Chapter 2

Chapter Two

As they moved from person to person, from table to table, serving food together for their thanksgiving dinner at Pooswami Old Age Home, Raghav watched Pallavi with admiration. This was the woman who had outfoxed him. This was his Pallavi, with her pallu modestly tucked around her belly where his Arjun was growing. A glimpse of that belly gave Raghav a proud feeling of accomplishment, even though Pallavi had just told him - that very morning - that he was about to be arrested and his business empire, his life's work, would quickly crumble into an abyss of debt. Pallavi had broken his heart - and her own heart - for her principles, and this might be their last happy memory together.

Raghav's phone buzzed. He checked the message. "We'll meet again tonight. This is message no.1." He didn't recognize the number. Probably one of the girls who followed his social media. It was no secret that he was taken, but they couldn't resist flirting with him; he was Raghav Rao, after all. They'll probably learn to use snail mail just to write to me in prison, he thought cynically.

Pallavi was wearing a black candrakaḷā saree, shimmering with leaf-shaped golden spots. It had been Āī's gift to her when they celebrated her third month of pregnancy. Āī had selected it after watching an old Marathi movie (Punavecī Rāta, 1955) in which the heroine had worn a similar saree while dancing to a lovesong written by G. D. Madgulkar.

Ḍhagāvara dhaḍakalā ḍhaga, sakhyā re, ṭhiṇagī tyātūna uḍe

Tujhī an mājhī prīta vijecī, ujeḍa bhūtaḷī paḍe

Sakhyā re, ujeḍa bhūtaḷī paḍe!

A cloud collided with a cloud, my friend, from which a spark leaped

Your and my love is lightning, it lights up the ground below

My friend, it lights up the ground below!

Raghav certainly lit up my world when he collided with me, thought Pallavi, as she served the elderly people deftly and accepted their blessings with a smile. Is our love lightning then? Will we remember its beauty while we wait in the dark for it to reappear?

Raghav's phone buzzed again. "I have a send-off gift for you. This is message no.2." Predictable. This girl would send him a selfie next, and expect thanks for her gift - but why call it a send-off gift? Had the media somehow found out about the racketeering investigation into Jayati Jewels and reported his imminent arrest?

Pallavi was looking at Raghav with concern in her eyes. Her Ghamaṇḍī Rāva was surely hurting after their conversation that morning. Not only had she kept an existential crisis totally secret from him for months, she had pursued revenge while falling in love with him, and she wanted Raghav Rao to be someone that he had never been - yet - as a role model for Arjun. Could her Raghav get back on his feet after this triple blow to his ego? Whose text messages was he reading? Farhad's, perhaps, trying to build a team of defense lawyers?

There was the expected buzz. Raghav pulled out his phone, hoping to delete the anticipated selfie before Pallavi could see it. This was one of the uxorious habits that had developed in Raghav as he fell in love with Pallavi - he would conceal anything that might excite her jealousy. Of course, Pallavi, who was sending him to prison, where he might face any number of aggressive men demanding his companionship, wouldn't fuss about a mere selfie anymore.

There was no selfie. "I know where you are. This is message no.3." Raghav felt uneasy now. Could the mystery person really know what he never acknowledged in public, that Raghav Rao was the philanthropist Ramaswami? He had been found out before, when Anjali took her revenge on him. How many people had Anjali told? Raghav began to look at each of the staff standing around the room. There were a few unfamiliar faces, but that was not surprising, as Savitri jī was the one who hired staff for Pooswami Old Age Home. Maria conscientiously followed Raghav's instructions so that whenever he signed their paychecks, he saw their photographs, but it took time to memorize names and faces because Raghav rarely spoke to the staff, preferring to converse with the elderly residents. As Raghav's gaze travelled around the room, all of the staff were busy with their tasks, and no one was looking at him.

Another buzz from his phone. "Pallavi looks lovelier than ever. This is message no.4." Raghav had no doubt now; the person was in this room and watching Pallavi! But why? Pallavi often got admiring comments on his social media, but he had a bad feeling about this one.

Pallavi was watching Raghav's unease as he looked around the room slowly and checked his phone again. His concern is understandable, she thought. He could be arrested at any moment, even in front of these elderly people who know him only as Ramaswami and love him like a son. That lovesong's lines ran through her mind.

Āsamānātīla āga koṇa hī sośīla dharaṇīvara?

Hyā āgītaça zaḷūna zāyaçaṃ tuzhaṃ an māzhaṃ ghara

Ghaḍū naye te ghaḍalaṃ, rāyā, māyā āpulī zaḍe

Tujhī an mājhī prīta vijecī, ujeḍa bhūtaḷī paḍe

Sakhyā re, ujeḍa bhūtaḷī paḍe!

This fire from the heavens - can anyone on earth bear it?

It's this fire that will consume your house and mine

What shouldn't happen happened, my prince, our love connected

Your and my love is lightning, it lights up the ground below

My friend, it lights up the ground below!

The lightning between her and Raghav, that fire of conflict and love, had already consumed the Deshmukh family. Now it was about to strike Jayati Jewels and cut off funding to Pooswami Old Age Home. How reckless she had been when she began her work to bring Raghav Rao to justice! She had been willing to face his fury, innocently reckless, unaware that she would soon learn to love him and defend him! Their connection shouldn't have happened this way. Arjun deserved to know his father from the moment he opened his eyes. She knew how it felt not to know her own parents, to wonder what qualities they had passed on to her and Siddhesh Dādā. She sensed that Arjun had inherited Raghav's best qualities - his generosity, his aesthetic sense, his ambition ... but would she be able to encourage those qualities in her solitary darkness, with only the memory of a world bathed in the light of glorious lightning?

Raghav checked his phone as it buzzed. "Expect to hand out peḍhe or barphī? This is message no.5." So, this mystery person was aware of Pallavi's pregnancy, but not the news that they were expecting a boy. Of course, Raghav wasn't expecting to hand out peḍhe himself when Arjun arrived; he would be in prison by then.

A memory came to Raghav out of nowhere. At Manasi's mehandī celebration, he and Pallavi had fought to serve the jilebī, and Pallavi had said that someday the news would be on social media: Raghav Rao serving food at Central Jail! He should have known that she was capable of making those words come true! Pallavi, who had met his gaze after enduring his physical cruelty and sabotage of her work, and convinced him to back down, Pallavi, who had negotiated so shrewdly that she left him flustered, and even one-upped him in business a few times ... how could he have expected Pallavi to tolerate his lawlessness after he made her his wife?

He remembered a story that his Nānna had told him about twenty years ago, when he had been a little boy. A hunter used to rob passersby to provide for his wife and child. One day, he waylaid the seven sages, who said to him, "You know that it is a sin to deprive others for your own sake. Why do you do it?" "For my wife and child." "But will your wife and child share your sin?" The hunter did not know the answer, so he asked his wife and child, "If I commit a sin to provide for you, will you share my sin?" His wife said, "No, it is your duty to provide for me, but your sins are not mine." His child also said the same. Then the hunter repented, and asked the seven sages to purify him of his sin. They told him to stand still and repeat "Ma rā ... Ma rā ..." until they returned. He did this, and as he stood still, an anthill grew around him. When the seven sages returned, they saw nothing but the anthill, and from it they heard the prayer, "Rāma ... Rāma ..." They called to the hunter, and he emerged from the anthill as the sage Vālmīki, author of the story of Śrī Rāma. At the end of the story, Raghav had asked his Nānna, "What about his wife and child? Did the hunter just forget his duty to provide for them?" His Nānna had thought about it, and replied, "They were important to him, but when he realized what he was doing for them, it was more important for him to turn away from sin and become a good person." As Raghav recollected his Nānna's story, he still felt outraged that the hunter had just abandoned his wife and child. Raghav would never abandon Pallavi and Arjun. Even if he alone paid for his sins, even if they were ashamed to acknowledge him, he would always love them and honour his responsibility to provide for them.

Pallavi was watching as the expression on Raghav's face changed from chagrined to wistful to furious. Her Raghav's privileged lifestyle, his philanthropy, his self-esteem ... everything was about to go up in flames, leaving him in a directionless new world lit up by lightning, as the lovesong had put it.

Kharaṃça sāṅgate, ātā nā āpulī pṛthvīvara pā'ūlaṃ

Gaṇa-gotālā bharavīla bhaḍakī bijalīcī çāhūla

Dharaṇī nāhī, ābhāḷa nāhī, nyārī duniyā ghaḍe

Tujhī an mājhī prīta vijecī, ujeḍa bhūtaḷī paḍe

Sakhyā re, ujeḍa bhūtaḷī paḍe!

It's true, I tell you, now we leave no footsteps on the ground

Class and clan will go up in flames when the lightning arrives

No more earth, no more sky, a different world takes shape

Your and my love is lightning, it lights up the ground below

My friend, it lights up the ground below!

Raghav was shaken out of his memories by another buzz from his phone. "You'll go hungry either way. This is message no.6." He would go hungry for sweets to celebrate his child's birth? This person was making a threat, no doubt about it now. And whoever this enemy was, he was going to harm Arjun! Raghav quickly pulled Pallavi aside and signalled to her to listen as he called Farhad.

"Farhad, I'm getting messages on my mobile phone from some lowlife. The last one threatens harm to my child before he's born. Call Inspector Swami and tell him to investigate. Yes, we'll wait for security at the Old Age Home."

Raghav ended the call, and Pallavi quickly scrolled through the messages on Raghav's phone. "Raghav, who could this be? Maybe it's just a prank, but should we go home early, just in case?"

The uncertainty in Pallavi's voice caused Raghav's stomach to flip-flop. She was asking him what they should do! She needed him to protect her! How was he going to go to prison as she expected of him?

"Sārī kā Dukāna, you and Arjun shouldn't worry at all. Security is on the way. When they're here, they'll make sure the car is safe, and then we can go home or to any safe place. This person is sending me messages instead of making a surprise attack. That means he wants me to react, and maybe walk into a trap. We don't want to frighten all of these old people. So, let's just enjoy the dinner."

Pallavi nodded, and patted her belly to reassure Arjun. When Raghav's phone buzzed, both of them read the message together. "Do you know how close I am? This is message no.7."

"Why is this person numbering the messages?" Pallavi wondered aloud.

Savitri jī approached them. "Sir, Madam, everyone else has been served. It is my humble request to you to take your places at the head table."

Raghav spoke so that only Savitri jī and Pallavi could hear him. "Someone is sending threatening messages to my mobile phone. We have police and security on the way. You will work with them to make sure that all of the residents are safe, and that all of the staff follow instructions and submit to inspection."

"Yes, sir."

"Have you noticed anyone behaving suspiciously tonight?"

"No, sir."

There came another buzz. "Keep counting, but count down. This is message no.8." Count down! Raghav mentally began, ten, nine ... so there would be 17 messages. His enemy was No.17 - or upside down, Lion!

"Lion!" Raghav said aloud. Pallavi looked at him. Lion was one of the names used by Vedant, Raghav's former business partner whom he had sent to prison for smuggling drugs through Jayati Jewels.

Raghav called Farhad again. "Farhad, find out Ved's location. He's the one sending the messages. He told me to count down, starting with message no.8, so there will be 17 messages by the time he attacks."

"Unless he wants us to think that there's still time, and he surprises us first," Pallavi reminded her husband.

Raghav looked at her, startled. Yes, Ved could attack at any time. Even Pallavi had attacked Raghav by surprise that morning. When she had told him that she wanted Arjun to be proud of him, Raghav had thought that she meant to transform him, to inspire him to clean up his business within a few months. And then he had learned that he was already out of time; Pallavi had ensured his arrest before she spoke to him.

What had she called him? Duplicitous. Well, now he wasn't the only one who deserved that label. He had never expected this duplicitous behaviour from Pallavi - loving him and destroying him at the same time. He, Raghav, was the one who enjoyed making people - women, especially - feel that he might appreciate them, only to show them how little they were worth. Once, he had even praised Pallavi's proposal to supply jewelry pouches to Jayati Jewels as "genuine" while, at the same time, he was stealing her All India saree idea and selling knockoffs to Puja at half-price. He had enjoyed hurting Pallavi with his duplicity just because Pallavi had too much self-respect to accept his order for a hundred All India sarees unless he admitted that he liked the design.

Self-respect - that was it! As he met Pallavi's serious gaze, Raghav knew without a doubt that she had been tempted to warn him, but self-respect had held her back. If the threat of prison time had inspired him to clean up his business, it would have been a hollow victory. Pallavi had wanted her Ghamaṇḍī Rāva, unprompted and inspired by no one, to admit that he respected honesty and hard work.

"You're right, Sārī kā Dukāna," Raghav answered her. "We'll have to be careful."

As they followed Savitri jī to the head table, which was surrounded by a decorative raṅgolī, Raghav's phone gave another buzz. "Still standing? This is message no.9."

Raghav remembered that Ved had once electrified a chair to kill him when he sat down, but Pallavi had accidentally saved his life. Had Ved tried the same trick again? Raghav quickly grabbed a cup of water from the table and poured it over the chairs. They did not burst into flames. Savitri jī, coughing or perhaps hiding laughter, motioned to one of the staff - Malini, according to her name tag - to wipe the chairs, as she congratulated "Mr. and Mrs. Ramaswami" and invited them to say a few words.

"Our son Arjun is on his way into the world," Raghav began. "We already love him very much, and we give thanks to Gaṇapati Bāppā for protecting Arjun from whatever trouble I could have passed down to him. We want to share our joy with all of you because your affection has enriched my life for the past few years, and your blessings have brought me prosperity. I hope that Arjun will meet all of you soon, and someday he will do more for his people than his Nānna ever could."

Pallavi was paying attention to Raghav's words. She understood what he wasn't saying aloud, that he saw his life ending as Arjun's was just beginning. Now it was her turn to speak to the gathered elders.

"This is a time of great joy for both of us, and also some uncertainty. We want to give Arjun everything, but we cannot know where life will take us. Even a divinity like Śrī Viṣṇu could not keep his Śrī Lakṣmī with him, and he had to leave Vaikuṇṭha to go into hiding on earth. However, because Śrī Viṣṇu was determined to recover his other half, he found her in Śrī Padmāvatī and regained his divine glory as Śrī Veṅkaṭeśvara. With blessings from all of you and from Śrī Veṅkaṭeśvara, we too will always rebuild our life with courage, for Arjun's sake."

Meanwhile, Raghav got another message: "Did you say a prayer before dinner? This is message no.10." What was Ved planning? The food was what they themselves had prepared and served to everyone in the room; there couldn't be anything wrong with it!

Pallavi sat down and Raghav followed her example. Just to be safe, he signalled to her that he would taste each dish first, then she could begin her meal.

Please, Veṅkaṭeśvara, Raghav thought, if anything bad is to happen, let it happen to me, and not to Pallavi and Arjun.

After eating for a few minutes, Pallavi put her hand over her mouth and ran to the nearest sink. Raghav ran after her and held back her hair as she threw up. She wasn't choking; that was a good sign. Maybe it was just a symptom of her pregnancy.

Pallavi's pallu had come loose, and her heaving belly was visible to the concerned elders waiting around the sink. Raghav wondered if everyone else saw what he saw - proof of the nights when Raghav had given himself to Pallavi unreservedly, irrevocably, joyously ...

His naughty train of thought was interrupted by another buzz. "Does Pallavi know how to swim? This is message no.11."

Had Ved tampered with the water pipes at the sink to cause a flood? Obviously, Ved was watching their every movement, but where was he? Where were the police, the security? He called Farhad again. "Anna, we're in the parking lot, walking over. Inspector Swami is in front of us. Please don't feel tension."

Pallavi was finished, and washing her face. Raghav tenderly wiped her face and neck. As Inspector Swami walked in with several officers, Raghav thought, how easy it would have been to escape from Ved and from the trouble that tomorrow would bring. He could have staged his own arrest, Pallavi would have thought that it was for the racketeering charges, and then he would have escaped to some paradise with his secret bank account. Except that he couldn't live without Pallavi, and Pallavi wouldn't join him willingly. He was capable of forcing her, but that would endanger Arjun, so he couldn't even try ... she really had checkmated him!

The police officers began to round up the residents and the staff, patting down each person and inspecting the premises for any suspicious activity. Raghav received another message, "Never mind. It won't help. This is message no.12." At the same time, Farhad, holding Mandar by the hand, arrived with Raghav's private security guards. Jaya and Krishna were with them.

"Amma, it isn't safe here! Ved is watching us. Farhad, how could you let her come here?"

"Raghav Rao kā Amma abhī bhī zindā hai!" Jaya retorted. "I am not going to sit at home while some Ved or Bhed threatens my children! Pallavi, beṭā, you are all right?"

"Yes, Amma. Let's go sit at the head table while the police search the room."

"Dīdī, I was closing up the shop when Farhad jī came to pick up Mandar Dādā for their date, and that's when he got Jījū's call. I wanted to make sure you are all right," Krishna explained, as she helped Pallavi to sit down.

"Sārī kā Assistant, do you also know judo karate? Going to rescue your Dīdī from a killer like Ved, are you?" Raghav took out his frustration on Krishna.

"Jījū, you can do the rescuing, but I'm not leaving until I know Dīdī is safe. We have to catch the man who dared to attack Dīdī and impersonated my Abhijit Anna."

Raghav did not get a chance to reply because his phone buzzed. "Which one of you will it be? This is message no.13." Raghav was sure that he didn't have much time left to figure out Vedant's plan. His enemy was so unpredictable, sometimes trying to blow him up and sometimes sending him a harmless alarm clock. Raghav repeated his prayer to Veṅkaṭeśvara, offering himself so that Pallavi and Arjun would be safe. Not much of an offer, he thought cynically. If Raghav Rao survived tonight's adventure, he might be arrested as soon as tomorrow. He didn't dare to ask Veṅkaṭeśvara for even one more day of freedom, just one day to be a better man for Pallavi to remember.

He had told Pallavi that morning about the first time he felt rejected by her - that time he tried to save her reputation at Amruta's expense. Now he remembered the first time he wanted to give Pallavi a pleasant surprise. She had asked him for a deadline extension, and he had rudely refused to her face, but jumped to it as soon as her back was turned, taking time out from his pursuit of Lion, who had just tried to kill him. And she had deflated him by calling to say - not thank you - but that she wouldn't need his favour. He had lost his chance to make her happy. Why hadn't he learned his lesson? Raghav wondered.

Another buzz roused him. "I won't keep you waiting much longer. This is message no.14."

Inspector Swami came up to Raghav. "Anna, we have checked all of the staff and residents; no one is armed and everyone's identity has been verified. We have surveyed the entire premises and there is no sign of any danger. Would you like us to escort you and your family home?"

Raghav was about to reply when he heard a woman's voice. "Excuse me, Mr. Ramaswami?" The Inspector looked confused. Raghav turned. It was Malini from the staff. He nodded at her.

"Several of the residents would like to take photographs with you and Mrs. Ramaswami. It is my humble request that you fulfil their wish."

"All right. Inspector Swami, if the person sending these messages is Lion - Ved, there may be another three messages. Wait about fifteen minutes before you go. My security will take care of my family."

Raghav and Pallavi stood together with each group of residents, with the beautiful raṅgolī in the foreground. Maria was taking photographs, which she would efficiently compile into an album the next day. For some of the elders who had not much longer to live, that album would be the last treasured memory of their beloved Mr. Ramaswami.

Raghav's phone buzzed and he called Inspector Swami over to show him the message. "Enough photos for a lifetime? This is message no.15."

"The threat is in this room right now, Inspector! What are you doing about it?"

Inspector Swami alerted his officers. Everyone in the room stood still as the officers lined them up.

Raghav received another message. "Where am I? Look around you! This is message no.16."

Raghav spun around, but no one in the room was doing anything suspicious. He put his arm around Pallavi, and muttered "Veṅkaṭeśvara, Veṅkaṭeśvara ..."

Soon, the dreaded buzz came. "Show time! Lion is out! This is message no.17." Raghav looked around once again, but he did not see the air duct grating above him falling out, hitting him in the shoulders and knocking him down as Vedant leaped out, holding a lighter.

"Raghav!" Jaya shouted as she came running to him from across the room.

Seeing the lighter flickering in Vedant's hand, Pallavi realized that the raṅgolī had been drawn with gunpowder. She quickly grabbed a water bottle from her purse and poured it all over the raṅgolī.

Jaya cried out in surprise as she slipped on the wet floor, and then cried out again in pain. Blood began to stain her saree.

Raghav got up and tackled Vedant to the floor. Several officers seized Vedant, disarmed him, and took him away.

As quickly as possible, the family took Jaya to the hospital. Raghav was distraught; his Amma was being examined for fractures in her leg, and she was still bleeding. He remembered that her blood type had been in short supply when she had needed an operation before.

"Farhad, I need to find out who was Amma's AB negative blood donor in early March 2021. Bribe or threaten anybody in this hospital, I don't care. Just get me the donor's name and address right away so that I can beg that person to donate again."

"Raghav, please don't get worked up about that," Pallavi tried to calm him down. "Arjun, your Nānna is going to get what he needs without breaking any rules and without begging, just you see."

Raghav could not speak. Rules didn't matter when his Amma's life was at stake, but Pallavi was also right, rules could not be ignored in front of Arjun.

"Jījū, your Amma will be all right." Krishna spoke calmly to Raghav, having learned from her cousin the obstetrician. "Look at me, Jījū. Her blood type, AB, is called the universal recipient because such a person can receive blood from donors of type O, type A, type B, or type AB. The only concern is that the blood donor should be negative for the Rh antigen, like Amma. So, although the hospital prefers to save blood of other types for patients with those exact blood types, they will use that blood for Amma if they have to. The previous blood donor being ineligible to donate won't make a difference."

Raghav took deep breaths and calmed down. Then a thought occurred to him. "Krishna, you didn't say that not finding the previous blood donor won't make a difference. You said that the donor is ineligible to donate. How do you know that? It means that you know the donor!"

Krishna looked apologetically at Pallavi. Pallavi shook her head. Raghav understood that both of them knew somehow, but they were not going to talk. He turned to Mandar and asked, "How can someone who donated blood be ineligible to donate again?"

"If the donor develops a bloodborne disease, he or she cannot donate anymore. Also, a donor should not donate while pregnant because she needs all of her own blood," Mandar replied, having learned during his years as an ambulance driver.

The truth flashed before Raghav's eyes. "Pallavi? It was you?" She nodded, and Raghav's stomach sank. "The whole time I was trying to make your business fail, I owed you my reason for living? When you confronted me after Bābā disowned you, you knew that you had saved Amma's life, and still you said nothing to shame me? Pallavi, if you had told me while I was forcing you to marry me, I couldn't have -" Raghav started to sob uncontrollably.

Pallavi reached out to Raghav, placing his head on her lap and rubbing his back. His tears were making more shimmering spots on her black candrakaḷā saree. There would be dark days ahead, with Jaya needing rehabilitation, Raghav in jail, and Pallavi returning to Kolhapur to give birth. In loneliness, with only the memory of their beautiful illusory world lit up by lightning, would they all have the courage to survive and reunite? The last verse of the lovesong appeared in her mind.

Hī dubaḷyāñcī duniyā, rāyā, uṃça āpulī uḍī

Ekamekāñcyā nayanī gheū sāta janmāñcī buḍī

Eka vākaḍī zaḷatī reṣā itakī kimayā ghaḍe!

Tujhī an mājhī prīta vijecī, ujeḍa bhūtaḷī paḍe

Sakhyā re, ujeḍa bhūtaḷī paḍe!

This is a world of weaklings, my prince, and we leap high

Into each other's eyes, let's take a seven lifetimes' plunge

One crooked burning line shaped such a transformation!

Your and my love is lightning, it lights up the ground below

My friend, it lights up the ground below!

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