Author's Notes:
I counsel patience to readers who are keen to quickly get to the juicy, "action packed" parts of my story. While I will eventually get there, my main purpose is to tell what I hope is a good story.
Conversations that took place in Hindi and are recorded as such in italics, immediately followed by a translation in English. Readers familiar with Hindi might find it rewarding to read through the original Hindi conversations. Others can conveniently skip them.
****
Although they were Marathi speaking, Shyam Belekar and his wife Renu lived in a small one bedroom apartment in a predominantly Gujarati speaking area of the suburb of Ghatkopar in Mumbai. They had been married just eight months ago. Shyam, aged around 25, was a tall, dark, well-built, handsome guy. He sported a natty, well trimmed moustache so popular with Indian men. Renu was of medium height, fair, very attractive, with bright eyes, dimpled smile and a full, well endowed figure. Both dressed well and made a strikingly good-looking pair. Shyam worked in a large manufacturing company as a shop floor supervisor. He was ambitious, diligent and hard-working. Renu, aged around 22, was a typical home-maker.
They were very much in love. In fact, Shyam was besotted with Renu. While at work, he could hardly wait for his shift to end so that he could return home to his attractive, sexy wife. As is quite common in India, their marriage had been arranged by parents. They had met only once or twice before marriage, under the watchful eyes of the family. Both Shyam and Renu were virgins at the time of marriage.
Although Shyam's physical endowments were perhaps just a little above average, he was blessed with a vigorous libido that lay dormant until he got married. After marriage, his sexual appetite was almost insatiable. Shyam made love to Renu at least twice a night and sometimes again in the early morning. Apart from this, they also made love in the afternoons on Sundays. Although Shyam would have loved to try out many new things he read about in books, Renu was rather conservative and would discourage Shyam when he tried to do things she considered "wicked" or "bad". Renu didn't like to use any birth control devices herself, and to delay her first pregnancy, they depended only on the use of condoms by Shyam. However, in the first flush of their marriage, these things were no big deal. They were both quite happy with their married life although Renu did sometimes find Shyam's attentions a bit overpowering, particularly when she had PMS. However, being a dutiful Indian wife, she always made herself available to Shyam.
Kantbhai Shah and his wife Savita lived in a one bedroom apartment across the staircase landing from Shyam's. Kantibhai was around 30 and was a businessman. He was short, fair, potbellied and nondescript looking. His business involved frequent traveling and he was apt to be away for 10-15 days at a time. One wondered how he managed to marry the fair, good looking Savita. She was around 26 and was a typical Gujarati housewife. She was rather plump. They had a young baby boy, around 6 months old. She had large, sagging but still very shapely breasts that were barely contained in her blouse. Her baby was nourished exclusively on breast milk, of which she had an abundant supply. The baby was chubby, good tempered and slept almost 18-20 hours a day, waking up at 4 hourly intervals to feed and then promptly going to sleep again, except after his midnight feed, when he was apt to be wide awake and playful, refusing to go to sleep for an hour or two, much to the consternation of his mother. Kantibhai's grandmother also lived with them. She was perhaps 70 and known simply as "Ba". Apart from being somewhat simple-minded, she was also hard of hearing and lately had developed cataracts in both her eyes, which blurred her vision too. She mostly occupied herself with prayers and meditation. The last apartment on that floor belonged to the Patels, an old couple who were away on a long visit to their sons settled in US.
The Bhalekars and Shahs lived on the fourth floor. There was no elevator in the building, so it was quite a climb up the stairs. This automatically discouraged salesmen and sundry visitors. It was a common practice for the residents to leave the door of the main entrance of their apartment open, with only the latticed steel security door closed against the remote possibility of a stranger intruding. This allowed an unrestricted flow of air through the apartments, permitted a clear view of each others' living rooms and also enabled the neighbors to carry on conversations without leaving their homes.
Renu and Savita quickly became good friends. Savita being the older and more experienced was addressed as "Savita Bhabi". ("Bhabi" literally means an elder brother's wife, but is loosely used as a term of respect when addressing an older married woman.) They spent many an afternoon together, learning recipes from each other, playing with the baby and gossiping. They sometimes shared a thing or two about their sex lives, amidst much whispering and giggling. It appeared that Kantbhai & Savita were not only more experienced, but also more adventurous. Renu was many times shocked and scandalized by things Savita told her and Savita in turn enjoyed Renu's discomfort, taking pleasure in egging her on to try some of the new things.
"Mujhe pata hai tum bahut darpok ho. Tum apne pati ko aisa karne ko nahi bologi. Shayad mai khud hi Shyam Bhai ko bolungi."
"I know you are a scaredy cat. You are not going to ask your hubby to try that, are you? I think Perhaps I'll tell Shyam Bhai myself to do it with you!" Savita would challenge Renu. ("Bhai" or "Bhaiya" means brother, but is loosely used as a term of respect while addressing a male acquaintance.)
"Nahi nahi! Aap aisa kuch bhi nahi karengi!"
"No no! Don't you dare!" Renu would squeal, her ears turning red with embarrassment. Savita would burst out laughing. And so they would banter on. Savita felt more than a twinge of envy when she realized how often Shyam made love to Renu. Alas, her own hubby Kantibhai was not so energetic.
Then one day, there was a condom malfunction. Some of Shyam's virile semen seeped into Renu's fertile womb and, to cut a long story short, Renu missed her period. Women in Renu's maternal line were prone to severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy and Renu had also unfortunately inherited that trait. Soon her morning sickness became so severe that she was nauseous throughout the day and was hardly able to keep anything down. No remedy seemed to work. To make matters worse, she developed an aversion to sex. In fact, the mere sight of her husband's underwear hanging out to dry on the clothesline was enough to bring on a severe bout of retching. So finally, Shyam had no alternative but to send Renu off to her father's home in Satara, when she was barely in her third month of pregnancy. That meant that he had to spend almost 8 to 9 months without his wife, assuming that she would return after the baby was say a couple of months old.
Renu set her house in order as best as she could, and bid a tearful goodbye to Savitabhabi, admonishing her to take good care of hubby Shyam. Savita assured Renu that everything would be fine in Mumbai and told her to take care of her own health. Shyam took a couple of days off to drop Renu off at her father's place in Satara, a small town about 400 km south-east of Mumbai.
Shyam returned to Mumbai with a heavy heart, but soon became extremely busy in his work. He was an ambitious young man and decided to put his wife's long absence to good use. The factory he was employed in worked round the clock and the manpower rotated in shifts every two weeks. The third shift from midnight to 7 in the morning was obviously the least liked by the employees. People would try to make all kinds of excuses to avoid the third shift. He knew that the management would be very pleased with anybody who volunteered to work in the third shift. Apart from getting an additional hardship allowance, he would also gain experience of managing workmen on his own without any support from senior staff. So Shyam lost no time in talking to his boss and immediately he was put to work in the third shift for a period of six months.
Shyam's daily routine was a bit different from most other people. After getting off from the factory in the morning, he would return home around 8:30 AM, eating breakfast in a restaurant near the suburban railway station on his way home. After a quick shower, he would go to sleep and wake up around 1 PM. He would go out to eat lunch at a nearby restaurant, return home, spend some time reading the newspaper or watching TV, then go to sleep again, waking up at 6 or 7 PM. After another shower, he would go out, socialize, eat dinner, get ready and start for his factory at around 10:30 PM, to report for duty just a little before midnight. Soon, he got quite used to this rather strange routine.
Savita took Renu's admonishment to heart and would often invite Shyam to have lunch or dinner. After a little initial hesitation, Shyam fell into the habit of eating either lunch or dinner at Savita's place practically every day. After all, it was so much more convenient than eating in a restaurant and besides, Savita was an excellent cook. To compensate Savita for the additional expense she incurred on his account, Shyam regularly bought some useful things for the household or little gifts for Savita or the little baby. Although he didn't really know Savita very well till then, they soon fell into an easy, jovial, companionable friendship. Savita would address him as "Shyam Bhai" and he would in turn call her "Savita Bhabi". While there were no sparks flying between them, Shyam certainly enjoyed the feminine company she provided. Savita too enjoyed his male company, something she missed because of her husband's long absences.
I counsel patience to readers who are keen to quickly get to the juicy, "action packed" parts of my story. While I will eventually get there, my main purpose is to tell what I hope is a good story.
Conversations that took place in Hindi and are recorded as such in italics, immediately followed by a translation in English. Readers familiar with Hindi might find it rewarding to read through the original Hindi conversations. Others can conveniently skip them.
****
Although they were Marathi speaking, Shyam Belekar and his wife Renu lived in a small one bedroom apartment in a predominantly Gujarati speaking area of the suburb of Ghatkopar in Mumbai. They had been married just eight months ago. Shyam, aged around 25, was a tall, dark, well-built, handsome guy. He sported a natty, well trimmed moustache so popular with Indian men. Renu was of medium height, fair, very attractive, with bright eyes, dimpled smile and a full, well endowed figure. Both dressed well and made a strikingly good-looking pair. Shyam worked in a large manufacturing company as a shop floor supervisor. He was ambitious, diligent and hard-working. Renu, aged around 22, was a typical home-maker.
They were very much in love. In fact, Shyam was besotted with Renu. While at work, he could hardly wait for his shift to end so that he could return home to his attractive, sexy wife. As is quite common in India, their marriage had been arranged by parents. They had met only once or twice before marriage, under the watchful eyes of the family. Both Shyam and Renu were virgins at the time of marriage.
Although Shyam's physical endowments were perhaps just a little above average, he was blessed with a vigorous libido that lay dormant until he got married. After marriage, his sexual appetite was almost insatiable. Shyam made love to Renu at least twice a night and sometimes again in the early morning. Apart from this, they also made love in the afternoons on Sundays. Although Shyam would have loved to try out many new things he read about in books, Renu was rather conservative and would discourage Shyam when he tried to do things she considered "wicked" or "bad". Renu didn't like to use any birth control devices herself, and to delay her first pregnancy, they depended only on the use of condoms by Shyam. However, in the first flush of their marriage, these things were no big deal. They were both quite happy with their married life although Renu did sometimes find Shyam's attentions a bit overpowering, particularly when she had PMS. However, being a dutiful Indian wife, she always made herself available to Shyam.
Kantbhai Shah and his wife Savita lived in a one bedroom apartment across the staircase landing from Shyam's. Kantibhai was around 30 and was a businessman. He was short, fair, potbellied and nondescript looking. His business involved frequent traveling and he was apt to be away for 10-15 days at a time. One wondered how he managed to marry the fair, good looking Savita. She was around 26 and was a typical Gujarati housewife. She was rather plump. They had a young baby boy, around 6 months old. She had large, sagging but still very shapely breasts that were barely contained in her blouse. Her baby was nourished exclusively on breast milk, of which she had an abundant supply. The baby was chubby, good tempered and slept almost 18-20 hours a day, waking up at 4 hourly intervals to feed and then promptly going to sleep again, except after his midnight feed, when he was apt to be wide awake and playful, refusing to go to sleep for an hour or two, much to the consternation of his mother. Kantibhai's grandmother also lived with them. She was perhaps 70 and known simply as "Ba". Apart from being somewhat simple-minded, she was also hard of hearing and lately had developed cataracts in both her eyes, which blurred her vision too. She mostly occupied herself with prayers and meditation. The last apartment on that floor belonged to the Patels, an old couple who were away on a long visit to their sons settled in US.
The Bhalekars and Shahs lived on the fourth floor. There was no elevator in the building, so it was quite a climb up the stairs. This automatically discouraged salesmen and sundry visitors. It was a common practice for the residents to leave the door of the main entrance of their apartment open, with only the latticed steel security door closed against the remote possibility of a stranger intruding. This allowed an unrestricted flow of air through the apartments, permitted a clear view of each others' living rooms and also enabled the neighbors to carry on conversations without leaving their homes.
Renu and Savita quickly became good friends. Savita being the older and more experienced was addressed as "Savita Bhabi". ("Bhabi" literally means an elder brother's wife, but is loosely used as a term of respect when addressing an older married woman.) They spent many an afternoon together, learning recipes from each other, playing with the baby and gossiping. They sometimes shared a thing or two about their sex lives, amidst much whispering and giggling. It appeared that Kantbhai & Savita were not only more experienced, but also more adventurous. Renu was many times shocked and scandalized by things Savita told her and Savita in turn enjoyed Renu's discomfort, taking pleasure in egging her on to try some of the new things.
"Mujhe pata hai tum bahut darpok ho. Tum apne pati ko aisa karne ko nahi bologi. Shayad mai khud hi Shyam Bhai ko bolungi."
"I know you are a scaredy cat. You are not going to ask your hubby to try that, are you? I think Perhaps I'll tell Shyam Bhai myself to do it with you!" Savita would challenge Renu. ("Bhai" or "Bhaiya" means brother, but is loosely used as a term of respect while addressing a male acquaintance.)
"Nahi nahi! Aap aisa kuch bhi nahi karengi!"
"No no! Don't you dare!" Renu would squeal, her ears turning red with embarrassment. Savita would burst out laughing. And so they would banter on. Savita felt more than a twinge of envy when she realized how often Shyam made love to Renu. Alas, her own hubby Kantibhai was not so energetic.
Then one day, there was a condom malfunction. Some of Shyam's virile semen seeped into Renu's fertile womb and, to cut a long story short, Renu missed her period. Women in Renu's maternal line were prone to severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy and Renu had also unfortunately inherited that trait. Soon her morning sickness became so severe that she was nauseous throughout the day and was hardly able to keep anything down. No remedy seemed to work. To make matters worse, she developed an aversion to sex. In fact, the mere sight of her husband's underwear hanging out to dry on the clothesline was enough to bring on a severe bout of retching. So finally, Shyam had no alternative but to send Renu off to her father's home in Satara, when she was barely in her third month of pregnancy. That meant that he had to spend almost 8 to 9 months without his wife, assuming that she would return after the baby was say a couple of months old.
Renu set her house in order as best as she could, and bid a tearful goodbye to Savitabhabi, admonishing her to take good care of hubby Shyam. Savita assured Renu that everything would be fine in Mumbai and told her to take care of her own health. Shyam took a couple of days off to drop Renu off at her father's place in Satara, a small town about 400 km south-east of Mumbai.
Shyam returned to Mumbai with a heavy heart, but soon became extremely busy in his work. He was an ambitious young man and decided to put his wife's long absence to good use. The factory he was employed in worked round the clock and the manpower rotated in shifts every two weeks. The third shift from midnight to 7 in the morning was obviously the least liked by the employees. People would try to make all kinds of excuses to avoid the third shift. He knew that the management would be very pleased with anybody who volunteered to work in the third shift. Apart from getting an additional hardship allowance, he would also gain experience of managing workmen on his own without any support from senior staff. So Shyam lost no time in talking to his boss and immediately he was put to work in the third shift for a period of six months.
Shyam's daily routine was a bit different from most other people. After getting off from the factory in the morning, he would return home around 8:30 AM, eating breakfast in a restaurant near the suburban railway station on his way home. After a quick shower, he would go to sleep and wake up around 1 PM. He would go out to eat lunch at a nearby restaurant, return home, spend some time reading the newspaper or watching TV, then go to sleep again, waking up at 6 or 7 PM. After another shower, he would go out, socialize, eat dinner, get ready and start for his factory at around 10:30 PM, to report for duty just a little before midnight. Soon, he got quite used to this rather strange routine.
Savita took Renu's admonishment to heart and would often invite Shyam to have lunch or dinner. After a little initial hesitation, Shyam fell into the habit of eating either lunch or dinner at Savita's place practically every day. After all, it was so much more convenient than eating in a restaurant and besides, Savita was an excellent cook. To compensate Savita for the additional expense she incurred on his account, Shyam regularly bought some useful things for the household or little gifts for Savita or the little baby. Although he didn't really know Savita very well till then, they soon fell into an easy, jovial, companionable friendship. Savita would address him as "Shyam Bhai" and he would in turn call her "Savita Bhabi". While there were no sparks flying between them, Shyam certainly enjoyed the feminine company she provided. Savita too enjoyed his male company, something she missed because of her husband's long absences.