Chapter 9

Mama

Mrs. Saraswati almost ran to the phone and took the receiver off the cradle with trembling hands, God, let it be Kavitha!

“Hallo! Is that you Bua?” Arjun’s voice rang out and Saraswati felt a stab of disappointment. Arjun was certainly her favorite nephew but this certainly wasn’t her time for niceties to anyone. She responded in a dull voice…so dull that Arjun sounded alarmed when he asked again,

“Bua? Is everything ok?”

“Huh! I suppose it is ok, bete! I thought it was Kavitha calling!”

“Bhabhi hasn’t come home yet? It’s late! Has Sameer bhaiyya come?”

“No, Sameer hasn’t, and they haven’t called too, I feel a bit worried, Arjun! Anyway, was there anything special you called about?”

“Well, actually, I am at a party at the club house in the main road, Bua, and I didn’t drop in because I had a big gang of friends with me, some of them not in a very good condition…you know…huh…” Arjun sounded quite sheepish.

Saraswati felt a bit of normalcy return to her mind at all this ordinary small talk and said, “Yeah! I know…I know…have fun, bete and be careful, Ok?”

“But Bua, why hasn’t Bhabhi and Bhaiyya come? Have they called?”

“Actually no, that was why I was a bit worried. Are there any blocks in the city or a hartal or something else happening?”

“No, Bua! Nothing I have heard of!  Hey, Bua wait, I have a friend’s car with me and I will come over in ten minutes, OK? I don’t like the way you sound, there is something wrong isn’t it? Ok, don’t say, we will meet in another fifteen minutes, bye”

The line clicked dead and Saraswati felt a small wave of relief wash over her. Arjun was someone she had always depended on, how come she didn’t think of calling him? No, she checked herself, why should she have disturbed the poor boy because her own son was being irresponsible? Saraswati felt angry towards Sameer for the first time in several years. If his phone was not working, he could at least make a call from some place on the way, after the silence all the day.

She dialed Kavitha’s number again, which was not reachable still and Sameer’s number which was again switched off. In desperation she kept dialing the numbers alternately for a few minutes but in vain. The clock’s ticking reminded her of precious time running out, perhaps the train had come and the poor girl was waiting for Sameer and that idiot of a son was mooning round some where and had not turned up?

Saraswati dialed the railway station once more, the manual number was busy but the auto response answered and spelled out the trains that had arrived, but nothing about the passenger. Don’t they announce passenger trains? A car stopped outside and foot steps ran up the narrow climb to the door. Arjun had arrived. Saraswati made a quick decision, she opened the small cupboard and took out her small purse and checked it for money and closed it again. She shook off her home sandals and slipped on her comfy walking shoes and went to the door to open it.

Arjun did not remove his shoes as he usually did and stared beyond Saraswati in surprise and then clamped his hands his hands across his mouth in a gesture of dismay.

“Oops! I forgot!”

Saraswati looked at the dining table, where she had arranged flowers and a big cake, saying ‘Happy Birthday Kavitha’ and said grimly,

“So did your Sameer Bhaiyya!”

Arjun started to say something but Saraswati interrupted him and said,

“We’ll talk on the way; can you take me to the railway station now? We may have to collect Kavitha; it’s possible that Sameer has not turned up.”

Arjun registered no surprise at this but took the keys hanging behind the door and locked up after his Bua and then walked to the car parked outside the gate. The street light in front of their house was not switched on and the darkness looked very sinister. Arjun smoothly moved the car on to the main road and asked gently,

“Bua! What happened?”

Saraswati looked and felt very grim. Kavitha was not just a daughter to her, but her daughter-in-law too, she had a responsibility to Kavitha’s parents when she took the girl in as a member of her family and this was not the best way of taking care of a girl. All this had to happen on the poor girl’s first birthday after marriage? She remembered then that Arjun was patiently waiting for her answer all the while driving at a moderate speed in deference to the Bua’s presence.

“Sameer said something quite hurting to Kavitha I think, today morning; she left in a hurry not waiting for Sameer to drop her as usual. And as usual Sameer is the person doing the sulking. He has switched off his mobile from the afternoon, till then he didn’t pick up any call I made. Kavitha told me not to tell him about the birthday, she wanted him to get round to remembering and doing things that way, so I didn’t tell him. I gave her a little gift and she went out happy, but then I think something happened between them, and she rushed out, just like that.”

“Bua, what did you give Bhabhi?”

“Just some money, I know she doesn’t like sarees or jewellery, but buys books once in a while, so she can choose her gift.”

“And I suppose Sameer Bhaiyya saw that?”

“I don’t know! He must have, he was standing at the door, while we were in front of the pooja room.”

“Aha!” Arjun sounded quite thoughtful but remained quiet. He didn’t usually talk while driving and it was now near the railway station, the traffic was a little dense just there in spite of the late time. Arjun parked in front of the portico and saw a little crowd at one end of the platform, otherwise it was empty. He asked one porter who was walking fast as if in a hurry,

“Bhaiyya, Has the passenger come in?”

He didn’t stop to answer but shouted over his shoulder, “Look straight, can’t you see it? It came in ten minutes ago.”

“What’s happening there? There’s a crowd”

“A lady who came in the train fainted.”

Arjun turned to say something to Saraswati but Saraswati was already walking instinctively towards the little crowd. She had heard the conversation Arjun had had with the porter and caught a glimpse of the body around which the crowd had gathered. It was a girl in a Salwar Kameez that looked very much like Kavitha. Saraswati’s maternal instincts went into a tumble and she hurried.

It was Kavitha, and she had opened her eyes now, trying to sit up. One of the women in the crowd was helping her up and someone was offering water from a bottle. Kavitha didn’t see Saraswati till she was quite near. But she felt a big sense of relief on seeing that well beloved face so near. Between Arjun and Saraswati they helped her into the car, and Arjun asked,

“Bua, there is Dr. Shyama’s dispensary on the way, isn’t it better we drop in for a moment?”

Kavitha did not protest, she felt too weak to do it, and was content to lie on the backseat with her head on Ma’s lap and holding her hand till the car stopped in front of the dispensary which was still open. And none of them saw the blue Maruti which came screeching in through the entry gate of the railway station just as they pulled out of the exit gate.

                                                                
                                                                To Be Continued....