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HE - Episode 17

Discussion in 'HE - Serial Story' started by varalotti, Feb 29, 2008.

  1. varalotti

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    HE

    A Serial By Varalotti Rengasamy


    Episode 17

    Timeline B



    Sharada had a sleepless night thanks to the sudden developments in Sethu’s life. With Priya coming into the picture, she had lost her only love in her life.
    It was Nalini who consoled her.

    “Each one of us is mercilessly created to be alone. We do not have a choice in that. But we do have a choice whether to feel lonely or not. You have already chosen to feel lonely. I thought you are going to be with me for ever. But you did not consider me as worthy of your company”

    “Nalini” Sharada buried her face in Nalini’s chest and started crying again.

    “We are going to Trivandrum along with Sethu and Kalpana. I have already discussed that with Sethu. I have made all the arrangements. We should see Priya. And we should meet the Swamiji.

    “Don’t ever think that you can understand your life, especially at this time, with your ego. You need help from above.

    “Sharu dear, now try to get some sleep.”
     
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    Part 2!


    They were all booked on the late evening Indian Airlines flight to Trivandrum. Sethu was restless. He was anxious to see Priya at the earliest.

    In fact he wanted to go alone by the early morning flight. But Kalpana had insisted that she should come along for his first meeting with Priya. Because of some pressing professional work she could not come in the morning.

    Kalpana was also concerned about the security arrangements. She was constantly worried about the vicious propensities of the Vulture. She told Nalini not to book the tickets through Le Meridien’s travel desk.

    Nalini should book the tickets personally through Internet in a secure system so that no one else knew about their travel.

    When Nalini offered to book hotel accommodation for them at a star hotel which was Le Meridien’s associate in Trivandrum, Kalpana vetoed it.

    She preferred to stay in a budget hotel located in a crowded area in the heart of the town. So Nalini had booked three rooms in different floors in Hotel Arya Nivas.

    As advised by Kalpana, Nalini had completed the flight check-in for all the four of them through the Net.

    She had chosen two seats each in adjacent rows.

    Sethu, Nalini and Sharada drove to the airport in a black and yellow taxi, again for security reasons. Sethu was seated in the front and Nalini and Sharada in the rear.

    During the short travel from Le Meridien to the Airport, all the three were silent, each lost in their own thoughts and concerns.

    They arrived at the airport thirty minutes before the departure time. The flight was on time.

    Kalpana was waiting for them. After a brief exchange of courtesies they all went for security check. None of them had any check-in baggage.

    When the departure was announced there was a rush near the gate. The passengers who had waited for hours on end, suddenly felt the urgency and everyone wanted to get into his seat ahead of the others.

    It was quite typical of Indian passengers to scramble towards the terminal gate in a state of irrational fear that the craft would leave without them.

    Sethu had gone in first and the ladies were left behind.

    Nalini walked into the craft followed by Sharada and Kalpana in a single file. Nalini had occupied a window seat and Sethu another, in the row behind her.

    Sharada was instinctively drawn towards Sethu. She wanted to sit with him for the ninty-minute journey, perhaps her last chance to sit near him. She placed her hand baggage in the cabin above Sethu’s head and was about to slide beside him.

    Then she thought that getting a little more close to Sethu at this time would only serve to make the parting more painful. Sethu might be preoccupied with his wife’s illness and might not even talk to her.

    Sitting by his side, in any case, would only accentuate her parting sorrow.

    In the flash of a second, she changed her mind, came out of that row and went to sit near Nalini.

    Kalpana who had planned to sit there smiled at Sharada and went back to sit near Sethu. She had an expression of wonder in her face which suggested, ‘What happened to Sharada?’

    Sethu was lost in thoughts. Only Nalini was fully aware of the small drama that happened in Sharada’s mind.

    As soon as Sharada sat down by her side, Nalini reached for the fingers of her hand wove her fingers with them.

    Sharada looked at the soft expression on Nalini’s face and knew that Nalini knew her dilemma.

    “Sharu, I know what you were thinking. You wanted to sit near Sethu, perhaps for one last time. But then you were not very sure. You might have thought that it would only make parting even more bitter and painful.”

    Sharada did not speak. But the extra pressure she exerted on Nalini’s hands conveyed her thoughts very eloquently.

    “See Sharada, this is the beauty of love. Had you not known Sethu at all, had he been a perfect stranger to you, you would not have thought twice about sitting near him.



    "But having loved him and now having lost him, you are tormenting yourself on this simple, mundane decision.”

    Sharada did not speak. This time the response to Nalini’s words were given even more eloquently by the tears rolling down her beautiful cheeks.

    Nalini dried them with her other hand.

    “My dearest Sharu Kannamma, after having Sethu as my son I thought I will have you as my daughter-in-law. But with this turn of events, I am going to have you as my darling daughter.

    “I had always wanted to have a girl. You are the child I could not give birth to. Will you let me be your mother, dear?”

    Sharada stared at Nalini.


    “How do you like the promotion, dear, from being a daughter-in-law to a daughter?”

    Nalini asked her with a teasing smile.

    Sharada’s sob was quite audible. She placed her head on Nalini’s shoulders and started crying.

    The stewardess started a demonstration of seat belts and the oxygen masks.
     
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    Part 3!


    The flight touched Trivandrum around half past nine. Kalpana had strictly ordered not to use cabs from any reputed cab service. They engaged a taxi at the airport and drove to Hotel Arya Nivas.

    The three rooms they had booked were on three different floors. Sethu stayed in the room in the third floor. Kalpana in the second floor and Nalini and Sharada in the first.

    “Can we go and see Priya now?”

    Madhavan asked Kalpana. She saw the time. It was half past ten.

    “She will be sleeping.”

    “Let’s not wake her up or disturb her. Let’s just have a look and come back.”

    “Madhavan, you have waited for five years. Can’t you wait for just a day more? We’ll go there first thing in the morning. Going there now will give raise to avoidable security concerns.

    “We’ll have a light breakfast in our rooms and be ready by half past seven in the morning. We have a long day tomorrow. So let’s get some good sleep.”

    They all agreed to the arrangement; but could not carry out the sleeping part. None of them had a wink of sleep that night.
     
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    Part 4!


    The next morning. Everyone else except Sethu had a breakfast of hot idlis and dosas with chutney, sambar and chilli-powder, for which the hotel had a special recipe.

    There was an overdose of gingelly seed and a whiff of garlic in the chilli-powder which made it a perfect accompaniment to the soft idlis and the crispy dosas. Sethu just had a cup of milk. He could not bring himself to eat anything without seeing Priya.

    All the four drove to Thycaud area in Trivandrum where Priya was living in a secure apartment.

    Kalpana got down first and told the apartment security staff about their arrival. A guard accompanied them to the third floor where Priya was staying. An armed guard was standing outside the apartment.

    Kalpana had had to move heavan and earth to secure Government’s permission to post armed guard in that apartment. She also had to fight with the apartment’s association for that.

    The guard recognised Kalpana and pressed the calling bell twice to announce that someone known had come. The nurses and maids had strict instructions never to open the door unless the bell is pressed twice.

    Kalpana walked into the apartment and signalled others to follow. Madhavan was slightly shivering as he traced his footsteps on the cool tiled floor.

    “Come here, Madhavan. “

    It was a two-bedroom apartment. One of the bedrooms had been converted into a sort of “study.”

    Madhavan froze in his place. Others too were startled.

    A dark complexioned lady dressed in light blue cotton night gown was seated on a desk placed in the centre of the room. She was seriously engaged in writing something. She was in a world of her own and the visitors did not disturb her there.

    It took a full minute for Madhavan to realise that it was Priya.

    There was a nurse and a maid. They greeted Kalpana. They told her that Priya had just finished her breakfast of bread, butter and jam. She had had a bath earlier and was perfectly all right.

    All the eyes were now focussed on Priya. Kalpana made a mental note to order cotton nightgowns and other casual wear. The one Priya was wearing had gone old.

    Madhavan was crying silently.

    For right before his eyes was his wife, his love, the darling of his eyes, Priya, who could not recognise him.
     
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    Part 5!



    Madhavan went close to her and saw what she was writing.

    The ladies followed suit.

    “Madhavan dear, where are you?”

    “Madhavan dear, where are you?”

    These words were written with a flourish in long cursive writing. Priya’s handwriting was exquisite. Had she not been practising on almost the same set of words for the past five years daily, without a break?

    Kalpana started her explanation.

    “I showed a whole bunch of notebooks to a psychiatrist. His inference is like this: When she is desperate to see you, she uses these words. “Madhavan dear, where are you?”

    “On days she misses you but is not so desperate, she writes, “I love you, Madhavan.” On some days she is very calm and peaceful when she just writes your name again and again.”

    Sharada was rendered speechless by this show of love. She was now holding Nalini’s hands.

    Seeing Priya in an old night gown, Nalini was reminded of a verse by the great poet Kalidasa, when he describes the beauty of Shakunthala. Shakunthala was a celestial beauty, a woman who should have adorned the richest of palaces in the world.

    But she was born a daughter of a sanyasin and was brought up by another. So she did not have the finest silks to wear. She just had the tree-barks for dresses. Kalidasa becomes overwhelmed while imagining Shakunthala in such a poor dress.

    He compares her to the moon. The moon does have some dark spots. But instead of marring the moon’s beauty these spots tend only to accentuate it. In the same way the wooden-barks which adorn Shakunthala’s person only enhance her beauty.

    What the tree-barks did for Shakunthala the light blue night gown was doing to Priya.

    Madhavan was drinking in Priya’s beauty. She had definitely slimmed down a lot, something she badly wanted to do in her heydays. But she appeared very healthy and robust.

    She looked even more vulnerable. There was a kind of glow in her blemishless skin. Her face was serene. The worries of the world no longer affected her. She had virtually nothing to be concerned about.

    Her mind was filled up with love for Madhavan. There was no other thought in that broken down mind.
     
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    Part 6!


    Kalpana signalled Madhavan to go near Priya. Madhavan went close to her.

    He made one heroic attempt to call her, “Priya, my love, my darling.” Nothing but a sob escaped from his mouth.

    He placed his hand on Priya’s shoulder. When Priya looked up to see who it was, she resembled a rabbit frightened by the blindening headlight of the approaching car.

    Was there a flicker of recognition in Priya’s eyes? Did she find her object of love, the focal point of her magnificent obsession?

    It lasted only for a second. Priya resumed her work as if nothing happened. Madhavan was upset. He now tried to distract Priya. He shouted her name. There was no response.

    Then he snatched her notebook. Priya looked up. She appeared hurt. She then looked up at the nurse who was attending on her. It was like a child complaining to the teacher about the class bully who had snatched her precious possession.

    Sharada came forward, snatched the notebook back from Madhavan’s hands and placed it before Priya. She then placed her hand on her. Priya looked up at Sharada. Was there some kind of gratefulness in them? No one could tell.

    Priya now resumed her work.

    “Madhavan dear, where are you?”

    “Madhavan dear, where are you?”

    Madhavan then went before the table and sat on the floor. This way he could look straight into Priya’s eyes which was focussed on the notebook.

    “PRIYA, I’M HERE. I’M VERY MUCH BEFORE YOU. PLEASE PRIYA, PLEASE, WAKE UP. PRIYA, PLEASE..”

    All the eyes were wet.

    When there was no response from Priya, Madhavan started sobbing. Nalini sat down on the floor by his side.

    “Sethu, please. You can’t bring her back to senses by shouting or by pleading. You should know better. Come, let’s leave her alone for a while.”

    Madhavan reluctantly stood up.
     
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    Part 7!


    Kalpana signalled them all to go with her to a small store room near the kitchen. There were hundreds and hundreds of notebooks neatly arranged in stacks.

    “This is how Priya spent her time during the last five years.”

    Sharada took a notebook at random and started to read.

    “I love you, my dear Madhavan.”

    This sentence filled up the first few pages. The rest of the notebook just had his name written again and again.

    She took another notebook. It was the same. She showed the notebook to Nalini. Nalini could not believe her eyes.

    In that moment, while standing in the presence of supreme love, Sharada’s mind was instantly filled up with a kind of peace that, as they frequently say, surpassed all human understanding.

    Not that her love for Sethu had evaporated. But that tormenting feeling, that inexplicable loneliness, the insurmountable grief, had all vanished without a trace.

    For the first time during the last few days, Sharada was at peace with herself. There was an added glow in her face. She silently walked out of the room to savour those feelings all alone.
     
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    Part 8!


    An hour later a weak Sethu walked out of the room. Nalini and Kalpana were walking on either side holding his hands.

    Nalini checked the time. It was a <st1:time minute="45" hour="9">quarter to ten</st1:time> in the morning.

    “Kalpana, is it safe to move Priya out for a short while?”

    “Where do you want to take her?”

    “Having come this far, we should meet our Swamiji, Sethu’s Master and my spiritual guide. If he sees Priya it will be good for her.”

    “Where is he?”

    “Near Kovalam. It will be a forty, forty five minutes drive from here.”

    “OK. You three go there first in the taxi, we came here. Priya, I and a nurse will follow you in another car. I will call you on your mobile for directions.“

    Madhavan went to the waiting taxi as if he were walking in sleep.
     
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    Part 9!

    Swamiji’s Ashram had not changed much in the last few years. It was still a cluster of huts spread over the beach area.

    Swamiji’s disciples all dressed in different colours were busy with their morning routines. Some where meditating, some busy with body massage and a few others were reading silently.

    Sethu met some of his old friends and was chatting up with them. He learnt that the Swamiji was with one of his sanyasins in his study.

    They were all waiting for Priya and Kalpana. Sharada took an immediate liking to the place. The understanding she had had about love a few hours ago deepened further in that serene ambience.

    Nalini was silently observing what was happening around her. She remembered the day she walked into the Ashram crying for the child she did not have and for the husband she had and lost.

    When Priya was led into the enclosure by her nurse and Kalpana, almost all the eyes were on her. Anyday Priya was not a dazzling beauty like Sharada. Sharada was very fair whereas Priya was of dusky complexion.

    But five full years of constantly professing love without any other distracting thought had added a beautiful serenity and a vulnerability to her face. Priya had not moved out of the aparment often. She was seeing the sun after a long time.

    Priya was carrying a notebook in one hand and a pen in another. Madhavan could not take his eyes off from her.

    Sethu asked a disciple to tell Swamiji about their coming to see him. He added that they were not in a hurry and would wait for Swamiji’s orders.

    They were all called in after a few minutes.
     
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    Part 10!


    Swamiji was seated in the centre of the room, a book open before him.

    Sethu and Nalini prostrated before Swamiji, followed by Kalpana and Sharada. Swamiji blessed them all.

    Sharada was seeing the Master for the first time. But she felt as if she had known him in many lives. As Kalpana, Sharada and Priya were introduced to the Swamiji there was so much of love in his eyes, that Sharada was reminded of what she heard from her Dance Master.

    Sharada had heard that a particular type of fish could feed her hungry young ones merely by looking at them. A motherly glance loaded with love was more than enough to remove their hunger.

    Once when she wanted to portray the Goddess of Madurai in her dance, her Dance Master explained the significance of the name, Meenakshi.

    The popular explanation was that the Goddess had eyes which looked like a fish, long and beautiful. The real meaning was deeper and significant.

    Like that type of fish which could quench her children’s hunger by merely looking at them, Meenakshi could provide for the spiritual hunger of her devotees by a look through the corner of her eyes.

    Her Dance Master had told her that unless the full import of this explanation sank deeply into her mind, she could never hope to portray the grace of that loving Goddess.

    In the same way the Swamiji was providing for his devotees merely by the look of his eyes.

    Sharada’s face now glowed with so much radiance that the Swamiji who was talking to Nalini, suddenly turned his eyes towards Sharada and smiled at her. Sharada was shivering inside.
     
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