Self-Made

It was the month of July. The monsoon had already begun. The dry barren lands were turning green due to the rains. It seemed as if someone had covered the land with a green carpet.  Riya was sitting near her window and was lost in her thoughts. She was admiring the beauty of the nature. Just then, her phone rang and she came back to the real world. She read the name – Aditi, which flashed on the screen of her phone.

“Hey Aditi, whatsup? How are you?”, Riya enquired.

“What?”, Riya shouted in excitement. “ Are you serious? I mean, did you check my roll number correctly?”, her voice kept on increasing with every question.

Her mother, Maya, was busy with her daily house hold chores but she came out running when she heard Riya’s loud scream. She was confused looking at her daughter’s reactions and was trying to figure out the situation from her expressions but all in vain. So she waited impatiently for Riya to hang up the call.

After few more confirmations, Riya kept the phone and she hurriedly went to her laptop and opened the university website. Meanwhile, Maya was constantly following her with her questions but she did not pay any attention to them. She clicked the button “BE Sem 8 Results” under Computer Engineering section and waited anxiously while the page opened. In a fraction of second, she entered her roll number and she waited with her fingers crossed. Then, a window popped up – “Congratulations ,You have passed with 85%”. Somehow, she felt that she is not able to read the screen clearly and when she tried to rub her eyes, she realized that they were filled with tears. Tears of happiness! Her hardwork had finally paid off. By now, Maya had understood everything and she hugged her daughter tightly and kissed her on her forehead.

Riya was Maya’s only child. Riya’s father had unfortunately expired in a car accident when she was very young. It was a very difficult phase for her family but Maya did not loose hope. She took over her husband’s business. She was very honest and followed all ethical principles. As a result, their business flourished. She wanted to educate Riya as much as she can. Now, she felt that she really succeeded in doing so looking at her daughter’s  achievement.

But as it is rightly said by someone, “Humans are never satisfied”. The same thing happened with Maya. She thought to herself that as Riya has completed her education, it is the correct time to get her married. When Maya told Riya about this, Riya was astonished. She wanted to go to abroad for higher studies. Maya tried to convince her and said, “OK Riya. You want to go abroad, right? Fine. I will find a groom who is well settled in abroad so that after marriage you can do your higher studies there.”

Riya was not convinced. Just like Maya, she was made up of strong principles. She wanted to achieve her dreams on her own merits. She tried hard to convince her mother, but Maya was adamant. Poor Riya had to accept her mother’s decision.

As soon as Riya agreed to get married, Maya used all her contacts from her fellow businessmen and started hunting for a perfect match for her beloved daughter.

Riya did not interfere with Maya’s decision and continued to prepare for her GRE entrance tests.

Both of them got deeply engrossed in their respective tasks. October end arrived. One fine day, Maya came to Riya’s room.

“Riya, there is something special for you”, saying this Maya gave an envelope to her daughter. Riya sensed a sparkling tinkle in Maya’s eyes and understood the reason behind her happiness.

“Please have a look at this photograph. His name is Raj. He is my friend’s son and works in U.S. I am sure you will like him. He is coming with his family to meet us in the next week. I hope everything goes well.”

After Maya left, Riya took the envelope and kept it in her drawer without even opening it. She wanted to focus on the GRE entrance test which was after two days on Sunday.

Riya had already informed Maya that she will keep trying on her own for higher studies in abroad till her mother finds a suitable match. Maya had no objection with Riya’s decision.

Sunday arrived. Riya took her mother’s blessings and went for her test. She had prepared well for the tests and so she was confident that she will crack the entrance exams. She answered all the questions confidently and was satisfied with her performance in the test. She came back home and started waiting for the results which were due in January.

On the other hand, her mother, Maya, was busy with all the preparations at home since it was the first time that someone was coming to see her daughter. She left no stone unturned in the preparations.

Finally, the day arrived. Maya could hardly sleep the night before and was awake since early morning. She was bit nervous too. At 9:00 a.m. she could hear a sound of a car stopping near her door step. Her heart pounded. Somehow, she tried to hide her nervousness and went to welcome the guests.

Raj was a tall, well-built man. He had deep brown eyes and a fair complexion. His nose was straight and sharp. Maya also noticed dimples in his both cheeks when he smiled and greeted her. He looked at his best in his black jeans with a casual shirt.

His parents exchanged some family talks followed by some business talks. After the snacks, Maya informed the maid to call Riya.

Riya looked stunning in her pink saree. She had kept her hair open and they were swaying on her face with the air coming from the window. She was holding a tray of tea cups in her hand. She kept it on the table and served tea to everyone.

Raj kept looking at her. She had a very fair complexion. Her eyes were blue. Her lips were thin and looked incredible with the pink gloss. Her long brown hairs had completely mesmerized him. She looked gorgeous. He had fallen for her at the very first sight. The tinkling sound of her bangles while serving the tea broke his thoughts.

“Aunty, if you don’t mind, can I talk to Riya in private for some time?”, Raj asked Maya.

Maya gave a positive reply and asked Riya to take Raj to their garden.

They both got up and went to the garden. Maya was very fond of gardening and this was evident when Raj looked the garden. It had all different types of flowers and their mild fragrance was refreshing their minds and souls. Raj looked at Riya through the corner of his eyes. He observed that Riya was lost somewhere. He studied her face for a moment and realized that she wants to say something. He thought of striking the conversation.

“What a beautiful garden it is!”, exclaimed Raj.

“Do you like gardening?”, he asked Riya.

“Not really, but sometimes I like to spend some time here”. Riya answered. Again she took her gaze to the bottom of the rose plant which looked as fresh as ever.

Raj decided to speak up openly. This forceful behavior of Riya was making him feel uncomfortable.

“Riya, what is the problem? Please consider me as your friend and share everything that is bothering you. It is fine with me if you don’t like me but please don’t do anything which is against your wish. I really liked you when I saw you for the first time but it does not mean you should have the same feelings too. You have your own opinion and I like independent girls who voice their thoughts. I respect them. So, please go ahead and tell me.”

Riya noticed a feeling of concern in Raj’s words. She kept listening to him and his last words gave her the much needed confidence. She started feeling comfortable. She opened up.

“Raj, you are really a nice person. Any girl would fall for you, trust me you are that handsome. And your way of talking adds another quality to your behavior. You truly are a gentleman. It is not that I didn’t like you but I have some desires in life which I want to fulfill on my own merits. I want to go for higher studies in abroad and then get a job there. I know, if I get married to you, my dream will be fulfilled without any difficulty but there won’t be a feeling of accomplishment for me. My mother is a self-made woman and I have been observing her since my childhood. She always had been my source of inspiration. I always wanted to be like her since my childhood – one who believes in hard work and dedication, self-made, independent. I am not sure whether I will be allowed to study or work after marriage.”

Raj heaved a sigh of relief. “Come on Riya, you really think I will be so narrow minded?  I truly respect your wishes and I will always support you to achieve your dreams. You can study and work after marriage. I will not interfere with your decision and I assure you that I will never use my influence in any manner to help you out. I am ready to wait for you.”

Riya was thrilled to hear this. She said, “Thank you so much Raj. I have already started preparing for the process and I have appeared for the GRE last Sunday. I am sure I will score good marks. I have started my preparations for TOEFL as well.”

“Riya, you are so forward. I am happy to hear that. I am sure, you will get what you want.”

After few general talks, they decided to go back to their parents. Maya observed a feeling of happiness on Riya’s face when she came back.

Raj and Riya gave a positive reply to their parents and said that they would like to get married.

Maya’s joy knew no bounds. Later that night, Riya narrated the whole conversation to Maya.

Soon months passed by and the GRE results were declared. As expected, Riya came out with flying colors. Her TOEFL marks were also more than expected. It was easier for her to get an admission in any of the good colleges of U.S.

Raj was extremely happy to hear the news. He called up Riya and said, “Riya, I salute you. See, you have achieved what you always wanted and that too on your own efforts.”

Riya closed her eyes and she let the feeling sink in herself. She still had to cover a long way but still she was delighted to have cleared the first step of being “self-made”.

–END–