Chapter 16
I knew Hasmukh before Lalita's family arrived. He used to tutor Anandiben's children. At that time, his conversation and behavior created a distinct impression.
Our thinking was exactly alike. We met every day and talked. At night, we would even take a stroll to Chowpatty.
I was a writer, and I had told him that. He was quite impressed by that.
After Lalita's arrival, Hasmukh started tutoring Kshipra. And that's how he gained entry into my in-laws' house.
My mother-in-law was a shrewd calculator. She allowed him into the house for her own benefit.
She knew that Hasmukh was an opportunist. He would worm his way in wherever he found a chance. But he knew everyone, and because of that, she could benefit considerably. That's why she treated Hasmukh like a pet dog.
Once, he misbehaved with an unknown girl on a train.
For some reason, Hasmukh's coming and going bothered me a lot. I also started to suspect his intentions.
It pained me to see Suhani with him. Anish didn't like him either. One thing was clear about Suhani: she was a high-class, sexy girl. She would get involved with anyone. I knew her. A girl who is so easily available to her brother-in-law, why would she spare anyone else? She spent a lot of time with Hasmukh, so it was natural to suspect their relationship. I had my suspicions. I had behaved inappropriately with Suhani, and she had blabbed about it to Hasmukh. That's when I suspected she had told Hasmukh about it. My suspicion proved correct... giving him a license to do whatever he wanted with Suhani.
My in-laws lived next door, and I had grown fond of Suhani. Therefore, I wanted to see her whenever I pleased, but my mother-in-law objected and made comments. And I had to stop going to their house.
I would sit outside in a comfortable chair at night. She had promised me:
"Brother-in-law! I'll come to you every day."
But at that very moment, Hasmukh would come and stick to her house like glue. Suhani also had to do her studies. Hasmukh would come at that time and block Suhani's way to me.
Suhani never came. I felt bad at that time. I was hurt hearing her talking to Hasmukh.I don't know what kind of spell he had cast on my in-laws.
Once I had apprealed Suhani:
"Will you call me 'Big Brother'?"
"Why?" she asked in suspicious tone.
"I feel more at home with this addess. "
"Okay," she accepted my proposal.
But it turned out to be completely formal and superficial. There was no touch of feelings. It was just formal
Suhani was drifting away from me. This bothered me a lot.
So I made a suggestion to her.
"Tie a rakhi on my wrist."
But she rejected my request.
When asked, she revealed,
"My मदर does not agree. She says that relationships should be kept as God intended them."
Then why did she instruct Suhani?
"Call Anish your brother. Tie a rakhi on his wrist."
A question arose in my mind.
Anish was just a neighbor. Why was she ordered to make him her brother?
I used to call her Lalita Pawar. What did she think of herself? She had the delusion, the arrogance, of knowing everything. That's why nothing ever went right in her house.
She herself did wrong things and led the girls astray. My son was named Sundar.
Six months later, the Diwali festival arrived. Loud speakers and firecrackers were exploding. The noise had a very bad effect on Sundar. Suddenly, his eyes became crossed. My mother-in-law noticed this, and she became very worried.
At her insistence, I immediately took him to the doctor.
The doctor told me clearly,
"There is no treatment available here to correct his crossed eyes."
He couldn't see. This had created a major problem. It was entirely his own fault. After hearing what the doctor said, he had given up completely. He had so much more than just his eyesight, but by not using his other organs had rendered himself completely helpless. The local doctor had told him straight on his face.
"You won't be able to do anything anymore."
I took him to Sathya Sai Baba's hospital in Puttaparthi village, Andhra Pradesh. During a doctors' round table conference there, the doctors declared that there was no cure for this disease anywhere in the world. Because of this, his future had plunged into a chasm of darkness.
We were disheartened to hear this. He had everything except one eye. His memory was incredibly sharp. He remembered everything, no matter how old it was, word to word. Cricket was his passion. He couldn't play it, but he remembered all the statistics perfectly.
He couldn't watch movies or TV series, but he was content just listening to them.
After leaving Prem & Sons, I got a prestigious job at Seth Brothers through the recommendation of Suhani's uncle's son, and I rose from being a typist and clerk to an officer. I had the opportunity to work in my own way.
At that time, some staff members tried to create obstacles in my path, but I didn't pay any attention to them.
After some time, the management hired a girl as a stenotypist, and coincidentally, I was the first person she met. While entering the office door, we had met each other and she had wished me good morning, I also replied in the same manner. She was the first person I encountered that day. I needed a letter typed. I had prepared the draft the previous evening. This letter was meant for Rashmi, but she hadn't come in. I needed to take the letter to a government office, so I needed the new girl to type it. With Sushil Bhai's permission, I sent a message to the operator, Kajal, via intercom, asking her to send the new girl to में and without lapsing a single she was standing in front of me with her shorthand notebook and pencil.
00000000 ( to be continued)
