Woh Kaun Thi (Who Was She). A Short Story.

 Woh Kaun Thi (Who Was She)

A Simple Short Story. 

Dinesh K Kapila

The title of this short story could well be Yeh Kya Tha (What was this) but then that is nature or rather life, throwing up a conundrum which really defies definition or a suitable classification. This sort of thought was running  through the mind of Surya the past few days. Gossip, where would we be in life without it, he was thinking. Even the oldies sit up when it’s something juicy and seemingly salacious, it’s as old as civilisation itself. It is the essential lubricant, the vey reason at times for people to meet and chat up. And smile. Or feel superior. Or maybe envious. 

Surya and his wife Annie, were on holiday at a bit of a lonely location.  They were a couple just at the right Inflection point in age. This location they decided on a whim. An Exotic but lonely place, a bit out of the way., Guests drove up around mid week and started departing by the weekend. Surya and Annie were among the first to arrive on a Wednesday. Quickly unpacking and a short nap later, they were fresh and ready to explore the place. Rambling tracks all over and an open vast lobby overlooking the entrance, enabling them to view guests as they drove in. They would be among a few families in an exotic location, strangers mostly till they had congregated at this premium place. Attracted by the ambience and quietude. They sipped on coffees and cookies, putting together the incoming guests,, Old couples, middle aged couples, youngish couples, one or two with young kids. A couple with teenagers. Some with a swagger, some quietly checking in. As Annie said to Surya, travelling has caught on big in India. Families do feel it’s nice to be away for some time from the humdrum of life. They hopefully go back a bit chilled out and maybe with a changed perspective. Talking of perspective, Surya was to learn a varied perspective as he smiled and nodded to the guests as the ever courteous hotel staff introduced them. There was this lady, Laxmi, in a senior position, in Government, from a major metro, saying she was detoxifying from too much of family time !! She was on a single - cation, her words, to get her bearings as families could get too claustrophobic. Food for thought. 

Surya and Annie were looking around, Surya was noticing the people, tall, short, shy, in your face, apparently well to do, really well to do, down to earth, pretentious, with an accent, without an accent, all thrown together. 

As was his inbuilt inclination, Surya would always observe, see the patterns evolving and see where it would go. He could not help it, he told himself, it’s an inbuilt curiosity - metre. They were sipping tea, nibbling on nuts, as were others, when he noticed a couple. 

It was just too noticeable. Surya looked once, looked away, looked again and then at his tea. A fundamental truth about wives, he thought most men would quietly acknowledge, when you are long married, they often read you like a book even if you pretend otherwise. Well, Annie, sitting in a more observant perch so to say  quietly asked, what ! And Surya simply shrugged it off, nothing. He could see she was not convinced. As they went off for a stroll in the lovely weather, Surya simply inquired, did you see a couple, the lady is too young for him. Oh come on, was the response from Annie, you are at it again. There is nothing like that. They nodded with smiles to some couples, who nodded back, it’s how people get to get acquainted with other people at such locales,, you get to gradually open up. And talk. 

Next morning, from among the couples Surya and Annie nodded to and got to chat with the previous day, Pradeep quietly walked over to Surya, as they both mentally debated whether to eat at breakfast time the healthier, less healthier or unhealthy options, Pradeep quietly whispered, you saw ‘that’ couple. Surya whispered back innocently, really, is there such a couple, I have noticed nothing in particular !  And Pradeep said come on, the one where the guy is on the older side  and the girl is too young. They are at ‘three o clock’ to your table. They broke off this line of thought around this time and headed back to their respective tables. 

Post breakfast, Pradeep zoomed in again, obviously his breakfast would not be digested without unburdening his view. Rather Surya thought his imagination as he told him, we do not know the relationship, slowly we may know. Both Surya and Pradeep were from nearby cities, around the same age. Pradeep and his wife Neetu had a flourishing practice in consultancy. Look, Pradeep reasoned in a whisper, she, the young lady, called out to him ‘Suno’, we both know this word is used by many wives in India to call their husbands, translating as ‘listen’. What did she see in him. Now Surya was thinking this could be something,, his ears and mind perked up. Though he still pretended to be neutral and uninvolved. 

Surya, Annie, Pradeep and Neetu were at the lift to go up,, when the couple in question walked up, smiled affably and introduced themselves as husband and wife. The four of them smiled back. Politely. But their minds, specially of Surya and that of his new friend or acquaintance, Pradeep, were obviously assessing and thinking . The guy, Sunil as he introduced himself, was obviously around fifty years plus, maybe closer to fifty five, she would be not more than twenty five to twenty six odd years. A young confident lady, while the guy looked a sort of mild, inoffensive person, spectacled, a not easily noticed person. He could just about walk by and maybe not register on a bystander. Pradeep and Surya were wondering and exchanged glances. Both noticed Annie and Neetu were subtly noticing the couple. Ladies size up fast. As the older guy and the young lady got off at their floor, saying bye, the two couples were smiling quietly, no words were exchanged but they knew what the smiles were about. Annie and Neetu were evidently now in the game. 

The hotel staff decided to informally introduce the families at a sort of get together at the lobby area. Turns out , the anonymous looking fifty plus years guy was Sunil, with his very young wife, Palak, well this short introduction  was the equivalent of a hydrogen bomb being exploded in a small space. Only this was not the usual very  loud, accompanied by a mushroom like cloud explosion, this rippled through quickly and silently. Through the thirty odd people. Very Effectively. It exploded within the minds. Is it a fact ! Is it true ! Really !  Can it be! Honestly !! Are they really married. Not possible. 

This was indeed major. A sort of huge blast. A blast which heated up the cool bracing air of the area so very rapidly.  Rooms were obviously abuzz with discussions. And speculation. 

Next day, newspapers being a rarity, Surya, who loved to read, having selected a shady spot in the lawns, was sitting quietly, reading a magazine, when an aging uncle ji types, Rajesh, the senior board level corporate breed, long retired, obviously plus seventy five years, sat down next to him. They chatted and exchanged stories when Rajesh thought enough pleasantries had been exchanged to come  to the point, but he went about it in a very cautious manner. In his words, the query was that could we discuss something which interested him and he just thought he could run it past Surya. Puzzled, Surya thought why me, but then he thought, being the ever friendly types, maybe Rajesh had a life lesson for him or some deep philosophy, so he nodded, ever eager to learn. And Rajesh asked, that couple, oldish guy, quite youngish lady, Sunil and Palak, do you really think they are husband and wife. Life lesson be damned, he was also into this game. Totally !  Surya was honestly surprised. And then smiled. This seventy five years plus guy, both children heading mid sized companies, was still retaining his sense of curiosity, something very important to stay young at heart. Long would he live. 

Sometime later, Surya went off for a coffee, just near the marbled counter too, he met up with the wife of Mr Rajesh,  herself maybe the same age as him, Jayanti was her name. She asked Surya where his wife could be. Annie meanwhile joined them and well forget social niceties, within seconds Jayanti blurted out the question, are that couple who introduced themselves the last and keep to themselves, are they really wedded. Without any names taken, all three knew about who it was. Jayanti was confident they were not wedded. No way. She went on, maybe from his office. She was quite confident about her assessment. Well how was Surya to know. But he could draw satisfaction from the fact that what he had observed first but refrained from sharing with anyone, that deep cultural cum social question cum gossip cum thought was travelling at express speed as a loud question within the group. A loud but at the same time very silent question. 

Next day a middle aged man of medicine, Dr Hemant, courteous, affable, very cultured, his wife Dr Rita, equally so, sat with Surya and Annie. Surya and Annie, looking for company were quite happy too. They chatted about their children and what they did and how the climate of South India was so different from North India. Too dry for my skin sighed Dr Rita. Well, in the twenty five to thirty minutes they sat together, Dr Rita asked the only question they really wanted to know about in the eighth minute. Sunil and Palak,  what possibly led them to get married.  And could it be just a lark on the sly. After that, it was this and that and a bit of politics and health, then it just about petered out, they had nothing much more to discuss it seemed. 

Surya was observing with interest. The couple in question, Sunil and Palak, as they would enter the dining area or the coffee shop, all eyes, young to old, would flicker towards them and then away. A sort of look quickly and away. Furitive. Then a repeat. All were at it. Except the two in question. They seemed  so very oblivious to the tremendous churn they had brought about, lost in each other. Palak would pat down the thin strands of hair on the head of Sunil as he sat, so that his balding head would not show. This she was really very particular about, using a small soft cloth to wipe off the beads of sweat on his hair, the hair had to look perfectly set. Sunil would follow her everywhere and so would anyone else sitting there with their eyes. This included the hotel staff, trained to look professional but the eyes give a person away. Even a trained professional. 

Next day, as Surya sat around reading a story on his mobile, Debesh walked up and he introduced himself as a skilled chartered accountant. In practice. They talked as Surya himself knew the world of investments slightly. Suddenly Debesh went off on a tangent, do you think Sunil is really wealthy, is he loading Palak with gifts and trips so that she stayed happy. What else can it be. Their relationship. Surya mindful they had just met and this was getting too complicated, simply pointed out love knew no boundaries, maybe that counts. Debesh looked at him in bewilderment, puzzled, his wife Mahua just walked up then and he told her, Surya Ji here believes love conquers all. Sir, she addressed Surya, maybe in your profession you did not know what actually happens in the real world. And sagely nodded her head to further emphasise it. Surya just let it go. As he told Annie, I could write a book, on Palak and Sunil and the reactions and gossip of the whole lot of us jokers. Most are not even enjoying the sunrise or sunsets or the ambience, two people have conquered their minds. While the couple themselves are seemingly unaware about the storm they have caused. And though outwardly courteous, they reveal nothing about their city or profession. 

Annie was not the one to let it go. Always clear about her views, she told Surya, you were also in the game from the beginning, now that you are unable to know anything more, you are sagely graduating to a higher perch of philosophy. Surya, mindful it had a grain of truth in it, winced inwardly and let it go. 

Suddenly, next morning Palak and Sunil were not to be seen. At breakfast. As everyone looked at the doors and windows, Pradeep quietly went past Surya, whispering, they left at 5 am today morning, apparently Sunil had his driver drive up late night. Suddenly, the families still staying at the hotel retreated into tiny islands, the common factor having departed. Surya could feel this. Gossip about the couple had kept them engaged with each other, their huge difference in age, taking long walks away from all others, his raiding the hotel shops for costly gifts for her, their emotional ups and downs, were they really a couple and what not. And then just like that, they were gone. Disappeared. They stayed anonymous and unknown. Leaving behind a huge mystery. Unsolved. 

As Surya and Annie were packing to leave the next day, Surya could only say out aloud, Woh Kaun Thi (who was she). But Annie, always with an opinion, had only this to say, Yeh Kya Tha (What was it really). 

Note - This is a story. Period. Any resemblance to any real life experience is denied totally.

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