At 8:15 pm Vishesh was still in his office, seemingly the
only one, apart from Om Parkas the night guard. Habitually or by inertia of rest
or illusory motion, checking and re-checking his inbox for any new mail, there
were none.
He rose to leave after five minutes, Om Parkas heaved a sigh
of relief, he would now switch off the lights and lock the office for the day.
In the parking lot there were only a couple of cars, while
his white Tata Indigo was at the farthest corner. It would be a forty five
minutes drive back home, if the traffic permitted. Home included his wife
Sandhya and his fourteen year old son Kushal.
The watchman at the front gate of the apartment jumped into
action as he approached the entrance, he took the lift to the fifth floor and
rang his door bell, Sandhya opened it and he just slumped into the sofa.
As he started to untie his shoe laces, his phone rang. It
was Shukla from his office enquiring about the meeting in the afternoon that he
could not attend. Sandhya tried hard to hide her irritation as she placed a
tray with a glass of water and some roasted cashew. Kushal too had come out of
his room at the sound of the doorbell, but he saw father busy with his phone,
he returned disappointed.
Sandhya, realising that the call would go on for a while,
went back to her cooking.
Shukla had taken the better of ten minutes in his chat and
now he could just wash and change. After which he settled into the sofa to
catch up with the news, although there was nothing new about the news, he had
already seen all this on his cellphone and laptop throughout the day, but
Gardhab Assami was conducting a show on Rue Public TV, a talk show, shout show
rather, wherein everyone shouted out of turn with the sole objective of
outshouting each other on an unshoutable subject and the leader, by a long
distance, the celebrated Gardhab himself.
Kushal came out of his room once again- “ Papa you need to
sign this.” He put forward his school diary along with a pen.
“What is this?” Vishesh asked, visibly irritated.
“ It’s about the parent teacher meet at the school, both of
you need to attend”, Kushal said.
“ I don’t have time , there is a lot of work at office, so
your mother will take you with her,” he said “ and get it signed by her, I am
too tired for all this.”
He slumped into the sofa once again after dinner.
Kushal once again came out of his room and stood beside him.
Seeing him standing like this Vishesh asked “ What is it?" "Tell me.”
Kushal just stood there.
“ You want to ask for something go on ask.”
Kushal just stood there.
“ You want a new mobile phone?” He asked.
Kushal shook his head for a No.
“ You want more pocket money?” he asked.
Kushal shook his head for a No.
“ Then what?” he asked.
“ I want you to come with me to my school for the Parents
meet, all my friends come along with their Mom and Dad.” Kushal said with
unusual calmness.
“ I told you that’s not possible, I am totally occupied with
work these days.” He answered irritated.
“ I think you should also come along, if he insists so much,
cant you take a day off for your son, you have work on all seven days of the
week, shouldn’t you be giving some time to him at least?” Sandhya asked
agitatedly.
“ I give him everything that he might need, what if I can’t
come to school with him. And I have to work for that, otherwise where will all
the luxuries come from? I don’t want an argument for now.” Vishesh said.
Kushal had already returned to his room, it seemed so much
in the distant past when Papa used to come home from work and spend all the
time with him. He was so sincere in his studies but today he did not feel like
studying, and went off to sleep early.
Twenty years later.
Vishesh is sitting in his living room, alone, gazing out of
the window, not at the skyline, the skyline is not visible anymore. He used up
all his money to buy a 3 bedroom flat for himself so that he, Sandhya and
Kushal could live together even after they would marry off Kushal. He had
retired about five years back, Sandhya died of cancer eight years back,
actually more out of boredom than cancer. Kushal was married and lived in
Australia, working in the Sydney office of a US based company.
A housemaid comes every morning for the household work, she
also prepares his breakfast and lunch, which he warms in the oven when
required, the leftover of the lunch serves as dinner for him. There are no
visitors these days.
Once Kushal had insisted that he come over and stay with him
in Australia and he had to relent.
Son and daughter-in-law, who was a native Australian, used to
leave early for work, and returned late evening, his two grandsons were not
able to become friendly with their grandfather, and mostly kept busy among
themselves even after they returned from school.
He had nothing to do all day, and now he realised how Kushal
must have felt when he was too busy with his work, and even upon his return
home he used to be busy in phone calls and TV.
So he returned to India, but the loneliness
accompanied him here.
Communication with Kushal was by messages only.
One day he messaged him- “ Son, come home to India, you
would get good jobs here too and moreover you would be among your own people
and I will also get some company in my old age.”
There was no reply for three days, he knew the message was
delivered and read by Kushal.
But there was a reply finally.....
“ Papa I am in a crucial phase of my career and don’t want
to change my location, but you are always welcome to stay with us. You always
made me do what you wanted, to study when all my friends were playing, to
become an engineer, now let me do what I like to do. Moreover I send you money
every month to take care of all your needs......................
....................”
Vishesh could not read any further, tears were rolling down
his eyes, he remembered the night when he had said something similar to Kushal,
the night he insisted that his father accompany him to school for the Parent Teacher
meet.........
