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Mili - Part I
Mili was late. It was already past her permissible time limit of 10 p.m. A restless Mr. Mehra was pacing about. This was one of the rare occasions that Mili had missed her deadline. She was very scared of her father. The last time she came in 15 minutes late from a friend's birthday party, her father had stopped her outings for 2 weeks! The earful she got was a different story altogether. To say that Mr. Mehra was a strict man would be an understatement. He was in his early fifties and had a middle-class upbringing in his native Chandigarh, where he had imbibed his values from his father, a freedom fighter and an upright man. Mr Mehra was a senior railway officer and had settled in Mumbai. A man of integrity, nothing would make him go against his principles - and Mili knew this well.
Today, Mili had gone for her college annual bash, something she had not been allowed to do in the past 4 years. This being her final year, her dad had reluctantly allowed, but on the condition that she would be back by 10. Mili knew better than to break the deadline.
The doorbell rang at 10.30 pm. Mili knew what she was in for, and was not disappointed. Mr. Mehra shouted at her for nearly 20 minutes. She just stood there and soaked it all in. There was nothing much Mr. Mehra could do this time. Her exams were approaching and she wouldn't go out of her house anyway. But Mr. Mehra wasn't one to give up easily. He took away her mobile phone and decided to keep it with himself till her exams were over. Mili wasn't prepared for this. A fear took over her mind. She ran into her room and lay on her bed, tense and racked with anxiety.
Mili was an only child. Her mom died while giving birth. Her upbringing was punctuated with rules framed by her dad. All decisions - be it making friends, deciding on a career, and even selecting her attire - were influenced by her father. All her efforts to get answers to her "Whys?" had been snubbed by her father by just one line: "This is in your best interest. I know what I am doing". His tone had finality in it. There was nothing more Mili could ever get from him. Sometimes she wondered how different it would be if mom had been alive.
Today, however, Mili was worried. What if her dad reads her messages? He would find out about Sujal, her boyfriend since 3 years. She loved him more than anyone else. He reciprocated her feelings with equal, in fact, greater intensity. Whenever they were out, they were inseparable. He treated her like a princess and she loved all the affection. But Mili knew that she would be breaking one of the foremost rules set by her father: No male friends! It would be disastrous if her father found out. Maybe her education would end, and maybe her father would get her married! The thought itself was enough to keep Mili awake the whole night.
The next morning as she lay on her bed Mr. Mehra entered the room. His grim face gave a hint of what Mili was imagining would happen. Without beating around the bush, he told her, "Your exams are in a month. I don't want you fooling around. After your exams get over, I want to have a chat with you. Till then, if I see you paying attention to anything else besides your studies, you will be in big trouble. You wouldn't want to experience that." Mili said, "Dad, but..." "This is in your best interest. I know what I am doing," Mr. Mehra cut her short.
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