The Perfect Match

Nisha walked down the road from her workplace.  It was already 6:30 pm .It would be 8 before she reached home after a long bus ride and a train ride later. She looked at the long winding road ahead of her. The labyrinthine rows of cars of varied shapes and colors moved in the slow traffic.  She wondered if she would ever be the one sitting inside the car looking down her nose upon the people walking on the road. Will it be in this life time?

 She distracted her thoughts to the tasks ahead of her. What meal would she cook? Hope the maid had cut the vegetables and put the cooker on. She was dying for a cup of coffee. She wished she could just grab a cup from the inviting cafe coffee day close to her bus stop .But she could not afford the luxury of spending 50 rupees on a coffee cup which could fix vegetables for a day for her family. Family...yes her family her husband and 2 children... 

How happy she had been when she had married Naveen. He was the most eligible bachelor in her community with his fancy management degree, tall dark good looks, beautiful sea view flat and the well-paying job at a multinational.  It was a dream comes true for her when the perfect match went through. It had made many heads turn and also made many jealous including her aunt who always thought her daughter Ekta was a better candidate. Even today a memory of her aunt's disgruntled face through the wedding celebrations brought a smile to Nisha's lips. She had no doubt been lucky.

 Life after a perfect marriage was even more perfect and dreamy. Naveen was a loving and doting husband, she had a beautiful home by the sea which she kept spic and span and two adorable babies. She had all the comforts she could wish for including a swanky new car. They planned to buy their own apartment soon and maybe a second car for Nisha. Life was just glorious. Naveen was truly a perfect match for her.

But “Life” as they say has its own agenda. One day without much warning, Naveen's multinational company closed shop due to a financial scam. The company flat on the beachside was gone and they were forced to move in a small flat in a distant suburb. They sold the car and their dream of their own home dissolved into oblivion. Naveen remained jobless and depressed for months as he never found an equally paying job in the economic downturn. As the savings dwindled and expenses rose a reluctant Nisha had stepped in and had taken up a job after more than a decade of being a full time homemaker. How torn she had been to leave behind 10 year old Ashima and 5 year old Ninad with her mother in law and travel to the other end of the city to eke out a living. 

She had been so angry with life, her situation and most of all at Naveen. Initially he had been “adequately” guilty and apologetic at Nisha’s predicament. But as months passed, Nisha noticed Naveen becoming complacent. He stopped trying hard at interviews saying he had always “dreamed” of starting his business. But he mostly whiled away his time away at home watching TV and running an occasional errand to help his mother with the kids. Nisha squirmed but helplessly watched her "ideal match" of a husband change to a good for nothing nincompoop. Her job as an Executive Assistant to the CEO of a small time start-up was interesting and challenging but definitely not well paying. Nisha just about managed to keep the home fires burning with the help of her very supportive and kindhearted mother in law. But they really had to cut corners. While Nisha cowered at their fall from grace, Naveen seemed oblivious to the watery subji and thinning dal on his plate. 

Eventually, Naveen started working with a small time share broker near their home. Nisha knew he could do much better than that but Naveen felt it was best he was closer to home so he could keep an eye on the home and the kids. Nisha was happy that at least Naveen had stepped in. Life would now get better as Naveen would settle in the new field. She could eventually quit her job and take back the reigns to her family. Her daughter was nearly a teen and needed her mother around. Besides her mother in law had started keeping unwell and was unable to bear the burden of household chores.

But Life had not had it out with her. Naveen got bedazzled by the false glitter of speculative stock trade and lost more money than he had earned and quit the job at the Stockbroker and back to his seat in front of the TV. Nisha was back to being the sole bread winner barely trying to make ends meet.

The rude blaring horn of a latest SUV model brought her back from her chain of thoughts. She stopped in her tracks and glared at the twenty- something lady driver with blazing eyes. She hated the lucky woman. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for herself and wished she could free herself from this life she had never imagined or wanted for herself. She did not find her “perfect match” not so perfect any more. But for Naveen it couldn’t have been more perfect.