“aaaaaaah …damn it ! “
Suraj literally jumped off the last step . And before he could even balance himself , the bus was off .
He adjusted his ray-ban and glared at it . Creaking ,over loaded , shaking bus …half the paint had been worn off with time and the load of baggages on the top and the people craning their necks out gave it an even more shabby appearance .
“Bloody last century vehicle ! “ , he exhaled loudly .
He looked all around . The tiny lane , mountains all around , some small tea shops with same duplicate quality products. And an annoying radio blaring “mera joota hai japani”.
A few goats munching happily and cows enjoying their afternoon slumber !
Well , Kausala hadn’t changed much …if only there hadn’t been a taxi strike , he would’ve never taken the tractor-cum-bus all the way here …
He started walking uphill . Suraj came from Delhi . Passed out from one of the most prestigious colleges in the country … he had worked in NY for a year . But had to come back ‘coz apparently mumma couldn’t live with him so far away !
And on top of that …there was this matter of mumma’s ancestral house .
His grandpa had expired last year …leaving the family mansion all abandoned . Now since he had a matter to be dealt with in Shimla . He had been asked to go take a look at that mansion , since it apparently belonged to him now .
“Screwy old house . If only somebody could get me back to my apartment in Linden Hill ! Let me go sell off this useless place to the first loony client I come across “
His ipad and bb were already short of battery …and he had no hopes of getting internet signals here . That meant one whole day of work going into backlog for tomorrow !
“FINALLY ! Thee damned place is here ! “
It looked almost as he remembered it from his childhood …a small garden in front . That big lichi tree . Thatched roof … old heavy oak doors and those ancient windows that could be thrown open to let in chilly air and birds .
“Suraj baba …. Give me your luggage “
Ramdhin was as old as the house perhaps .But still as cheerful , energetic and devoted as he could remember .
He went inside . Dragged back into 19th century … sparse furniture , old wide blade fans and bulbs covered with glass hangings .
But he of’course made a run for the plugs and inserted the charging devices .
“baba …No light coming . Landslide happened . So no power till tomorrow”
He sighed deeply . how much worse could it get ???
*******
He sat with his cup of tea , out In the open . He had slept soundly for 4 hours straight . Thanks to the cold air , lack of power was not a big problem .
He began thinking of the project at hand . But it was impossible !! What with the warm tea , and the sound of birds returning home , and the mountains fading in the distance .
He felt very very unnerved and relaxed at the same time .
He gave one last look of desperation to his bb . But it had accepted defeat hours back .
‘Fine ! screw it … we’ll see it tomorrow”
As he strolled outside , he suddenly recalled something very vivid about the lichi tree .The way his grandpa would look after it . Even touching it used to be a sin !
The corridor was where Lucy slept . Big scary devil that she was , she would turn into a furball when they used to play with her .
And so many stories under the blanket at night . And munching on that choclate “baal mithai” whenver they got a chance .
“ Wo ! that was nostalgic “ , Suraj sat down …on the front steps .
He looked around . Pitch dark . not a soul for miles .and the wind going “zooo zoooo” in his ears .
“maybe I shouldn’t sell the place man ! Would be nice to come here once I am done “
He sighed ..went in ….ate a big of roti , daal and chicken curry that Ramdhhin had prepared and went in to snuggle in the bed .
Ramya was leaving Delhi …God knows how were they going to manage their relationship . And maa was very adamant about not leaving anywhere . The office ! Ah …he hated the politics within , and being nasty to the employees ( as if there was a choice ) .
Sometimes , his only solace was work . He sighed deeply at the ipad . And as he turned around and hugged the pillow … the pillow seemed a little wet .
*****
Seated in the flight back to Delhi , internet connection and calls back in full force , he sighed
“We’ll let the house be there …electricity or not “
