After shopping, Ritu was relaxing in her living room. She heard the door bell ring. When she opened, it was Sundar at the door with a worried look. Ritu with confusion, ”Hey Sundar. What happened you look so dull? What’s the matter?” For which he replied in a crying kind of tone, ” Aunty, Mom is crying. She is having some pain in her stomach. Daddy is not picking his phone. I am scared.” Ritu replied, ”Oh is it. Don’t worry Sundar. Aunty will come”. She locked her apartment and walked across the corridor to Madhu’s apartment along with Sundar.
Every floor in the building had 3 apartments in a triangular form at far corners. In that floor, other than Ritu and Madhu, the other apartment has not had tenants who have stayed for more than 3 or 4 months. The previous tenants also left after 2 months. They are the ones who had the housewarming pooja which led to the events of Ritu getting her hypnotism power. Ritu glanced at the locked door of that apartment and reached Madhu’s apartment. Once she entered, she heard Madhu groaning and moaning. She entered her room to see her in a saree lying on the bed and holding her stomach in pain and sweating a lot. Once she saw Ritu, she gave a stare at Sundar and shouted,” Sundar I told you not to disturb Ritu aunty”. Ritu interfered, ”Madhu don’t scold him. He is scared that’s all”. She asked him to wait outside Madhu’s room and then closed the door. Ritu asked ,”Madhu now tell me happened?” Madhu in a broken voice bearing the pain ,”Ahhh..I don’t know Ritu. Morning I had slight pain. I thought it was due to the spicy food I had yesterday. Ayyyooo… I called my doctor, she suggested usual medicine, which I had in stock and I took it. But after lunch time, the pain has gradually increased…Ahhhh. Now it is killing me. I think I have to go to the hospital”. Ritu asked,” Wait. Where does it pain? Can you show me?” Madhu with hesitation, ”It pains at my lower stomach around my navel”. Ritu understood,”Oh ok. If you feel uncomfortable showing it, then it’s fine”. Madhu in a faster tone,”No No it’s ok”. On hearing that,Ritu lowered Madhu’s hip saree and moved her pallu. Ritu was stunned. Madhu had a beautiful navel which typical of south actresses. It was round, deep and fleshy.
Even though she has become a mother, there were no stretch marks of her pregnancy at all. Only a bit of tiny hair was around her navel. Madhu closed her eyes and felt the cool A/C air brush through her forbidden navel. This tingling feeling was adding to her pain as well. Ritu who froze looking at Madhu’s navel for nearly 15 seconds, came back to reality. She herself was very much tempted to touch it. She put her index finger right on her navel and asked, ”Is this where it pains?”
Madhu replied,”Yes Ritu..Ahh”. Ritu felt around her navel and stomach ,it was very warm.
Madhu was sweating continuously and everytime she talked her throat was dry which can be sensed from her voice. Ritu thought for a minute and concluded,”Madhu, your stomach pain is not due to food but due to body heat. You are dehydrated. What you are feeling is a heat cramp”. Madhu heard but did not think much. Ritu continued,”For this I have a home remedy. To pour some castor oil in and around your navel and massageit. I have it at my apartment. No need to go to hospital. You will get good relief. Are you ok with it?” Madhu in ultimate pain almost screamed,”Ok Ritu. Please do it.I can’t bear the pain any longer”. Ritu asked her to hold on for just 2 minutes and ran outside. Told Sundar not to enter her room. Madhu lying on bed with her navel open and eyes closed was desperately waiting for Ritu.
Ritu went and came back in a moment with the oil. She shut the room door. Then she started to pour the oil into Madhu’s navel.
Then she massaged her deep navel. Madhu closed her eyes to bear the pain, but was also enjoying this treatment at the same time.
Ritu noticed this. Finally, she completed and asked Madhu on how she feels. She replied with a smile, ”Ritu its feels good. The pain is reducing a bit.” Ritu was pleased that it worked. Then she casually commented, ”Madhu, if you don’t mind can I tell you something?” Madhu agreed. Ritu continued , ”Your navel is very beautiful. If you show it, no one will take their eyes off it. No wonder you conceal it always. If Sundar sees it, that’s all he will not leave your side at all”. Madhu gave a sad smile. Ritu asked, ”What’s wrong? Sorry if what I said made you uncomfortable”. Madhu replied, ”No Ritu. It’s not that. I wanted to tell you something which I had in mind.” Ritu gave a puzzled look. Madhu stammered and continued, ”I know that you are allowing Sundar to play with your navel whenever I leave him with you to babysit. Be honest. Am I right?”. Ritu was shocked that she had been caught by Madhu. She got scared if Sundar had told him but knew he always kept his promises. Then she slowly replied, ”Yes Madhu. I am really sorry for this. I know this is very wrong and have not been honest with you. Please forgive me”. Madhu with a smile responded, ”No don’t apologize Ritu. Actually I am happy about it”. On hearing this Ritu became totally confused. Madhu continued, ”I know this is confusing. But before I proceed, you need to promise me you will not talk about this discussion to anyone”. Ritu agreed.
Madhu started, ”Ritu, I am sometimes jealous of you. For how you are so independent in your dressing sense and how you have such a wonderful husband who respects you as well as adores your beauty. But for me it’s different. I come from a very orthodox family. I was controlled in each and every aspect of my life from food, dressing, studies etc., I was never allowed to feel and enjoy my feminine side. It was always rules not to do this and that. The same followed with my marriage. My husband Raghav is a very strict person, who had the same roots as my family. It was an arranged marriage and there did not seem to be any love at all. All physical and emotional affection was just a formality to him. He was the one who put this strict non-exposing saree rule on me which I am famous for here. I was feeling frustrated and alone.” By this time, Madhu eyes started to slowly fill but she controlled. Ritu listened very carefully.
Madhu continued, ”But it all changed when Sundar was born. He became the reason I wanted to live on. He is my world. During that time, we were not living here. We were in a rental house outside town. Sundar used to sleep with me, while Raghav used to sleep in the hall since it was a very small house”. When Sundar was about 10 months, one night he could not sleep and started crying. I took him out of the cradle, made him sleep on my lap and dozed off to. Since I had delivered recently, I used to apply cream for my stretch marks for which I had to wear my saree below the navel. This I do only during the night just before sleeping. The next day morning, I felt something on my stomach. It was Sundar using his tender little fingers and touching my navel out of curiosity.”
“I thought it was weird and stopped him. He slowly started this act of exploring my navel which continued every night and morning as that was the only time I will wear my saree below navel. If I restricted, he started crying. Fortunately, Raghav did not know about this time since he sleeps early but wakes up after me. By the time, Sundar was 1 year old, he will go to sleep only if he kept his finger in my navel.”
“Although I knew it will be problematic, I allowed this since for the first time in my life, I felt adored and admired. He is not any unknown stranger but my own son, just a baby. So I let this continue without Raghav getting to know about it. Sometimes, he used to sleep using my stomach as his pillow and sleep. During morning, I will wake up to see my navel filled with his saliva which drooled out of his mouth during sleep.”
“By the time, he became around 2 years old, he used to blow raspberries into my navel,”
“And even used to run his fingers on my navel and tickle it, which I surprisingly enjoyed too.”
“Also he used to play with only my navel, not others. I liked that very much about him.” Ritu could notice Madhu face brighten up as she talked about this. Madhu continued,” But everything changed when Raghav once caught me with Sundar. He became so angry, he slapped me right in front of my son. Sundar started crying. He shouted at me and called me names which I don’t have the strength to tell you. I was able to handle this, but I could not handle when he beat my baby Sundar when he did not stop crying. I rushed and grabbed him out of his arm. He was just a baby, Ritu.” Tears fell out of Madhu’s eyes. Before Ritu could say anything, Madhu interfered, ”Let me finish this. So after that , there were several such incidents. Finally, Raghav and I agreed to stop this navel matter once and for all. I agreed for the sole reason to avoid getting Sundar get hurt by Raghav. It took be about 2 months to make Sundar to distract and forget about my navel. My only freedom, my only source of admiration was shut down by myself”. Madhu caught hold of Ritu’s hand and cried for a brief moment. Madhu further said, ” He does not remember any of this since he was just a child earlier. But now Sundar is getting his freedom through you. His forbidden fondness for navels has reborn due to you. So don’t feel guilty. At least he is able to get what I could not provide. Thanks Ritu”. Ritu didn’t know what to talk after this. She slowly said,” Oh Madhu. I did not do anything great. I was actually feeling wrong about it. But if this is helping Sundar indirectly, I am happy to help. But sorry I was not honest with you.” Madhu responded, ”I know. I am sorry too. I bluffed to you earlier as to how Sundar started liking navels. I am the reason for it. I came and talked to you since Sundar’s behavior might eventually reach Raghav and create problem. I knew you will control it.” Ritu enquired,” That’s Ok. But how did you find out that Sundar was playing with my navel?” Madhu responded lightly,” It is not that hard my dear. First, I am his mother. I can sense change in his behavior even without him telling me. Second, the only person who interacts with him more other than me is you. Third, the only person who is considered the navel queen of our building is you. So that’s it. Also thanks for the oil treatment too. My pain has almost fully reduced”. Both of them laughed. Then Madhu saw that time has come for cooking dinner. Ritu told her relax in bed and take a nap while she cooked it for her. Since Mahesh was out of town, Ritu was in no hurry to return home. She got all instructions from Madhu and came out.
Outside, Sundar was seated very silently on the sofa. He came asked about his mother. Ritu said that she is fine and not to disturb her. Sundar was happy and went to watch TV as Ritu directed him. Ritu gave some snacks to Sundar and went to the kitchen. By the time, she finished the cooking, someone opened the door and entered. It was Raghav, the 6 foot tall dark man with a thick moustache dressed in full formals. He kept his suitcase down near the sofa. Sundar went running to him,”Daaaaddddyyyy!!!”. Raghav lifted him and was surprised to see Ritu in the kitchen. Ritu did not see him as Madhu’s husband but as a heartless ruffian who beat his own baby. She greeted, ”Hello Mr. Raghav”. He responded, ”Hello. You are Ritu right? Mahesh’s wife. What are you doing here? Where is Madhu? ” Ritu said, ”Madhu got sick. Now she is ok and resting in the bedroom. So I just came to help with the cooking. Ok I will be leaving”. Raghav thanked her but did not even care to go have a look at Madhu and went to other bedroom to change. When Ritu went to Madhu’s room, she was having a nice sleep, so did she did not disturb her.
She said bye to Sundar and left. When she came back to her apartment, she felt very sorry for the life Madhu is living. She said to herself that this is the same situation, most middle class married women in India will be facing. Luckily, Ritu was not one of them.
“Thank you for reading. If you liked this chapter, please comment and support“