The Old Man & She!

By Avinash Chikte

Can you fall in love at 60?

Ravi Rao, a retired widower, has only one ambition—getting his daughter married.
His otherwise tranquil life turns turbulent when his daughter returns from abroad with her American boyfriend, a most suitable match, and her future mother-in-law Liz, a most unsuitable match.
Liz, a fiery, free-spirited divorcee, enters his home and heart with equal ferocity!
A groom's mother is the most important person in any marriage in India, and no one dare annoy her, but their very first meeting ends in a disaster.
Two distinctly dissimilar elders—with their quirks and quibbles, fads and foibles—thrown together by fate, inevitably clash.
Even when their mutual scorn changes to reluctant respect, Ravi finds himself in bizarrely comic and scandalous situations he has never faced before.
He's happy, but confused and worried. Is he in love? At a wrong age, wrong time, and with a wrong person?

Sigh!

What will win? Taboos or passions? Loneliness... or love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Write Flight Books
• Release date: Apr 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201177041

Avinash Chikte

The Author is also an Aviator, and an Old Man too! His works include an aviation suspense thriller, ‘Man Behind the Missing Machine’, a collection of humorous short stories, ‘Chashme Buddu’, plus lots of articles online and in print.

Book preview

Prologue

Can you fall in love at 60?

Of course not!

As per the established norms, rules and traditions of society and nature, you’re supposed to retire, withdraw from working life, and devote yourself to quiet contemplation, meditation, philosophy, philanthropy and such other higher things.

Love is for youngsters, teenagers, at 16, not 60.

But what if your heart disagrees?

What if, despite the thinning hair, the blurred vision, the feeble hearing, the double chin, the bulging belly and the rising BP, your heart still feels young?

Can you hand over your aching heart—aching both romantically and medically, with its two stents—to someone, without blinking and without thinking?

How would you react if your fantasy turns into reality in a flash?

What if a fiery, free-spirited, 55-year-old lady rushes right into your home and heart?

What do you do?

Oh, what do you do?

Can you fall in love at 60?

Maybe...

1

It was a misty winter morning; mystical and mysterious, too.

Birds chirped in the trees and flowers danced in the gentle breeze.

He stood in the schoolyard in the centre of a square formed by some 400 students, gathered for the assembly before the start of the school day. They all wore the school uniform, khaki shorts and white shirts. Those who could afford them wore shoes; some wore leather or rubber slippers and some, like him, were bare feet.

The School Principal emerged from her office with a stern face and walked with a regal gait to the microphone. She switched it on, and as if on cue, the birds fell silent and the breeze froze. The principal flashed a grim smile, seeming satisfied at the reassurance that her writ ran across realms.

In an instant, her smile turned to a frown as she pointed an accusing finger at him, and yelled, Selfish!

All the students turned towards him and repeated after the principal, Selfish, selfish!

It surprised him to see that he was 6 foot tall and 60-year-old, while all the other students were 6 to 10-year-old children. Most didn’t reach his waist, and he felt he stood out like an awkward old camel among shiny young racehorses.

He groped for his spectacles and wore them to have a clearer look. His jaw dropped when he realised that the principal was his own late wife.

Confused, he stood unmoving as the kids laughed and shouted, calling him ‘selfish’, like the unsmiling principal, who continued with her stern look and a steady frown.

He wanted to hide his face in embarrassment and run away, but the children surrounded him, and he had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. He bent forward, shoulders hunched and head lowered, praying for a way out.

To his immense relief, the noise of their shouting soon got drowned by the ringing of the school bell.

But the bell somehow sounded like the ring of his cell phone, and Professor Ravi Rao woke up with a start, bewildered and disoriented.

He gulped and blinked, trying to remember where he was, still confused by the dream. Then he realised he was sleeping in his SUV in the parking lot of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at Mumbai, and his phone was ringing.

He answered it.

Daddy! His daughter screamed in delight, I’ll be out in 10 minutes.

Seeing him awake, his driver and gardener, Shamu, chatting with other drivers nearby, strolled back to the car and offered him a cup of tea from a flask.

Ravi sipped the hot tea, trying to decipher the meaning behind his dream.

His daughter was 33 years old, and unmarried. She was returning after months in the USA. He had missed her quite a lot, much more than he had thought. He realised he needed her company, especially since his forced retirement after the heart attack.

So, on one hand, he loved her presence at home with him, although, before she left for the US trip, they met and enjoyed their time together only on weekends. But he also felt guilty about not searching for a groom for her. That’s why his guilty conscience was intruding in his dreams, as Janaki, his late wife, reminding him of his paternal duties. This was not the first time his conscience was pricking him, but his wife accusing him of selfishness in public was a first.

That made up his mind.

Must get her married as soon as possible. He decided.

His choice was always young Sagar, not only because he was smart, but because he was local. But she was not interested in him. So the idea of her going away after marriage brought a sort of hollowness to the pit of his stomach.

She had been in the US for only a few months, but he had missed her chatter, her vivacious laughter and her strong opinions.

How would I manage after her marriage? He wondered.

He finished his tea and walked to the Arrivals gate with Shamu.

Within minutes, his beautiful daughter Jui walked out, tall and elegant as always, pushing a trolley in front of her. Ravi waved to her, and she ran into his arms. She was as bubbly and chirpy as she had been as a child, he realised. He had missed her so much!

Shamu took the trolley and walked to the SUV, and they followed, Jui holding her dear daddy’s hand. 

She declined the cup of tea offered by Shamu, reclined her seat, stretched her legs, and went off to sleep. Ravi, always happy to take a nap, reminded Shamu to drive with care, and slept off too.

They reached home in Pune just in time for an early breakfast, which Meera, Shamu’s wife, had kept ready. She had cared for Jui almost like a mother ever since Janaki had passed away, and that showed in her welcome. The two ladies hugged even as Meera wiped her tears.

After breakfast, Ravi sat alone with his daughter at the dining table. He cleared his throat. That was always a sign that he wanted to say something important.

Jui kept her mobile down and looked up at him with her big, round eyes. Yes, Daddy. 

Ravi cleared his throat again. Your mother came in my dream today and—

And asked you to arrange my marriage in a hurry, right? Did she accuse you of being selfish too?

In front of a crowd, using a loudspeaker!

Oh, Daddy! She got up, stood behind his chair, hugged him, and sat down. I have news for you. A surprise!

A surprise? His eyebrows rose up as he wondered what she could have done in America during the Covid restrictions.  

She blushed and smiled. Yes, I’ve found my partner, Bobby, and—

Bobby? Ravi turned white, his elbow slipped from the table and the jug of water tipped, pouring water over the tablecloth and into his lap.

Images of the comely heroine Dimple, called ‘Bobby’ in the famous film of his younger days, flashed through his mind. The professor gasped when he wondered if his daughter had chosen another girl as a partner. Like most armchair liberals, he was willing to allow a lot of freedom to a lot of people as long as they were not in his family or his home. 

After his wife’s untimely demise, he had chosen not to remarry because his own unpleasant experience with his stepmother had forced him to run away from home as soon as he was able. He had worked hard as a single parent, running his business, and being a home-maker too, while making sure his daughter never missed her mother too much. He believed he had raised her well, and although she was headstrong, she had been a good kid.

Bobby? he repeated.

What’s wrong? Jui straightened the horizontal jug of water.

No, no, nothing wrong.

Jui kept eyeing him with raised eyebrows. What happened Daddy? You look pale.

It’s all right. Okay, okay, no problem, anything you say! He cleared his throat. This Bobby, how old is she?

She? Jui frowned, He’s Robert. Bob or Bobby for short.

Oh! The professor picked up the jug and gulped down the remaining drops of water. His blood pressure had risen and dropped so fast that he was dizzy.

He let out a deep sigh.

Daddy, what are you upset about now? I expected you to be thrilled that I’ve found a husband and we plan to marry next month.

He wanted her to stay nearby after marriage, not fly off to a faraway land; but he couldn’t say that.

He always knew she had to get married and go away someday. In fact, her trip to America was a sort of primer for him to live by himself.

But, he thought, she was always going to return, and then he had to find her a groom. An Indian boy from Pune, young Sagar being his first choice.

Her sudden decision, and the fixed date looming so close, shocked him.

Also, her choosing to marry a foreigner and move far away forever was frightening.

I am happy about your decision... Ravi fumbled for words, But... why the hurry?

There are issues... Jui seemed hesitant, Visa issues. And... She brightened and smiled, You have always been telling me, ‘Right things at the right time are right.’ So, no better time than now!  

Ravi smiled too.

I’ll get my laptop and show you his photographs. Jui got up and ran up the stairs.

Ravi slumped into his chair.

For 30 years I have nurtured the empty plot of land next to my house, hoping I’ll find a local lad as a husband for my daughter, who will then build a bungalow right next to mine so that I’ll never be alone.

Now she will fly away forever.

And I’ll be all alone. Yet again.

How we make plans and how God laughs at us!

"Ekla Chalo Re, he reminded himself of his oft-repeated favourite song by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. If no one walks along with you, go ahead and walk alone. Walk alone, walk alone..."

2

Her laptop showed pictures of a blonde young man who looked like a Hollywood hero. Ravi had not come across any foreigners, and the only ones he had seen were in the movies, so he stared wide-eyed at the young man’s photos.

His lovely daughter seemed so happy describing their meeting and the subsequent romance that Ravi’s mind wavered. Yet he decided to give it a try.

Why marry a foreigner? Why not an Indian, a local boy? Sagar loves you so much.

But he’s like a brother to me. I can’t marry him. I’ve told you that already.

He’s still waiting for you.

"Daddy, all these years you’ve been after me to find a suitable match, and now that I have, you’re