Mother

The twosome:

It was an early winter morning; the sunlight was yet to show up. But there were people out on the street already. Though too little in number but there were...

Mahesh opened the main door of his small flat and came out. He was a tall, fair a little plump guy. His wife Uma was as pretty as a painting. Tall, slim, brown eyed, her hair hung below her knees, it covered her whole back and a lot of her arms and chest when it was open, so she had to keep it in a tight bun most of the times. Mahesh loved playing with it when they were together.

Their union was the most blessed union in the world... that’s what their friends, neighbours and relatives said. Two persons deeply loving each other for twenty years. Mahesh was twenty and Uma was barely fifteen years old when they married.

Every one present in that marriage said that God Shiva has come down to marry his Parvati. May be God wanted to deprive them of something, to save that blessed union from evil eyes...

Twenty years after their marriage they both know that they will never be blessed by a child of their own. Mahesh had some serious physical problems.

It did not change Uma’s love for him an inch. She knew all the while that she was blessed to have him in her life. Whenever her friends used to share their agonies of being beaten up by their drunkard husbands or their other amorous affairs she used to count her blessings and her love for her husband used to swell even more.

“You will be coming back for lunch?” she softly asked him. “Please do, I will prepare poori and gajar ka halwa for you.” She said, as if she was trying to lure a child. Her love for her husband was a purest blending of all types of love.

“I will certainly try to come; you know I can’t eat unless you serve me with those lotus hands of yours…” Mahesh answered equally softly, none of them wanted the neighbours to hear their parting words, every one teased them for their undying love.

He started to climb down the stairs after soaking her with his gaze full of deep love. She closed the front door and started her chores one by one.

----------------------------------------------------------

The surprise:

Mahesh reached his parked taxi within five minutes. The sky has started to fade into grey. Birds were waking up one by one.

He dusted the taxi and opened the front door. He was about to turn on the ignition key after performing the puja when he heard something in the backseat. It was mewling of a kitten. He switched on the light and saw that he has left the window open last night.

“Oh God!!!!” he muttered as he descended and opened the back door to shoo the cat away.

He saw a small baby lying on the backseat, a beautiful girl dressed in neat and costly clothes. There was a gold chain in her neck and a letter requesting to keep the chain and leave the child to some decent orphanage.

He scooped up the child, locked the taxi carefully and rushed back home.

They contacted the local police station showed them every thing and requested them to let them have the girl. The girl was handed over to them officially. They adopted her and named her Esha.


Twenty five years have passed by. Esha was a young girl now. Studying in university, pursuing doctorate in Economics.

The weather was lovely that evening, Durgapuja was round the corner. The weather was pleasant; the sky was full of white, dazzling clouds. She came out of university and started to walk towards her home. It was hardly fifteen minute from her campus.

She was lost in her own world of young dreams when she heard the screeching of the car’s brake. She lifted her startled eyes and saw a car standing still a few metres away from her and the driver of the car following it cursing his heads off.

She saw a lady looking out at her from the window of the passenger seat, staring would have been the correct word. She ignored her and went her way.


She reached her home and turned to check the traffic before crossing the road, just then she noted a car stopping near her. The same lady came out of the car and approached her with a slight hesitation.

“Do you live here?” she asked.

Esha did not feel any alarm because the lady was too sophisticated and motherly looking to be menacing in any sense. So she simply nodded.

“Are you looking for some one?” she asked politely.

“No, you look like someone I know. You have a very strong resemblance with him.” The lady said. “Would you mind telling me your father’s name?”

The lady handed her over her visiting card, which said she was the wife of one of the biggest industrialist of a nearby town.

Esha told her father’s name and bade goodbye to the lady. She turned to see before entering her flat, and as she has assumed the lady was standing and watching her.

She said everything to her parents and handed them over the card.


The parents:

Next evening when she returned from her college she saw that her father’s taxi was standing outside.

She was happy and worried. She took two stairs at a time and rang the bell a little breathless.

She was very childish even at this age; she hugged Mahesh and sat down beside him. “Are you okay baba? Ma I am famished, give me something to eat.”

Then she noticed an eerie, uncomfortable silence. Her parents were sitting there silently and were visibly upset, almost morose.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“The lady you met last evening is your true mother.” Uma said softly.

“You are my real mother; you mean to say she is my biological mother.” Esha said. “From where has she appeared now after these years?”

Uma repeated the story told to her by Kaushalya, Esha’s biological mother. Esha was abandoned because she was a girl child.

Kaushalya was initially told that she was still born but later, years later her husband told her the truth.

They have shifted to USA just after abandoning Esha, they had another son, who is living in USA right now. They have returned because they were missing India.

Kaushalya saw Esha accidentally last evening; she is a replica of her brother Kaushik. The locality is also the same so she took her chance. They want her back to them.

“Okay, story finished, but I am still hungry ma.” Esha said. “When Kaushalya aunty comes next time tell her that if she wants to meet me she will have to come here.” Esha got up to change her dress.

Snowy

I


“Stand still on the pavement, let me pay the fare. Don’t go any where.” His mother said.

Rick was standing there but his eyes were roaming all around him. Suddenly it falls in him. A tiny puppy, black and white. He was also watching him, wagging his tail happily.

He went to him and looked at his mother. She was busy paying the driver. He patted the puppy and fished out a biscuit from his bag. He instantly ate it up and started to lick his boots. Rick looked for another biscuit but there were none.

By then his mother has finished, “Don’t play with street dogs baba, they have germs.” She said. “They sleep on the dirty roads or other places; there is no one to clean them up so they become infested with all type of germs.”

“Don’t forget to wash your hand properly after reaching home.” Tanisha was not very fussy but careful.

“Okay ma.” Rick said, he turned his head, the puppy was following him. He looked back once more after reaching the gate of the Housing. The small puppy looked sadly at him when he realized that he can’t follow him and sat down outside the gate.

“Ma, he is hungry.” Rick looked at his mother pleadingly.

“Okay, take some rice and milk outside the housing complex and feed him.” She said.

It became a daily routine thereafter. The tiny puppy following him to and fro auto rickshaw stop. Waiting patiently for little food outside the gate.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

II

“Tanu, I have been transferred to our Murshidabad office.” Ritwik said. “We will have to shift there within next July.”

“Don’t worry about packing I will contact packers. All you will have to do is supervise.”

“We will get a small bungalow of our own, with a small garden outside it. It will be a great relief after spending so much time in these stuffed match boxes.”

Rik was listening intently to the discussion his parents were having. “Ma, will I have to leave Snowy here?”

“Sorry baba but yes. We can’t take him there with us.” She said.

He went away after eating his dinner. A few minutes later Tanisha saw that he was silently standing in the balcony. She softly went there and saw Snowy standing near the Housing Gate. Wagging his tale at him.

She retreated to the kitchen, heavy hearted. She went to the balcony again, Rick was still standing there. “Go to bed babu. You will have to go to school tomorrow.”

Rick silently obeyed her. She tucked him in and went to watch the news with Ritwik.

When she came to check him before sleeping she saw that his cheeks were stained with tear.

“Can we buy a puppy for Rick?” she asked.

“Why? All of a sudden?” Ritwik did not know about snowy.

She told him Snowy’s story.

“Let’s take him with us. We will get him examined by vet.” Ritwik said. “We will be traveling in the truck along with the goods so we can always take Snowy with us. Cant we?”


She hugged him tightly and smiled.