"Do you know who I met yesterday at the party at the Sharma's?" asked Neela excitedly, as soon as her husband Vishal returned from Delhi, where he had gone on official work.

"Maybe one of your old friends, I suppose," remarked Vishal

"You are indeed right! I met my very close friend Sujata after a gap of twenty years. You know her son is all of twenty-eight years and a doctor to boot. They have recently shifted to this city. We got talking and we have agreed to meet up and discuss the proposal of marriage of her son with Smita. Smita has just to meet Sujata's son - his name's Nitin - and then we can conduct their engagement ceremony."

"Hey, not so fast," said Vishal. "What a coincidence! While in Delhi, I met my childhood friend Virendra. His son Jiten is an engineer with an MBA and is working in a prestigious concern. He is just twenty-seven and the right match for our Smita. In fact I have brought a photograph of the boy. You can see for yourself."

Neela was not pleased to hear her husband's plan. She was bent upon fixing Smita's marriage with Nitin. How to put off the Delhi boy?

At this juncture, their daughter Smita returned from college, where she was an English lecturer. She was an attractive girl with a mind of her own. She listened to her parents' plan for her future in silence.

Then she dropped the bombshell. "Neither Nitin nor Jiten will suit me, she said witrh a mischievous smile. "I have decided to be impartial. I cannot displease Mom or Dad. So I have decided to choose my life-partner myself. He is my friend Lata's elder brother. He had recently come down for her wedding, you remember?

"He is an architect in Kolkata. He is Mr' Right in every respect - age, qualification and also he is a Maharashtrian like us. So no more discussion, please, Mom and Dad. Please agree to my choice and give us your blessings."

The parents were left speechless. Their daughter had had the last word.