Pankajam switched off the gas, and leant over to smell the tomato rasam she had just made. Satisfied, she covered the vessel with a plate. Rice, rasam and cabbage curry were ready for dinner.
A glance at the clock showed her that it was 7 PM. An hour to go before Murthy came home.
She pulled out Love In The Time Of Cholera from under her pillow, and settled down to read from where she had left off the day before.
Books bought with money ferreted away from the housekeeping allowance was her one secret indulgence. Murthy should never know.
Nice writing and sad also! Why does she have to do this, would he grudge her a book?
@Chattywren
Maybe he grudges her reading habit? Maybe because he doesn’t read himself? Maybe because he doesn’t like the fact that she has opinions on everything from Marquez to Tagore? Maybe because reading is not considered a fit hobby for a middle-class woman? Maybe it is not a fit hobby for any woman?
Yes, that is sad and unfair! She has all the right to these secret indulgences.
@Chattywren
She does, indeed. Sadly, not everyone thinks that way.
TGND,
Reading is a habit which is considered fit for a woman. You won’t believe the kind of weird stares I get when I have a thick novel in my hand.
@Amit
It depends on the people involved, I guess. I have often heard people telling women not to be lazy and read, but instead get busy with preparing the lunch/dinner or cleaning the house or whatever.
I guess I have always met the wrong kind of people who keep wondering why I don’t go and play cricket or something instead of wasting my time reading. I have been hearing this since childhood.
@Amit
Same here.
In my case, it was cooking and housekeeping.
Ting Tong..the evil me will want the hubby to surprise her and arrive early that day..
the romantic me will want him to say Wow you are reading I am so impressed..chalo lets go to crossword and get some books for you…why havent you told me this earlier…I would have loved to gift you books instead of giving you jewellery you hardly wear
The practical me is waiting to eat that rasam, rice and cabbage curry gah!
@R’s Mom
LOL. You are too cute, RM!
Is it like that cute movie – where the dil had to pretend to be illiterate because her fil thought that only gaon ki ladkis were fit to be good wives?
Ok quite a regressive thought really but the movie was super nice!
@Aparna
What movie is that? Would love to watch it.
Yes, sort of that only.
Kisi se na kehna – utpal dutt, deepti naval, farooq shaikh. Dirction Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
@Aparna
Never heard of it. Got to watch it now. I love the Deepti Naval-Farooq Shaikh combination.
Thanks!
oh, I remember that movie!!!
even I loved the deepti naval-farooq sheikh combi..and movies by Hrishikesh Mukherji/ basu chatterji..simple stories woven around realistic people 
Saving away like a squirrel with the meager household allowance to buy stuff for oneself was/is not an unusual practice with our grandmothers and mothers. But I’m glad to see the protagonist saving money to read, even if it is at the cost of keeping it as a secret from the husband. She’ll probably be much richer in terms of knowledge and wisdom.
Good going at the marathon, TGND!
@Uma
True, that. Ferreting out money from household allowances is not a new thing for our Indian housewives.
I am not part of the blogging marathon. I am just trying to write consistently, trying my hand out at different kinds of writing.
Maybe her indulgence when she is alone, is books and when the two are together she prefers to give him company, only because he would like so?
Slice of life! Good read TGND
@Visha
Ah, in that case, it wouldn’t have to be a secret indulgence, no?
The names, Pankajam and Murthy seem to go well along with Rasam. Nice choice, I say.
Probably Murthy knows and that is why he gives her the extra allowance
@Nachu
Thank you!
Yes, that could be.
Nice take on a story inspired from daily life. Maybe Murthy doesn’t like her spending on a hobby but I liked the way she has found a way to keep her hobby alive
@My Era
Thank you!
http://eventsbengaluru.com/2013/01/17/poetrycontest-by-weekendnuts/
@Vethal
Thanks for sharing. Sounds interesting.
TNGD.. I loved the name Pankajam
Loved her character too. Buts its sad she has to hide her hobby away from her husband. I would like her to open it up to Murthy and see how it goes 
Or otherwise.. it could that.. Murthy gets her new books.. but with her passion towards reading, she spends a little more from her allowance too to get new books.. which he shouldnt know 
I remember my aunt show us newly boought silk sarees from her household allowance – without telling my uncle.. looks like it 
@Greenboochi
Thank you!
Yes, secreting away money from the housekeeping allowance has been a practice among Indian women since ages.
I loved this post, TGND.
I think Pankajam is more educated than Murthy and this probably gives him an inferiority complex. So Pankajam, like the good Indian wife, never “shows off” and indulges in her love for reading when Murthy is not there. Or maybe as Murthy didn’t like the fact that Pankajam had studied in the English medium, while he had studied in the vernacular…
Ooh the possibilities are endless, aren’t they?
@Sudhagee
Thank you!
Love your interpretation!
Few lines written and a thousand possible interpretations ! Loved the way you’ve put it TGND !
@SJ Scribbles
Thank you!