One Saturday morning, Aishwarya said, "Harshavardhan, my daughter Samantha was telling me that you are a good palmist. Can you foretell something about me?"
Harshavardhan replied, "Aishwarya, you see, I am not a professional palmist. I have studied palmistry in depth, I can foretell certain things in details, but not everything."
Aishwarya eagerly in anxious tone requested, "Please see my palm, and tell me whatever you know."
He took the right palm of Aishwarya, and said, "The right hand is what you're born with, and left is what you've accumulated throughout your life. For males, it is the other way around. The left hand is what he is born with, and the right is what he has accumulated throughout his life."
Then he started telling her certain things of her past after studying carefully the lines, and she nodded her head with consent. Keerthy was standing by the side of them, and listening to everything diligently.
"Aishwarya, it is clearly shown in your marriage line that you will become a widow at the age of 40 years, but surprisingly, in the child line, it is showing that you will be having two children," he said.
"What Rubbish! I have only one child that is Samantha. How can I have another child at this age" she said.
Harshavardhan exclaimed, "I don't know, the line is telling that only."
Then Aishwarya left. Keerthy came nearer to him, and said in a low voice," uncle, can you tell me something about my future?"
He glanced her saddened pale face, and said, "Keerthy, now I have to hurry for my Bank. Tomorrow is Sunday. In the morning, with fresh mood, I will study your palm, and tell you everything of your future life."
Next day, it was a bright Sunday morning. The children of both the families left for zoo along with Aishwarya. The time was 10.00AM. Both the ladies, Kajal and Samantha were lying in their beds with their bulky wombs. Harshavardhan had finished his bathing by this time. Keerthy entered his flat with a full tray of breakfast.
After sometime, she addressed to him, "Uncle, you promised me yesterday to see my palm, and tell about me."
"Ohhh! yes...come near me," he called her.
He took her palm, and placed it on his lap, and started studying the lines. He told her some facts of her past. Then he said, "Keerthy, your marriage line is fine, but with some problems, but your child line speaks that you will have a kid within a year."
"It is not true," she said, and the big tears rolled down her cheeks as she said it.
Harshavardhan looked at her in surprise as tears had gathered in her eyes, and a flood of tears gushed down her cheeks.
Then she started saying, "I was in my eighteen when my parents fixed my marriage with a school teacher. As you know in small rural area like ours, the parents in law, the relatives and everybody expect a baby from a newly married couple immediately. Each passing month, my husband and me looked for signs indicating that in ten months' time we would be parents. Little did we realize that our path to parenthood would be significantly longer, indefinite with uncertainty.
But it is a road that we travelled together for the last 8 years, growing closer and giving each other moral support. Maybe it was a premonition of difficult times ahead, but more likely it was just a natural step for me, which motivated me to consult with a gynaecologist two years before.
Medical Test was conducted on me and my husband. From the reports/Tests, it was revealed that due to Male infertility on the part of my husband, I cannot conceive a baby ever in my life. Since I love my husband very much, and don't want to hurt him, I tore the Reports, and told him that the fault was from my end. My in-laws in turn blamed me for being childless and labelled me a barren.
It was easier for us to cope on our own without having to cope with their disappointment. Our friends were supportive, even though they could not fully understand what we were going through. But my husband was such a nice man that throughout the years that he has supported me by giving his maximum love to me, and neither of us ever thought of divorcing each other.
The Relatives, neighbours, and colleagues on the whole were generally sensitive. The challenge is answering innocent questions posed by strangers such as, "How many children do you have?" I felt worse for the person asking than for myself. I would spend the next fifteen minutes explaining that it is a natural question and they had not hurt me by asking it.
I appreciated my cousin (Kajal) calling personally and telling me she was pregnant, although it must have been very difficult for her. My cousin (Kajal) still thinks that we are having treatments for baby but we didn't tell her anything specifics. I especially appreciated the fact that she treated me as a normal person, she always included us in the family activities."
Harshavardhan remained silent for some moment. He continued his saying, "Keerthy, listen carefully, what I am saying is from a medical point of views as I am a Doctor also. There are other important reasons for becoming male infertility, so tell me without hesitation and shy whether your husband has problems with sexual function — for example, difficulty with ejaculation or small volumes of fluid ejaculated, reduced sexual desire, or difficulty maintaining an erection (erectile dysfunction) and pain, swelling or a lump in the testicle area."
With a dropping eyes, she replied, "Yes, he has all these problems what you mentioned."
Now, Harshavardhan noted the reasons for her unhappiness, her emptiness and her sorrow. He could now guess how the healthful tint of quiet happiness which once painted her smooth cheek, had given place to a pale face, her eyes which were keener and most restless in glances once, now there was unquiet dropping of her heavy lids, as if tears lurked beneath their shadow.
He very lightly touched her shoulder with one hand while wiping her tears away with the other. Immediately, he looked away so that she would think this first touch from his side to be subconscious or genuine instead of being fake or forced.
Harshavardhan touched the side of head first, then slowly brushed her hand backwards, moving his right hand through her hair, so smoothly, through the thickness of her hair. After that, his hand went down the side of her neck, passed her ear lobe, and started brushing something, ever so slowly, "stroke one, stroke two" off the top portion of her blouse, just above her breast line.
Harshavardhan replied, "Aishwarya, you see, I am not a professional palmist. I have studied palmistry in depth, I can foretell certain things in details, but not everything."
Aishwarya eagerly in anxious tone requested, "Please see my palm, and tell me whatever you know."
He took the right palm of Aishwarya, and said, "The right hand is what you're born with, and left is what you've accumulated throughout your life. For males, it is the other way around. The left hand is what he is born with, and the right is what he has accumulated throughout his life."
Then he started telling her certain things of her past after studying carefully the lines, and she nodded her head with consent. Keerthy was standing by the side of them, and listening to everything diligently.
"Aishwarya, it is clearly shown in your marriage line that you will become a widow at the age of 40 years, but surprisingly, in the child line, it is showing that you will be having two children," he said.
"What Rubbish! I have only one child that is Samantha. How can I have another child at this age" she said.
Harshavardhan exclaimed, "I don't know, the line is telling that only."
Then Aishwarya left. Keerthy came nearer to him, and said in a low voice," uncle, can you tell me something about my future?"
He glanced her saddened pale face, and said, "Keerthy, now I have to hurry for my Bank. Tomorrow is Sunday. In the morning, with fresh mood, I will study your palm, and tell you everything of your future life."
Next day, it was a bright Sunday morning. The children of both the families left for zoo along with Aishwarya. The time was 10.00AM. Both the ladies, Kajal and Samantha were lying in their beds with their bulky wombs. Harshavardhan had finished his bathing by this time. Keerthy entered his flat with a full tray of breakfast.
After sometime, she addressed to him, "Uncle, you promised me yesterday to see my palm, and tell about me."
"Ohhh! yes...come near me," he called her.
He took her palm, and placed it on his lap, and started studying the lines. He told her some facts of her past. Then he said, "Keerthy, your marriage line is fine, but with some problems, but your child line speaks that you will have a kid within a year."
"It is not true," she said, and the big tears rolled down her cheeks as she said it.
Harshavardhan looked at her in surprise as tears had gathered in her eyes, and a flood of tears gushed down her cheeks.
Then she started saying, "I was in my eighteen when my parents fixed my marriage with a school teacher. As you know in small rural area like ours, the parents in law, the relatives and everybody expect a baby from a newly married couple immediately. Each passing month, my husband and me looked for signs indicating that in ten months' time we would be parents. Little did we realize that our path to parenthood would be significantly longer, indefinite with uncertainty.
But it is a road that we travelled together for the last 8 years, growing closer and giving each other moral support. Maybe it was a premonition of difficult times ahead, but more likely it was just a natural step for me, which motivated me to consult with a gynaecologist two years before.
Medical Test was conducted on me and my husband. From the reports/Tests, it was revealed that due to Male infertility on the part of my husband, I cannot conceive a baby ever in my life. Since I love my husband very much, and don't want to hurt him, I tore the Reports, and told him that the fault was from my end. My in-laws in turn blamed me for being childless and labelled me a barren.
It was easier for us to cope on our own without having to cope with their disappointment. Our friends were supportive, even though they could not fully understand what we were going through. But my husband was such a nice man that throughout the years that he has supported me by giving his maximum love to me, and neither of us ever thought of divorcing each other.
The Relatives, neighbours, and colleagues on the whole were generally sensitive. The challenge is answering innocent questions posed by strangers such as, "How many children do you have?" I felt worse for the person asking than for myself. I would spend the next fifteen minutes explaining that it is a natural question and they had not hurt me by asking it.
I appreciated my cousin (Kajal) calling personally and telling me she was pregnant, although it must have been very difficult for her. My cousin (Kajal) still thinks that we are having treatments for baby but we didn't tell her anything specifics. I especially appreciated the fact that she treated me as a normal person, she always included us in the family activities."
Harshavardhan remained silent for some moment. He continued his saying, "Keerthy, listen carefully, what I am saying is from a medical point of views as I am a Doctor also. There are other important reasons for becoming male infertility, so tell me without hesitation and shy whether your husband has problems with sexual function — for example, difficulty with ejaculation or small volumes of fluid ejaculated, reduced sexual desire, or difficulty maintaining an erection (erectile dysfunction) and pain, swelling or a lump in the testicle area."
With a dropping eyes, she replied, "Yes, he has all these problems what you mentioned."
Now, Harshavardhan noted the reasons for her unhappiness, her emptiness and her sorrow. He could now guess how the healthful tint of quiet happiness which once painted her smooth cheek, had given place to a pale face, her eyes which were keener and most restless in glances once, now there was unquiet dropping of her heavy lids, as if tears lurked beneath their shadow.
He very lightly touched her shoulder with one hand while wiping her tears away with the other. Immediately, he looked away so that she would think this first touch from his side to be subconscious or genuine instead of being fake or forced.
Harshavardhan touched the side of head first, then slowly brushed her hand backwards, moving his right hand through her hair, so smoothly, through the thickness of her hair. After that, his hand went down the side of her neck, passed her ear lobe, and started brushing something, ever so slowly, "stroke one, stroke two" off the top portion of her blouse, just above her breast line.
