A Bend in the River of Life (32 page)

They both laughed but remained silent after that. Their unrestrained companionship remained an assumed consent.

In a solitary moment it occurred to Rana that Iris was one of those who naturally believed that with the passing of her friend, her spouse belonged to her automatically. Rana was not looking for any relationship at that point. But it seemed to him increasingly clearly that willy-nilly a relationship had been planted on him by an invisible force long before it started taking shape. Without further quibbling they began meeting on the evenings he did not have an official appointment with a client of the bank. And that is what the River of Life is. It is a planned creation of seemingly unplanned relation ships. The craftsmanship of the Architect is measured by the extent of the element of surprise that a relationship engenders. The Architect plays His card so close to His chest that the participants in these relationships remain clueless and baffled. For the Designer they are planned and crafted, but for the participants they are simply wrapped in mystery.

Rana reflected upon Iris in a quiet moment. He thought there was
nothing wrong with Iris as such. She was smart, attractive, educated, always within the bounds of decency and much admired and sought after by men of his age. He analyzed the initial tension in the relationship. He realized that this was primarily because of the perception that each of them carried separately. To Iris, in absence of her dear friend Keka, she was the only contender of his attention. To Rana, being the best friend of Keka, Iris ought to be treated by him on a higher pedestal than others and as such she was outside the purview of his romantic attention. Besides, he was reluctant to enter into another emotional relationship. Nonetheless, there was strong affinity between the two to outweigh any differences. Additionally, their personal situations were identical. Outside their work environment both of them were lonesome. A few years earlier, Iris moved from YWCA to the suburbs, sharing a nice apartment with a girlhood friend of hers who used to be away from the town most of the time. Rana just moved into a large bank owned apartment in an exclusive part of the town all by himself. As such, both of them were starved of company.

The relationships have a discreet and invisible way of infiltrating and working in the minds of the parties involved. At the outset, Iris and Rana began meeting in the office around mid-evening. They would usually go to a restaurant to have dinner together and after the dinner he would drop her at a convenient rail station. The train services in greater Bombay connecting the suburbs were efficient. It was the fastest and cheapest way of commuting to and from the suburbs. At the next stage, they found it better and faster to buy food from a restaurant and eat at Rana's apartment. Later in the evening, he would drop her at the nearest station. Further down the road, they found that on the evenings they had appointments, it was better for her to stay overnight at his apartment and drive to work together with Rana the next morning. Subsequently, on a visit to her apartment at her invitation over a weekend, he discovered that it was next to the beach and just off the main thoroughfare connecting the
suburb to Bombay. It was close to the airport and the railway station. He found her apartment to be a great weekend getaway and a staging ground for his early morning flights. So they embarked upon a perfect plan that Iris would stay with Rana through the work week and Rana would stay with her over the weekends and the nights before his travel. There could not be a better solution than that on earth. Relationships work in silence at a graduated scale and with a step-by step approach; hurrying up only leads to their sudden demise.

In a temporary assignment there are always some hiccups. Before the expiry of his six-month assignment Rana was advised by the Head Office in New York that unfortunately his temporary assignment had to be extended for further six months as the designated CEO was still grappling with his personal situations. He was also advised that in case the appointee was unable to make it within the next six months, a suitable replacement would be sent.

So Rana decided to take three week's vacation during Christmas Holiday Season to coincide with his children's winter holidays. Iris also coordinated her vacation to jibe with Rana's. At her insistence he decided to bring his children to Bombay to enjoy their vacation. Iris was a devout Catholic and used to spend the week between Christmas and New Year with her parents in Goa. However, that year she decided to spend only two days of Christmas with her parents and come back to Bombay to share the rest of her vacation with Rana and his children. Since they were also the children of her departed friend Keka, Iris wanted to devote sometime with them to give them the motherly affection that they were deprived of. Probably, for her own mental satisfaction she wanted to show them the same generosity that their mother had shown her when she was afflicted by a difficult situation in her life.

Saurav and Smita, on the other hand, were waiting in excited anticipation for their dad to come and take them to Bombay by air. Finally, their fantasy with regard to airplane would take the shape of reality. They were looking forward to the time of their life with their
dad. For Saurav, the additional incentive was to see his birth place. They couldn't wait any longer. The flight to Bombay was smooth. At the take off and touch down they were glued to the window to see how the plane got off the ground to climb up to the sky and how it came down to touch the ground. They were thrilled to see the white flakes of clouds below the aircraft looking like mounds of threshed cotton. They were doubly surprised when hot and delicious breakfast was served! They wondered how they cooked food on board the aircraft! There is a charm in everything for the first time. It was pleasing for Rana to see everything again through their eyes. The drive to daddy's residence by the sea was a treat for them, for that was the first time they had a glimpse of the ocean. As if that was not enough, they were delighted to see the ocean from daddy's apartment also! Finally, they felt important because daddy's apartment was so large that they were allotted separate rooms for each.

Before the children arrived Iris had removed all her personal effects that she used to keep in Rana's apartment to prevent raising any question or curiosity in their minds. She knew the arrival time of their flight. Allowing enough time for baggage delivery and the driving time from the airport to the residence, she called to confirm their safe arrival. Rana introduced her with Saurav and Smita on telephone appropriately as the best friend of their mother in Bombay. She welcomed them to Bombay with a few affable words that won their hearts. Rana took that opportunity to invite Iris to drop by and meet with them personally. Iris came in the late afternoon and struck up an instant rapport with them. So much so, that they began insisting upon her to stay with them. Though to start with, she pretended her reluctance, at Rana's very special entreaty she agreed to stay, much to the delight of the children. So what seemed complex earlier was resolved without any eyebrows raised.

Soon the children found joy to play hide and seek with Iris at the shoe house in the hanging garden on the Malabar Hills. In a few days, they fulfilled their long-awaited curiosity to see the house where
their mother used to live during her stay in Bombay. Especially, for Smita, that house was like a shrine. The mother, whom she never saw, was not only an enigma to her, but also an object of veneration. Saurav was also pleased to see the nursing home where he was born.

During the Christmas Season Bombay used to wear a festive look like any other western city. The Christians and the non-Christians alike used to decorate their houses and apartments with decorative lights, balloons, buntings and all other paraphernalia. In addition to decorating her own apartment, Iris decorated Rana's apartment also, taking whatever little help she could get from the siblings. They felt very proud to be involved; they felt grown up. Iris had a way of connecting with the children with her natural warmth. They were glued to her; they were literally at her beck and call as if they were hypnotized by her. The day she took them to her apartment at Juhu Beach for the first time, Rana had to attend to some unforeseen business at his bank. The siblings were very happy to stay with her all day and play with her at the beach. Another thing that gave them immense pleasure was the train ride from the Churchgate Station to her suburban home by a non-stop double-fast train. There was a reason for that. At that time the Calcutta Metro was not operational yet and otherwise they had no occasion to travel by train.

Throughout that Holiday Season Iris' apartment was entirely at her disposal, because her room-mate was scheduled to spend the holidays with her family at Bangalore. To take full advantage of that situation, she invited Rana and the children to stay at her apartment for a week on her return from Goa on the Boxing Day. From their very first visit to her apartment, Saurav and Smita started liking it, because of its proximity to the beach. The children were so delighted with her invitation that they danced spontaneously with the simplicity that only the children can display.

Accordingly, on the Boxing Day Rana and the children picked Iris up from the airport and together they drove straight to her apartment for a week of relaxed vacation on the beach, drenched by the benign
January sun under the welcome shadows of an array of coconut and palm groves. There was an additional reason to rejoice. The Boxing Day also happened to be Smita's birthday. It was hard to believe that she was already six! She was very happy to receive the birthday presents that she wanted. They had a sumptuous lunch at one of the nicest restaurants on the Juhu Beach. After the delicious lunch there could only be fun in the sun.

This additional time at her home brought Saurav and Smita even closer to Iris. But that made the parting more difficult. Seven days passed by with the blink of an eye. Iris lavished her unparalleled affection on Saurav and Smita, children of her departed friend Keka, not knowing if she would see them ever again. She was not a mother in the traditional sense. But she proved once again that every woman is a born mother. When the time for parting approached, they cried for Iris unstoppably as much as she cried for them, like the unrestrained monsoon rain on the Malabar Mountains. What mother and what child would not be emotional at the outpouring of their undiluted love for each other! When the moment for departure came, a tearful Iris asked them to come back soon. The teary-eyed siblings pelted her cheeks with their kisses laden with unblemished love. The visit that began with cheers, ended in tears.

Veritably, that is the nature of love. Afflicted by the uncertainties of the future, it is always at a loss as to how to react adequately to the object of love in union or at parting, causing the heart to erupt in unprecedented emotional overflow.

And that is the essence and the driving spirit of the River of Life. In it the objects remain the same, but their impact varies depending on the time, place and situation. The same object which is the source of joy in union also becomes a spring of sorrow in parting. On the wings of joy and sorrow the River of Life dances down the valley of creation to its endless destiny, the ever transient Eternity.

Saurav and Smita returned to Calcutta. They had so many stories to tell about their sojourn in Bombay that they could not imagine
where to start. Rana learnt that Mita came to greet his parents at the New Year and informed them that Ramnath had suffered a mild heart attack. Next morning Rana went to see him along with the children. Ramanth was then about seventy eight. Rana always admired him to be one of those rare breed of human beings who had ready answers to all situations and all seasons. He was someone who could be at home with the kings and commoners alike. He would always be the first to arrive at the scene at good times or bad. Rana had no recollections of Ramnath having lost his composure under any circumstances. As usual, seeing him and the children, Ramnath became his effervescent self. Rana found him to be as affable as ever. With the entreaty of Ramnath, Saurav and Smita told him and Mita all the interesting stories of their trip.

When the story-telling was complete, Mita took the children to the kitchen on the first floor to serve them with some home made sweets and candies. As she left the room, Ramnath lowered his voice and said, “I do not want to say this in presence of Mita lest she becomes sad. But let me advise you something that is very important so far as your children are concerned. Children should always live with their parents for their emotional stability. You should take Saurav and Smita to wherever you are posted. Even if that means you have to marry again, do it. Keka was my only grandchild; she was the gem of my eyes. But no matter what you do, she will not come back ever. Nevertheless, for these two precious children, you may have to do it. I am saying this to you today because my time to follow the footprints of your grandma is near. You live far off and will move further away soon. There may not be another opportunity for me to talk to you. I have always admired your sense of responsibility. I know you will do whatever is best for the children.”

Rana listened to him with rapt attention as always and responded, “I know you have always been my trusted well-wisher. I will definitely give your advice a serious thought it deserves.”

Early next morning messenger came from Sudhir and Mita with
the message that Ramnath passed away in sleep in the early hours of the morning. Completely dumbfounded, Rana reflected how prophetic Ramnath was the previous day! He rushed to their house along with the children. There the lifeless body of the gentleman lawyer Ramnath was lying in absolute peace. Gradually, a huge crowd of friends and family thronged his residence and the last journey of a humble son of the soil and a brilliant legal luminary began. Before the sunset the funeral rites were completed with all their solemnities and sanctities. Rana could not participate in any other ceremonies related to Ramnath's demise for he had to return to his work the next morning. But his heart remained very heavy for Ramnath.