The Cosmic Clues (13 page)

Moments later, he returned with a tall, slim girl in a
salwar kameez.
Her shoulder-length hair was confined by a rubber band. The white Lucknow kurta was creaseless, but her good-looking face was flushed and her gaze very anxious.

“Miss Sonia Samarth? I'm Aarti, Aarti Vaze. You simply must help me!” the girl exclaimed at once.

Sonia indicated the chair. “Do sit down and tell me how I can help you.” She nodded at Jatin, who whipped out his pad and drew another chair.

Aarti opened a brown handbag, delved into its depths, and extracted a sheaf of papers. “These are the horoscopes of my family. You need them, right? I've heard so much about you. . . !”

Jatin sought his boss's eye. Distraught women always left him floundering. But Sonia remained cool. She accepted the horoscopes without glancing at them.

“Miss Vaze, I think you need to calm down. Take deep breaths and count till ten. Go on, do it.”

Aarti looked taken aback, but she obeyed. She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she appeared more composed.

“Now, start at the beginning and tell me what's bothering you,” Sonia commanded gently.

“I'm a teacher at P.A. School. I teach the primary classes. Two months ago, we had a school function and Pradeep Gupte—a well-known painter—was invited as Chief Guest. We chatted over the official lunch for a few minutes. He was young and handsome and quite charming. The next day, he arrived at my doorstep—I live in the School Premises—with flowers. From that day, we met regularly and fell in love with each other. We felt so good together, so right, that it wasn't at all surprising when he proposed. I was the happiest soul under the sun! Pradeep introduced me to his family—his parents, their adopted daughter, Meera, and his sister, Beena. They were all very nice to me. It was wonderful. Here I was—an orphan with no family—and all of a sudden I was going to have a whole brand-new family who genuinely seemed to like me! I thought that finally life was really being fair to me. But . . .” She paused.

“What happened?” Sonia prompted quietly.

“A few days ago, I overheard an argument between Pradeep and his parents. I gathered that they—Aai, his mother, and Baba, his father—had been very keen on his getting married to the daughter of a family friend. She comes from a cultured, rich family and is well suited for Pradeep in every possible manner. But Pradeep had refused. He insisted that he loved me and that he will marry no one but me!”

“How nice of him,” Sonia said.

“Yes, I loved him all the more for it. But that conversation told me enough—that all was not as it seemed. That I was not a natural choice for Aai and Baba and that, in reality, they were not happy with the match. They were simply playing along for their son's sake.”

“Yes, I guess that's pretty common in our society,” Sonia agreed. She was watching Aarti worriedly. So far, the young woman hadn't divulged any real, serious reason for her distraught state.

“We're getting married two days from now. For the last week, I've been living with the family. Aai and Baba insisted that since I have no one, I should stay with them and enjoy all the preparations.”

“That was very kind of them, wasn't it?”

“Yes. I thought so, too. But of late, I've been having this strange feeling that something's terribly wrong. I can't place my finger on it: it's just a gut feeling that something strange is going on. And I'm
frightened
!”

“Have you seen or heard anything? What is it exactly that you fear?” Sonia probed.

Aarti shook her head energetically. “Just low voices in conversation, Beena and Meera and sometimes Aai and Baba, and even Pradeep and Meera. And I've been getting these headaches, which make me very dizzy. I found some powder at the base of my coffee cup. I can't help wondering if I am being drugged!”

“Why would anyone do such a thing?”

“I haven't the faintest notion! I told you, I've nothing concrete to communicate to you, it's just a feeling. . . .”

Sonia rested her hand on Aarti's and pressed it reassuringly. “Do you know what I think? I think these are marriage jitters. You've spent a childhood and youth nurtured on loneliness. Fending for yourself in this wide world has been your major task, taking up all your energy. And out of the blue, a whole new life and possibilities are unfolding before you. I think anyone would be more than a little overwhelmed by so much happiness. Too much of anything, all at once, mainly since you've rarely had it, can be pretty damaging. Especially if you fear that it's all too good to be true! What you need is to keep your mind on an even keel. Just relax, stay calm, and enjoy the feeling of getting married. You deserve all these good things happening to you, Aarti. So don't let anything worry you,” Sonia advised, smiling.

But Aarti looked doubtful. “Are you sure? Just marriage jitters? Nothing else?”

“As of now, I'm quite sure. But leave these horoscopes with me, since you've brought them. By the way, how did you manage to get hold of the entire family's horoscopes? I mean, its not as if one can find horoscopes strewn around the house, for all to see, is it?”

“The family Astrologer—Guruji—came over to fix the wedding date. Naturally everyone wanted to get their horoscopes read. And I quickly copied them, when no one was around. It would have looked mighty suspicious if I'd asked for the horoscopes openly.”

“And extremely awkward to explain,” Sonia agreed sympathetically.

Aarti impulsively leaned forward, clutching Sonia's hand. “Will you at least do me a favour? Will you attend the wedding? Will you please come?”

“Aarti . . .” Sonia began patiently.

“Please say that you'll come!” the girl pleaded. “I'll feel so much safer!”

Sonia looked into Aarti's moist brown eyes. Could this be more serious than it appeared?

“Okay, if you think it'll make you feel better, I will. But believe me, you'll be fine,” she reassured with a warm smile. She felt a sudden affinity for this orphaned woman, who was little more than a girl. Something about the honesty in her face appealed to Sonia.

“Thank you! I'll send you the wedding card, so you know where to come.” Relief had flooded over Aarti's face. “And . . . and if I discover something concrete, can I pass it on to you?”

“Of course, anything of the slightest importance. Goodbye, Aarti, and all the very best for your future!” Sonia pressed Aarti's hand.

“Thank you for seeing me. I'm already feeling better, talking to you.” Aarti stood up with a nervous smile, then quickly departed.

Sonia gazed absentmindedly at the closed door. It was some time before she realized that Jatin was staring curiously at her.

“Boss, did you mean that?” he asked. “I mean, the explanation about marriage jitters?”

Sonia flopped down on the window seat beside Nidhi and stroked her. “She'd nothing to tell us, Jatin, absolutely nothing—no incident, no proof, no tangible fears. Unless she can pinpoint what's worrying her, it'll have to be put down to marriage jitters, I'm afraid.”

“But she seemed so positive about her fear,” Jatin reminded her.

“Yes, but who can vouch for its gravity? It could be a figment of her imagination, stemming out of the excitement of the latest incidents in her life.”

“You could be right,” Jatin mused, sounding disappointed. “So the case is closed?”

Sonia laughed. “We never had a case!”

“And will you read those horoscopes?”

“I may. . . .”

“And are you going to attend the wedding?”

“Yes, since I promised. That's the least I can do to allay her fears.”

“How about some
chai
?”

“That's exactly what I need.”

Jatin closed the door behind him, leaving Sonia alone with her thoughts. Her glance rested on the stack of horoscopes on the table, bound by a rubber band. Should she? It could be a waste of time. But it was not as if she was buried under an avalanche of work. And no urgent matter was hankering for her attention, either. On the other hand, what if she found something worthwhile? Could Jatin be correct? Had she taken Aarti's fears too lightly? Should she have been more concerned? Well, there was a huge possibility that the answers to her questions could be found in the horoscopes. In any case, it was her duty to reconfirm.

With renewed resolve, Sonia rose and approached her table. Releasing the papers from the band, she aligned the six horoscopes on the table. Her eyes flicked over each, calculating. Aai. Baba. Beena, the sister. Meera, the adopted daughter. Pradeep and Aarti. Interesting family, artistic, rich—her eyes traveled along the horoscopes, picking and discarding. And then, suddenly, she took a sharp breath. She stumbled into her chair and separated three of the horoscopes from the rest. Her heart began a familiar tattoo, of understanding, of excitement. Was it possible? Could it be true? Sonia sat back against the chair, her hand twirling a lock of hair, her mind locked in confusion. Dare she meddle with people's lives on the basis of unsubstantiated suspicion? How could she be certain that her horoscopic revelations were not colored by Aarti's hysterics? Encroaching on the rights of human beings could be detrimental to her practice and career at this point. Ethics were fine, but where did they stand pitched against stark suspicions based on scientific calculations, backed by Aarti's gut instinct? Her mind was in a tailspin. As her thoughts swirled on, like a potter's wheel, her finger twirled faster, till finally she shook her head in frustration.

Sonia sighed and stood up. She selected a popular Hindi-film wedding song and inserted the CD. Her feet began tapping, as the song began playing at high volume. Soon she found herself dancing to the words and music of the song. The melodious number was rendered by two of the best voices in India. It lifted her spirits immediately. As the song ended, Sonia felt perspiration trickle down her forehead. She wiped it off carelessly with her hand, feeling relaxed and tension-free. Nothing like good music and dance to disentangle the mirage from reality, duty from ethics, and action from illusion!

The sharp, almost sad notes of the Indian oboe-like instrument—
Shehnai
—filled the huge hall with music. Trust the
Shehnai
to create a wedding atmosphere in a traditional, grand Indian wedding, Sonia thought. She settled down comfortably in her cushioned seat, adjusting her silver-sequined black
kameez.
Children ran about happily, their merry laughter ringing through the hall. A pretty girl in a frilled dress approached her with perfume. Sonia allowed the child to rub the essence on her hand, then accepted the rose and
pedha
—a sweetmeat—with a smile. The
Mangalashtaka
—the eight-verse auspicious chantings, the garlanding of the couple, and the showering of rice grains by all present to bless the union—had already taken place. Now she observed the next marriage rituals taking place round the fire. The buzz of voices, the floating notes of
Shehnai,
the flower-decked stage ready for the couple, the holy fire around which the bride and groom would presently take the
Saptapadi
—seven turns round the fire, which would bind them for life—it was all so satisfying and inspiring. Sonia sighed in contentment. Each wedding ceremony she attended brought into sharper focus her need to enjoy all the pampering that went inherently with the Indian marriage customs. One day. Not the splurging of money, though. For herself, she would rather have a simple wedding with just a few close friends and family. . . .

Aarti looked beautiful, in her yellow sari with gold adorning her wrists and neck. She must have saved all her life for this special occasion. The bride sat now, with head bowed, following the commands of the Pundit. Pradeep looked handsome in his silk kurta. His adopted sister, Meera, dressed in a jazzy red and green sari, hovered protectively around Aarti, heeding to the bride's needs. A little distance away, Beena and her parents mingled with the guests, urging them to proceed to the lunch hall, where the buffet awaited the crowd. Sonia glanced at her watch. It was almost one. Hunger rumbled in her stomach. She'd done her duty of attending this wedding. All was going well and now she deserved some food inside her. But where was Jatin? He was supposed to meet her at the hall.

The Pundit requested the couple to take the seven circles and Aarti and Pradeep stood up. Sonia watched as the young couple made their way, in a clockwise direction, slowly round the fire. Aarti glanced up and looked at Sonia, who flashed her a warm smile.

Finally, the
Saptapadi
were over. The couple was declared religiously married. The
Shehnai
played voluminously and a musical band struck up notes of a movie song, to celebrate the new bond. The bride could now go and change for the reception. Aarti made her way to a room specially retained for the bride. Meera followed her with some
prasaad
—
shira,
a special sweet dish offered to God—in her hand. At the door, Aarti half turned and glanced again at Sonia, but Meera hustled her new sister-in-law inside the little room and the door shut. Minutes later, the door opened and Meera walked out, closing the door behind her again. Sonia waited. Any minute now, Aarti would emerge, resplendent in her reception sari, glowing with happiness and renewed confidence. And then Sonia would feel free to sample some of the exotic food and they could both laugh at Aarti's “marriage jitters.” She relaxed, observing the teeming crowds as they drifted towards the lavish buffet. Where was Jatin? He ought to be here by now. As if on cue, her assistant appeared at the end of the hall. He hastened through the people festooned with jewelry and glossy clothes, and headed straight towards her.