Benign Flame: Saga of Love, BS Murthy [rainbow fish read aloud txt] 📗

ogle Roopa in the hope of winning her, simply because she’s a poor man’s wife. I want to make her rich so that she can keep the lechers all at bay. You don’t know how I love her. How can you, when she herself fails to delve into my heart.”

“Honestly, one can’t hope to be fully understood, even by the spouse,” said Raja Rao enigmatically.

“Maybe, but I adore her and crave for her love,” said Sathyam, as he lost all his inhibitions by then. “To be frank with you, our marriage was stymied from the beginning as she was unenthusiastic about me. Maybe, she could have felt she deserved someone better than me, and how can I blame her for that, as she certainly deserves a superman, if there’s one. If you don’t mind my being boastful, I was a philanderer myself but that is beside the point and coming back to my wife, she’s a fantastic dame. But all said and done, I’m sure no one can ever love her more than I do. Well, the song from the film  Ghazal captures the poignancy of my situation - Naively thought I’ve the right to love, the one you love, hath right on you.”

“But you haven’t completed the stanza - Why not tell whom you love, so that I can fetch him now,” said Raja Rao.

“It’s in the realms of poetic imagination but how it can be a practical proposition, and to be fair to my wife, she is a faithful one,” said Sathyam.  

‘In some hearts like Sandhya’s, love would reach such poetic proportions,’ thought Raja Rao, and at that, he was gripped by an urge to be with her.

‘They may be expecting us; better we get moving,” said Raja Rao, goading Sathyam to rise.

“Tell me frankly, what you make of me?” said Sathyam, as they came out.

‘Honestly, I wish I had your capacity to love,” said Raja Rao, hugging Sathyam.

“I’ll cherish your words all my life,” said Sathyam, as Raja Rao released him.

‘How come Roopa inspires so much love and passion in men and devotion in women as well. Isn’t Tara too fond of her?’ wondered Raja Rao as he headed home.

Buoyed by that sentiment, Sathyam reached home excited, and in all pride, made Roopa privy to Raja Rao’s praises. At that, she reflected upon how her lover’s empathy for her gave rise to his sympathy for her husband without realizing that the glare of her paramour’s goodwill blinded her man’s vision to gaze at her liaison.

 

Chapter 33

Amour on Rein

 

On that vijayadasami, during October, the lane leading to the office of the Integral Architects Pvt. Ltd., in Himayatnagar, was lined up with assorted vehicles of those who came to grace the inaugural function.

While Roopa, in her grey Binny silk sari, was at the entrance welcoming the invitees with her bewitching smile, Raja Rao in brown corduroys and white T-shirt was ensuring that all were seated, as they entered. Handling the refreshments were Aslam, the drafter and Narasaiah, the daftari. As if to capture the moment for the posterity, Sathyam was busy clicking away with his new Canon, but suckling Saroja, Sandhya in her Gadwal sari was bogged down in the anteroom for long.

In that setting, as the muhurtham for the inauguration approached, Raja Rao went up to Sandhya to fetch her for the vighneswara pooja, but seeing her putting the baby to sleep on the divan, he signaled her to hurry-up. Soon, as Sandhya came out, the couple went through the rituals with Roopa in attendance, and after the prasadam was distributed among the gathering, Raja Rao took the floor.

Having thanked those present for gracing the occasion, he wished those haven’t turned up till then would be joining soon. Reading out their resume, he introduced his partners in turn, and said in jest that he was sandwiched between Sandhya, the malikin at the house and Roopa, the boss at the office. That is why, he claimed, Integral Architects could be expected to be equally competent in handling homes as well as offices. In Aslam, he said, he found a competent drafter and that Narasaiah was duty personified. It’s thus; he hoped that their young team would come up to the expectations of their esteemed clientele.

At the auspicious time, Ranga Reddy was accorded the honour to unveil the name-plate, symbolizing the inauguration of the enterprise. When requested, Subba Reddy gladly put the drafting table to use, as a mark of commencement of the operations. Ranga Reddy, in his address, recalled how he was impressed with Raja Rao when they first met, and said it was his confidence in his competence that turned him into a realtor. So, he hoped that his Build Well Ltd. and Integral Architects would combine to contribute to the larger growth of Hyderabad. Subba Reddy, who followed him, said that he was a man of few words, and the two words he has for Raja Rao are - Account Transferred.

At length, leaving the staff and Sathyam behind with the core group, everyone, one by one, had left after refreshments. Thereafter, Roopa assisted Aslam to move the drafting table by the window, even as Narasaiah began to clear the rubbish. However, Sandhya tried to pacify Saroja, who had woken up by then and Sathyam went to Mahaveer Studio with the exposed film rolls.

Shortly, to Roopa’s delight, Tara showed up.

“Lusty congrats,” whispered Tara into Roopa’s ears, handing her a large bouquet. 

 

“I owe it to her,” said Roopa passing it on to Sandhya.

“And I do to him!” Sandhya, holding Saroja, gave it to Raja Rao.

“How handsome,” said Tara.

“Thanks for coming,” said Raja Rao.

“I’m happy that Roopa is in the deserving company,” said Tara.

“Aided by your goodwill that is,” he said as Roopa told him about Tara’s rescue act.

“Is there any vacancy for me?” said Tara smilingly, looking around.

“We’ve to grow manifold to absorb you,” he said smilingly.

“I wish you Godspeed for that,” said Tara, extending her hand to him.

“Thank you,” he said taking it.  

“Let me show you the place,“ said Roopa whisking Tara away.

“Why are you so insecure?” whispered Tara, following Roopa.

“Aren’t you a femme fatale,” said Roopa in jest.

“Not of your grade though,” said Tara, taking Roopa’s hand. “I’m glad your patience has paid off.”

“Thanks to your timely help,” said Roopa reminiscently.

When Tara entered the anteroom, Roopa stood embarrassed at the threshold.

“It’s suitable,” winked Tara, lying on the divan.

“You’re impossible,” smiled Roopa.

“When’s the lunch break?” Tara winked at Roopa.

“Oh, you,” said Roopa in all coyness.

“Where’s the ‘Don’t Disturb’ board?” said Tara, mock-searching underneath the divan.

“It’s on the way,” said Roopa in jest, and put Tara back into circulation.

As Tara got up to leave in time, said Sandhya to her,

“Do drop in whenever you’re free,” said Sandhya.

‘With Roopa’s permission,” said Tara, squeezing Roopa’s hand.

“Not for forcing your way,” said Roopa half in jest.

The next day, during the lunch hour, with Alsam having gone to his nearby home, and Narasaiah out on an errand, as Raja Rao led Roopa into the ante-room, she turned apprehensive, though she looked forward to the opportunity with all her craving.

“It could be risky,” she said.

“Still it’s worth at any cost,” he said, pulling her into his lap.

“Why no bolster?” she said stretching herself on the divan.

“With your chignon, I thought you won’t need any,” he said lying by her side.

“Sandhya too says it suits me fine,” she said, eagerly pushing his head on to her breast.

‘Glad we’ve a place for us,” he said, unbuttoning her blouse.

‘A homely office but what if Sandhya scents our hominess?” she said naughtily.

“That’s what we want,” he said smiling, leading her on the amorous path of their fulfillment.

‘A married woman might enjoy her domineering role over her man but it’s her submissiveness to her paramour that affords her the joy of surrender. So, won’t that make a liaison a singular affair?’ thought Roopa, as they came out of the ante-room at length.

In time, everything fell into a groove at the office and in their homes as well. As Sandhya hired an ayah to assist her in coping up with Saroja, Raja Rao would ride to the office on his Bullet with Sandhya at nine, leaving behind Saroja at home. Roopa, after seeing off Sathyam with the lunch-box, would walk down to the office in time. Aslam and Narasaiah would report for duty on time, for Raja Rao was a stickler for time. While Aslam was always found rooted to his drafting table, Narasaiah, for the most part, was out on errands. 

So to feed Saroja, Sandhya would head home at sharp eleven, and at the stroke of one, she reaches the office with lunch-box for the three of them. Aslam, however, was wont to leave a little early for his namaz, on his way home for lunch. Having savoured the meal with her man and her mate, Sandhya would leave the office by one-thirty, to be at home to suckle Saroja. Raja Rao would schedule his meetings to ensure his lunchtime presence for lovemaking in the office. While it was back to work for the rest of them by two-thirty, Sandhya, after siesta, would come back at three-thirty.

The synchronous harmony of their lifestyle enabled the couple and their lover live in ecstatic fulfillment.

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While the work at the office gripped Roopa, the weight she came to wield there buttressed her self-worth. After all, Raja Rao came to depend on her for she readily picked up the work with her quick grasp. Besides attending to the office accounts, she helped him at structural calculations as well. As though to prove that she shared his passion for construction, she traced the building plans that he had conceived. Indeed, she was heady with life.

It was in the midst of such a time, which Raja Rao called honey time that he had to go to Madras for a week. At that, missing Raja Rao’s passion, Roopa felt as if she were left in the cold, in spite of her physical intimacy with Sathyam, not to speak of her lesbian time with Sandhya. So, it didn’t take long for her to realize how her own fulfillment came to be pinned upon Raja Rao, and by the time he returned, she was mad and eager.

But as luck would have it, the day he returned, Sandhya, to the lovers’ consternation, brought them lunch in tow with Saroja. When Sandhya revealed that the ayah had gone to the matinee with a friend of hers who came from Khammam, they felt let down and in time, with Sandhya around, the dismay of the vexed lovers began to vent itself in varied ways. So it didn’t take long for Sandhya to notice that Raja Rao turned irritable while Roopa remained morose.

“What’s wrong lovey?’ she asked Roopa.

“Why, nothing,” replied Roopa.

Seeing Raja Rao berate Aslam on a trivial issue, Sandhya tried to calm him down.

“What’s troubling you after having bagged such a prestigious contract?” Sandhya said.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said.

‘Is it a mere coincidence that both of them are off color at the same time?’ contemplated Sandhya. ‘Isn’t it clear that something is troubling them both? What it could be? Are they in love and in heat as well? Surely they’re having sex during lunchtime but my untimely presence, on top of a week’s abstinence, is weighing on them. So, they’ve made it to the post sooner than I expected; why not I have a dig at them then?’

“Lovey, have you encashed it?” Sandhya whispered in her mate’s ears.

“What?” said Roopa.

“The blank cheque I gave you,” said Sandhya, teasingly.

“I don’t get you dear,” said Roopa confusedly.

“Wait for his next withdrawal,” said Sandhya smilingly, and went up to Raja Rao, leaving a perplexed Roopa behind.

“I know why you’re out of sorts,” she said leaning on him.

“Don’t be silly,” he said in irritation.

“Sorry for your miss,” said Sandhya.

“What do you mean?” he said getting subdued.

“Out of the right slot one goes out of sorts, right,” said Sandhya mysteriously.

“Oh, my lovely little genius, why don’t you write a thesis on that?” he said managing a