Chapter - 29
Because of me, Namita was back on the right track. Aniket was ready to marry her. Her in-laws had accepted the proposal.
What had she herself become? She had forgotten. And I had made Sneha my son's daughter-in-law. She was angry with me about this. She didn't talk to Sneha. She had even stopped talking to me.
But after many years, she learned the truth about Sneha. She had done something that no well-bred, cultured, high-class girl would ever do. Namita learned the truth very late.
And she regretted it deeply.
Her son was about to get married. She came to my house to give me the invitation. For the first time, she gave Sneha the status of her son's sister-in-law and allowed her to perform all the rituals.
Hearing this, Sneha was overjoyed.
She readily agreed to perform all the rituals that a sister-in-law was supposed to perform.
And on the wedding day, I took Sneha with me and attended Namita's son's wedding.
Sneha wholeheartedly fulfilled all her responsibilities.
At the wedding, Vibhuti, who worked with her son Pradeep, was also present since previous night and had the ample opportunities to chat with her.
At my request, she clicked joint selfie of ours. We had exchanged each other's mobile numbers also.
Once, I asked her four questions on WhatsApp in the style of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"
"What should the name of our relationship be?"
"A neighbor?"
"A friend?"
"A brother?"
"A father?"
"Which one do you prefer?"
"Which relationship do you like?"
"I like you to be called a father, or 'Bade Papa' (elder dad)!"
"Okay then, I'll call you Bade Papa. I'm lucky, I've received the love of two fathers."
From that moment on, I became her Bade Papa. We regularly chatted on WhatsApp, where I would hear the word 'Bade Papa' repeatedly, which gave me immense joy.
And this relationship continued for years togheter solely through WhatsApp. It was truly a new example of love.
We talked every two or three days.
One day, I received a message from her:
"I'm going back to Guwahati." "Why, what's the matter?"
"My father is calling me back. They are looking for a boy for me."
"That's great! When are you leaving?"
"This Sunday, at three o'clock in the afternoon. The train leaves from Kurla Terminus."
"Okay! I'll come to see you off."
"Bade papa why you bother going through so much trouble in this heat?"
"It's necessary. Can't I even do this much for my little girl?"
And she didn't say anything more.
I reached Kurla station right in time. I bought some food packets for her from a stall and gave them to her. She became quite emotional thinking about how much I cared for her.
She repeated what she had said earlier.
"I am truly lucky. God has given me the love of two fathers."
The train was about to depart. The signal had been given. At that moment, Bibhuti's eyes welled up. Seeing her, my eyes also became moist.
I kept in touch with her frequently on WhatsApp until she reached Guwahati. She had found good co-passengers on the train, who were elderly. Her journey was completed easily in their company.
She sent me a message on WhatsApp informing me that she had reached Guwahati and promised to stay in touch.
A few days after reaching Guwahati, she gave me some happy news:
"Bade papa! I'm getting engaged today."
I congratulated her wholeheartedly.
She invited me to her wedding.
Sneha and I were going to attend the wedding, but the child was unwell. Therefore, we had to cancel our plans. Bibhuti was very disappointed because of our absence. She prayed for the child's speedy recovery.
Two years later, she gave birth to a boy.She happily shared the news with me:
" Bade papa, your grandson has arrived. He will call you Grandpa." Her words filled my heart with emotion.
There was an atmosphere of joy and happiness in her home. At that time, her father had a heart attack. He was in the hospital for two weeks, and then he passed away. She was deeply saddened by her father's death, but seeing her father's reflection in her son, she composed herself.
She had also posted a picture of her son.
There was no possibility of meeting her again. In this situation, we maintained our relationship beautifully through WhatsApp.
Her birthday was on November 14th. I could never forget it, because it was also the birthday of our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Her wedding anniversary was on December 13th, which was my birthday.
After her child turned six year old, Bibhuti started working again.
She expressed her happiness upon learning that I was a writer and that several of my stories had been published.
She greatly appreciated my story, "The Unique Smile."
000000000 (To be continued)
