Chapter 13
The summer holidays had begun. All the members of my in-laws' family were going to Mahabaleshwar.
My mother-in-law had invited me to join them. I had just finished my LLB exams, and Aarti was pregnant. Her delivery was also due soon.
I had initially declined, but my parents urged me to go to Mahabaleshwar.
"Go and relax for a while, it will relieve your fatigue."
Aarti also insisted that I go.
And I agreed.
The bus was scheduled to leave at ten o'clock at night.
We reached the bus depot well in advance. The house servant and Hasmukh had also come to see us off.
The house servant kissed my sister-in-law, Suhani, on the cheek. I didn't notice it at the time. I only found out about it later in Mahabaleshwar through Hasmukh.
It was an overnight journey. Everyone else had fallen asleep in their seats, but Suhani and I couldn't sleep. We talked late into the night. We talked a lot about each other.
We reached Mahabaleshwar around six in the morning. After getting off the bus at the depot, we took a minibus to the guesthouse.
Seeing the guesthouse brought back old memories. This was the same guesthouse where my father had brought me some time ago, and where I had met Garima again. Remembering her condition, my eyes welled up. Seeing this, Suhani immediately asked me,
"What's wrong, Jiju?"
I wiped my eyes and replied,
"It's a long story. I'll tell you sometime later."
Perhaps one good thing came out of going to Mahabaleshwar. Suhani and I had grown quite close. We had many opportunities to spend time together. We often went to the market together to buy groceries and other things. During that time, she confessed her love for Anish, which I accepted, and I promised to support her.
Once the whole family went to see a movie. I also went with Suhani and the other sisters-in-law to see the film "Dharti."
Something had happened that day, which I was unaware of at the time.
That same night, at twelve o'clock, a telegram arrived that my father had sent. We were getting ready to sleep when the guesthouse manager called out to me.
"Mr. Sambhav, a telegram has arrived for you!"
Hearing this, I jumped out of bed and ran towards the office. Suhani also ran after me.
The manager handed me the telegram:
"Aarti has given birth to a son. Both are doing well."
Upon receiving this news, my joy knew no bounds. I felt like I was floating on air. Suhani was equally happy. We congratulated each other.
"Congratulations, Papa!" Suhani congratulated me with a handshake.
I shook her hand and congratulated her in return.
"Congratulations, mausi."
There was a joyful atmosphere. Everyone was happy. Everyone congratulated me.
Meanwhile, I had an argument with Suhani about the baby's face.
I said that the son's face must resemble mine.
Suhani objected to this.
"No, Jiju. He must resemble my sister."
This argument was still going on.
Just then, another telegram arrived, which created a situation like an earthquake.
"Aarti is unwell. Send Sambhav and Pushpa sister to Mumbai immediately."
This telegram forced us to think...
Something had gone wrong with Aarti after the delivery. At that moment, I remembered the story from the film 'Anupama'.
The happiness vanished from everyone's faces.
"What could have happened?" "The same question was on everyone's mind.
It became necessary to wait until morning to find out the answer.
Because Hasmukh was coming.
We somehow managed to get through the night without sleeping.
In the morning, Hasmukh had arrived and gave us the message that everything was alright.
Hearing this, I felt like regaining my breathe again. I immediately got ready to go to Mumbai. But everyone stopped me for the day.
The whole mess and tension were caused by the negligence of the telegraph service. The first telegram sent was delivered later, and the later telegram was delivered first. And the first telegram didn't have the sending time recorded.
When I mentioned this to my mother-in-law, she taunted me, criticizing my education.
"Even educated people are like this."
I didn't pay any attention to her words.
I thoroughly enjoyed that day. Suhani was close to me. I was proud and happy about that. God had given me double joy at once.
I had been blessed with the opportunity to become a father, and I had also received Suhani's love.
That afternoon, after lunch, we went for a walk. We were traveling by bus. Suhani and I were sitting next to each other. I had a good opportunity to talk to her. There was so much I still wanted to talk to her. I thought I would finish the conversation on the way back.But Hasmukh came between us.
My mother-in-law had given him the name 'Laghu Prasad' (meaning ' tresspasser) He had certainly lived up to it.
As soon as he boarded the bus, he rushed towards Suhani with the speed of someone trying to catch a kite that had broken free. And he sat down right next to her.
By doing this, he had snatched away my right.
He was a teacher, yet he didn't even show this much courtesy:
"Sambhav Bhai, you sit with your sister-in-law."
I was thinking of returning to Mumbai with my heart full of Suhani's love. But his actions had caused me pain.
I don't know what it was about him, but he was treated with more respect and deference in my in-laws' house than me.
There wasn't much else to say about him, but I did know one thing about my mother-in-law: she wouldn't even offer someone a glass of water without a good reason.
Hasmukh, true to his name, was genuinely cheerful and humorous. He had a vast repertoire of jokes, and he was particularly skilled at telling off-color ones. My mother-in-law enjoyed hearing such jokes from him. And above all, he worked in the clothing market and knew many people there. He could get things at discounted prices.
That's why my mother-in-law held onto him so tightly. Everyone in the house, including my wife, was completely charmed by him.
