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Monks 'Dilemma
Shree. "We have established a trust to help the needy like you. You give me an application in the form I shall give you from my lap top, indicating the amount you require for completing your work. After completing your Ph.D., I shall like you to join our project at Jhadol (Udaipur) as a botanist. We shall pay you as per U.G.C. norms. We shall be in Kashmir for about a fortnight, visiting as many places as possible. It will be our pleasure if you accompany us. We shall be benefitted by your knowledge of plants. We shall adjust our itinerary to suit your interest."
They saw other gardens, Priya telling them about the various plants. They then had a joy ride in the Dal Lake. Shree wondered as to what was so special and extraordinary about this lake that it was so much adored and publicised. The water was dirty and stinking with bad smell. Lamenting on the condition of the lake Priya explained, "I have studied the history of this lake. It was really beautiful with the natural water courses feeding it regularly before its pristine grandeur was lost because of encroachments, mainly because of increasing population and the present area is not even one third of its original area. The stink is because the sewage from over a thousand house boats and also from adjoining areas of the city is drained in it in huge quantities."
They returned to the hotel. Priya accompanied them to collect the application form and also to decide about the places to be seen. Priya suggested Kargil. It was agreed that they would first go to Kargil and see remaining places of interest near Srinagar on return.
Vibhu remained a mute spectator and a silent listener all the time. He wondered about the general perception that opposite sexes attract as it was otherwise here and two females
Monks' Dilemma
127 were cosier with each other than even husband and wife. Shree and Priya became intimate within a few hours as if they had known each other for years. He was unable to decide whether he should be jealous of Priya for detracting the attention of his sweet heart or be happy for the opportunity of enjoying the company of one more young, smart and vivacious lady. Strangely, however beautiful and adoring the wife may be, men have weakness for variety, the new, may be the primitive instincts persisting in spite of evolution of cultures and civilisations and restrictive morality and codes of conduct. His initial feeling of instant jealousy melted away and was soon superseded by infatuation for such a nice and intelligent girl as Priya. To cover up his emotional swerve he flattered Shree and appreciated her gesture to help a needy student. Shree was no less shrewd and was observing the lascivious colours flashing on his face, mirroring his feelings. She decided to wait and watch the ambivalence to manifest and to check it as and when necessary. She was confident that she would not allow her husband to drift. She also did not want to lose the company of such an accomplished girl as Priya.
They got up early and soon after breakfast picked Priya and left for Kargil. Priya seated on the front seat and Vibhu and Shree on the back. Only ten kilometres from Srinagar the driver had to slow down the speed as almost one kilometre long army caravan was moving in front at the prescribed speed of thirty kilometres per hour and less according to the terrain, slope and narrow turns. Priya noticed a patch of good natural forest a little distance from the road and requested to stop to allow her to see the area and document the various species there. When Shree asked her to accompany them she
