A Bend in the River of Life (9 page)

Rita said, “It's about Keka. Since the day they arrived here she has been pestering Mita to take her for riding. As you know, that part of the town is always little quiet, like a haunted place. Mita is scared to go there with Keka without any escort. You mentioned that Rana has been riding every morning. Is it possible for them to go with him?”

Devika responded, “Let's ask him directly.” She called Rana and asked the question in their presence. Rana's heart began pounding in excitement. But he responded in his usually calm and courteous manner, “The pleasure will be mine. If they are ready by nine in the morning, I can pick them up since they are on the way.”

Next morning Rana stepped out of Devika's bungalow at the scheduled time. Devika also came out with him to see that there was no lack of coordination. There was none. Mita and Keka were ready and waiting. Devika's neighbor Rita was also waiting with them to thank him for obliging her sister and niece. So Rana, Mita and Keka proceeded toward the riding facility, leaving the two neighbors carrying on with their neighborly talks.

In the appropriateness of things, conversation began between Rana and Mita. From the trials and tribulations of his uncommon life Rana had learnt not to rush things. Rather he preferred to work toward creating trust and confidence first before expecting something good to follow. Until then that policy seemed to have paid off handsomely. Keeping that in mind, Rana asked Mita if both of them were interested in riding. She replied that she just came to chaperone her daughter. She added that in a day or two when Keka would feel comfortable enough to be with him alone, she would not take the trouble to come with her.

The owner and the trainer of the horses became very friendly with Rana because he was one of their very few regular customers. With his help Rana chose the most docile and disciplined horse for Keka and had the trainer follow her on another horse the first day to take care of any contingency. Mita appreciated his concern very much. However, the problem was not her daughter's riding skill, but her own fear of loneliness in that solitary place at that unearthly hour of the day. As a result, Rana had to restrict their riding to a shorter perimeter to keep an eye on her and alleviate her psychosis of fear. Mita became very apologetic. She said to Rana, “It seems I came only to be a burden on you.”

Rana said politely, “On the contrary, your presence here gives me courage. Taking the responsibility of a young woman is never too easy.” Mita laughed loudly. She understood that Rana did not want to embarrass her in presence of her daughter.

Until then Rana did not know anything about Keka. To begin with, Keka was extremely shy. It was one thing to exchange smiles from distance and completely other to meet and talk face to face. Rana was aware that in that era and at that part of the world he was expected to open the dialogue, being male and older in age. Even then it was not easy for a girl of mid-teens to navigate sure-footedly with a male of twenty. As such, to make the situation as normal and as comfortable for Keka as possible, he kept his inquisitiveness to a bare minimum.

So Rana began the conversation not by asking her name directly but by stating matter-of-factly, “I suppose the other day I heard your name as Keka; I hope I heard it right.”

Keka responded with a smile, “Yes, you are right.”

Rana said, “What a beautiful name; and meaningful too.”

Still smiling, she asked, “You like it?”

He responded, “I like it? I love it.”

Displaying a broader smile she said, “Rita Aunty said your name was Rana.”

Rana said, “You got it right.”

She reciprocated by saying, “Your name is beautiful too. I like it.”

He said, “I am not so sure about that. No one in my life ever told me that.”

Keka smiled. She knew he was being playful. With a little pause he asked, “Keka, how long you are going to stay here?”

She replied, “We came for a month; three more weeks to go.”

He asked, “Is this your first visit to Darjeeling?”

She answered, “No, I came once before six years ago when I was ten.”

He chuckled and said, “That means you are a sweet sixteen now.”

She laughed nervously and said, “I am a fool. I divulged my age to you.”

He laughed mischievously and said, “There is nothing wrong with that.”

She said, “No, age should always remain private.”

He said, “I did not ask your age. You said it. So you cannot ask my age.”

The more fluent the conversation became, the more courage and confidence she gathered. She said, “Okay, I will wait. I know I will also have to catch you on the wrong foot.”

He smiled and said, “I have to be very cautious and deliberate that I don't fall into that trap.” He continued, “Keka, when did you develop interest in riding?”

She answered, “My grandfather is a member of the Equestrian Club in Calcutta. By accompanying him to their special events I had a desire to ride though I did not tell him anything about it then, because there were no women riders at that time. However, when we came here on our first visit, both my father and grandfather were with us. When I expressed my wish to ride, they not only supported but also helped me to ride.”

Rana said, “That is a long story. I understand now.” He followed up, “I suppose there is nothing to prevent you from riding in
Calcutta these days.”

She said, “No, even today I feel shy to ride in Calcutta because there are still some friends and relatives who might feel jealous and make derogatory remarks.”

He asked, “Why haven't your father and grandfather come this time?”

She replied, “Actually, earlier that year my grandmother passed away and my grandfather was broken-hearted. So my father brought him to take his mind away from the tragedy.”

Rana said, “That means for all practical purposes your grandfather has virtually retired.”

Keka said, “No, he is still in control of his law practice and my father is still his assistant. At home also my grandfather is the decision maker.”

Rana smiled and said, “That suggests that all the decisions about you always tilt in your favor.”

Keka was very pleased to hear Rana's comments. She laughed and corroborated, “Yes, you are right. He says I am the apple of his eyes.”

Rana thought that was enough to know about the family and who decided what. The time was ripe to change the subject and probe more into Keka's personal orbit. So he asked very discreetly, “Keka, I do not know if it would be too impolite of me to ask if you have graduated from High School yet.”

Despite being only sixteen she showed a glimpse of her intelligence and that she was quite articulate. She said with a smile, “You are as clever as my lawyer father and grandfather, politely asking questions and gathering the information you want.”

Rana had to do a little bit of acting. He said, “Oh no, Keka please don't reply if you think I am too intrusive into your privacy. I am really sorry that you think that way. I am going to shut up my stupid mouth now.”

The acting seemed to work very effectively. It was now Keka's turn to be defensive. Wasting no time, she said, “I am really sorry. I did
not mean that. I have no problem in responding to your question. I will be a High School graduate next year.”

Rana said, “Thank you for trusting me.” He then asked, “What school do you go to?”

Keka responded, “United Missionary Girls' High School.”

He said, “I believe, that's a very good school.”

Keka asked, “Yes, but how do you know?”

He answered, “I know because my neighbor's daughters also go to that school. Besides, I was also a student of a missionary school. I had a general idea about what missionary schools and colleges were good.”

Their time was up. They returned the horses and paid their dues. By then few more clients also came to try their riding skill and Keka's mother Mita was not frightened to death any more.

From Rana's perspective, over all, it was not a bad first day at all. Without an iota of doubt, Keka created a charming first impression on Rana. On the other side of the coin, though Keka's words did not indicate anything to that effect, he was positive from her gestures and gesticulations that she was simply thrilled at her new relationship with him. He only hoped that this relationship would transcend the carefree vacation time and stand the test of real life back home in Calcutta. Moreover, he scored high marks from Keka's mother Mita. Upon returning home that day she announced that from the following morning she did not have to chaperone Keka because Rana's sense of responsibility was extra-ordinary and he could take care of Keka without her presence. Rana was delighted to hear that from Keka the next morning. He further learnt that her Aunt Rita was also very happy to hear that Rana cared for her niece.

Besides riding and club activities, during the rest of their stay Keka and Rana had occasions to visit the tourist spots in and around Darjeeling jointly with their respective friends and family. These visits gave ample opportunity to Rana to hone up his talent in photography. He took some wonderful shots of Keka with the
backdrop of snow-capped mountains and the flora and fauna of the mountain variety. These pictures were later blown up by her mother for family archives and memorabilia.

What, however, was encouraging to Rana was that no one around them raised eyebrows at the free interactions between Keka and him in the light of the prevailing social taboo on free-mixing of boys and girls. This, he thought, was possible due to unparalleled boldness shown by Devika, Rita and Mita. On their confident countenances Rana clearly saw the changing face of the society. He felt that Keka and he himself were born at the crossroads of time. They merely represented the instruments of change, but the actual catalysts of change were those young mothers in their early thirties. In their own girlhood days their own dreams had been nurtured to revolve around making men happy at the cost of their own happiness. Their subconscious dreams to be carefree in the presence of men that missed the winds of change by a slender margin were now being realized through their own children. At the first blast of education, in the increasing glare of cinema and theatres, under the influence of the beauty parlors and glamour magazines the minds that under the male dominated society were conditioned to cater to the pleasures and privileges of men were slowly shaking off their slumbering stupor. Rana saw a paradigm shift. Clearly, the River of Life reached another milestone; another significant bend on its relentless glide to its far away destiny, the ever enigmatic Eternity.

Rana came to Darjeeling for four weeks, but a message came from Amit that Rajani was sick. She was diagnosed by the family doctor with diabetes and high blood pressure. At the age of seventy, Rajani's sound health began showing signs of wear and tear under an extraordinarily strenuous life. Though the message added that there was no cause for concern, Rana decided to go back home a whole week earlier. Like so many times before, he was reminded once again and rightfully so that Rajani was the reason that he was still alive. Through good times and bad, through tragedy and turmoil, her
protective wing prevented any harm caused to him. Perhaps without her he would have died in his childhood. He was now twenty and was able to fend for himself. Even then he did not know how he would cope up if Rajani were to pass away. The mere thought of Rajani's passing rattled his mind. There was no better witness to Rana's childhood trauma than Devika. Naturally, she did not want to stand in the way of his decision to curtail his own vacation for the sake of Rajani.

Compared to a large metropolis, Darjeeling is rather a small town. People are friendly. They make a newcomer at home in no time. During his three weeks' stay Rana came to be a big part of the neighborhood and the club. People in general felt sorry that he had to leave early. But they easily understood the reason behind it. The only individuals who could not be happier were the mother-daughter duo, Mita and Keka. Rana's penetrative eyes could make out the reason. They were very possessive. In their minds, Rana already became their property. According to original plan, he was scheduled to return after a week of their departure. They wished Rana to travel back with them. Nonetheless, they were happy now that he would reach Calcutta a day earlier. Rana suspected that they were little apprehensive of Rana's staying back another week, for they might have had a hunch that other interested eyes were also following him in that mountain resort. In any case, at his last meeting with them in Darjeeling, Keka gave him their address and telephone number in Calcutta and asked him to call her on a specific date and time.

To synchronize with his flight from Siliguri airport at the foothills, Rana decided to leave Darjeeling by the airlines bus from their Darjeeling office in stead of the toy train. Devika and Siddharth came to bid him goodbye. Opportunity for that type of relaxed vacation was rare to come by. No one knew how long Siddharth would remain posted there. On his return to Calcutta Rana himself would embark upon the struggle of his life. As the bus was about to start, Devika wiped her tears. To her Rana was not just a nephew
but more like a son. After all, in his childhood she helped shape his future. She was the one who planted dreams in his eyes. She was the one who used to sing those lullabies while putting him away to sleep. Devika kept on waving as long as the bus was visible on its serpentine trail to the foothills of the majestic Himalayas.

Not long after that visit Siddharth was transferred out of Darjeeling. Rana began his career as a banker and kept moving from place to place at home and abroad. This is how the River of Life flows on, ever unpredictable, never stationary, for it has missions to accomplish on its timeless and ageless journey to its far away destiny, the ever esoteric Eternity.

The River of Life is the river of opportunities. The Master Architect of the River of Life plants a seed of fantasy in the mind. The fantasy takes the shape of a dream. The dream is translated into plan. The plan finds life in action. The action transforms the plan into an array of opportunities. Conversion of the right opportunity at the right moment is achieving a goal. This transition from fantasy to the end result in the form of ripple of events is the flow of the River of Life.