Favourite Times

What’s your favorite month of the year? Why?

Daksh reached for the dark grey suitcase of dimensions 55 x 38 x 23 from under the double bed of his bedroom. It was the last of the two bags and suitcases packed and kept there.



Daksh’s wife Kadambi’s eyes had caught sight of the disappearing tail of a mouse behind the bed. Although both of them had fear of mice, Daksh’s fear was relatively a bit less.



The flash light of the smartphone threw its light on the otherwise dark underside of the bed. Daksh could not see any mouse but it was there as evident by the droppings it had left. Daksh got up and checked every possible corner of the room before letting his wife in the other room know that the mouse had gone.



“Are you sure you checked everywhere?” Kadambi asked



“I am sure, it is not there, you can go and sleep now. It is very late at night,” said Daksh looking at the watch which showed 1 am.



“If it is not there then it is somewhere else, might be around the kitchen area,” sighed Kadambi as she got up and walked back to the room looking at the bags out, she said, “let’s have everything cleaned here before putting back the bags”



The next morning, Daksh sat at the breakfast table ready to leave for office and his five years old daughter, Ibha sat next to him in her school uniform.



Daksh noticed Ibha staring at him and said, “Do you know your mother saw a mouse?”



“In the house?” asked Ibha not scared but rather interested, in her world she still associated animals with the traits she often saw in cartoons.



“Yes, in the house. If you see it somewhere then tell us,” said Daksh smiling



“I hope this one becomes my friend and stays with us unlike the others who left without telling after we found them,” said Ibha



“Maybe they don’t want others to know that they are here,” said Daksh as he got up and reached for his office bag kept on another chair



“Dad?” said Ibha



“Yes?” responded Daksh as he hung the bag on his shoulder



“It’s your birthday this month,” Ibha smiled



“Oh, you remember,” said Daksh hugging Ibha



“September must be your favourite month because of your birthday,” said Ibha



“Of course it is,” said Daksh as he started hurrying towards the door, “I will see you later, bye!”



‘My favourite month… which one could it really be… was it that simple answer,’ thought Daksh as he stood in the elevator. He decided to ask others about it.



“Mine is August, the month when I opened my hardware store. I just knew it would work despite others asking me not to do it,” said Mr Kakkar whom Daksh met in the elevator



“The month I received a call about this work in the city. Any work we find in the big cities is like a dream come true for us living in the village,” said the security guard whom Daksh met in the parking lot.



“When I met my wife in college, it was October. I was never really sure of anything in life until I met her,” said Daksh’s colleague Haashir whom Daksh picked up from the metro station on his way to the office where they worked together.



“It is January, it is the month when we plan our family trips every year,” said Chaitri, the intern working at Daksh’s office



“August, when my son started working as a doctor,” said Mrs Mehta who managed the office canteen



“It will be the month when the upper management has no complains with our work output,” said Mr Patel, Daksh’s manager



“It is the month when my daughter Gathika was born, after that everything changed for the good,” said the milkman from whom Daksh was buying milk on his way back from office



Kadambi thought hard but not for long, “It was when I took my parents out for lunch with my first salary. It was in August.”



Daksh sat wondering which month for him had the element for being his favourite. ‘December,’ he thought. That is when Daksh’s elder cousin Ekaksh was married, almost all the family members had gathered to rejoice with each other, many who remained in the photograph, no longer remained in the world.

Written by Anuran Chatterji

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