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  When he saw the sari, he told his mother to buy it for Girish’s wife and not for Jamuna. Gouramma took a look at the price tag: it was seven thousand rupees.

  ‘Chandru, she doesn’t were such expensive saris. It would be wiser to buy two printed silk saris for the same amount.’ But Chandru insisted on the sari he had selected, and Gouramma backed down. He was paying the bill after all.

  Chandru reasoned that when Vinuta had taken such good care of him when he was not so well off, social restrictions had held him back from gifting her a sari of her choice. But now, when an appropriate occasion was coming up, he could repay what he felt was a long-held personal debt.

  Vinuta took one look at the sari and her face lit up like a flower in full bloom. She murmured, ‘Oh! I love this colour. I have been planning to buy one for a long time. Thank you very much, Chandru.’

  Gouramma felt she had to give Jamuna something from the family. Shamanna was not a wealthy man. So Gouramma took two of her own bangles to a jeweller and got them redesigned into new ones. Vinuta’s sharp eyes noticed this.

  As the wedding date drew near, a whole lot of relatives and friends started visiting their house. Gouramma enjoyed herself, boosting her own self-esteem, showing off Jamuna’s jewels and saris, humiliating them, destroying their peace of mind, paying them back for every insult she believed she had suffered for so many years. Her son lived in America and her future daughter-in-law was the only daughter of a rich man. Such charming scenarios, mere dreams for so long, were gloriously coming true. In her mind she thanked the blessed power of the Dollar.

  Krishnappa was a wealthy man. He wanted to use the wedding ceremony to display his wealth and exploit this occasion as a business party. So, the most expensive hall was selected as the venue for three days of grand celebrations. The hall was decorated with the choicest flowers, live music was played throughout the ceremony and the affluent guests, especially the ladies, flaunted their silks and jewels. Of course, the wide spread of rich food was the gravitation point for all appetites.

  From behind the scenes, Girish and Vinuta ensured that everything went off without a hitch. But it was Gouramma who handled all money-related matters.

  After the wedding, Jamuna’s mother made a dramatic appeal to Gouramma. ‘Please consider Jamuna as your daughter. She has been brought up in luxury. If she makes any mistake, kindly forgive her. If there has been any lapse in the marriage arrangements from our side, please pardon us.’ With that, she handed over an expensive gift to Gouramma. Gouramma was overcome with emotion and hugged Jamuna’s mother fondly.

  Chandru and Jamuna went off for their honeymoon and returned just one day before Chandru’s departure for the US. That evening, Chandru said to his mother, ‘Amma, Jamuna will stay with you until she gets her visa, and I shall only be back here for Surabhi’s wedding. Till then, take care.’

  ‘Jamuna is my eldest daughter-in-law. It is, after all, her own house now. Let her get used to us. You needn’t worry about her,’ Gouramma reassured Chandru.

  The day Chandru left, Jamuna politely told her mother-in-law, ‘My cousins are all at my parents’ place. I want to spend some time with them before flying off. I will be back next week.’ From the airport Jamuna went straight to her father’s house.

  Gouramma realized that she could not boss over Jamuna the way she did over Vinuta. She told herself it was all right. Her rich relatives had come from all over and there was nothing wrong in Jamuna’s decision to go to her parents’ home.

  ‘Come back any time. This is your home too after all,’ she said cordially.

  But Jamuna simply vanished from their lives for a long time.

  When she eventually did show up it was to tell the family, ‘I am leaving for America tomorrow. I really feel very sorry that I could not spend time with you and Surabhi. I knew that the visa would take a long time, and so I went to meet all my uncles and aunts in Chennai, Delhi and Ahmedabad. The next time I come, I shall stay for a good three months with you.’

  Shamanna had seen through Jamuna’s pretence, but Gouramma, blinded by the dollars that her daughter-in-law now represented, reassured her. ‘It is all right, my dear. I know that you are very fond of all of us. When Surabhi gets married, it will be your responsibility to see to everything. You are the “Mahalakshmi” of our house. You should not leave in sorrow. Go and join your husband in happiness. Our blessings shall be with you always.’

  Jamuna did not even bother to talk to Vinuta. For that matter, nobody in the house seemed to even acknowledge her presence these days.

  FOURTEEN

  After Chandru’s wedding, things took a different turn in the Shamanna household. Gouramma’s conversations usually began with, ‘Our Jamuna, in America . . .’ Every day, she would repeat that they were very lucky to have such a daughter-in-law. Paeans of praise were constantly chanted for the unknown and absent Jamuna, and the two daughters-in-law were constantly compared.

  Before Jamuna’s advent into their lives Gouramma used to say, ‘Now that Vinuta is here, I am totally relaxed, like a retired person. She takes care of everything.’ But now, there was no such talk. The proverb, ‘If you have money, like the sun you will shine; if you don’t have money, like a dog you will whine’, was quite apt in this case. Jamuna’s sun shone brighter each day while Vinuta’s life became more like that of a dog.

  Whenever a guest or a relative came visiting, Jamuna was praised to the sky and the lavish wedding described in great detail. Photo albums and videos were forced upon the visitors. The entire list of presents given by Jamuna’s family was recited. Her ‘simplicity’ and other assorted virtues were extolled. Gouramma even justified Jamuna having kept all the wedding gifts in her parents’ house. ‘Our house is so small. There is no space to keep all the gifts.’

  Shamanna would walk away from such talk but where could poor Vinuta go?

  Things became worse with the arrival of pictures from America sent by Jamuna. Jamuna’s letters were a treatise on the American lifestyle, what she wore, where she went, the décor of the house, the car they drove and the places they visited. The day Jamuna called, Gouramma’s mind sprouted wings. Surabhi was entranced. Vinuta however would get upset for she knew that the ill winds would blow harder.

  It was a Saturday and all Vinuta’s colleagues had decided to go for the noon show of Veer Zara. As Vinuta sat in the darkened cinema hall, a wave of nostalgia swept over her. She remembered the last time she had seen a movie at Dharwad’s Regal theatre. Her entire college group had cut classes and gone for the morning show of Mughal-e-Azam. After the movie, Vinuta had practised singing the famous song ‘Mohabbat ki jhoothi kahani pe roye’ in the ladies’ room. The next day, someone had written on the blackboard in their classroom, ‘We do not want class today. We want to hear and see our own Madhubala singing “Mohabbat ki jhoothi kahani pe roye”.’

  Where were all those friends now and where had those magical times gone?

  The bell rang signalling intermission, bringing Vinuta back to the present. She went out to buy popcorn for everybody. Suddenly her eyes caught sight of a pair of youngsters sipping a soft drink in a far corner of the balcony. Vinuta felt as if a hammer had hit her head. It was Surabhi and Gopinath.

  Vinuta blinked to confirm that she was not dreaming.

  Gopinath, a young, handsome neighbourhood boy was an old student of Shamanna’s and now worked as a medical representative. His father was a postmaster and they lived in a small house nearby. Gopinath was an outgoing, friendly sort of person who was actively involved in all neighbourhood functions and festivities. So he had come to the house a few times with Girish. But Vinuta could not imagine that Surabhi and Gopinath were seeing each other.

  She knew that Gouramma was looking for a suitable boy for Surabhi but she had too many conditions: He had to be handsome, rich, but should not be the only son, because then the in-laws would permanently live with their son. Neither should he have sisters because they would frequently visit their parents along with t