Sunday, October 28, 2001		Life Ties

MOLLY belonged to an affluent family of Assam. She turned rebellious when her father remarried. She could not accept her stepmother. When at the age of 16, she got into a relationship with a much older Assamese tutor, it was her stepmother who helped her elope to Mumbai, a dream destination for Molly. Vijay had a rakish look which charmed her. He took drugs, smoked pot and marijuana, occasionally letting her take a drag. Armed with a lakh of rupees, given by her stepmother, she and Vijay took a direct flight to Mumbai and checked into the Taj hotel. They stayed there for a week, trying to find their feet. She could see Vijay’s restlessness. He looked preoccupied and was getting short-tempered. They had to find cheaper accommodation. Her money would last a few weeks. He had to quickly find a job and she could maybe try her hand at modelling and when everything was settled they could marry.

Her half-baked plans were thwarted when she got up the following morning to find Vijay had decamped with more than half her money, leaving her barely enough to pay the hotel bill with. Panic gripped her as the feeling of aloneness sunk in. She could neither revert to Assam nor did she know anyone in this strange and alien city. On their first evening in Mumbai, Vijay had phoned one of his friends whose phone number was scribbled on the hotel note pad. Feeling quite foolish she called him up. Raghav gave her a patient hearing and came over. He helped her check out of the hotel and took her to his place where he lived with his sister and brother-in-law.

For the first few days, Molly was incoherent and erratic. She got up at odd hours, kept staring at walls, launched into long discussions on inane topics or went silent, gulped her food in mouthfuls or refused to touch a morsel. Raghav had briefed his sister so no one asked Molly embarrassing questions. They knew she was traumatised and needed time to come to terms with her situation. They exerted no pressure on her to leave or look for alternate accommodation. A week later Raghav found Molly sobbing uncontrollably. She was sick and looked ghostly pale. He took her to the doctor and found she was pregnant. Not geared to handle the crisis he suggested they take his sister into confidence but Molly was not comfortable with the idea. She went through the abortion with Raghav discreetly by her side.

At no stage did he give her a lecture reprimanding her irresponsible behaviour or tell her to get a hold over her life, find something to do and move in a definitive direction. He understood her confusion, anger and rebellion stemming from her father’s second marriage and the feeling of being jilted, let down and unloved after Vijay’s desertion. Raghav tried tracking him down but knew it was futile. Molly had to get on with her life and learn from her mistakes. Meanwhile she had his support and friendship. For some strange reason he felt protective about this beautiful girl who on one hand, was gutsy and dare devilish and, on the other, vulnerable and child-like.

If Raghav’s family had reservations they sorted it out amongst themselves without letting their doubts pass onto Molly. They continued to make her feel welcome and did not intrude on her privacy. Raghav tried finding a way out. What did Molly want to do ? More importantly what could she do ? She was not qualified to pick up a job. She hadn’t completed her graduation. She had no professional or technical background and she was clear she did not want to do just any job. It was more than a month she had been with them. She was happy going to the lending library. He found she was a voracious reader and particularly partial to literature. Finding a suitable opportunity he had a serious chat with her. He told her living alone in Mumbai would be expensive and she would be at sea. She could think of going to Pune, picking up a degree from the Campus City, heal herself and then revert to Mumbai for a job. He was willing to take her on a reckee trip so she could make up her mind.

Molly liked Pune. There were students and youngsters all around. A beautifully laid out city the academic institutions lent character to the place. It didn’t seem awesome and spread out as Mumbai. After visiting a number of academies she decided to do a diploma course in Advertising and enrolled for a course in Computers. Now they needed to check out the accommodation. After much hunting they zeroed in on an apartment which was walking distance from the institute and one which would be shared with two more girls. It was only after the advance had been paid, room and kitchenette set up that Raghav announced his departure plans. His IIT semester exams were approaching. Suddenly the thought of him going away hit Molly. All her bottled feelings burst forth and she started weeping uncontrollably. Raghav too was sentimental about leaving. The trials and tribulations of the last two months had brought these two very different people together. The intimacy they had come to share, despite the formality of their relationship had made them establish a unique bond. They hadn’t addressed their growing affection because attention was always deflected by the urgency of various situations. Now that it was time to part they were confronted with the indefinable quality of their relationship. They had nothing to say to each other. Molly was grateful, she practically owed her life to him but Raghav would not accept credit. He gently told her that he would come to see her once his exams were over. He had lent her a substantial sum of money. He did it gracefully and matter of factly telling her it was just a loan which he would claim with interest once she started working.

Molly got busy with studies. She liked the informal interactive atmosphere and got involved with various committees. On returning to her room at night she often thought of Raghav and how he, a complete stranger had come to her rescue whereas the person she had given up herself completely to had let her down so callously. At no stage did he take advantage of her vulnerability. He maintained a decent distance and treated her with respect knowing fully well that she had been immoral. Yes, she missed Raghav, his gentleness and stolid dependability. A man of his word two weeks later on a sunny Sunday morning Raghav was at her doorstep. They spent the day together. Went for a movie, had lunch at a newly opened restaurant, went for a long walk in the evening and it was time for him to leave.

Their contact became more personal. Henceforth he rung up every alternate day and made a trip once a month. Molly was doing well. She volunteered to work on projects with corporate houses which gave her confidence, exposure and money to meet her expenses. She was clear about her professional future. She would either handle corporate communications or copy write with an advertising agency. Had it not been for Raghav’s sobering influence she was sure she would have got into the wild partying scene which her roommates were into. Gone was her experimental, defiant streak. While Raghav imposed no code of conduct she herself did not want shame him.

Course over, she moved to Mumbai on a training project her institute had tied up. Happy with her work she was offered a full time slot which she took up. Meanwhile Raghav finished his Engineering and cleared his IIM. He was ready to leave for Bangalore. It was at this juncture that he expressed his love for her and proposed marriage. Molly was ecstatic, she knew that if there was someone she could think of spending the rest of her life with it was Raghav. Of course they couldn’t tie the knot for the next few years but just having that commitment was such a secure feeling. After Vijay jilted her she had seriously contemplated suicide. She shuddered to think what would have become of her had it not been for Raghav. His constant reassuring presence assuaged her hurt and pain, giving her reason to live, opening up a whole new world, making her believe in herself, giving her time to find herself and only when she was ready, offering a fairy tale ending. She was determined to keep the long distance relationship alive and fulfill this sacred lifetime commitment.