Monday, April 28, 2025

1099. The Engagement

"My engagement function is tomorrow. Don't forget!" Renuka told Nikhita.

"Forget! I have plans to tease you tomorrow to such an extent that you will never be able to forget the experience. You are going to cry cursing yourself why you invited me at all to your engagement function!" said Nikhita, laughing.

As Nikhita had indicated the previous day, she, in the company of her friends, teased Renuka a lot on the day of her engagement. 

Renuka enjoyed the teasing. After all, it was friendly teasing and it was about how joyful and fun-filled her marital life was going to be.

Renuka introduced her colleagues, who were present for the engagement function, to Nikhita. Of them, only two were unmarried - Sneha and Mukesh. 

Renuka observed that while Nikhita conversed a lot with Sneha, she didn't seem to take notice of Mukesh at all. Seeing Mukesh sitting alone, Renuka felt that if only Nikhita had conversed with Mukesh too, he wouldn't have been sitting alone, probably feeling ignored.

After a few weeks. Nikhia broke the news of her marriage having been fixed. 

Renuka was surprised to learn that Nikhita would be marrying Mukesh!

"When was the marriage finalized?" asked Reuka, in surprise.

"Marriage was finalized only recently, but..." paused Nikhita.

"But, what?"

"We have been in love for the past several months!"

"You have been in love for several months! But, you didn't tell me, your close friend, about this?" said Renuka, in a tone of complaining.

Then, suddenly remembering something, Renuka asked, "But, when I introduced you two to each other, during my engagement function, neither of you gave any indication of having been acquainted with each other, already. Not only that. You two acted like strangers, not even exchanging a word or two!"

"Do you expect that we should have proclaimed to the whole world that we are lovers?" asked Nikhita, with a mischievous smile, resulting from the satisfaction of having successfully kept her love a secret even from her close friend Renuka!

Thirukkural
Section 3
Love
Chapter 110
Reading the Cues

Verse 1099 (in Tamil):
EdhilAr pOlap podhu nOkku nOkkudhal
kAdhlar kaNNE uLa.

Meaning:
It is the nature of the lovers to act as strangers before other people, in a public place. 


(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nichchayatartham' by the same author.)

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