Short Story: Tales from a Marriage – Lost in Translation by Roopa Swaminathan

In this short story, Roopa Swaminathan shows us the challenges a married man faces in Indian society replete with its shortcomings and pressures.

Rahul felt a hand squeeze his right shoulder. He still felt groggy but opened his eyes slowly and saw Nisha open one end of the thick floor-to-ceiling dark red and gold curtains that closed off their master bedroom from the world outside. Nisha bustled about the room which was her pride and joy. While the rest of the house was more on the understated side, she gave vent to a normally deep-hidden vibrant side of her personality with the master bedroom.

The theme was luxe Moroccan. A curvy intricate Moroccan design stenciled in dark brown bordered the off-white walls. The cream color was the only laid-back and sedate part of the room. While the entire rest of the house had granite floors, the floor in the master bedroom was made of wooden floors stained in a dark brown varnish. The king-sized dark teak wood bed with an ornate headboard was imported from Morocco. The mattress was a solid eight inches thick and was covered with soft but high thread count luxe cotton sheets in deep magenta. The soft throw and comforter dazzled the eyes with bold dark red and golden prints, and they matched the thick curtains that spanned the entirety of their bay windows which, in turn, opened into the common terrace that spanned the length of the living room and master bedroom. The wardrobes matched the style of the headboard – ornate, dark wood, and very lush. Nisha had also casually strewn about thick dark red, magenta, and gold pillows – on their bed, the little bench seat at the foot of the bed, and a few on the floor.