Page 34 - Seniorstoday July-2023 Issue

several common friends. However, this subject of Sujaya’s marriage came up and
had left Sujaya deeply disappointed and
disenchanted enough to stay away from
any new relationships. Though Naresh was
keen to hear more from her, she brooked no
questions and avoided answering them for
fear of upsetting him. In any case, she was
doing very well in her professional career
and her spirituality kept her well balanced
to accept the situation and live it out alone.
Naresh could not help but think about his
own two sons who were in no hurry to get
married initially, but eventually agreed
for arranged marriages recently and had
settled abroad. Sujaya had been an invitee
to his sons’ marriages but had abstained
citing busy schedules, which was a sore
point for Naresh, but this never came in the
way of his strong bond with Sujaya.
Years were slowly passing by and Sujaya
soon breached 30. Naresh, given his
fondness for Sujaya, did not give up trying
to convince her to find a good life partner
and get married. Sujaya on her part was
as adamantine as ever, given her fierce
independence of thought and would not
have any of it. Naresh was quite nagging
and persistent, but Sujaya never felt uneasy
about it, knowing Naresh’s deep feeling for
her and his good intentions. Naresh soon
organised a surprise party at his home and
invited Sujaya and six of her close friends.
They were all doing very well in their
chosen professions and their respective
partners were equally successful. It was a
great evening for Sujaya and her friends
hosted as it was by Naresh, a person of
impeccable taste and fondness for the good
things of life. The best of the wines, the
best of cheese and the best of food had been
organised from gourmand chefs and the
guests were relishing the fare over great
chatter and natter. Naresh ensured that the
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built up some peer pressure, hoping that
Sujaya would at least listen to her friends
and be convinced about the happiness of
a life together with a life partner. Truth be
told, Sujaya had been thinking about it for
long, had been feeling lonely of late, but had
always been unsure and insecure. A change
of heart happened in Sujaya, listening to
her friends and the sincerity of Naresh’s
purpose. After the party, Sujaya hugged
Naresh warmly and gave him the go ahead
to find her a suitable match.
Naresh was overjoyed to say the least
and over the next few months of intense
networking, applying to matrimony
sites and scouring the data with utmost
care and diligence, shortlisted 4 names
whom he felt would be ideal for Sujaya.
Sujaya had complete faith in Naresh’s
judgement, as one would have in a doting
father, and agreed to meet them. A round
of get togethers at Naresh’s home and
dating encounters followed and soon
Sujaya felt comfortable with one of them
and expressed herself to Naresh. After a
couple of more independent rein checks
and mutual visits and discussions with the
boy’s family, the marriage date and venue
had been fixed. Sujaya had chosen well;
the boy was from a highly educated and
cultured family, having himself qualified
from Ivy League colleges in US and had
come back to India, sensing the huge
opportunities in a growing economy with
a promising future. He had set up his own