WRITERS AND THEIR WORKS

Reflections in the Mirror

Ganga has grown up to be a young woman of marriageable age. She has so far received marriage proposals from several well-to-do families. Her parents have however postponed a final decision on the matter, perhaps waiting for a match that met their complete satisfaction. It was of course improper for Ganga to show preferences openly, but she hoped very much that a proposal currently under negotiation with a rich family would be concluded soon. She had heard her parents talk about the father Charan Man as a wealthy gentleman of high esteem. A few days earlier her sisters had pointed out to her the prospective groom, Charan Man's only son. She found him a handsome young man who immediately appealed to her. She felt sure that if this marriage took place she would not in any way be inferior in status to any of her married relatives. Her parents too seemed to be agreeable to the proposal, and Ganga naturally felt jubilant and hopeful.

But some lingering doubts continued to darken her mind. She was aware that Charan Man and his family might not choose her immediately. She had heard of other proposals made elsewhere and several horoscope papers consulted to determine a good match. It was not impossible that they might find someone more beautiful and better educated than her. She felt certain that her beauty was comparable to anyone else, but her educational background, she felt, could let her down. She could of course read and write fluently in her native language but lacked knowledge of English and a proper school qualification. The turmoil in her mind gave her no peace despite the matchmaker's assurance to her parents that she was among the two awaiting a final selection. The other contender, she learnt, was Niranjan's granddaughter Bimala. Suppose they decide on Bimala! The thought tormented her.

She of course knew Bimala quite well and seen her several times. Just a few days ago Ganga had seen her walk past her window on her way to a feast. She was exquisitely dressed and indeed looked very beautiful-perhaps more attractive than her in appearance and personality. At this her pride was suddenly aroused. She kept asserting in her mind that she could match Bimala's beauty on every count. Why should she resign herself to the impression that Bimala was more beautiful? On an impulse, Ganga looked at herself in the mirror of her dressing She compared her face and her body with the mental image of Bimala. Her remembrance of Bimala's made-up face and richly dressed body seemed to dominate her mind and dim her own reflection in the mirror. But then, there was consolation yet. If she groomed herself in beauty-care and put on fine clothes like Bimala, there was no telling who would win the beauty contest.

On the spur of the moment she decided to launch a competition and out-do Bimala in every way. She remembered the beautiful rose-coloured sari and other items of expensive clothing her father had brought for her from India. Why not try them on and see how she would look? With a sense of urgency rising within her, she washed her face with rice powder, put on cosmetics carefully and did her hair in a style she liked best. Fearing that she might be detected in her mad desire to beautify herself, she locked the bedroom door and started to pull to her new clothes one by one from the suitcase. She then dressed herself with meticulous care: the sari, the blouse and the shawl matched to perfection. When she was satisfied that she has achieved the most elegant look possible, she looked at herself in the mirror once again and compared the lovely reflection in front of her with that of Bimala. Her critical sense now assured her that she was not in any way inferior to her rival. Her alluring eyes in particular were the highlights of her beauty-the kind which even Bimala does not possess. She practised various eye movements in front of the mirror for the most attractive effect. To satisfy her ego further, she pulled out a film magazine and started to compare herself with the portraits of various film actresses. Her confidence was now unshakable; no one, she felt certain, could deny her exceptional beauty.

Ganga's imagination at this point took hold of her completely. She surveyed herself in the mirror from different angles, assuming various poses in the manner of a fashion model. She was sure that her husband-to-be must have seen her several times before she even knew him. Why would he have sent a marriage proposal if he had not been attracted by her beauty? That he liked her and even loved her was no longer a matter of conjecture, but one of certainty. At this moment a loud knock at the door startled her, and she heard her mother call out, "Who is in there? Open the door. There is a visitor here." Ganga's make-belief world collapsed like a house of cards and she could not respond immediately to her mother's knocking. What would her mother say if she saw her all made-up and dressed in her finest clothes? Her palpitating heart and confused mind created a near-panic situation. As she had no time to change her clothes, she pushed the open suitcase under the bed and covered herself with a large woollen shawl. When she opened the door her mother came in and gave her a long, hard look. But before she could speak the elderly woman who mediated as the matchmaker also entered the room, sat down slowly and said, "I wish I had good news for you, but what can I say I had hoped to get Ganga married into a good respectable family, but fate is against us. I am told that her horoscope does not match." Saying this, she slowly produced the thick parchment paper which recorded her horoscope. The woman's words about the unmatching horoscope struck Ganga's mind like lightning. The hopes and dreams she had entertained and nourished for so long were shattered into fragments. Her anguish and disillusionment finally found expression in a heart-touching long drawn-out sigh. This sigh was clearly audible to her mother and the unsuccessful matchmaker.

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