Some four decades ago, jobs in banks and LIC were looked upon as steady and respectable to hold. So a boy of matrimonial age holding such a job could easily find himself a bride, notwithstanding his other drawbacks. My close friend, as yet in her teens, was married to one such gentleman who had already attained the manager’s post at his
banking organization. The drawback was that he was posted at a village, but as he assured the parents of the town-bred girl that he would be transferred to a town, the marriage was finalized and conducted in due course.
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My friend spent time at her parents’ as the husband was yet busy getting the final touches done to the bank premises as well as the official residence. There was no restroom facility and my friend’s husband who was initially lodged at the guest house a kilometre away had to rush there whenever the need arose. As he turned a family man, the official quarters which had three rooms and an open courtyard had been finalized. The landlord’s family stayed next door but one of their rooms, with a window, jutted into the courtyard of the manager’s quarters like the appendix. That did not bother the manager at all. His main concern was to get a restroom built as fast and as near as possible to the residence. Finally it was built with much fanfare as an adjunct to the bank premises instead of the residence. My friend’s husband was not perturbed as he was thrilled that his family did not have to traverse the long distance to the guesthouse each time.
The young bride arrived one fine day with her mother. The initial excitement of meeting her husband ebbed soon after she saw the
residence, which were three adjacent rooms with a common verandah facing the courtyard a few steps down. She felt watchful eyes upon her as she moved from one room to another and realized that the spy window was never unoccupied. She had become a star attraction at the village with her town bred mannerisms. Soon she shrugged it off and went about her daily activities nonchalantly, given her teenage spirits. But visiting the restroom needed all her determination as the bank customers were
curious onlookers as she climbed the steps to access it.
One fine morning, she was terrified to see a black scorpion on her sleeping mother’s blanket and she gestured to her husband to rush in. He cautioned her mother not to move and with a sleek move he threw the scorpion a few feet away with a plate and later ensured its end with a shoe. The next day my friend reluctantly bid farewell to her mother
fearing for her safety. During the next three months, my friend had her share of trysts with snakes, a few black scorpions, a couple of foxes and a mongoose to boot. When the schedule for her Bachelor’s degree examination was announced, she danced with joy and her husband had no option but to leave her at her hometown. As the exams got over the Manager got the sweet news of his transfer to a town. My friend heaved a sigh of relief as she mentally bid adieu to the fauna that had terrified her.
