- 29 -
Next morning, Rani was free from her morning routine by six o’clock. She peeped into Ramesh's bedroom. He was also awake but he hadn’t yet left the bed. Rani came in, wished him 'Ram Ram’ and said, “Vinay called a little while ago. He said that Maa was not feeling well. If you allow, I want to go to enquire about Maa’s health.”
Ramesh was almost relaxed after last night’s dialogue. He was not upset like before. He said, “Okay. How many days do you intend to be there?… Don't talk about divorce with Vinay or anyone else there.”
“I intend to go for three-four days. Rest will depend on how the condition is there. …Rest assured, I’ll not talk about the divorce with Vinay or anyone else.”
“When do you want to go? The driver will drop you there.”
“I intend to go around twelve o’clock. I don’t require services of the driver; I’ll drive myself. If possible, come on Sunday. We’ll come back together.”
“I’ll see to it, but don't take it as certain. I’ve one set of the house-keys. Before you leave, give instructions to Lachhmi about what all to do in your absence. Give me a call after reaching there.”
“Okay. I’ll prepare dinner for you. Heat it before eating.”
After the conversation was over, Ramesh went to the bathroom and Rani came to her room and called Alok, “Alok, I’m going to see Maa and will meet you on the way. Don’t get lunch prepared, I’ll bring the same. We’ll talk about the rest when we meet,” saying this, she hung up.
Usually Rani prepares only one dish - either Dal or some Subzi. Today she prepared both. She put the subzi in Ramesh's Tiffin and kept the Dal in the fridge for his dinner. But for Patiala, she packed Subzi as well as Dal alongwith chapatis.
While they were having lunch, Rani narrated in detail to Alok what all had happened. After the lunch was over, Rani got up to leave. Alok held her hand and made her sit. Then he said, “Wait for a while. I’ll also accompany you. We’ll chit-chat on the way, and I’ll see my birthplace also. It has been ages since I went to Bathinda.”
“I won't be able to take you home with me,” Rani said in a disappointed tone.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll find some place to stay in my birthplace. And if not, hotels are available everywhere nowadays. Well, tell me, where does our friend Pradeep, who had a shop in Dhobi Bazaar, live these days? They had sold their old house.”
“Pradeep's family lives in Bharat Nagar. They’ve built a very nice mansion. Ever since Pradeep has started sitting at the shop, their business has flourished by leaps and bounds. A big departmental store has replaced the old shop. You may not know, Pradeep and Rama are now husband and wife.”
“Wow!” Alok was pleasantly surprised. Then he said, “How nice! Childhood friends bound in life-long ties!”
“This’s what’s called destiny. They didn't have to suffer separation for 40-45 years as we had to.” The tone of disappointment was evident in Rani’s voice.
“What’s the name of Pradeep's departmental store?”
“Jain Departmental Store.”
After this, Alok put clothes for a day in a briefcase and said to Rani, “Let’s go.”
As they came out of the house, they saw that the sky was overcast. Small and big pieces of clouds seemed to be playing with the winds.
Alok said, “Rani, the weather seems to be bad. Who knows when the monsoon clouds may burst! Give me the keys, you sit and I'll drive.”
Looking at the sky, Rani said, “The weather isn’t that bad; there’re only a few clouds.”
“You never know when these few clouds may turn into heavy overcast and start raining! Moreover, easterly winds are blowing, so, downpour is sure to happen.”
“Alok, I'll drive, you just sit beside me.”
Without insisting further, Alok sat in the car. Rani switched on the car. The weather remained dry and cool till Bhawanigarh, but a few kilometres before Sangrur, suddenly a heavy downpour started.
Alok said, “Now, let me drive; you must be facing difficulty in driving in the rain!”
“Don’t worry, sit relaxed; I’ll keep the speed slow. Anyway, monsoon rains don’t last long. There’s a saying: ‘In monsoon rains while one horn of the bull gets wet, the other may remain dry’.”
Exactly the same thing happened. After 3-4 kilometres’ drive, there was no sign of rain.
*****
