Thread 2:
Part XLIX
Although Maan's personal life was running smoothly, things weren't going too well for him on the business front. As Maan was still new in the business, creditors were unwilling to take the risk of lending to him, particularly since the hotel, which was the primary asset, had a negative net worth. Maan was desperately in need of working capital to keep his hotel afloat. However, all the banks he approached required him to contribute at least 10 per cent as margin money. As he required at least Rs.10 million(one crore) to cover the gap between expenses and revenues, this meant that he needed to bring in at least Rs.1 million (Rs.10 lakh). He couldn't ask Mr.Garodia for the money because he knew his partner's business in the U.S. was having financial problems of its own and he would not be in a position to provide the funds.
Geet suggested that they borrow the money from Rano but Maan would not hear of it. He explained to her that accepting Rano's offer to finance Baba's hospitalisation expenses was different because Baba had worked for the Handas and it was like taking a loan from a former employer for her former employee. On the other hand, borrowing money from his mother-in-law for his business was unthinkable as it goes against his principles to be successful on his own. When Geet offered to sell off her jewellery to give him the money, Maan was livid. He said that the jewellery was given as a gift to her and there was no way he would even touch it. He said that he will find a way out of the muddle as he was hopeful of convincing some banker to lend money solely based on his capacity. Time was, however, running out and things looked bleak.
It was five days before Christmas. Although it is primarily a festival for the Christians, Mumbai was one of the cities in the country where Christmas is celebrated with great fanfare by people of all faiths. Hotels had special Christmas programmes which included bands singing Christmas carols; they have huge decorated Christmas trees, special lightings and Santa Clauses to distribute sweets and gifts to the children of the guests. Maan wanted to have a grand celebration in his hotel too but since the finances were tight, he settled for a more subdued fare. He got an amateur band to play the carols. He decided to dress up as Santa Claus in the Christmas Party which was to be celebrated on Christmas eve and instead of expensive gifts he settled for distributing chocolate bars to the kids.
That night he returned home late, exhausted from work. Geet welcomed him in and was about to enter the kitchen to get him his dinner when she heard Baba cough. She rushed into the bedroom to see if he required anything. Meanwhile Maan, feeling ravenously hungry, couldn't wait to change and headed straight to the kitchen platform to see what she had prepared. When he opened the vessels he realised there was very little food, hardly enough for one. It is only then it struck him that in his worry over the budget for his hotel, he had completely disregarded the budget for his family which must have gone haywire in the last couple of months. As he was the owner of the hotel, he had to first settle the salaries of his employees before he could take home his income which was not much, considering the heavy losses the hotel was making. While the income was erratic, the expenses were steadily increasing, particularly after Baba was discharged and had come to live with them. The money from Geet's art classes would not have been sufficient to meet the expenses. No wonder then that there appeared to be a shortage of even a basic necessity like food. His eyes clouded and he quickly returned back to the hall and got busy removing his shoes and socks.
Geet returned back from the bedroom after giving Baba his pills and making him drink some water. She was about to serve Maan his dinner when he told her that he had already had his dinner at the hotel. She looked at him surprised as he always came home for dinner, however late he reached. Maan spun a yarn that his school friend, Pramod, who was a software engineer in the U.S., had come to meet him at the hotel and had insisted in giving him a treat at his hotel. He told her that Pramod had selected the choicest dishes and settled the bill. He then proceeded to fill her plate with the food she had cooked and started feeding her. She asked him why did he not invite him home. Maan explained to her that he had to leave the same night to Delhi to meet his parents and had promised to come home on his return. Geet did not suspect anything and bought his story in full.
While having the food she asked him what were the items he had for dinner.
Hesitating for a moment to compose his thoughts, he rattled away a string of dishes that came to his mind. "Butter naan, malai khofta, mutter paneer," he counted with his fingers.
He paused for a second as if to jog his memory, ".....mmmm...what else?... Oh, yes!" he snapped his fingers and continued, "mutton pulav, tandoori chicken."
"Really? You had all that?" asked Geet her eyes widening in surprise.
He nodded his head in reply but momentarily averted his gaze from her. He then turned back to her and continued the charade.
"We finally topped it off with fruit salad and ice cream," he finished triumphantly.
Looking at him with a mock expression of sadness, she said, "I envy you. My mouth is watering just hearing the names of these delicious dishes."
Maan felt guilty for lying to her but recovering almost immediately, he said, "Geet close your eyes."
Geet did as she was told.
"Now, imagine that this simple dhal chawal and vegetable curry are all those items I had tonight," he said and started feeding her.
Geet smacked her lips to indicate how much she was relishing what she was having. Maan smiled at her childish excitement, unmindful that he will be going to bed on a hungry stomach that night.
As they got ready for bed, both of them were making their own plans to tackle their immediate financial problem. While Maan made up his mind to borrow some money from his friend the next day to at least ensure that the day-to-day running of his family is not in jeopardy, Geet planned to ask Mr.Sahoo to give her an advance on the tuition fees so that she can buy more food for the rest of the month.
The next morning Maan's cell rang while he was having his bath and Geet picked it up to answer it. When she heard what the caller had to say, her expression rapidly changed from surprise to dejection and then contemplation. Just as she shut the line, she heard the door bell ring and hurried to open the door. Pinky was at the doorstep with a broad smile. After the usual greeting, she went in to see her uncle who was still sleeping. Kissing him gently on the forehead, she came to the hall and handed over a cover to Geet who looked at her in confusion. Pinky explained that she had come to return the money she had given her the previous month. Geet tried to protest but Pinky wouldn't hear of it. She told her that she had accepted that money only as a loan. Now that she has got an occupation, she had to return this money. Geet asked her what occupation she has. Pinky then explained to her that she is running a dhabba service from her home. She has five customers already, all bachelors who work in Adi's office. She cooks lunch and dinner for them and Adi delivers the dhabbas to them. Charging Rs.30 per meal, she makes a neat profit of Rs.5000-6000 per month. In the evenings, she takes maths tuitions for kids in the locality, earning around Rs.2000 in that. As she is quite self sufficient now she needs to settle her dues. Geet recognised the fiercely independent and enterprising streak in her that she sees in Maan. 'It must be running in their blood' she thought.
Geet accepted the money and bid her goodbye. Maan, who had come out of his shower a few minutes before, overheard their conversation. He felt relieved that he did not have to ask for money from his friend. Asking for things was something he detested but had decided to give up a little of his self respect for the good of his family. With this money they can tide over this month, he thought, but he needed to do something about the future. He needed to secure it and that can be done only by securing a loan and straightening out his hotel. He decided to make another trip to one of the banks and try his luck again.
Geet came into the bedroom to keep the money in the cupboard. Maan who was still in his towel caught her wrist and swung her into his arms. Geet hit against his bare chest which was still damp from the shower.
Nodding her head in the direction of his father she whispered to him,
"Maan, your Baba is still in the room!"
"So?" he asked, cocking his eyebrow.
"You should behave yourself in your father's presence at least," she warned him in hushed tone.
Maan whispered back, "But then Baba is sleeping. He cannot see us. I'll let you go only if you give me a kiss!"
She shook her head and said, "I cannot be disrespectful to my father-in-law by smooching you in his presence."
"OK then, I will wait till you relent," he said, rolling his eyes and tightening his hold on her.
As they kept wrestling for a couple of minutes, they heard Baba cough. Both of them panicked and turned in his direction. Maan loosened his grip and taking this opportunity, Geet sprinted out of the room. Maan looked regretfully at her retreating back when he realised that his baba was still asleep.
He soon got ready and picked up his file with loan application papers.
"Please pray that I'm successful in getting the loan this time at least," he said and leaned over to kiss his wife goodbye.
Kissing him back, she assured him,"Don't worry, I'll pray that you get your loan soon enough."
After he had left, she received an unexpected call on her cell. Couple of hours later she wheeled her father-in-law to Pinky's house and asked her to take care of him for a few hours as she had some important work to attend to. Pinky readily agreed to do the needful and Geet left for her appointment which would soon change a lot of things in their lives.
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