Sitting in the sea facing balcony and seeing the sun set always gave Neena the particular feeling of nostalgia. No matter what, she could never forget her past. It was vividly embossed in her. Such was her life. She never imagined she could see Bombay and she would never even have heard of this land of dreams- Mayapuri, if not for Chako, her husband. Chacko and Neena belonged to the same parish. She met him for the first time on a Easter Sunday. They had an instant connection. He became her bestfriend.
Growing up in an orthodox Christian family in Kerala, with a zamindari father where no one dared to go beyond his words, she had no choice of her own or any women of her family. When she turned 18, her father received proposals for her hand in marriage. It was then for the first time in her life that she spoke against her father. "No", said Neena. Her mother and grandmother stood transfixed. "I am leaving with Chako". With a heavy heart and a silence, she left that place.
Chako and she boarded a train to Bombay. Chako had Ravi maaman there who rented an apartment and gave Chako a job. Sheetal, Ravi maaman's wife, sent her to accounting classes. She learnt the basics quickly. She joined Chako in his work place. By the time she earned her first salary, she was 4 months pregnant with Mariam, their only child.
Tears slowly rolled down her now wrinkled cheeks. She was always happy with Chako. They quarreled, had their reasons for disagreement. But one couldn't live without the other. She completed his sentences. They read each others mind. One knew what the other would do. She missed Chako …. and Mariam.
Mariam is now 27, settled in Russia. She is a PhD holder in history. She is as bright as Neena and as witty as Chako. They weren't strict parents. When Mariam fell in love with Andrew, she told her parents that she wanted to marry him. Chako was hesitant. But he nodded his agreement when Andrew came with his family and asked for Mariam's hand. For them, her happiness mattered.
But now alone in her Bombay apartment with only a maid to help and a lot of void, she could draw the parallel between her and Mariam, but more clearly the parallels were drawn between Neena and her mother.