To Ex-cogitate & Explode
"Dad mujhe halqa sa hope tha she is different, I sensed something in her I didnt in any of the girls that have been brought home"
"I cannot believe Manya ne aisa kiya" Ranjan was angry
The help was asked to leave the house temporarily by Ranjan, he paged one, Santram came "Ek gin and tonic bana denge?"
The help nodded reverentially, he didnt comment or pause or linger on Sam's predicament
"Why is our happiness so fleeting Dad?" she asked choking up
"If I knew the answer to that puttar, I would be God" Ranjan began to cry softly
Sam gripped his hand, tight
"Woh sab se alag hai maine socha, u know, he is... he is different" "Yeh sabse alag" Sam smiled...
"she has a heart of gold" Ranjan said ferociously "ek din us se milne aayi, they were leaving at night, woh chala gaya, yeh bhaagti hui aayi aur roney lag padi,
Dad aapne khaaya?" she asked Ranjan couldnt continue, he cried softly, his old weary body shook with emotion "I said main kha langa puttar
tussi jao" "Par na, othey khadi rahi (I asked her to leave promising I wud eat, but she wudnt go), Dad Khana kha lo, Dad aapko chai? "Tussi ki khaogey" "Simple girl"
"Very simple girl"
"Very affectionate too" Sam said smiling
"I thought he wont last the married life for a month, its over a month, and now its not him its Manny" Ranjan was disgusted
"I thought they will part ways too, I would stay up all night wondering how I would plead his case with her begging her not to leave him" Sam said crying
Santram brought his drink
He took the cold chai away, put away the sweets, and began making dinner quietly
"Sir chicken gravy, pulao, aur kofta bana loon?"
Ranjan nodded with no enthusiasm...
"Didi aap khaogey?"
"Nahi bhaya main ghar jaaoongi" she smiled "thanks"
"I want to see him stay married to her, she is the best thing that happened to him, she is the greatest thing that has bothered to enter this house in the last 4 years" Ranjan took his glasses ff and set it on the table
"Dad dont cry" "Usko Manny ki baat itni buri lagi? Aisa kya kaha hoga manny ne us se" Sam wondered
"Sant Ram was cleaning all the rooms, looking for it, I asked him what he was looking for he said Manya Didi's laptop" Ranjan said
"isko poochhon if Manny called Ishita?" Sam whispered
"Ummm" "I dont know That wont be good" Ranjan thought..
"I cannot believe I raised my kids to be suspicious of friends and family" "How can Manny be suspicious of Ishita?" Ranjan was appalled
"I thought she liked Ishita" Sam said "If he had married one of the women he was dating before Marliese, or he had married Marliese I am thinking how this house would have been" Sam said with a faraway look
"Bhaagti rehti hai chidiya ki tarah, gaati ekdum koyal ki tarah. Us se ladti hai subah shaam" Ranjan said fondly, smiling
"Roz?" Sam worried
"haan... woh apna ek doosre se argue karte rehte hain, tera bhai to ziddi" Ranjan smiled again... "she is very innocent puttar"
"Tera bhai ekdum chust, usko bech khaaye, but he treats her like a kid" Ranjan nodded in agreement
"Does he know she sent it?" "did he agree too?" A strange fear overtook the pit of her stomach... wondering if this was the first step in brother sister estrangement
"Woh to jo sahi hai usko sahi kehta hai jo galt woh galt" I am living his justice system puttar" Ranjan began to cry again
"why is only our family, and our relationships so complicated Dad?" Sam pleaded, crying "Mujhe HAR KOI khush dikhta hai, sirf hum khush nahi" she was outraged
"Ma did EVERYTHING right, you did EVERYTHING right.. par dukh hamari saaye ki tarah peechhe kyon lagi hai Dad?" she wanted all the answers from a man who had none
He watched merchants and traders and business owners ride pillion in cycles and motorcycles with their grown son, ride the back seat of Bentleys, set up corn on the cob stalls at bus stops together
Sold tikki at the border, Sons pushed the vegetable cart, Dads cycled or walked by, sons lifted the load in Khari Baoli, fathers lent a supporting hand
at stores across the city fathers collected money, sons did the work, wealthy entrepreneurs of his stature never met anyone in person,
they sent their "heir" to meetings. They stood behind their parent like a rock, supporting, holding, propping up the seniors
He was completely alone
He had no words to comfort his daughter who had a unsavory glimpse of the wretched loneliness
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her father in law had gifted her a pod swing in the sun room balcony, she sat there sobbing
She heard foot steps and got off the swing
He leaned on the door
"Manny doesnt care for me, Dad is disappointed with me, Sam doesnt love me any more (somehow THIS devastated her, like HE had left her or broken off the marriage)
Tumhara kya status hai?" "which of the above?" "Or ALL of the above?" she asked sobbing
"Nahi mat batao mujhe"
"I asked you to wait, you SHIPPED it to her?" he asked livid
"KYON KI UNKO LAGA meri friends ne unka laptop churaya hai?"
"U COULD HAVE WAITED FOR ME TO TALK WITH HER" he hissed
"U actually wanted to hear her say explicitly Ishita stole my laptop, or Diya stole it or Evelyn?" she jeered
"You are crossing the line II" he said warningly
"I did what I thought was right" she declared
"I agree, feelings be damned" he blistered
"FEELINGS? YOU CARE ABOUT FEELINGS?" "KAB SE?" (she was taking pot shot at him for not caring about Ranjan)
"I agree we all must throw money at people's faces when we suspect insult when none has occurred"
"SUSPECT, NONE?" "I will make Athim call Selvi and ask where his laptop went after you bring
Mihir home to D II, but you know what, I know, I know. You dont give a damn
you will buy an Apple store and gift him in return" she sneered
"It was a f**kING LAPTOP, dont make it a fortuitous self worth issue" he warned
"Of course not, only YOU are allowed to wear your sparkling cynicism as your badge of brilliance!!!"
Edited by Nisha0604 - 9 years ago
comment:
p_commentcount