body. His imagination took over to new heights and all of a sudden his temptations made him to call for that ‘First Night’. While managing work and workers on fields, a part of his mind would imagine making love to her; feeling the heat of her naked body; the friction of rubbing his body against hers. He tried to defy these thoughts; but in vain.

Somehow he got that first night arranged. Radha wasn’t aware of what would happen in the first night. That evening Ramrao bought her a brand new HMT wrist watch for her as a gift. Radha always used to love watch. She was amazed by its ticking and three different sticks moving independently. Ramrao had taught her to read and write English letters and alphabets. He also taught her to read the time. Having her own watch made her feel very proud and happy. She wore it quickly on receiving it. She used to wear it continuously; albeit many members were uncomfortable with this, they didn’t complain.

The night before coveted ‘last night’ experienced heavy rain, thundering and storm. All the members were inside and were busy in preparing the menu for tomorrow since it was considered to be most auspicious day in a couple’s life. Radha went to bring clothes she had put for soaking in the back yard. As usual, Raghu was there too, staring and smiling at her. The storm become more violent and suddenly all the lamps in the house blew. Thunder followed the violent storm and appeared to be scary.

Radha lost her balance while moving backwards and fell on the stone. Raghu was quick enough to hold her in his arms and support her to stand up. The thunder became more savage and the sound frightened her. Without second thoughts they hugged. They held each other tightly. Radha and Raghu were gasping; that made them to hug even more tightly. The hug made their wet lips touch. It was natural. Raghu seized her lips with full force. Radha was submissive. She felt strange, but the feeling made her feel satisfaction. She had never felt so happy before. The feeling of wearing the watch became petty when compared to this. The more violent the sound became, the more they tried to push each other’s arms and lips. Their bodies were drenched in the rain and started shivering. In the midst of this, they smiled. Reason was unknown.

Ramrao came near the door which lead to the backyard and yelled,”Radha!! Radha!!”. there was no reply. He yelled again,” Radha, Radha. Where are you? It’s raining heavily come inside. Shall I come out there?” still due to noise of thunder and rain, Radha couldn’t hear him. After fourth attempt, it finally paid off. Radha shouted from the backyard, “I am coming. Two minutes”.

Raghu let her go. Radha stood up bearing a shy smile and managed her way back through the darkness and occasional light emitted by the thunder.

She couldn’t forget what happened. The Two Minutes she said to Ramrao made her feel mystified, contented and incomplete. But little she knew about tomorrow’s night…………………….

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