Knotty Affairs

By Chirag Bagadia

A land of countless customs, few things in India get bigger than a big fat wedding. A marriage is a celebration which brings families and friends together. And the ceremony ends with the tradition of the bride leaving her parents' home and moving in with her husband. The groom always has a choice-he can either stay with his parents or stay separately. However, for the bride her 'home' is now a strange place.
Meet Aakash, a young dental intern, who falls in love with Kashish. However, what he doesn't know is that winning her heart was never going to be easy. Kashish is resolute-nothing, not even their budding romance, will come in the way of her devotion to her parents.
Cut to four years later. Akash has fallen in love with Aneri, the only daughter of her parents. However, his father is clearly miffed by this development, and enlists the help of a psychologist friend to help Aakash. Furthermore, his father is also not surprised at the couple's request of entering into a live-in relationship before the marriage. But is Aakash ready to challenge the existing customs for his love? Is he prepared to go to any lengths to see that his love does not shed another tear?
Take this tradition-defying journey with Aakash, Kashish and Aneri as they dare to delve deeper into the web of love and relationships. Warm up to their crazy antics which will leave you wondering-why can't this be my story?!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Nov 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9789388271172

Chirag Bagadia

Dr Chirag Bagadia is a Mumbai-based dentist who runs his own private clinic, Moonsmile Dental Care and Multispecialty. He has completed his BDS from YMT Dental College in 2008 and holds an MA in Yogashashtra from Somaiya College. When he is not busy designing smiles for his patients, he works as a yoga consultant, catering to high profile clients on a personal basis. His debut novel, Knotty Affairs is a powerful story questioning the roots of Indian marriage. A heart-warming tale about friendship, love, family, and everything in between, this book is a result of his long-standing aspiration and acute interest in creative fiction-writing.

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Prologue

IT WAS EIGHT o’clock on a dry, hot Wednesday morning in Mumbai. Widely believed to be a city which rises early and retires late, parts of Mumbai are a treat to watch during early mornings as there is less congestion, sparse traffic, and zero commotion. Bandra Bandstand has the privilege of being one such distinguished place. Tucked away in a quiet corner of suburban Bandra, it is easily one of the most enjoyable and visit-worthy places of Mumbai. Here, one can witness the vast, sprawling Arabian Sea touching the feet of the city, and bringing with it the much-needed freshness in the form of a cool sea breeze.

A briskly paced, black Honda Stunner zoomed past the street, riding along Bandstand. From within the tinted glass of the helmet visor, a pair of eyes quietly observed the Mount Mary Church as earlymorning worshippers climbed its steps.

Crossing a narrow lane, the bike rode down a wide road from where the sea was clearly visible. A high tide glorified the proximity of the sea with an uproar of waves crashing against the rocks. The wind showered tiny droplets of water on the visor, blurring the rider’s vision for a moment. Wiping clean the mistiness, he rode straight ahead, his eyes admiring the ultra-lavish, sea-facing residential complexes on one side of the road. Far ahead, he noticed a bevy of teenage girls clicking selfies outside the closed gates of Mannat (superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s bungalow). Finally, halting right across the street, in front of a coffee shop, the twenty-seven-year-old rider alighted from the bike after parking it. The lean, medium-statured biker removed his helmet to reveal a cute face that seemed to be straight out of an Archie Comics. Running his fingers through his wavy hair, he cast a look at the waves crashing against the rocks. Smiling good-naturedly at an elderly health enthusiast, jogging on the Bandstand walking track, he quickly turned around to face the café.

The moment he entered the café, a girl waved at him, ‘Oye, Aakash, you’re late again! Why can’t you ever be on time?’

Aakash Mehta, a dentist by profession, had graduated four years ago. He has been running his own dental clinic for the last three years in Chembur. A typical ‘guy-next-door’, with charming looks and a cute smile, Aakash’s likeable persona made him worth a second look. ‘Creating beautiful smiles’ was a part of his profession, but he truly believed that a winning smile always worked like magic. However, right now, he found it hard to hold a smile since his friend, Vishakha Puri, seemed visibly irritated.

‘Doc, it’s no joke to get up at 6 a.m. and travel all the way from town to Bandra just because you want to have a chat. The least you can do is reach on time.’

‘Sorry, Vishu,’ said Aakash apologetically. ‘Lemme make it up by treating you to your favourite doughnut,’ he added, giving her a side hug. The thought of doughnuts brought a smile to Vishakha’s face, melting away her anger.

Vishakha was a post-graduate in clinical psychology and was working as a visiting psychologist at Dr Ritesh Khurana’s Psychiatry Care Centre. Dr Ritesh Khurana happened to be one of the city’s leading psychiatrists practicing in Mahim. Around two years ago, Vishakha had undertaken extensive research work at Sweekruti, an NGO, where she examined patients suffering from severe depression. Dr Aakash Mehta was one of the visiting dentists at the same NGO. A chance encounter at a health camp conducted by the organization led Aakash and Vishakha to meet and, over time, become friends.

The bond stayed strong even after Vishakha got married to a wealthy diamond broker, Hitesh Puri, about a year ago, and moved to a lavish house in Mahalakshmi. The interactions between Vishakha and Aakash had become infrequent, as Vishakha was no longer associated with Sweekruti, but both loved to catch up whenever they got an opportunity to do so.

Vishakha had received a WhatsApp message the previous evening from Aakash, which said that he urgently wanted to meet her and seek some professional advice. Strangely, she had also received a call from Aakash’s father, requesting her to meet Aakash and find out what the matter was with him.

Vishakha, now seated comfortably on a stylish wooden chair facing the Arabian Sea, found herself closely observing Aakash. With his boyish charm, he looked much younger than his age. By the look in his eyes, she deduced, he had something significant to discuss. The almostempty café, the sound of the waves, and the morning calm created the perfect ambience for Aakash to express himself.

Placing an order of gourmet hot chocolate, Aakash’s favourite, and a creamy choco-doughnut, Aakash settled down next to Vishakha. They sat in companionable silence, until Aakash asked, ‘So, how’s Hitesh doing?’

‘Good…busy with his work, as usual. He had gone to Singapore for a consignment last week. Just came back on Sunday. He’s had a severe stomach ache since he returned, but he’s feeling better now.’

Before Aakash could reply, she quickly added, ‘So, what is it that you wanted to talk about? I’m all ears. Ashwin Uncle called me yesterday and he sounded worried about you.’

‘He told me that I need to see a psy…psy…chia…trist…,’ Aakash replied, imitating Shahid Kapoor’s character in Jab We Met, and both burst into laughter.

Aakash paused before saying, ‘Vishakha, you’ve been married for a year now, but do you remember the days when you were still looking for the right guy? Did you wonder what your future would look like post-marriage? Or, how you would feel going to a new home – a place you knew nothing about?’

He continued, without waiting for Vishakha’s reply, ‘Every Indian girl knows the truth about how she will have to spend her life after marriage. Every so-called experienced person in our society takes the onus of conditioning her to a certain mindset. I’m sure, there are many conflicting questions that every girl asks while growing up, and the answers to them are explained away by the same responses – a conditioning that takes place every single moment in her life… I am not saying that I know exactly what it feels like growing up as a girl, but I do have a rough understanding of what she goes through during her adolescent years. I have seen it happen with Kinju…’

Aakash was referring to his cute little sister, Kinjal, who was three years younger to him. An architect by profession, with a radiant personality, Kinjal was Aakash’s best friend. Kinju, as he lovingly called her, was a fine judge of Aakash’s capabilities and decisions in life, and she was among the rare few whom Aakash trusted completely.

‘Lemme make this clearer. From childhood, a girl is made to believe in a fairy-tale-like world where she will meet the man of her dreams and live happily ever after. But, here’s the real twist in the classic tale. When her Prince Charming arrives and sweeps her off her feet, where does he take her? Just like Alice in Wonderland, who falls down the deep rabbit hole into a completely new world, our princess is transported to a completely new world, to live amongst new people. Within a matter of days, she is snatched out of her comfort zone, placed in an unknown territory, a world in which she has to adapt to a completely new lifestyle. Alice returns to her own world eventually, but does our Indian Alice have that option?’

Vishakha replied, ‘Oho, doc, what’s wrong with you? Are you writing a thesis on the psychology of women? Did I hear Ashwin Uncle correctly, when he said that you needed a dose of counselling?!’ Vishakha seemed amused, but decided to play along nonetheless. Aakash certainly had something up his sleeve. How she wished she had brought Hitesh along with her.

‘I know, yaar,’ defended Aakash, adding, ‘we guys might not understand a thing about this, but when we do, we kind of sound like patrons of women empowerment.’

‘But, Aakash, this is how the life of Indian women is designed. From the day we start understanding the concept of marriage, hundreds of questions pop up in our minds, and the only answer we ever get is: that’s how things were, are, and will continue to be for a girl.

‘You see, Aakash, a girl is always expected to be an epitome of acceptance. Aah…a girl…she is meant to accept whatever comes her way. She is meant to accept the fact that, one day, she has to leave the very home she grew up in, leave her loving parents, and create a new world of happiness elsewhere. For ages, men have had the onus of being the providers, while the women are expected to take care of the household. But, in the modern era, a woman is expected to work, and manage her household, in-laws, husband, kids, and social commitments.‘It’s no big deal, right? Every girl does it. Aakash, an Indian girl is like an ever-running app which, when downloaded, does not even ask for a rating from anyone, but in case she crashes… Boom! She invites the wrath of everyone,’ Vishakha said sarcastically, gesturing with her hands.

‘Ha-ha Vishu… You sound like you are ready to pull on your gloves and settle some scores here. I couldn’t agree more. Even guys leave their parents and home for higher studies, jobs, etc. I mean, look here, even your husband, Hitesh, has lived away from home and parents for quite a long time, hasn’t he?’

‘But Aakash,’ Vishakha cut him short, ‘there is a difference. You guys always have the option, we don’t. You have the option of going back to your parental home, whereas we are conditioned to leave ours after we get married.’

Aakash looked deep into Vishakha’s eyes and, taking a deep breath, asked, ‘Vishu, is there a single girl in this country who has not left her parents’ home with a heavy heart and moist eyes? I, being a guy, cannot imagine living without my mom and dad. Their presence in my life is the biggest privilege I have been afforded.’

Vishakha chipped in, ‘That’s called over-dependency, dude!’

Ignoring Vishakha’s remark, Aakash continued, ‘Right after I finished junior college and state CET, I had to go to Nashik to pursue dentistry, thanks to my average scores. I was fairly well-organized and managed my chores quite well away from home…but only at this, physical level. Emotionally, I was a bit of a wreck. Every night, when I returned to my room after a hectic day of running around in college, I felt a sense of hollowness. I missed my family. I felt lonely without them. While my friends enjoyed their new-found freedom in hostel life, I was often down in the dumps.’

Aakash was now looking beyond Vishakha’s shoulders. ‘You know, this is precisely the reason why I used to land up in Mumbai every other week, while most of my friends stuck around to enjoy weekends in hostel or to explore Nashik. Those trips back home rejuvenated me, until I moved back to Mumbai again after three months, when I got admission in the dental college at Kharghar.’

‘Doc, that’s called homesickness!’ winked Vishakha. She loved pulling Aakash’s leg and today she wouldn’t let go of him so easily.

Aakash retaliated by saying, ‘You are sick,’ and playfully pretended to strangulate her.

‘Achcha, okay, Dr Aakash Mehta. Ab chal seedhe point pe aa,’ Vishakha nudged Aakash, adding, ‘I know you quite well. You are way too much in love with your family to think of spending your life without them, and you are fortunate to be part of such a close-knit family. But, seriously, I am sure, you are not here to talk about this happy realization, right?’

Before Aakash could say a word, a barista came with their order and placed it on the table. The delicious aroma of coffee filled the air and both of them simultaneously dug their forks into the doughnut and devoured it hungrily.

After a while, Aakash picked up his mug and took a sip of hot chocolate. Looking at the sea in the distance, he noticed a girl in her early twenties, holding sandals in one hand, trying to climb up on the rocks. She suddenly seemed to slip and the guy accompanying her firmly gripped her hand. Hand in hand, the couple crossed the rocks and stepped onto the pavement. Now that he could see them clearly, Aakash admired the blush and excitement on the girl’s face.

He looked at Vishakha. She was still busy satiating her taste buds. ‘Vishu,’ he said, ‘a lot of things have happened since you went to San Francisco to meet your relatives. In the last twenty-five days, my life has changed completely. Everything has happened so quickly that even I find it hard to believe.’

Aakash rose from his chair and stretched out his arms to shake off the stiffness from his body. Placing both his palms in his pockets, he simply winked and said, ‘I am getting engaged.’

Vishakha immediately let out a shriek of joy and leapt out of her chair to hug Aakash. The sudden wave of excitement did not go unnoticed, and a few onlookers turned to look at the two friends.

KNOTTY AFFAIRS

Part I

Chapter 1

Four years ago

AAKASH RUSHED UP the stairs of Nerul railway station at lightning speed. Taking two steps at a time, he tried to cover the long footbridge in a jiffy. He had to duck down and jerk aside to avoid colliding with the alighting passengers and the crowd milling around him. Finally, surviving the shoves and abuses that came his way, he managed to reach the other end of the bridge, and once he reached there, he quickly made a dash towards the exit. One would not be wrong in assuming that this is the most common sight on any local suburban station on a working day.

Quickly running out of the station, juggling his laptop bag from one shoulder to the other, Aakash headed for the rickshaw stand.

In no time, his rickshaw was crossing the bylanes of Nerul and making its way to DY Patil Dental College, a renowned dental college in Navi Mumbai.

Aakash, an intern in YMT Dental College, was presenting a paper at an inter-collegiate festival being held at DY Patil. He had to be at the venue at nine o’clock sharp, but he was running late. Rattling through the streets of Nerul in an auto, he quickly took out a necktie from his bag, the knot of which had already been prepared by his dad the night before. He then pulled out his laptop and switched it on impatiently.

Much to his annoyance, the auto driver remarked, ‘Saab, jab tak aapka computer chalu hoga tab tak toh college aa jayega!’ To this he dismissively replied, ‘Arre kuchch urgent yaad aa gaya.’

He was to deliver a presentation on the topic ‘Needle Phobia’, related to child dentistry, and had asked his friend Aniket to confirm the actual needle sizes used, since Aniket’s dad ran a dental practice. He had received a text from Aniket mentioning the sizes, when he was getting off the train.

Aakash tried to make the corrections and modifications in his PowerPoint presentation as fast as he could. Completely absorbed in his work, he hadn’t realized that the auto had come to an abrupt halt and that he had reached the venue. He quickly shut his laptop.

Standing near the water cooler, filling his bottle, Aakash noticed the coordinators of the competition near the canteen. He saw Dr Poonawala, a highly reputed oral surgeon based in Nashik, engrossed in an animated conversation with a fellow judge. Dr Poonawala was a visiting faculty in DY Patil College and was attached to Sion Hospital as his maxillofacial surgeon. His expertise in various surgeries and his method of teaching budding dentists was widely acclaimed in the small world of dentistry. Aakash marvelled at his achievements and looked up to him as a professional icon. Most of the dentists aspired to be like him. The very thought that Dr Poonawala would be judging his presentation today made Aakash slightly nervous.

‘Excuse me?’ a sweet voice interrupted his chain of thoughts. ‘May I?’ An attractive girl stood behind him. She was wearing blue denim and a black top, and was holding an empty water bottle in her hand. Aakash quickly stepped aside and let her fill her bottle. While he pretended to drink from his bottle, he stole a glance at the pretty girl. She looked up at him, giving him a warm smile. Aakash almost choked. At an absolute loss for words, he managed to smile back. The girl, tightening the cap of her bottle, eyed Aakash in his tie and formal attire. She asked, ‘Participant in the scientific paper-presentation session?’

Aakash was quick to respond, ‘Yep.’

She immediately gave a thumbs-up sign and wished him all the best.

‘Thanks!’ mumbled Aakash. He stared at the retreating figure and found his spirits lifting up. He smiled and reminded himself, ‘Focus, Aakash. Focus!’

The paper presentation started almost an hour late, after the guest of honour’s speech and the welcome address speech by the judges. While the announcer pelted out instructions for the session, Aakash nervously fretted over his slides for a last-minute revision. So busy was he pouring over them that he did not hear someone call out to him.

A female voice called out to him again, this time a little louder than before.

Somewhat startled, Aakash looked up to find a fair, slim girl wearing spectacles, standing beside him. ‘Hey, I’m really sorry to bother you! I don’t have a laptop and I need to download my PPT so that I can go through it one last time before hitting the dais. Would you mind saving my presentation on your laptop?’ the girl asked, holding out a pen drive.

Aakash did not want to waste much time over this, so he quickly snatched the pen drive from her hand and connected it to his laptop. Quickly saving the presentation as the girl guided him, he said, ‘I won’t be able to give you my laptop since my turn is next. You can have it after I finish my presentation.’ The girl nodded and went back to her seat.

After a while, Aakash tilted his head to look back, meeting the eyes of the girl he had just talked to. She raised her thumb gesturing good luck to Aakash. He smiled in acknowledgement. Drawing in a deep breath, he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. He looked at the stage where a presenter from the Government Dental College, Mumbai, was confidently talking about the recent advances in the field of endodontics. The projector screen flashed various pictorial elaborations, but they all passed by in a blur before Aakash’s eyes. He cracked his knuckles nervously to keep his stage fright at bay. A round of applause indicated that the announcer would call out his name next.

Barring a few initial fumbles, Aakash felt somewhat confident and enjoyed explaining the subject of his seminar to the audience. Yet, he found it difficult to maintain eye contact with the judges or the audience. He was the only one representing his college, so the onus of flagging off his college’s talent was on his shoulders. Though his nervousness was quite evident, he went on for the next ten minutes talking about needle phobia, various behaviour-modification techniques, the delivery system and its techniques. When the lights came on, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Dr Poonawala smiled at him with courtesy, and this made Aakash feel that he had won the competition. A few questions were thrown at him by the judges and panel mediators, which he skilfully answered. Just as he was about to disconnect his pen drive, he saw someone in the audience raise her hand.

The girl with spectacles rose from her chair and popped a question, ‘Hello doctor, you just spoke about the behaviourmodification techniques to avert needle phobia, but it is possible that, in spite of a doctor’s best efforts, a child may not respond to these techniques and it may result in a failure to curb the phobia. In that case, would you recommend tackling the case with conscious sedation or, maybe even, general anaesthesia?’

Aakash was taken aback by this question since he had skipped researching about conscious sedation and general anaesthesia, as it was remotely associated with his topic. He initially chose to dodge the question but, on second thought, decided to play along. He cleared his throat and answered, ‘Well, I am a firm believer of behaviourmodification techniques. If the mentioned techniques are applied properly, I don’t see any reason why they should fail. And in the rare case where they do fail, complex techniques of administering conscious sedation should be thought about; but this should be done with proper case selection and in presence of an expert team of doctors and allied professionals. Also, in these kind of cases, it is essential for the patient’s parents to give the doctor complete authority as well as their consent, so as to avoid any legal complications.’

Aakash felt like patting himself on the back for coming up with this diplomatic reply, but, though the girl nodded in admiration, Aakash knew that the damage was already done. He felt mildly irritated that she had chosen to be oversmart at his expense.

In most cases, these long sessions of presentations end