Arranged Marriage
By: Balakrishna Adiga
Tags: Social Changes, Urban Living, Cross Border Differences

It was an unusually busy Wednesday morning for Dr Simha. As he handed over the prescription to the patient and, he yelled “Next” asking the next patient in line to enter. Instead of anyone entering his room, he heard raised voices. Angry, he got up and opened the door. A lady was standing at the door blocking the way. But a person in his late 50’s was trying to push her aside and enter the room.

The moment the lady saw the doctor, she said “Sorry doctor, I have been waiting here for the past 50 minutes and it is my turn. These are the 7 people who came in after me and they are waiting. But this old man walked in less than 5 seconds ago and is trying to enter. So rude!”

Dr Simha started to reprimand the man for not waiting. Before he could open his mouth, he realized it was Jagannath one of his regular patients. So he adopted a softer tone and said “Jagan, unless you have an emergency, could you please….”

Jagannath glared at Dr Simha and started screaming “Emergency? I am dead that is the emergency. And you better know that you killed me. It’s you.” He started crying like a child.

Stunned Dr Simha realized that all the patients were staring at them open mouthed. He held Jagannath’s hand and said “Jagan, I don’t understand a word. Take a deep breath and come in. We will talk”. Then he turned towards the lady and said “Sorry Madam, this looks like an emergency and hope you don’t mind waiting”. He pulled Jagannath inside the cabin without waiting for her answer and locked the door.

“Jagan, I don’t know what is it that has happened there but cool down and take this water. You are definitely upset”

“Doctor, it is better if you give me some poison instead of this water. Mentally anyway I am dead. Poison can make my soul leave the body” Jagannath continued his tirade in a loud voice.

Dr Simha took a firmer tone and said “Jagan, unless you cool down and tell me what is happening, you better leave. I have 7 patients waiting and I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday as today is Ekadashi. Either tell me what is hurting you or leave now”

Jagannath sat down uninvited and gulped the entire glass of water. Then he looked up to Dr Simha with eyes full of tears and said “The wedding on Friday is cancelled”

He continued “That useless Kiran has cancelled the wedding. Stupid American. He waltzed in today. He said he doesn’t want to get married. You know the marriage is on Friday”. He started crying again with his head resting on the glass table.

Dr Simha was so stunned that he couldn’t speak. Jagannath lifted his head and started again “I have paid Rs 10 lakhs to the wedding hall. Caterer is ready. Brother has landed from Australia. Suma and her Mom have gone to the tailor and this moron walks in to tell me this. Says, uncle, sorry but please cancel the wedding. I am not interested”

Dr Simha had composed himself, leaned on Jagannath’s shoulder and asked “Are you sure? I have known Kiran from the time he was born. He is full of pranks. Are you sure this isn’t a prank?”

“How do I know Doctor? I had told you I am not comfortable with these NRI boys. But you kept telling me how you know him for 30 years and what a great guy he is, great family etc”

“Jagan, did his parents come with him? What did they say?”

“I don’t know doctor. He came alone. I tried the mobiles numbers of both his parents as well as the grandfather. Grandfather’s phone is off and parents’ phones keep ringing”

“Jagan, don’t jump to conclusion. It is possible someone died in their family. You are aware that in case of death, no auspicious rituals for at least 14 days. Sometimes even 1 year”

“Doctor, please. I thought of the same and asked him if everything was alright. He had the audacity to laugh and say everything is alright. I am not interested in the wedding”

Dr Simha didn’t know how to respond and was busy thinking. Again Jagannath started howling “Doctor, how could you do this to us? What do I tell Suma once she is back? I have ruined her life. Doctor please give me some poison”

Dr Simha filled the empty glass from the bottle. Jagannath was quiet and tears were flowing from his closed eyes.

Lost for words, Dr Simha picked up his phone and started scrolling. When he found the number he was looking for, he dialed. He looked at Jagannath and said “Switched off”.

Jagannath said “Kishore Rao? It was ringing but no one was answering. Cheats”

“I tried Kishore Rao and Mallika both. The phones are off. Not a good sign”

Dr Simha thought for some time and said “Jagan, I don’t know what is happening. Kiran came from the US 2 weeks back and came to meet me. I was seeing him after 4 odd years. He thanked me for introducing Suma to him and left an iPhone as a gift for me. Let me see it is lying somewhere here” He started rummaging the table.

Jagannath howled again “Let him take the iPhone to his funeral pyre, why do I care? I don’t know how to face Suma”

Dr Simha, firmed up his mind and said “Jagan, you stay here. I will go to their house, find out the whole story and come back. You wait here. It may take me an hour”

Jagannath too got up “I will come with you. Nothing will give me more pleasure than slapping that Kishore Rao”

“No. I don’t want you to come. I will go alone. I will call you if I want you there”.

Before Jagannath could protest, Dr Simha opened the door. He addressed the room full of people “Sorry, there is an emergency. I can’t see any of you. If you have acute problem, please go to the emergency at SRH Hospital next cross and ask for Dr Malathi. Those who can manage please come back at 5 pm. I’ll definitely meet you. I am sorry for doing this”

Then he looked at one of his regular patients, Sharad and said “Sharad, can you spare an hour for me please? I have a problem and I need to go out. The gentleman inside is very upset and I am worried about him. Can you stay with him and make sure he doesn’t harm himself in any way?”

Sharad replied “Doctor, don’t worry. I can be here for next 2 hours, even more if needed. Please go”

Dr Simha stepped back into his cubicle. He held Jagannath’s both hands and said “Jagan I know you for past 20 or more years, ever since I moved to Bangalore. I know you as someone who is honest and incapable of hurting others. So I know from my 83 years of life that God doesn’t punish good people. So don’t worry. You stay here. My young friend Sharad will be here in case you need anything. OK?”

Jagannath was still crying. He sniffled, wiped his eyes and nose through his shirt sleeve and said “OK Doctor. I will be here. Please call as soon as you know something”.

Dr Simha stepped out, called his wife Meena and told her of the development. Then he took his helmet and walked towards his 15 year old Bajaj Chetak scooter. He remembered the events that led to this cancelled wedding.

It was nearly a year ago. He was 82 years and had moved to Bangalore after retiring from the Army. His two sons were in the US. His pension from the Army was generous. To keep himself occupied he had opened a clinic about 2 KM from his home. His wife Meena had few cousins in the locality and kept busy by engaging with them. They used to spend 3 months in the US every year visiting their sons.

His clinic was very popular as he was an excellent doctor and used to charge the lowest fees in the city. In fact he wouldn’t charge any fees for poor patients. He even bought medicines for them. His medical skills as well as ability to connect with the patients were both amazing. He had a phenomenal memory and remembered most of his patients and their family members. He was also one of the few doctors who made house calls in case of emergencies.

Dr Simha was alone in the clinic and was reading the newspaper waiting for any last minute patients. That is when he heard footsteps at the waiting room and he said “Come in”

A tall and lean man stepped in. Fair and head full of salt and pepper hair he looked like a film actor. He was soon followed by a short lady, with a slight squint. She wasn’t fat but her height made her look fatter. He looked at them and said “What Jagan? It is 3 years since we met isn’t it? Latha, how are you?”

Jagannath smiled and said “Yes doctor. I had met you when I contracted jaundice in a pilgrimage. Then we met once at Kumar’s son’s wedding very briefly”

“Oh, yes. I was the one who found the girl for Kumar’s. Ok, who is sick?”

Jagan said “It is Suma. She is outside”

“Suma, please come inside. I haven’t seen you since you finished your school”

A tall slim pretty girl walked in shyly, smiled at Dr Simha, stood behind her parents and said “Uncle how are you? Your clinic is so nice. It hasn’t changed for the past 12 years”

“Look at her. When I met you last, you were shorter than your Mom. So short” He held his hand few inches above the table. “Today she looks taller and so much like her Appa. So thin and tall? You look like an electric pole” Dr Simha laughed loudly at his own joke.

Suma smiled and didn’t reply. “She played badminton for the state till a few years ago and that gave her the growth spurt” Latha said.

Dr Simha looked at Suma. “Do you still play?” he asked pointing her to the examination table.

“Uncle, yes. I play in our compound either with Appa or some of my friends who come down for a game. Appa has built a good court there. But i stopped competitive game after I joined PhD”

“My God, Ph D? What topic?”

“Applied mathematics, uncle. At TIFR Mumbai. I have to submit my thesis in next 6 months so I took a break and came home to be with them”

“That is impressive. Congratulations. You have done well. Now tell me what the problem is”

“Uncle, I used to have migraine attacks while in school. You had treated it and I never had a headache for past so many years. But for past two months it is unbearable. TIFR doctor prescribed some pain killers but that gives temporary relief. That is why Amma asked me to come here for a break and meet you.”

“Don’t worry, we will take care” Dr Simha said as he continued to examine her.

“Jagan, she must be 25 or 26 now. Have you thought about her marriage?” Doctor said, while signaling Suma to get up.

“It is over two years since we started looking. Good boys are hard to get. Most of them find her PhD intimidating. Many find her too tall. Someone said we are rich and she may not be able to adjust to their family. Everyone has an excuse. She has also not shown interest. I have shared her profile with community elders but no progress. I have also created a profile in matrimonial websites. In fact I have told her that she can look for someone but she just smiles.”

Dr Simha was listening while writing the diagnosis on the prescription pad.

“Dr, do you know anyone? You said you helped arrange the wedding in Kumar’s house.”

Suma stepped in and said “Appa, we have come here to get rid of my headache and not give headache to uncle or even me.”

Dr Simha called Suma near him and started explaining the medicines and dosage. “Jagan, can you get the medicines from o the pharmacy across the road? Show the medicines to me before Suma starts with them”.

“Uncle let me get the medicines” Suma said took the prescription and stepped out.

Latha said “Doctor, I am getting worried. All her cousins are getting married one by one. In fact I quit my bank job to be with her during her migraine 2 months back. I also wanted to focus on her marriage”

Dr Simha thought for some time and said “Jagan, do you know Kishore Rao? He is from Mysore and used to work in Mico”

“I have heard of him but never met. Why?” Jagan responded.

“He has a son, Kiran. Smart boy. He studied engineering and went to US for studies. I understand they are looking for a girl for him. Meena had heard that he is likely to be here this month to finalize. I have known Kishore well but not much of a contact now. But Meena says Kiran is a good boy”

“How tall is he? Biggest problems we have faced so far are Suma’s PhD and her height of 5 ft 8 inches” Latha asked.

“He is 6 ft or even taller. I don’t think her PhD will be a problem as Kishore Rao himself is a PhD in mechanical engineering and teaches part time. Anyway, here are Kishore and Mallika’s numbers. Give them a call and see how it goes. Finally it is destiny, remember?” Dr Simha said.

Jagannath took the piece of paper in a hurry as he heard Suma’s footsteps. He didn’t want her to think that they never got off the topic. Suma walked in with medicines and gave to Dr Simha. He looked at them and explained the doses to her again.

“You will be alright by tomorrow. Don’t worry. It must be the stress related to your thesis. Play badminton every day. That will also help” said Dr Simha.

They paid Dr Simha his customary fees of Rs 10 and left. He too packed up and left for home.

Few days later Latha called to say that she had spoken with Mallika and shared Suma’s profile. They had liked her profile. Both Kishore Rao and Mallika had landed up in Latha’s house to know more about the girl, family etc. They set a date for Kiran to visit them to meet Suma.

About two months later, both Jagannath and Latha visited Dr Simha. They said that Suma and Kiran had met several times during Kiran’s visit. They had decided to continue the discussion over phone once Kiran returned to USA. Suma was to present a paper at Cornell University and Kiran had promised to be with her during her stay in the US.

Eight months after they met, Kiran and Suma told their respective parents they wanted to get married. Both sides were happy with the development. Jagannath, Latha and Suma visited Dr Simha again to thank him.

A loud honking sound broke Dr Simha’s chain of thoughts; he kick-started the scooter and left for Kishore Rao’s house.

Dr Simha returned his clinic after two hours. He had found Meena and Latha along with Jagannath in the clinic. Latha on return had called Jagannath, had learnt about Kiran’s behavior and rushed to Dr Simha’s clinic. Meena had sent Sharad home

All of them were waiting for Dr Simha. He switched on the ceiling fan and sat on the chair with his head turned upwards, soaking in the cool air from the fan. Latha, Jagannath and Meena were looking at him expectantly to know the fate of his visit. He had his eyes closed and was enjoying the fan. He got up abruptly, felt his backside as if something was pinching him, pulled out a passport and dropped it on the table. He again sat back with his eyes closed and face turned towards the fan.

Jagannath blurted “Are you going to sit there till we die or are you going to say something? Did you meet the moron and his parents?”

Dr Simha opened his eyes, smiled, looked at their faces one by one then focused his eyes on Latha and said

“Latha, when Jagan had come here in the morning, I had told him that God never punishes people who are basically good people.”

Latha said “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that your Suma is an extremely lucky girl”

Jagannath stood up and screamed, “What do you mean Suma is lucky? Poor girl will be heartbroken once we knows this. How can a marriage cancellation two days before the event be lucky? What about close to Rs 25 lakhs I have spent? How is that lucky?”

Dr Simha smiled and said “Jagan, you need to relax. There is good reason the marriage got cancelled. You should be actually happy”

“Damn it. Tell me what is the reason?” screamed Jagannath.

Before Dr Simha could speak Meena stepped in and said “Simha, stop this gyan session like Swamiji. Let me ask you a few questions. Answer them straight, OK?”

Dr Simha nodded.

“Did you meet anyone in Mallika’s house?”

“Yes I met Kiran”

“How about Kishore and Mallika?”

“They were not there. Kiran said that upset at cancellation of the marriage, they took a flight to Delhi. From there they will go to the mountains and live there till they feel better”

“Do they know Kiran cancelled the marriage?”

“Yes they know. They tried their best to convince him against it but failed. So upset they left for mountains” Dr Simha said

Jagannath was rubbing his head vigorously; worried Latha held his shoulders and said “Will you tell us the reason? Any chance it is a prank and wedding can still happen?”

“No Latha, believe me all are better off with this cancellation” Dr Simha said.

“Please tell me the reason, Dr Simha. We will leave”

“Sorry, Jagan, I can’t tell you. I promised Kiran”

Meena glared at Dr Simha, “Simha, you might have promised Kiran anything but we are the victims here. You have to tell them and tell them now”.

Dr Simha, his elbows on the table, rested his head there with eyes closed. When he didn’t change his position for few minutes, Meena shook him gently.

He lifted his head, looking at Jagannath and Latha, said “OK, I understand Meena’s views. I will tell you the reason. But you can not under any condition share this with anyone else. Kiran hasn’t told even his parents and intends to keep that way”

Jagannath took Dr Simha’s hand, and said “We promise”

Meena touched Dr Simha and said “Please tell them”

“OK, you won’t like it. Kiran said he is homosexual.’

Jagan, Latha and Meena were astounded.

Dr Simha continued “He realized 6 months ago that he liked men more than women. It was after he had met Suma. But he thought he would overcome the urge. Yesterday morning he had a long call from his boyfriend in US who told him to come clean and avoid the wedding. This is the reason” Dr Simha said.

All three were shell-shocked to say anything. Jagannath looked like he was going to throw up. Latha started to say something when Dr Simha raised his hand and continued “Now you know why I feel Suma is lucky? Just imagine if she had married him and after going to the US this truth came out, what would have been the fate of the poor girl?”

Meena found the voice “But what do these folks tell the relatives about the cancellation? This information doesn’t deserve to be shared”

Simha looked at her and said “They can use the standard response in the community. Tell them some uncle of Kiran has died and wedding can’t happen now. Over the time people will forget”.

Latha nodded and said “Yes, there have been two cases recently where same reasons were given.”

Meena looked at Simha and said “I feel like ripping that Kiran’s eyes”. She stood up and started pacing in the small room.

“Did you discuss about the losses Jagannath and Latha have incurred?” Meena asked

“Yes, I brought it up. I hadn’t discussed with Jagannath the total spending so far. I used a made-up number Rs 35 Lakhs. Kiran said he would send it after going to USA. I said no. You need to pay in next 48 hours” Dr Simha said.

“What happens if he doesn’t pay that? What should Jagan do? Take a gun and threaten him?” asked Meena. Both Jagannath and Latha nodded.

Dr Simha pointed to the passport lying at the table. “That is the guarantee. I told him if money doesn’t hit Jagan’s account by Friday 11 am, I will tear the passport”

Meena looked relieved but other two were still shell shocked. Meena hugged Latha and said “Latha, I agree with Simha. Imagine if it had come out that that dog was gay after the marriage, with Suma alone in USA! The whole world would have turned upside down. What has happened is bad but it is very good compared to what could have happened”

Dr Simha said “Give me your bank account number. Let him pay the money and collect the passport. Please break the news to Suma gently. I and Meena can help if you want”

Jagan wrote the account number and gave to Dr Simha. He said “I have spent only about Rs 22–25 Lakhs. I don’t want his money. Ask him to remit only Rs 25 Lakhs”

Meena said “Jagan, don’t change anything. You can gift excess amount to the Abala Ashrama which takes care of destitute woman. It still isn’t the right justice but something”

Jagan nodded , held Latha’s hand and left the room.

Meena went out and confirmed that they had indeed left. Then she came back and said “my dear husband. we are married for 55 years. I know when you lie it is so visible. Tell me the truth”

Dr Simha stared at her and said “You won’t like the truth”

“You tell me anyway. In my 79 years I have seen many good things and many more unpleasant things. I know if you lied in such a sensitive matter, there must be a good reason” Meena touched Simha gently on his cheek.

Dr Simha held her hand and said “Yes, I lied.”

“OK, where?”

“How does it matter? I lied but I feel I have made the best of the crisis. Suma is young. She will overcome this bad incident in some time. Terrible thing to happen to such a sweet girl”

“You haven’t still told me what the lie was”

“Meena, can you leave it alone?”

“No Dr Sahib. You need to tell me. First tell me how you got that crook’s passport. He wouldn’t have given it easily”

“Oh that. That was simple. I found his plane ticket and passport on the central table. So I asked for water. When he went to get water, I put it in my back pocket.”

“Oh God, Dr Sahib, I didn’t know you had this talent. But how did you convince him to pay the money?”

“He hadn’t realized that I had the passport till i started the scooter and told him so. He knew that it could take him 3–4 months to get a new visa after obtaining a new passport. In this time, he would have lost his job and along with that his dreams of a green card”

“That was brilliant. I always knew I married a genius doctor. Now tell me what the cancellation reason

“OK. We were wrong about Kiran. He turned out by a pervert” said Dr Simha

“I know you don’t like homosexuals but a pervert? Asked Meena

“What I meant is that reason is far worse than homosexuality”

“Stop playing with the riddles! Then what is the reason?” Meena got up from her chair, agitated

“ If he isn’t gay why did he cancel? Does he have the disease Rajesh Khanna had in Anand that would kill him in 3 months? Better tell me” Meena snarled

“OK. You won’t like this. Day before yesterday evening Kiran and Suma with their parents went out for dinner to a hotel. At the dinner table his mother-in-law Latha happened to sit straight across Kiran. “

“So? Don’t tell me, he fell for the mother-in-law! Oh God. Is it the new Oedipus-in-law syndrome? This isn’t even funny”

Dr Simha laughed and said “I hadn’t thought of it. Anyway he says he had met Latha several times in the past 8 months since he knew them. But all these times, his focus was Suma. He was enchanted by her. But he says when he saw Latha yesterday evening for over 2 hours during the dinner; he made up his mind to cancel the wedding. He told his parents when they reached home around midnight.”

“But what did Latha did to this moron in these two hours of dinner? Why he decide this way?” Meena asked.

Dr Simha stepped out of the chair, went about 8 feet away from Meena fearing a blow and said “According to him, when he looked at Latha for 2 hours, he felt that his would be wife Suma, so pretty now will be as ugly as her mother when she ages”

Meena said “What? That runt! This was the reason? Really?”

“Yes Meena I was so disgusted that I retched. That is when he went to get the water giving me an opportunity to pocket the passport”

“Hope you slapped him. That piece of dog excrement” ranted Meena. “Anyway what did you do?”

Dr Simha smiled and said “The moment he said he found Latha ugly, I suddenly realized what a lucky girl Suma was that she didn’t have to marry this monster. All my burdens vanished”