“We were talking about belief or disbelief in astrology. Weren’t we?” Charan Das crushed the thermacol teacup and stuffed it into the tiny dustbin. “I have a very interesting example to narrate to you. About this exceptional couple I know. I’ve known them for a long time.” He leaned over and added in a confidential tone, “This is a story which defies all astrological predictions!”
“Really?” Sonia’s curiosity was instantly piqued.
“Janavi Sathe was an extremely beautiful girl. Tall, slim, long thick hair, and blue eyes; she was studying medicine. She had a great future ahead of her. But her horoscope revealed a break in career and a lousy marriage. However, she always scoffed at horoscopes, saying they were an escape route for weaklings. I’ve never known a more proud and independent girl than Janavi Sathe.
“As it happened, in the midst of her studies, her parents suddenly arranged her marriage with Dinesh Ranade! Out of the blue, Janavi had to give up medicine and marry a Professor of Economics. But that was not all. He was one of the most. how can I put it… ‘unpresentable’ guys you could ever meet. He had a kind of messed-up face, and his features were in all the wrong proportions. In short, Dinesh Ranade was no match for Janavi’s beauty and they were a most unsuited couple. We all thought that her marriage was doomed from the beginning. At least that’s what her horoscope revealed. An unhappy marriage, with a dominating husband and a career wasted running after him!”
“What happened?” Sonia asked.
“The horoscope was wrong!” Charan Das leaned against his seat. “Not a thing happened according to the predictions, just as Janavi said. She had a very, very happy marriage and the couple doted on each other. I never heard her utter a single complaint against him. In fact, all I ever heard was what a wonderful person her husband was, how caring and sensitive and how much Dinesh loved her and her cooking and how he insisted on eating food prepared only by her. She, in turn, enjoyed caring for him and doing all kinds of tasks for him. Life for her was most satisfying. She adjusted beautifully to her married life and proved all our predictions wrong. She even pursued a career, handling a flourishing business in catering. It helped her to operate from home and manage both her house and career successfully, and she claimed her new career was far better than medicine, for which she realised she had no flair anyway! In fact, she did so well in her business, finally her husband stopped his professorship and took to meditation!
“They even had a son, who grew up to be a very handsome and intelligent boy. From a young age she put him in boarding school and he went on to do his Business Management and today he is on a big post in the U.S. Though I meet him rarely, I heard that the boy is doing really well and his parents are extremely proud of him.”
“Is he still in the U.S.?”
“Sunil - his name is Sunil - comes to India once a year, but he’s happy in the U.S.”
“What is Janavi doing now?”
“Now I come to a point which really and truly defies Astrology!” Charan Das remarked, a little pompously. “Some years ago, Janavi’s husband had a heart attack. He had to have surgery. Her parents and I suggested that she choose an auspicious day for the surgery. You won’t believe this, but she flatly refused. She said that every day for her was a good and auspicious day and that she loved Dinesh so much, nothing would happen to him! A very noble and positive thought and we could not make her see reason. However, as luck would have it, the day of the surgery turned out to be a most inauspicious day in the almanac. I was terribly worried. I was convinced that this stubbornness on her part would result in her husband’s death. But, wonder of wonders, the operation was a success and Dinesh came out of surgery safe and unharmed! After that, two more operations took place over a couple of years - all on days I would have never recommended - but each time he emerged unscathed. That was when I really and truly applauded Janavi. It was the sheer strength of the woman which saved the husband. Right from the beginning, her faith in herself and not her horoscope was admirable. And that’s when I began to believe that you can control your destiny. Horoscopes can guide, but they do not necessarily dominate your life. And in September the two of them are going to go on a short holiday together to a hill resort. It is their wedding anniversary and she wants to be with him, celebrating his good health with nature!”
Silence ensued. The train chugged and the rain poured, as Sonia digested the story meditatively. The mountains were now visible with the mist clinging in pockets to the tops. Waterfalls of various sizes crashed and splattered down the mossy mountainsides and vanished into rocky crevices and valleys.
Sonia turned to Charan Das thoughtfully. “Very interesting indeed. Do you happen to remember their horoscopes?”
“Of course. Janavi’s zodiac sign is Scorpio, with Cancer in the ascendant. Rahu and Mars in the first house with Cancer; Harshal in the second house with Leo; Neptune in the fourth house with Libra; Venus and the Moon in the fifth house with Scorpio; Sun, Saturn, Mercury, and Ketu in the seventh house with Capricorn, and Jupiter in the eighth house with Aquarius.”
“Hmm… ” Sonia nodded, reflectively. “And Dinesh?”
“Taurus is Dinesh’s zodiac sign, with Scorpio as the ascendant.
