After hitting the snooze button many times, I finally tear myself away from the comfort
of my bed at 7:30 AM today. I am ready by 8AM and as I drive out of the apartment
complex, my gaze falls on a svelte sari-clad figure walking on the left side of the road.
From the walk/gait/figure, I know that it is Sandy (not her real name), a resident
of our apartment complex. I know her from the time she was in the 11th Standard
- I had just completed my Engineering studies and we had moved recently into our
apartment after letting it out on rent for 4 years.
One of the two daughters of a Malayalee couple settled in Chennai, she was the exact
opposite of her younger sister. While both sisters were pretty, the younger one (let's
call her Shalu) was generally considered by guys in the neighborhood to be a shade
more appealing.
It helped that the younger sibling had dimpled cheeks and always had a flirty/naughty
smile playing on her lips, while elder sis Sandy was more the serious type. My opinion
was different though - I thought the serious maturity of Sandy was more beautiful than
the playfulness seen in Shalu.
Anyway, as time went by, I became busy with work and travel, while they joined college,
then took up jobs and Sandy even did a stint on TV - she hosted a show on a Malayalam
TV channel. On the rare occasions when I came across her show, I felt that while some
mediocre-looking people look great on photo/video, it is the opposite for some like Sandy,
who look great in person.
Anyway, I am not sure if she still does any TV work - I don't watch much TV anyway.
But I understand she works as a teacher and on all days when I have left home at 8AM,
I have seen her walking the 1km or so to the main road. In all these years, there never
arose a need/occasion for me to talk to either of the sisters, though as the Secretary of
the Flat Association, I did drop in at their home a few times to talk to their Dad - who
was the President.
And then a few years ago, I heard that her sister was getting married. In India, it is
unusual for the younger sister to get married before the elder and the talk was that
Sandy had 'Chowa Dosham' - a planetary fault - due to which marriage alliances did
not work out. I don't believe in horoscopes (we don't have one made anyway) and
so 'Chowa dosham' or any other dosham for that matter, is just a load of bull, to me.
Anyway, while her sister got married, became a parent and moved on only to visit
on vacation, Sandy continues to stay with her parents. On the rare occasions that I
come across her, I think how unfortunate it is that such a fine girl/woman, who is
good-looking, well-behaved, educated, and employed should remain a spinster just
because some star/planet is in some phase.
Already we see people giving horoscopes the pass and in many cases caste/religion
is no longer an issue too, when it comes to marriage. Hopefully the next generation
would really leave all these trivia behind and choose partners based on compatibility.
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