that.’
‘He was sure I was having an affair. He said he had photographic proof.’
‘It’s not of us in the bedroom, so don’t worry about that. I have questioned the servants closely. The house is clean.’
‘Anyway, he knows, and I – I did not want to deny it.’
‘Little point. Your life is with me, not with him.’
‘I’m not ready.’
‘It’s a big step you are taking. Just do it, the readiness will come later.’
‘So, you at least are glad.’
‘You know I hated all this hole-in-corner stuff. If you have to get a divorce, fight for custody, let’s start now.’
‘These things are not so easy in India.’
‘Is anything easy in India? That’s not the point. Should we meet a lawyer? My old school friend is one of the best. Practises in the High Court. Has a home office in GK I.’
‘What about the children?’
‘What about them? They will be in your life, don’t worry. And darling, I know where my responsibilities lie. That’s a promise. We will ask Madz.’
‘Is that your friend’s name?’
‘Madan Singh. We used to call him Mad. Maddy. Madz.’
Shagun was silent. It was lawyer time, the time of consequences, even though her relationship with her lover was hardly the most established thing in her life. She roused herself to bid farewell to her intense secret world, with its perilous edge of desire, its hours devoted to subterfuge.
*
In the next few days many equations changed.
Ashok took long leave, coming to a quick understanding with various heads of departments. He would work away from the Delhi office, and Raman was spared the embarrassment of facing him.
At work Raman could read sympathy for himself in glances, could read knowledge in the way nothing about Ashok was said in front of him. The grapevine declared he would not be returning, that he was going to travel soon, probably to New York.
Raman wished he too could take off somewhere, but how can you take off from your life? Wherever he turned, there was no escape; home, office, all imbued with a sense of failure.
The HR head in Bombay had been most sympathetic. The company would support him in every way they could. Pay for marriage counselling sessions, help him relocate, let him go on leave.
But Raman wanted more. He wanted Ashok punished. It was bad for the morale of the company if bosses could get away with stealing wives and wrecking homes.
He hoped the flaws in this assertion weren’t obvious. This was a company, not a moral science school. It was up to the wife to defend her integrity. His wife, the weak chink in his armour.
At any rate he wanted a change of scene. He wanted nothing to do with Mang-oh! any more; he could not travel as much as this product demanded. He needed to stay in one place for a while, his children were going to need him.
The company was understanding. Since no one else had his expertise or experience, they couldn’t relieve him of Mang-oh!, but they could increase his staff, so that the stress on him was drastically reduced. He told himself to be satisfied with these concessions.
Suffering continued unabated in the Kaushik household. Shagun tried to have little to do with Raman. The minute he came home she left. As he watched her go, he told himself he didn’t care what she did or where she went. He ate with the children, then put them to bed. His wife would return in the morning to get them ready for school.
Unfairly, it was to the father that the son put his questions.
‘Where is Mama?’
‘Ask your mother, beta, ask why she wants to leave her home and her children.’
‘She says she is going away, Papa. She was crying, Papa.’
‘And did she tell you she has found another man to love, my boss in fact, and now my boss has left work? Too afraid to face the music. I could take them to court.’
Arjun began fiddling with his Game Boy, and Raman, recalling the rules of parenting, looked over his shoulder at the tiny screen and tried to engage with the little fighting
‘He was sure I was having an affair. He said he had photographic proof.’
‘It’s not of us in the bedroom, so don’t worry about that. I have questioned the servants closely. The house is clean.’
‘Anyway, he knows, and I – I did not want to deny it.’
‘Little point. Your life is with me, not with him.’
‘I’m not ready.’
‘It’s a big step you are taking. Just do it, the readiness will come later.’
‘So, you at least are glad.’
‘You know I hated all this hole-in-corner stuff. If you have to get a divorce, fight for custody, let’s start now.’
‘These things are not so easy in India.’
‘Is anything easy in India? That’s not the point. Should we meet a lawyer? My old school friend is one of the best. Practises in the High Court. Has a home office in GK I.’
‘What about the children?’
‘What about them? They will be in your life, don’t worry. And darling, I know where my responsibilities lie. That’s a promise. We will ask Madz.’
‘Is that your friend’s name?’
‘Madan Singh. We used to call him Mad. Maddy. Madz.’
Shagun was silent. It was lawyer time, the time of consequences, even though her relationship with her lover was hardly the most established thing in her life. She roused herself to bid farewell to her intense secret world, with its perilous edge of desire, its hours devoted to subterfuge.
*
In the next few days many equations changed.
Ashok took long leave, coming to a quick understanding with various heads of departments. He would work away from the Delhi office, and Raman was spared the embarrassment of facing him.
At work Raman could read sympathy for himself in glances, could read knowledge in the way nothing about Ashok was said in front of him. The grapevine declared he would not be returning, that he was going to travel soon, probably to New York.
Raman wished he too could take off somewhere, but how can you take off from your life? Wherever he turned, there was no escape; home, office, all imbued with a sense of failure.
The HR head in Bombay had been most sympathetic. The company would support him in every way they could. Pay for marriage counselling sessions, help him relocate, let him go on leave.
But Raman wanted more. He wanted Ashok punished. It was bad for the morale of the company if bosses could get away with stealing wives and wrecking homes.
He hoped the flaws in this assertion weren’t obvious. This was a company, not a moral science school. It was up to the wife to defend her integrity. His wife, the weak chink in his armour.
At any rate he wanted a change of scene. He wanted nothing to do with Mang-oh! any more; he could not travel as much as this product demanded. He needed to stay in one place for a while, his children were going to need him.
The company was understanding. Since no one else had his expertise or experience, they couldn’t relieve him of Mang-oh!, but they could increase his staff, so that the stress on him was drastically reduced. He told himself to be satisfied with these concessions.
Suffering continued unabated in the Kaushik household. Shagun tried to have little to do with Raman. The minute he came home she left. As he watched her go, he told himself he didn’t care what she did or where she went. He ate with the children, then put them to bed. His wife would return in the morning to get them ready for school.
Unfairly, it was to the father that the son put his questions.
‘Where is Mama?’
‘Ask your mother, beta, ask why she wants to leave her home and her children.’
‘She says she is going away, Papa. She was crying, Papa.’
‘And did she tell you she has found another man to love, my boss in fact, and now my boss has left work? Too afraid to face the music. I could take them to court.’
Arjun began fiddling with his Game Boy, and Raman, recalling the rules of parenting, looked over his shoulder at the tiny screen and tried to engage with the little fighting
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