The Dissertation
Lalit Wankhade
It was Saturday afternoon when one of his colleagues asked, “Will you drop me at the next square?”
He had purchased a nice car with a loan from the bank.
“Yeah, sure, get in,” Rohit nodded.
“Are you going straight to your apartment?” his colleague inquired.
He had taken a bank loan and bought a sprawling flat.
“No. I want to listen to a speech by a prominent IT professional on the way,” Rohit responded.
“Are you interested in software?” his colleague queried.
“No. Just to avoid boredom at home,” he replied.
***
After completing his post-graduation, Rohit joined as a faculty member at a college in Pune. His energy levels were always brimming. He was imbued with etiquette and manners and would grin at everyone’s glance.
One of his colleagues observed, “He picks up the phrase even from the muffled talk and pretends confidently that he knows the whole gamut.”
Another colleague commented, “Writing a research paper is more an art for him than reality.”
***
After the speech was over, Rohit wandered through the passage—organizers had erected stalls on both sides, and he stopped at a stall exhibiting product design software.
He asked a general question to the software-demonstrating girl, “What are the specific features of this software?”
“Here is a pamphlet, sir,” Prajakta started its demo.
Unable to understand its nuances, however, he removed his spectacles, threw a furtive glance, then turned his head and looked straight in her eyes.
“What if people are sitting at various places, say, in different countries, and want to contribute to product development?” he asked.
This unexpected question impressed Prajakta. He never wanted to let any opportunity of pretending go to waste, especially when talking to an educated and beautiful girl.
“You know, in my dissertation work, I used some features that seem like incorporated here. For example, if you change a few dimensions on any part, it will change all dimensions of the product accordingly. I have coded an intelligent system to do this,” he said.
A kind of genius in him amazed her. As it was a hot day of Indian summer, he took out his handkerchief and wiped a lick of sweat racing down his neck.
He posed a scholarly comment: “If we had one Neem tree here, it could have reduced the temperature by around five degrees.”
While leaving, Rohit handed over his visiting card to her.
***
Prajakta peeked at a watch on the wall; it was nine in the morning, and she was taking sips at tea.
“Good morning,” she wished her best friend, Karuna, who was staying with her; woke and emerged from a bedroom.
“What’s the plan for today’s holiday?” Prajakta asked.
“Oh! Let’s meet yesterday’s genius,” Karuna teased.
“Who?” Prajakta exclaimed.
“That Neem-tree man!” Karuna giggled.
“Yeah, Rohit is intelligent. He’s a research guy, and I like such fellows,” Prajakta articulated.
Prajakta was eloquent in her praise for him, and she zoomed into nowhere for a while, radiating colors on her cheeks.
***
Prajakta was a computer graduate. She was pretty, with a round face, fair pecan-brown skin, and long jet-black hair. As her father was a military person, she did her schooling in a central school. She was disciplined and hardworking, like her father, and never ran behind schedule. She was pragmatic in her disposition, though loving to her dear ones. Her projects always received accolades from her company for being flawlessly completed ahead of time. For her tenacity and dedication, she was elevated to the position of project leader.
***
It was a sunny afternoon, and Prajakta wanted to complete her coding task by the evening. Karuna arrived at her desk.
“What’s up? Congratulations!”
“For what?” Prajakta questioned, still buried in her computer screen.
“Why? You don’t want to go to the USA on your new assignment?” Karuna asked.
“Who said that?” Prajakta inquired.
“The entire staff, except you, know you will lead the team to the USA in a few weeks from now,” Karuna revealed.
Still focused on her work, Prajakta drawled, “Well, thank you for the information, but why me?”
“Because you’re such a good girl, and because you don’t look around, and that’s what they wanted,” Karuna pinched her cheek.
As she was leaving the desk, Karuna yelled, “Hey! Take the call. Your phone will fall off because of the vibrations.”
Prajakta was amused to receive the phone call at that odd time. She turned her head and picked up the phone. She felt it was a wrong number and let it vibrate. Suddenly, she thought: could it be him? And she searched for his card. It was Rohit’s call. She felt guilty for not taking up his call. Now she rang back.
“Good afternoon, sir,” she greeted him.
“Good afternoon. I’ve been thinking about our discussion that day. My dissertation offers ideas that could enhance the software. We can discuss it if you meet me,” he said.
“So grateful, sir. Definitely. When shall I come to your office?” she responded hurriedly.
“Can we have coffee at Cafe Noorani at 5:30 p.m. today? The cafe is near your office and on my way home.”
“Okay, I will come,” she concurred.
***
Prajakta reached Cafe Noorani earlier than him. She sat at a table and started scribbling on a piece of paper.
“Good evening,” Rohit greeted her as he sat. “Please, don’t call me ‘sir’,” he added.
“Okay. You’re great. I always like people pursuing research work. They do a great service to society and the nation,” she expressed her admiration for him.
“Yeah. I like research. Yeah.”
“You wanted to share some ideas. I’ll talk to my boss. He’ll be thrilled.”
“Yes, I said that, but later I thought that I must take permission from my advisor. So, let’s talk about that some other time.”
“Yeah. Sure.” Silence interrupted them as neither spoke for a while.
“This year, I wish to marry. Staying alone is enough for now. It distracts the mind from innovative thoughts. What do you think?” he commented.
“Very true. In fact, by now, you should have been married. However, see that the girl you marry must be supportive; in the sense that she should be a kind of researcher, like you, who can understand research parlance. Sometimes she can directly help with statistical things and paper writing. I always wished I could join any research lab. But we do the monotonous job of coding, and at a higher level, getting it done through a bunch of people.”
“You’re correct. Now, I think it’s the right time that you also should think of marrying. And why don’t you marry a researcher like me?”
He was gazing down at the floor. She observed his blushing face, which surprised her. He looked shy when he was staring down.
Not getting any inkling from the conversation but still getting some inkling, she stammered, “You want me to marry you?”
He, peering at the coffee in the cup, gained a burst of energy from nowhere and murmured, “Yeah.”
Both were staring down, sometimes at the coffee cup and sometimes elsewhere, for about ten minutes.
She got up in slow motion and whispered, “I must go now.”
He looked straight into her eyes and asked, “Shall I drop you?”
“My apartment is near. I’ll walk the distance,” she said.
She looked back once with a thin smile.
***
Prajakta returned to her apartment. Her face was perturbed, exhibiting a mingling of expressions—bemused.
Karuna read her mind and asked, “Rohit wants to marry you? Have you had any idea before?”
“I didn’t get the slightest trace of it. How should I know? But how do you know that?”
“Your rosy face is telling a story. Anyway, it’s good for you. You like him.”
“Well. I like him as a personality. The way he uses his intelligence and perseverance. I never thought of him from a marriage point of view. It’s a kind of enigma to me.”
“Well. Though it seems enigmatic, let’s see this as nature ordaining it for you.”
Saying “okay”, Prajakta smiled wistfully.
Soon they got married and Prajakta moved to his apartment, and every day, they were stepping out of home for the office early in the morning.
***
“You were outperforming. Now you’ll excel. We’re happy that you married a guy of your liking,” her boss, Lokhande, praised her.
“Yes sir, he’s intelligent, and I hope he can be of wonderful help to us.”
“Great, but how about your team’s planned visit to our American client? You may have to stay there for about a month. Are you going to leave behind your husband alone within weeks of your marriage?”
“Yes, sir, I’ll convince him how important my going to the USA is, though I’d also suffer from the pangs of our separation for a month. Let’s be professional rather than sentimental.”
***
It had been more than a month since they were married. Rohit often took her out to dinner. When they skimmed the restaurant’s menu Prajakta said that she liked Chicken Curry over Fish Curry and he said that both had a common taste. She ordered Tandoori Chicken as a snack, which he immediately concurred with. They were also in the park once. He started a discussion on how they would send their kids to an excellent school in the city. He insisted she should look after the education of their kids and that she’d even find time to teach them at home.
“Why am I alone? Or me at all? You’re more capable than I to look after their education. What’s the use of an immense scholar in you then?” she argued.
“Hmm,” he muttered.
A spell of silence prevailed for a while.
Breaking it, she asked, “You haven’t answered my concern?”
Avoiding her insistence, he said, “Let’s move now. It’s been more than an hour since we’ve been sitting here. Look at that tree with drooping branches and plenty of beautiful flowers. It’s not indigenous; it’s an imported variety. Isn’t it mesmerizing?”
***
One evening, they came home together.
“How was your day today?” Prajakta queried.
“As usual,” Rohit replied.
“What research work are you doing now?”
“Where do I find the time for it nowadays?” She had never seen him in such a crushed spirit before.
“Are you feeling well?” she asked with her forehead wrinkled.
“Yes. What are we eating for dinner today?” he mumbled while his head curled down.
“Our boss is curious; will you meet him?”
“Hmm,” he slanted his head a little.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine, we’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
***
As part of corporate culture, once a month, all employees from Prajakta’s office used to go to some place where they played, ate, and celebrated. This time, they planned an evening meeting in a nearby resort.
“Can you ask Rohit to come this evening to our celebration?” Lokhande requested her.
“Why don’t you call him, sir? You can surprise him if you call him to the party.”
“Yeah. That’s a great idea.”
Everyone reached the resort by 4:30 p.m. It was a vast place with meadow-like greenery, water fountains, an abundance of flowers, neatly cut and shaped trees, and a swimming pool—badminton, lawn tennis, and other indoor games. After eating some snacks and drinking tea or coffee, everyone took part in one or another game. Those who didn’t want to play were chit-chatting. It was 7:30 p.m. when people started returning to the food arena in smaller groups. Gradually, the party picked up, and by 8 p.m., people were assembling in a large oval-shaped dining hall. People were eating, making jokes with one another, laughing, and a few having serious business talks. Lokhande joined the coterie of superiors. It was the third time that Prajakta peeped at her watch.
“Don’t worry, he’ll come. At least before we leave,” Karuna teased her.
Finally, Rohit joined the celebrations at 8:30 p.m. Prajakta was meandering smoothly, taking Rohit over to different groups, letting him be everywhere for a while as her husband. She kept herself smiling. Soon, she took him to meet Lokhande.
With a cheerful smile, the boss warmly greeted him, asking, “How are you, young man?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“We heard a lot about you,” Lokhande initiated the conversation.
“Yeah. She keeps praising me now and then.”
“Well, coming straight to the point. Would you help us?”
“Yeah, definitely.”
Prajakta kept watching them talk and smiled intermittently.
“I mean, in our products.”
“Yeah, sure.”
By then, his curt talk irritated the boss, though he wanted to make an attempt at talking again.
“We wish to work on your idea. I wish… let’s collaborate.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Her boss, looking frowned, motioned for him to have dinner and left. Prajakta failed to smile now.
“Why were you so snooty with my boss? He respects you a lot. Why are you so frigid? You didn’t say any word to him properly,” she yelled.
“Your company developed an excellent practice of mingling, dining, and celebrating every month. It evolves a stronger bond among you all. I like this culture,” he spoke frostily.
“This is no answer to my question. You insulted our boss. He was eager to talk to you,” and she burst into tears.
***
Prajakta had been meticulously working on her packing as she didn’t know whether one month would be enough or they would extend it to two months. During these days, she focused on all requirements for her stay in America. She was busy packing and on phone calls with her parents, friends, and the folks coming with her. This was her seventh call in the last three days to Karuna.
“Hey, will you please buy some pads for me?”
“Why don’t you call Rohit? He’ll bring them in the evening while coming back from college.”
“Yeah, he can bring them, but you know, you better know what I need.”
“Okay, I will do it for you. Anyway, is he helping you pack your luggage?”
“Yeah. He wants to help me. But, you know, I have talked little to him since our party episode. He stays around me whenever at home. He wants to help me, but I said no.”
***
He left for college, and she was alone. She had no work to do except make a few phone calls, as she was almost ready to push through all her luggage in a cab the next morning. Feeling weary, Prajakta plopped down on the king-size bed. Soon, her phone rang.
“Have you taken the notarized documents I had given to you? You may or may not need them, but I wish you must keep these on behalf of the company,” Lokhande said.
“Oh, my God! I forgot. Thank you for reminding me, sir.”
“Okay. Be sure.”
She was confused: When did she bring them and where did she keep the papers? She rang Karuna.
“Do you remember the papers our boss had given to me?”
“Party day when you were upset. It seems Rohit kept those.”
“Okay.”
Immediately, Prajakta called him. This was the first time in the last couple of days that she called him during the day. Earlier, soon after their marriage, hardly a day passed when they didn’t talk on the phone.
“Do you know about the documents my boss had given to me?”
“Yes. Yes. I kept those in the bottom drawer of my almirah, along with my certificates and other stuff.”
“Well. Thank you,” and she hastened to cut the call.
Prajakta felt sorry as she cut off the call—he was her husband by her choice. Her eyebrows slanted downward; cheeks turned a slight red and glanced uncomfortably.
She redialled to break the prolonged glowering silence, “How are you? I’m sorry that I haven’t been good to you in the last few days. When will you come back?”
Rohit was delighted to see that the silence between them had faded away, “As I promised, soon, I’ll be home.”
She put her phone aside and reached the almirah. She’d never opened his almirah so far. Nor had the need come up. She was still to acquaint herself with the culture of his apartment; it meant their apartment after she came in. She sighed with relief after she saw the papers. As she was pulling out the papers, something in a black cover gleamed. She was glad to see that it was his dissertation report. She had never been so elated before after she was married to him. She was intensely eager to see—to read through—and she started flipping rapidly through the pages. As she read through, her nostrils flared, lips thinned by being pressed together, and her eyes widened. She looked dismayed and disgruntled, as if she were reading a horrid book. It was in stark contrast to the claims made by him. There was no coding done in the genuine sense of coding and there was no expert system, like the one he hyped. There were only a bunch of formulas and results from calculation. Was he calling this an intelligent system? Why did he lie? Why did he stake so much claim on such paltry work? She felt agony because of it. She wanted to call Karuna, but she resisted. Whatever he was talking about was boastfulness.
***
Prajakta heard the ringing of the doorbell. Rohit was back from the office… earlier, as he had promised. She blurted out to herself—why not borrow a kind of pretence from him? She splashed some water on her face, wiped it with the edge of her kurta, and opened the door.
“Hi!” She grinned a broad smile.
“Have you finished packing?”
“Very well. I am done completely. I’ll brew a cup of tea for you, and I’ll get ready to go out,” and she gave him a wink.
He was euphoric to see her in such a cheerful mood. Then, they stepped out toward the shopping mall, as she wanted to buy a few cosmetic products. While moving from one place to another, they shared some chatter and were smiling at each other. Later, they went to a restaurant: a restaurant they often visited. Together, they enjoyed a candlelight dinner. They were happy that they once more ordered the dishes they both liked. It was a romantic encounter—resurrected.
Rohit checked his watch: the time required to reach her destination in the USA after landing of the flight had elapsed. He rang her. He rang the next day. He tried next week. He attempted next month.
Prajakta didn’t respond to any of his calls.