Madhabi first met Rosa when her father-in-law took her to visit the city office of the Sanyal Group. Rosa was introduced to her as Nobin's PA but Madhabi had heard whispers about her being his mistress. After meeting the elegantly painted and hairsprayed Rosa smelling of Chanel No. 5 that Nobin kept her supplied with, Madhabi recognised the perfume easily because one of Nobin's cousins was very fond of it and never left home without it. She saw the stark contrast between Rosa and herself, her own body only exuded notes of Margo soap and Ponds Talc.

Madhabi perceptively knew the eyes of the office staff had expressions combining respect for her because she was the boss's wife, with sympathy because they knew the boss spent more time with Rosa. Restless with the thought of having become an object of pity Madhabi stopped bothering to use even kajal, confining herself to her customary sindoor. She knew she could never hope to draw Nobin's attention away from a siren such as Rosa, so she did not even try.

Unknown to her Nobin immediately noticed the change in his wife, making him feel guilty for the first time for betraying her. "Don't you have anything to ask me about Rosa?" He asked Madhabi, returning home early one evening. He had decided to come clean before her, uneasy with the knowledge that he had hurt her. "It is not my place to ask you anything. Go freshen up; let me get you a cup of tea!" She had thwarted his attempt to confess by switching the subject. They never discussed the matter again nor did Madhabi return to his office.

When he came back from his next overseas trip he got Madhabi a bottle of the exquisite perfume called Joy, a rival of Chanel No. 5. She was left confused, it was the first time he had ever gifted her something. She received it enthusiastically, hoping to use it the next time she went out with him, but in the same week Rosa accompanied Nobin for the Christmas Eve dance at the club, and their picture appeared in the local daily. Madhabi acted as if nothing had happened but the bottle of Joy stayed unopened in her wardrobe; just as she stayed in her understated cotton taant sarees and devoted herself to bringing up her children and looking after Nobin's aged father.

"A man needs more than physical gratification in life!" Nobin had dropped a gentle hint. Madhabi was unsure about what he had meant. How was she to know that Rosa was at ease wearing bespoke designer evening wear which showed off the right amount of cleavage effectively? Rosa liked drinking and smoking, playing bridge and being Nobin's arm candy for social dos. When he entertained clients she played the perfect hostess, indulging the men in artful conversation while sipping champagne, becoming the envy of wives who wished to be more like her because she could hold a man's attention. In return for what she provided him Nobin rewarded her well.

Nobin and Rosa parted ways and he turned his attention to business. Later, when Madhabi fell critically ill, Nobin returned to a house without her. It did not feel like home with her missing. Renuka's query about whether Rosa would replace Madhabi opened his eyes and he rushed to reclaim the soul of his home, the keeper of his trust and the mother of his two children. That he would be greeted with hostility by Abhro, Madhabi's brother was more than obvious.

Abhro had vociferously berated him for having neglected his sister and even suggested getting her remarried to Moloy, who he claimed was willing to accept Madhabi with or without her children. The mention of a potential suitor for his Madhabi, who was close to 40 then, had disturbed Nobin. He appealed to her father; asking him for a chance to redeem himself and the old man, who was a friend of his own father, had melted and let him take her back. Madhabi recovered and after a few months when her father passed away due to a heart attack, went to her parental home for the last time, telling her irate brother Abhro that her husband's home was her rightful place. The siblings became estranged for life after that incident.

Madhabi noticed the transformation Nobin was undergoing slowly. There was a time when he had European manners and taste. She always felt inferior before his polished demeanour, and took care to conceal her small town ways from him. To her surprise he never snubbed her and was ever the gentleman, even if their interaction was limited. Now he was opening up to her and seemed less Ingreji, even asking her to massage his hair with Cantharidine hair oil, which she alternated with Jabakusum (hibiscus oil) for her own tresses.

Nobin was blessed with thick lustrous black hair that offset his good looks well. He wore it naturally but on occasions he would dab a little Brylcreem on it. The first time he asked her to oil his hair she had wondered if he was mocking her or had been smoking hashish with his club friends. However he hardly went to the club these days, preferring to come home earlier in time for tea and she would take the effort to prepare his favourite snacks, making high tea a memorable mealtime for the family as well as for the grandchildren who were to come into their lives later.

'"Aloo-begun diye shutki loita maach?" Madhabi could not believe Nobin was asking her to cook the awfully smelly dried Bombay duck with brinjals and potatoes. She relished the dish and her father-in-law had acquired a taste for it because of her but she would carefully disperse the obnoxious smell by burning incense sticks and placing fragrant flowers around before Nobin got home from work. "I would like to taste the dish, but I don't want to be in the kitchen when you prepare it!" He said winking at her as she smiled sheepishly. The writing was on the wall; he had begun to care about her and was eager to be a part of her world.

"Aalota nibhiye dao!" Madhabi shyly asked him to switch off the lights, sensing his mood from his overtures. "Why should I switch off the lights? I have seen you undressed many times before. Aami tomar shami, why are you so coy?" Nobin reminded her that he, her husband, was the only one with whom she had shared intimacy. "When we got married I was afraid of your touch even if I loved you. I was brought up to believe that my body was a sacred temple! Nobody bothered to mention what a wife should expect on her wedding night. Only on the night of our phool-sajja did the mashi-pishi hint at what would happen. Use a rag if you bleed more, they said. I was petrified!" She explained.

"When my limbs were smooth and supple you were too busy. Now my hair has turned grey, I have wrinkles and stretch marks, my youth has faded. How do I exhibit myself before you? You may be repulsed!" She sounded like a child expressing her insecurity and he hugged her. "I love your grey hair because it says you faced life's difficulties alone, these wrinkle because you spent your youth looking after our home and my ailing father tirelessly, and these stretch marks because they represent your struggle against our demanding and at times annoying children! I had a life only because you chose to die everyday. How can I not love everything about you?" He whispered to her.

After Nobin and Madhabi got married they remained apart for nearly two decades and then by a quirk of fate became companions and then soulmates. She became his reason for living. He delegated more and more work to trusted subordinates so he could devote more time to her. She had earned his attention and free time. As Robin and Renuka grew up he got them actively involved in the business while he played more of an advisory and signatory role.

The European holiday became their first trip abroad together, and everywhere they went he made sure there were lactose-free meals available for her. Table margarine took the place of butter, fruit sorbets replaced ice cream, and non-dairy whitener got added to her coffee. He ordered fish and chicken for her because she would not eat beef and pork. Because she found swiss fondue fascinating though she could not eat it, he bought her a fondue set so she could use it at home. She was so excited seeing powder snow for the first time that she invited him for a snow fight, turning into a kid right before his eyes. Many such holidays followed and they grew closer with each one.

Years later looking after their grandchildren and having them over for summer became her happiest activity. Randhir was her first and favourite grandchild and she would massage him with her trusted AD vitamin oil. For his Annaprashan or first rice she personally cooked the feast and looked on proudly as Nobin put spoonfuls of payesh in his mouth. The births of Sharad, Arohi and Vidushi followed and the house came alive each vacation with the noise and the antics of the little shoitans (devils). If Madhabi called out to draw Nobin's attention the children would shout out "Ei shunchho! Ogo shunchho!" imitating her, much to the amusement of their grandfather.

The children would tell her what snacks they wanted for tea and she would either make them herself or call Nobin to get piping hot singaras (samosas) or fish and egg chops on his way back from work. Her delicate body had boundless energy, she cooked toothsome meals and feed the kids morsels of aloo or kumro bhatte (mashed potatoes or pumpkin) with rice and fried fish. If they made a fuss over fish she would say "It is good for your eyes". At nap time if they refused to sleep she would warn them to fall asleep taratari (quickly) or else the evil spirit Juju would get them, though none of the children were scared of either Juju or Petni or any other type of ghost.

One day after she returned from the kitchen she saw Randhir and Sharad painting their sisters' hands, feet and hair parting with laal oshud (mercurochrome) as if it were aalta or sindoor. She was horrified and the tincture was banned from the house thereafter. Vidushi told her she wanted to have sindoor in her hair just like Madhabi. "But you cannot wear it before you marry!" Madhabi told the children while trying to wash the red stains off their skin. "Why does Mom not wear sindoor even if she is married?" Vidushi asked her, full of innocence.

"Because it reminds her of me!" Madhabi replied cryptically. Nobin admonished Madhabi for saying that, trying to explain to the children that wearing a symbol of marriage was a matter of personal choice, some women chose to, while the others did not. The children soon forgot the issue. Thereafter if anyone got bruised, Madhabi would run behind them with a tube of Boroline antiseptic cream saying "thik hoye jabe" (It will heal and you will be fine).

"They must have named me Madhabi for a reason; it was Krishna's favourite flowering vine. You will always be my Krishna, so how can I hold it against you for attracting other women? The Lord had so many divine companions; did his eight wives resent their presence?" She would say to Nobin. Scandalised, he would remind her that no matter how docile her nature, and how blind her faith, adultery was an offence in the eyes of the law and he was fully culpable. "But you never took a vow of fidelity when we were married, only I did!" She informed him.

"Are you deluded my dear wife, how can you say that?" He asked, completely surprised. "If you translate the Hindu marriage vows from Sanskrit, you will realise that chastity is only demanded of the wife, as much as her service to the home and family, while the husband makes a vow to be her provider and nurturer. That is how our ancestors were permitted to have several wives!" She explained. Finally they had begun arguing like a typical married couple.

"But the law forbids polygamy for Hindus and considers adultery an offence. Stop acting regressive! And do not equate me to Godhead! Not that I have anything against religion, but faith and the society which abides by it must be proactive about change for the larger good!" He tried to make her understand. "You mean I should have demanded a divorce and alimony from you? Hindu marriage is for life. One can annul a marriage on certain grounds but a marital bond is not so fickle that a husband may offer his wife release in the form of a divorce!" She was unrelenting.

"And why did you not divorce me and marry Rosa or someone like her? Because you took your vows seriously. If I were as modern as Rosa you would not have gone back to her. You had an image of a wife in your head, and I did not fit the bill. Still, I would never leave you because when you came back for me when I was ill I knew that you needed me as much as I needed you!" As she spoke it became clear to him that he was lucky to have a pure soul like her for his wife. She became his anchor and he became her shield, and their life went on as they shared their joys and sorrows.

"Why don't you let me go out alone?" She would ask. "Because I am paranoid about losing you!" He never let her venture out on her own; he knew she had always been sheltered. "Promise me you will take another companion if I go before you. For a powerful man you can be such a baby, you need looking after constantly!" She said to him affectionately. "And have someone else nag me instead of you?" He grinned at her. "When did I nag you?" She said as she ruffled his hair. "Not with words but with your eyes, your silence- when you forgave me for my crimes!" He hinted at the remorse he felt for having made her put up with his unfaithfulness. 

"Come kids, you don't want to be late for your flight. Change and come down for dinner, Shaila will be waiting!" Nobin left them alone and went downstairs. "What a complex life they have had, I wonder if we can show the same degree of conviction in our marriage! Didima must be happy Dadu has someone to share his loneliness with now!" Sanyukta remarked. "Does that mean if I have an affair you will forgive me like she forgave Dadu?" Randhir joked. "I am not Madhabi Sanyal, remember that, and I am professionally trained to use sharp knives! Let's go down for dinner." She grinned as she followed him downstairs. After a light dinner of roti-subzi they were off to the airport, accompanied by family.