Mr Mirdha retired as a Deputy Inspector General of Police. Although he had offers to work elsewhere, Mr Mirdha had his mind and heart elsewhere.
“We are heading to or near the mountains. I have seen some beautiful properties online,” said Mr Mirdha
“Why?” asked Mr Mirdha’s wife in a surprised tone, “What is wrong here?”
“I never liked this big city life. Sometimes it’s like I can’t breathe,” said Mr Mirdha
“Are you sure it is not a medical issue?”
“What? No, it is not a medical issue. It is something I wanted for a long time. Besides the clean mountain air will be good for both of us proceeding towards our old age”
“What about this house?” asked Mrs Mirdha, the seriousness of the discussion evident in her tone
Mr Mirdha looked around the room. Truly they had given it their all to build this house which once truly felt like paradise.
Mr Mirdha looked at his hands and said, “We will sell it.”
“Sell the house? But Vishwanath, wasn’t this our dream? To live here and die here? Besides….” Mrs Mirdha stopped in the middle of what she was about to say but Mr Mirdha understood none the less
“Sumati, it is time to let go, he is not coming back. No reason to make your life complicated because of it,” said Mr Mirdha as sadness spread over their faces
Mr and Mrs Mirdha’s only son Devendra always had the ambition of studying and working abroad and promised to regularly visit, a promise he kept for his university years and initial years of working, but then he stopped coming to the country and the phone calls slowly died down as well. Later, Mr and Mrs Mirdha were surprised to know through a relative that Devendra had got married and settled down.
They tried to call him several times and he picked only once and the conversation wasn’t pleasant. Mr Mirdha had moved on with his life but his wife somewhere in her mind was still waiting for her son’s call.
A building contractor was called to make all the necessary repairs to the house. Mr Mirdha explained everything to him and he was to start his work on the exterior of the house within a week, but then came days of heavy rainfall. It rained so heavily that an orange alert was declared by the government.
Mr Mirdha looked with irritation at the rain pouring outside. He noticed Mrs Mirdha looking at him.
“Don’t even try to say that this is a sign or something,” said Mr Mirdha
“Did you hear me say anything?” asked Mrs Mirdha which Mr Mirdha realised was true
The rain kept coming and going over the next two weeks.
“A few weeks back, it was all bright and sunny with no sign of rain anywhere and now look at this. It’s like the rain is falling on my dreams and wishes as well,” said Mr Mirdha on the phone to his ex-colleague and friend Mr Narula
“Calm down,” laughed Mr Narula, “Order some good food, enjoy the rain. It’s time we should start to relax a bit.”
“I will relax when I get to my new house,” said Mr Mirdha
The rain gradually came to a stop and the Sun came with a high humidity heat and the contractor was nowhere to be found.
“Had you paid him?” asked Mrs Mirdha
“No, he was going to come a day before to take money for the materials required but he didn’t,” said Mr Mirdha, “but he has no idea who he is dealing with, I will find him out”
“The rains are not his fault. Maybe he went home with no work here with the rain. This city is only affordable to a certain income range,” said Mrs Mirdha
Mr Mirdha stayed silent and Mrs Mirdha knew how restless her husband’s mind had become with everything happening.
“Let’s do one thing,” said Mrs Mirdha, “let’s head to the mountains for a month and see if the lifestyle suits us. If we like it there, then we can look for properties together there.”
Mr Mirdha felt it was a good idea and the packing began. A driver was hired for the trip and bookings were made in a beautiful homestay which almost touched the nearby jungle. It was supposed to be a good trip. That is what the Mirdha’s expected.
To be continued…
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 