It wasn't surprising to me to that our friendship had grown beyond societal norms. We were four childhood friends, who grew up together and managed to keep in touch with each other, even after our paths separated. Life in a small town, perhaps, has these advantages. Our elite 4-people group expanded to include our wives, as one by one each of my friends got married. With in a matter of couple of years all my friends had gotten married and we had three more adorable people in our group. At 27, I was still after my first love and wouldn't even consider taking the arranged marriage route, as my friends took.
As luck would have it, my friends moved to the United States in pursuit of a bright future and liberal lifestyle. I was still stuck in India, hoping that Mansi would eventually accept my proposal. I already had couple of job offers from US companies but didn't take them up since I believed that it was only a matter of time before Mansi accepted my proposal. My friends on the other hand wouldn't understand what was keeping me back. They never gave me a chance with this dove-eyed beauty. So, naturally they were shocked to hear the news of my marriage with Mansi.
Of all the people, Rahul was very unhappy that I never shared this secret with him. He helped me communicate my feelings to Mansi back in college when I lacked self belief. I met Mansi during the final year of my undergraduate studies. She was 6 years junior to us and had just joined the 11th grade class in our junior college. No sooner did she join, word about her beauty started circulating among boys in our college. I still remember - a bunch of folks from our group had made a beeline outside her classroom, just to get a glimpse of her beauty. Although, she was just in her 11th grade, she could put to shame any of the grown up girls with the kind of body she possessed. Being a Kokanastha (Maharashtrian Brahmins from coastal part) Brahmin it was not surprising that she was gifted with a flawless, fair complexion. She was around 5'4", slightly above average height by Indian standards. Her eyes and her lips were her striking features. She had awesome figure - she was neither skinny nor fat but just perfect. It wasn't surprising that there were lots of guys eyeing her and even proposed to her on rose day. Getting introduced to her was very easy for me. I was the college topper all the years and was expected to score very highly in the final year exams as well. However, carrying a meaningful conversation with her was always difficult for me as I would get distracted time and again by her stunning beauty. In no time she knew that I had a crush on her and so did my friends learn about that.
I still didn't have courage to even ask her out, forget about sharing my feelings with her. Fortunately, my friends came to rescue me there. Realizing that I wouldn't be able to muster courage to confront her with my feelings for her, they sent her twenty-five red roses to her on rose day, on my behalf. I was stunned when I came to know about this. I did meet Mansi several times after that but we never discussed about this. Later I came to know that she thought that I had sent her the roses and that it was just to communicate her about my feelings for her. While she liked my company, she was more interested in her studies at that point in time and hence she never entertained that idea beyond that point. I, however, managed to make good friends with her even after I moved out of college and we regularly kept in touch. My friends were still unaware of this, though. Rahul was with me in the college and was one of the persons who had engineered the rose day proposal. Given this background, he was understandably very pissed with the news. He, at least, expected me to share this secret with him.
I had to pacify him on the phone for a while before he forgave me for holding onto my little secret but only on the condition that I share with him the gory details of our honeymoon. This was something that I should have expected from him. Rahul & Arun were downright obnoxious at times and recklessly sharing the gory details of their sex life with us. Rahul and Arun both regarded Mansi to be very beautiful and would have pursued her if she had been an easy catch. However, they never left an opportunity of talking dirty about any of the attractive females in our group. In particular, both of them enjoyed sharing their fantasies of boning Mansi, if only they got a chance. Although, they knew I had a crush on her they never really thought I was very serious about her. I was a bit concerned with all the guy talk we had back then when we quite didn't know how things would pan out in the future.
I am digressing here, though. The reason I kept the little secret from everyone was perhaps only to protect my male ego. None of my friends ever thought that I could even woo Mansi, forget about getting married to her. She was a Brahmin by caste, and a very beautiful girl at that. On the other hand, I was a South Indian, not a Brahmin and was considerably dark skinned than her. I came to know from a close friend of her that her family was against the idea of Mansi getting married outside her caste. They definitely didn't want her to get married to a dark skinned guy like me. That's the reason, I was not too optimistic but I didn't stop persisting though. It was only after one of her elder cousins eloped with a Muslim guy next door that they were forced to seriously think about Mansi's future. It seemed Mansi was very keen on getting married to me but her parents were adamant about not having a South Indian Shudra for their son-in-law. Mansi was in her final year and she had already gotten admission into an US university for her further studies. I too had received my H1B but was deliberately delaying traveling to the US. It didn't take much time after her cousin fled for Mansi's parents to realize that I was perhaps a much better choice than either a Muslim or a Firang for that matter. The fact that Mansi was just 20 didn't matter and on an auspicious day in the month of February 1997 we got married.
So, finally I got married to the woman of my dreams, or rather a girl of my dreams. We didn't have a very long honeymoon, just a week at the nearest hill station, Matheran. And no I didn't bother sharing the gory details with Rahul or Arun. In fact, I pretty much avoided contact with them the next couple of months until I finally relocated to the US.
I found a consulting job in one of the high-tech companies in the Silicon Valley and Mansi joined me a few months later, just before her school started. Mansi was exceptionally ambitious and it surprised most people to see her get married at such a young age. While, most of our batch mates were enjoying our summer vacations by doing nothing, she was working with her Dad, helping him in his business and understanding the intricacies of Architecture. I had no doubt in my mind that we wouldn't step into the family way before she is into her thirties. It was her hard work and practical knowledge she gained while working with her Dad that enabled her to secure admission into this prestigious school.
Very soon, she was an integral part of our group. Now, our entire elite group was in the US within a 600 mile radius with us being almost at the center. Rahul and Rohini were located in the north near Davis. Arun and Nisha were located in Fresno, most unlikely area for a software engineer. Vinit and Dolly were located in Los Angeles area. It was very difficult for all of us to meet on a weekly basis, but we made it a point to meet on a monthly basis, at least. And most of the time the meeting was at our place. With frequent meetings, Rahul and Arun got more of an opportunity to flirt with Mansi. Mansi, though, very adroitly handled their lecherous glances and advances. Having exposed to dealing with people in construction business, she knew how to conduct herself among men. I had no doubt that Rahul and Arun envied me for having such a beautiful wife.
Everything went as it should between friends until the Memorial Day weekend of 1999. Mansi had just finished her exams and her final project presentation. We had decided to relax at home instead of using the long weekend for sight seeing. All our friends decided to spend the weekend at our place as well. We were outside on the patio having a few drinks and our discussion turned to sex. Rahul was the first one to broach up the topic.
"I have been having sex almost twice a day ever since I got married!" we heard Rahul claim very proudly.
"Really?" I asked eagerly.
"Well it has slowed down these days. Especially the last two years things have mellowed down significantly."
"I guess, that's normal after being married for six years," he added to justify.
Arun chimed in, "I totally agree!"
"Four years of marriage has had a similar effect on me as well."
Vinit corroborated Rahul and Arun by saying, "Sex is not everything!"
"Sooner or later there are other aspects of marriage that become more important or pertinent."
And then it was my turn to give my 2 cents.
"Well, I too did it twice in the first six months or so but recently it has been mostly once a day."
Mansi's studies had significantly curtailed our bedroom encounters, since her course load was very demanding and she was very adamant of finishing it in two years.
"Moreover my consulting job makes it very difficult since I have to travel on a regular basis," I added justifying our low frequency given our fairly new marriage.
"I don't agree with you Vinit," Rahul countered Vinit.
"Other things start becoming more only important after you have kids."
"And none of us have kids yet," he clarified.
"So what are you saying?" asked Arun.
Rahul looked at our blank expressions and said, "Have you heard the phrase 'Familiarity breeds contempt'"
"Or the phrase 'Variety is the spice of life''" he asked.
As luck would have it, my friends moved to the United States in pursuit of a bright future and liberal lifestyle. I was still stuck in India, hoping that Mansi would eventually accept my proposal. I already had couple of job offers from US companies but didn't take them up since I believed that it was only a matter of time before Mansi accepted my proposal. My friends on the other hand wouldn't understand what was keeping me back. They never gave me a chance with this dove-eyed beauty. So, naturally they were shocked to hear the news of my marriage with Mansi.
Of all the people, Rahul was very unhappy that I never shared this secret with him. He helped me communicate my feelings to Mansi back in college when I lacked self belief. I met Mansi during the final year of my undergraduate studies. She was 6 years junior to us and had just joined the 11th grade class in our junior college. No sooner did she join, word about her beauty started circulating among boys in our college. I still remember - a bunch of folks from our group had made a beeline outside her classroom, just to get a glimpse of her beauty. Although, she was just in her 11th grade, she could put to shame any of the grown up girls with the kind of body she possessed. Being a Kokanastha (Maharashtrian Brahmins from coastal part) Brahmin it was not surprising that she was gifted with a flawless, fair complexion. She was around 5'4", slightly above average height by Indian standards. Her eyes and her lips were her striking features. She had awesome figure - she was neither skinny nor fat but just perfect. It wasn't surprising that there were lots of guys eyeing her and even proposed to her on rose day. Getting introduced to her was very easy for me. I was the college topper all the years and was expected to score very highly in the final year exams as well. However, carrying a meaningful conversation with her was always difficult for me as I would get distracted time and again by her stunning beauty. In no time she knew that I had a crush on her and so did my friends learn about that.
I still didn't have courage to even ask her out, forget about sharing my feelings with her. Fortunately, my friends came to rescue me there. Realizing that I wouldn't be able to muster courage to confront her with my feelings for her, they sent her twenty-five red roses to her on rose day, on my behalf. I was stunned when I came to know about this. I did meet Mansi several times after that but we never discussed about this. Later I came to know that she thought that I had sent her the roses and that it was just to communicate her about my feelings for her. While she liked my company, she was more interested in her studies at that point in time and hence she never entertained that idea beyond that point. I, however, managed to make good friends with her even after I moved out of college and we regularly kept in touch. My friends were still unaware of this, though. Rahul was with me in the college and was one of the persons who had engineered the rose day proposal. Given this background, he was understandably very pissed with the news. He, at least, expected me to share this secret with him.
I had to pacify him on the phone for a while before he forgave me for holding onto my little secret but only on the condition that I share with him the gory details of our honeymoon. This was something that I should have expected from him. Rahul & Arun were downright obnoxious at times and recklessly sharing the gory details of their sex life with us. Rahul and Arun both regarded Mansi to be very beautiful and would have pursued her if she had been an easy catch. However, they never left an opportunity of talking dirty about any of the attractive females in our group. In particular, both of them enjoyed sharing their fantasies of boning Mansi, if only they got a chance. Although, they knew I had a crush on her they never really thought I was very serious about her. I was a bit concerned with all the guy talk we had back then when we quite didn't know how things would pan out in the future.
I am digressing here, though. The reason I kept the little secret from everyone was perhaps only to protect my male ego. None of my friends ever thought that I could even woo Mansi, forget about getting married to her. She was a Brahmin by caste, and a very beautiful girl at that. On the other hand, I was a South Indian, not a Brahmin and was considerably dark skinned than her. I came to know from a close friend of her that her family was against the idea of Mansi getting married outside her caste. They definitely didn't want her to get married to a dark skinned guy like me. That's the reason, I was not too optimistic but I didn't stop persisting though. It was only after one of her elder cousins eloped with a Muslim guy next door that they were forced to seriously think about Mansi's future. It seemed Mansi was very keen on getting married to me but her parents were adamant about not having a South Indian Shudra for their son-in-law. Mansi was in her final year and she had already gotten admission into an US university for her further studies. I too had received my H1B but was deliberately delaying traveling to the US. It didn't take much time after her cousin fled for Mansi's parents to realize that I was perhaps a much better choice than either a Muslim or a Firang for that matter. The fact that Mansi was just 20 didn't matter and on an auspicious day in the month of February 1997 we got married.
So, finally I got married to the woman of my dreams, or rather a girl of my dreams. We didn't have a very long honeymoon, just a week at the nearest hill station, Matheran. And no I didn't bother sharing the gory details with Rahul or Arun. In fact, I pretty much avoided contact with them the next couple of months until I finally relocated to the US.
I found a consulting job in one of the high-tech companies in the Silicon Valley and Mansi joined me a few months later, just before her school started. Mansi was exceptionally ambitious and it surprised most people to see her get married at such a young age. While, most of our batch mates were enjoying our summer vacations by doing nothing, she was working with her Dad, helping him in his business and understanding the intricacies of Architecture. I had no doubt in my mind that we wouldn't step into the family way before she is into her thirties. It was her hard work and practical knowledge she gained while working with her Dad that enabled her to secure admission into this prestigious school.
Very soon, she was an integral part of our group. Now, our entire elite group was in the US within a 600 mile radius with us being almost at the center. Rahul and Rohini were located in the north near Davis. Arun and Nisha were located in Fresno, most unlikely area for a software engineer. Vinit and Dolly were located in Los Angeles area. It was very difficult for all of us to meet on a weekly basis, but we made it a point to meet on a monthly basis, at least. And most of the time the meeting was at our place. With frequent meetings, Rahul and Arun got more of an opportunity to flirt with Mansi. Mansi, though, very adroitly handled their lecherous glances and advances. Having exposed to dealing with people in construction business, she knew how to conduct herself among men. I had no doubt that Rahul and Arun envied me for having such a beautiful wife.
Everything went as it should between friends until the Memorial Day weekend of 1999. Mansi had just finished her exams and her final project presentation. We had decided to relax at home instead of using the long weekend for sight seeing. All our friends decided to spend the weekend at our place as well. We were outside on the patio having a few drinks and our discussion turned to sex. Rahul was the first one to broach up the topic.
"I have been having sex almost twice a day ever since I got married!" we heard Rahul claim very proudly.
"Really?" I asked eagerly.
"Well it has slowed down these days. Especially the last two years things have mellowed down significantly."
"I guess, that's normal after being married for six years," he added to justify.
Arun chimed in, "I totally agree!"
"Four years of marriage has had a similar effect on me as well."
Vinit corroborated Rahul and Arun by saying, "Sex is not everything!"
"Sooner or later there are other aspects of marriage that become more important or pertinent."
And then it was my turn to give my 2 cents.
"Well, I too did it twice in the first six months or so but recently it has been mostly once a day."
Mansi's studies had significantly curtailed our bedroom encounters, since her course load was very demanding and she was very adamant of finishing it in two years.
"Moreover my consulting job makes it very difficult since I have to travel on a regular basis," I added justifying our low frequency given our fairly new marriage.
"I don't agree with you Vinit," Rahul countered Vinit.
"Other things start becoming more only important after you have kids."
"And none of us have kids yet," he clarified.
"So what are you saying?" asked Arun.
Rahul looked at our blank expressions and said, "Have you heard the phrase 'Familiarity breeds contempt'"
"Or the phrase 'Variety is the spice of life''" he asked.