When I Got Married...!

                                                           Part I

"Will you marry me?", he asked me on 5th August, many many years back on a Saturday afternoon! Since it was a Saturday, I didn't have much work at the office and I was preparing to leave.  He had come to Madras office on an official visit from our Main Rajpura (Patiala) office for a month or so.  Our Manager had already left the office.  He said "One minute, Miss Sandhya, take this notes!" I didn't like it! Grumbling inside, I went and sat in front of his desk with my shorthand notebook and was ready to write down.  "I want to marry you" he said.  I had started writing the shorthand strokes...I think I must have written the whole sentence! Then it struck me! He had proposed! Huh, my legs started shaking and I wanted to get up and run away! Somehow, I did and was home and poured everything to my sister.

He looked stern and angry all the time in the office.  He was very tall with huge side burns (it was the fashion in those days!). I was sort of nervous in front of him, while talking to him or taking notes from him. Until then, I was pampered by our manager and others in the office.  Since I was the Manager's friend's daughter and very young and small/tiny, nobody raised their voice on me! That was my first job too. It was like another home for me! It was a small office.  This was a temporary job.  I was planning to shift to a new job when I get one, as per our Manager's advice! When the office work was over, I was asked by the Manager to go home...even at 3 pm and sometimes he was asking me not to come to office on Saturdays...(Onnum velai illema...leave yeduththukko... means, 'Not much work is there tomorrow, you can take leave!').  You can imagine how I would have felt when he came and always wanted the office to be 'office' with proper working hours!  He had come to our office for some work just for a short period.  After 'that' Saturday, I DIDN'T GO TO OFFICE on Monday and Tuesday because I was nervous and scared.  Called our Manager and said that I was not well.

Funny thing is, he never showed/expressed any affection or anything until then when we were working in the office.  Did I tell you, he had huge eyes! I was never talking to him.  When my work was over, I was reading James Hadley Chase, which was my craze in those days! And magazines too.  I was a free bird always! Whenever people were bored in the office, were asking for some magazine from me, even the Manager!

I returned on Wednesday and came to know that he had left for Rajpura on Saturday itself! Oooof...I was relieved!

After a month or so, our Manager got a mail from him.  Our Manager was his childhood family friend, though they didn't have contact for many years until then...since his handwriting was undecipherable, our Manager asked me to read it out for him. I did! The last line in that letter was 'How is Miss Sandhya?'  I was stunned! The Manager asked me 'Ivan yedukku unnai vijaarikkaraan?' (why is he enquiring about you?).  I just gave a blank look!

Another letter came after a few days.  After the office matter, the line was there 'How is Miss Sandhya?'. In the mails which came later asked the Manager to create a vacancy in the Madras office and get him transferred there! I started losing sleep!
 
This went on for more than 7-8 months.  Our Manager got me a job in a Quazi govt. company.  I gave one month's notice in this office and was training the next girl who was to take my place in the office. 

Then...

                                                                                      ....next part shortly!

P.S.: The II part is here