60. Ranjani and Anjali

"Hey Raghu! How are you? I am meeting you for the first time after your marriage. And you didn't attend my marriage!" said Rajesh.

"I told you already why I couldn't make it. I had been to Delhi for my company's work at the time of your marriage. Has your wife come here? I can meet her now" replied Raghu.

"See the lady talking to your wife. That's her. I just learnt that they have already been acquainted."

"In that case, both of us have to be cautious. In all probability, they are talking about you and me, possibly complaining about us! So, let us also talk about our spouses. What kind of a person is your wife?" asked Raghu. 

"Well. She is great company. But, she is particular about getting what she wants. Within a year of our marriage, she made me buy jewelry for her twice!" said Rajesh.

"You seem to be flush with money!" taunted Raghu.

"Not at all. I had to borrow money to buy jewelry for her. Unfortunately, the price of gold has fallen now, but my borrowing has gone up due to accrual of interest!" lamented Rajesh.

"Does your wife know that you had to borrow money to buy gold jewelry for her?"

"It was she who insisted that I borrow money and buy jewelry for her! Now, tell me what type of a person is your wife?" 

"In this aspect, I think she is of a type opposite to that of your wife. I had taken a loan for my business. When she came to know of this, she asked me to repay the loan by selling her jewelry. She said, 'you can buy me jewelry some time in the future, when you have enough money. Now, the priority is to be debt-free.' I was surprised by her prudence and economic sense. Following her advice, I sold her jewels and repaid my loans. I am debt-free now. Getting rid of the interest burden has given me immense relief. Now, I have to save money and buy jewelry for her" said Raghu.

"This is great. You are fortunate to have a wife with such an outlook. I wish my wife were like that. Ok. Any update on your becoming a father?" asked Rajesh.

"My wife is in the family way. I will become a proud father in six months. What about you?"

"Congratulations! The time has not come for me to become a father!"

"You will, soon enough" wished Raghu.

"No chance. My wife feels that we should wait for a couple of years!" said Rajesh, with disappointment.

"Why did you have to conceive so soon?" asked Ranjani, Rajesh's wife.

"I conceived only seven or eight months after my marriage. You call it soon?" countered, Anjali, Raghu's wife.

"Look at me. I firmly told my husband that we can't think of a child at least for two more years. After the marriage, should we not give ourselves some time to enjoy life? By the way, I find that you are not wearing any jewels! Won't you take out your jewels from the bank locker?"

"We don't have a bank locker and I don't have jewels to keep in a bank locker! I am not particularly enamoured of adorning myself with jewelry" replied Anjali.

"Strange for a woman to say so!" said Ranjani.

After that, they talked about other topics.

When the two couples ran into each other after two years in a function, the weight of jewels that adorned Ranjani had gone up, just as Rajesh's debt had.

Anjali was not wearing any jewels. She was carrying her eighteen month old baby. Anjali's child attracted the attention of people much more than the lustre of jewels worn by Ranjani.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 6
The Worth of A Wife

Verse 60 (In Tamil)

mangalam enba manaimAtchi maRRu adhan
nankalam nanmakkat pERu.

Meaning:

A harmonious married life is a boon;

Having good children adds lustre to it.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'avaL appadiththAn' by the same author)

Verse 61
Verse 59