Criteria is the Hashtag
Rhituparna is a content developer and soft skills trainer. An…
This story is based on real events where the author describes the story of a young woman named Ragini who has been single for a long time due to her picky nature in choosing a partner.
Ragini fixed her saree and asked Diya, ‘Is the saree all okay?’ Diya smiled and commented, ‘The saree became all the more beautiful because you adorned it.’ Ragini laughed and expressed, ‘Hell yeah. Hence I am forever single.’ Diya reasoned, ‘Oh come on Ragini. Even you know the truth. You are super fussy. Who in this era does not have a boyfriend? It’s only those picky girls like you and your criteria. Nihar proposed to you, why did you reject him?’
Ragini hesitated….’ Well… I did not like the shoes he was wearing….’
Diya replied irritated, ‘Who on earth rejects a boy for shoes????’
Ragini went quiet. Diya then asked, ‘And what was the reason for rejecting Sohum?’
Ragini kept quiet. Diya looked sternly at Ragini and said, ‘Tell me…. what was wrong with him? He was good-looking, he came from an affluent family, and most important, he was head over heels in love with you. So, why did you say “no” to him?’
Ragini went quiet again. Diya asked, ‘Why are you quiet? Answer me.’
Diya replied softly, ‘Because….’ Diya asked furious, ‘Because what???’
Ragini tried to explain, ‘Because he had pronounced “Thus” as “Thoos”.
Diya yelled, ‘So??? He earns well. He looks good. And you are single because of your stupidity. Anyway, there is no point in discussing this. Now let’s go to the wedding. We are already late. ‘
Diya and Ragini reached the wedding venue of their hostel warden’s daughter.
Ragini was 5 feet 7 inches tall, fair, and weighed around 65 kg. She had shoulder-length straight hair. She had a round face with plump cheeks and an adorable smile. She was 24 years old and had just begun working in a software firm. Ragini had longed for a significant other in her life since she was in college. However, she had these weird criteria for boys and hence she had been single all these years. She was not finicky about looks but she liked boys who were intelligent, could win hearts with intelligent talks, who were treasure chests of knowledge and the most peculiar criteria she had was, the way the boy walked. She liked boys who walked with a cool, smart gait somewhat like “Ajay Devgan”. Yes, Ragini was a diehard fan of Ajay Devgan.
Ragini and Diya walked up to the bride and wished her. After wishing her, they decided to sit for some time before going to the dining area. Diya asked Ragini to wait while she went ahead to receive a call.
Ragini sat comfortably and looked around when someone came and sat on the chair beside her chair. The person asked, ‘Hope you did not reserve this chair for someone else.’
Ragini replied, ‘No, it’s fine.’ The person then took out his phone, dialed a number, and started speaking , ‘How is the patient now? …… hmm…. that’s fine. Give him that medicine….. hmm….. call me if there is anything…’
He hung up the phone, stood up, and looked around. He then asked Ragini, ‘Did the wedding rituals begin? I hope I am not late.’
Ragini said, ‘No… the rituals will begin in some time.’ Ragini looked at the guy. He was around 5 feet 11 inches tall. He had a wheatish complexion, straight-edged sharp nose, wavy hair, and a heartwarming smile. Ragini had heard his conversation on the phone. He was a doctor. He spoke well, he seemed intelligent and mature. After a long time, Ragini felt some attraction. As she was lost in her thought and when she turned around, the boy was not there. ‘Damn…’ Ragini thought….. ‘Where did he go?’
Just then Diya came. Ragini said excitedly, ‘Diyaaaa, I just met this super charming guy with a cute smile….’ Diya beamed, ‘Really! Where is he?’ Ragini looked around and said, ‘He vanished….. I really like him.’ Diya smiled and said, ‘Aha…. finally….. finally Ragini liked someone…..Come let us find him.’
Ragini and Diya walked around and that gentleman was nowhere to be found. Ragini sighed, ‘Seems he left. He is a doctor. There must have been some emergency….’
Diya patted Ragini’s shoulder and said, ‘That’s fine. We will find him. If he is in your destiny you will certainly meet him again.’ As Diya said so, Diya and Ragini’s hostel warden, Mr. Akash Sharma came. He gave a warm smile to Diya and Ragini and said, ‘Hope you girls had something. Please help yourselves.’ Before Diya and Ragini could say something, Ragini’s crush appeared from nowhere and stood beside Mr. Akash. Ragini gently pinched Diya’s hand and gestured at that handsome boy. Diya understood that this was the boy Ragini was talking about. Mr. Akash looked at the boy and then at Ragini and Diya and said, ‘He is Dr. Parth Malhotra. He is a surgeon.’ Ragini could not conceal her joy. Mr. Akash then told Parth, ‘Meet Ragini and Diya. They stay in our hostel.’
Parth smiled and said, ‘Nice meeting you.’ Ragini blushed. Mr. Akash then told Parth, ‘ Now now Parth, go get ready. You are the groom. You cannot get married in this attire. Hurry up.’
Hearing this Ragini felt a lump in her throat. Diya looked at Ragini. Mr. Akash then told Diya, ‘Please have something okay?’ Ragini cleared her voice and said, ‘Umm… yes’. As Mr. Akash left, Diya burst out laughing. Ragini gave an angry look at Diya and said, ‘Now remember this name ‘Dr. Parth’, I will never ever fall for any guy named Parth again.’ Diya laughed and said, ‘There you go….. one more criterion.’
Disclaimer: This is a story with some true elements in there. However, fragments of imagination were also added to this story. This story is not intended to hurt or rebuke anyone or any profession.
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Rhituparna is a content developer and soft skills trainer. An ardent fan of diaspora writers like JhumpaLahiri, she has written around 199 stories so far, some of which have been published in The Sentinel. She writes a blog https://rheetuparnachakkravorty.medium.com/