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Chai Sutta aur Baatein - Sutta Stories


It has been just two weeks of our marriage. I hail from a small sleepy town in Upper Guwahati and had it not been for my parents, I would never have spoken to a girl before. Not that my Maa, Baba are not modern, they are but I am rather shy. So when they told me to come along and see a girl, I tagged alongside.

She sat one foot away from me, in a bright yellow saree. I remembered it because she smiled at me genuinely and it filled my heart. I smiled too and inside, I said yes already. Unfortunately, we did not get much time to spend with each other. She had two siblings who would come along with us on the two dates we went on. I was happy to accommodate them but I knew deep down, I wanted to know the girl with whom I intend to spend my life with.

Her name was Vidya, BA pass, fair and with the smile to melt away this summer heat. I would often steal glances for we had this invisible wall that made it so difficult for me to cross. Then after marriage, we shifted to my humble apartment in Guwahati. I was planning on taking her someplace for honeymoon but then the lockdown happened.

I could sense Vidya’s unease, she was quiet and would do all the chores. I would insist on helping her and she would comply but that distance between us, could not dissolve. One afternoon, I was working on the accounts of my company when I heard a knock. I opened the door to find Kaushik, my neighbor. He was delighted. “Hey come, I got smokes for the two for us!” I got scared and quickly turned around. “Sheesh! She is inside. Not now, later?” Kaushik nodded and left. I slowly closed the door and came back.

“So you smoke?” Vidya asked. I was quiet and looked guilty towards her. She was quiet and moved back to the room. Later while eating lunch, I brought this topic up, “I am sorry Vidya, I did not inform you this earlier.” She looked at me and smiled. “You know I always wanted to try smoking. Never got the chance. It is fine if you do so.” I was pleasantly surprised. Then an idea struck me, the rest of the lunch went in quiet preparation.

It was evening and the weather was chilly. Vidya was standing beside the window listening to music. I went and stood beside her. She looked at me and removed her earphones. “You want something?” she asked. I nodded. “I want to spend some time with you.” I extended my hand which held one cup of tea and one cigarette. She looked surprised. “Come, let us spend some time together.” Vidya smiled, just like she did when I first met her months ago. I smiled too. It rained that evening and I could sense our budding relationship blossoming with chai, sutta, and us talking.

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