She wandered around to
see if she could find any further trace of him. The air in the room was
familiar to her. The table and the chair reminded her about the endless
conversations they had. Those agreements and disagreements along with a cup of
coffee; she remembered all. One day, she remembered, he was very angry because
she had canceled a movie outing at the last moment. He had avoided her calls and
messages then. Finally, she had turned up at his house and in his bedroom,
found him seated on the chair with a cup of coffee in his hand. He was looking
out of the window and the day light shone on his face. Without even looking at
her, he asked the maid to bring another cup of coffee. And she had a smile on
her face.
Back there, in Denver,
Smruti missed him a lot. Smruti had studied medicine and specialized in
Psychiatry. After her post-graduation, she had practiced medicine for a couple
of years in Denver. During this time, she distanced herself from him and
Randeep. Today, after almost two years, Smruti was back in
Mumbai.
There was a book shelf
just opposite to his bed. She glanced through the myriad collection of books he
had. He had often found solace in the books. During their first year in college
together, she remembered, he had no money and wanted to buy the Ruskin Bond
collection he had found in a bookstore. He went to a nearest McDonalds store
and asked them if they can employ him for a week or so. Somehow he never felt
comfortable asking for money from the people. Not even from his parents. The
very next week, he earned enough to buy the Ruskin Bond collection and felt top
of the world. He found happiness in such small yet priceless moments.
The expression of
feelings was, by far, one of the most challenging aspects of human psychology.
According to her, he had never expressed himself wholeheartedly in front of
her. Even the psychiatrist in her was not able to gauge his true feelings.
However, somehow, she had loved him along with the ambiguity in him.
He loved painting.
There was one of his favorite works hanging on the wall opposite to the book
shelf. He had drawn it in less than an hour. The painting today was as fresh
and appealing to her as it was before she left for Denver. It was an
abstract work which she never understood. But he had explained the hidden
essence of the painting to her passionately for quite a long time. She had
disagreed on many points and he had negated all her disagreements. At the end
of every conversation, once she felt he was successful in convincing her, she
used to smile. He used to smile too. And then he used to hug her tight.
She could find him
everywhere in the room. She could feel his presence.
And there was a knock
on the door. Samrat's mother, Nitisha Aunty, came inside the room with a plate
full of Diwali sweets and coffee in her hands.
"Please have some
sweets, dear. Sit and relax."
"Thank you,
Aunty. I think I should leave."
Nitisha Aunty wanted
Smruti to wait for some more time. "Smruti, you have visited this house
after almost two years. Be with me for some more time, dear. Have these
sweets." She kept the tray of sweets on the table. "How are Babita
and Ramesh?" Babita and Ramesh Joshi were Smruti's parents.
"They are good,
Aunty." She sat down on the chair. Suddenly, she missed Samrat even more.
"Aunty, can I ask you something?"
"Feel free to ask
anything, dear."
"Uncle is always
out of Mumbai. Don't you feel alone at home?"
Nitisha had a calm
face. "I am used to solitude now. I find happiness in it. Look at this
room. His memories are enough for me to survive." There was an inherent
sadness on her face. May be she felt helpless for that fact that she could not
find her son back. She left the room and Smruti felt a vacuum in the air.
That very moment,
Smruti's phone rang. She read the name of the caller. Randeep. She felt the sudden
urge to disconnect the call. But somehow she did not.
"Hello."
Her sweet voice was still the same for Randeep. He felt like top of the world on hearing her voice.
"Hey Smruti. How are you?"
"I am a bit busy.
Can I call you later?"
"Sure. But do
call. I want to meet you." Randeep.
"I am not sure
that I will be able to meet you." The idea of meeting Randeep almost spoiled
her mood.
"Smruti, please
try to understand me. Meet me for once. I want to clarify certain things.
Moreover, something unusual happened today. I cannot help but share it with
you."
"What happened?"
"I will tell you
when we meet. Try to meet me tonight itself. It is very urgent."
Smruti disconnected the
call. Why does he want to meet me? Is it
the same old thing? And what is the unusual thing is he talking about? The
most unusual thing, perhaps, was the fact that she had come back to Samrat's
house after two years and Samrat was not present to welcome her.
Randeep very well knew
that Smruti will meet him today. The excitement was evident on his face. The
things, however, had changed now. The dynamics of the equations with each other
had changed too. And then there was no Samrat with them today.
He kept waiting for
her call.
Samrat had called her
for the last time somewhere during the month of May when she was in Denver. She
was busy and had missed his call. He had left a message on the answering
machine.
Hey, your Sally here. How are you, sexy? Hope
you are doing well. The big shit doctor you have become. I am sure you will not
have any time for me anymore. No worries. How is your practice? Treat me
someday. I need your treatment more than anyone else. I remember our debate on
the principles and boldness of Howard Roark of The Fountainhead. I still win
that debate, doctorsahab. I still stand by Roark. And you may continue to
disagree with me. I saw your new photograph which you have uploaded on
Facebook. I guess you have put on weight. You still look beautiful though. Anyway,
I am leaving for a world tour tonight. Do not ask for the details. I will not
give you. And I may not be reachable on this number. Just do not get irritated
by that. I will surely meet you some day. Take care, baby. Stay strong. And
meet Randeep once you are here. He loves you a lot. For once, just trust me on
that. Okay, bye. Take care.
Samrat's location was
unknown since that day. He had never returned back to his home. Not even a call
to his parents. Samrat's father, Ramesh Shah had sought police help in the city
to find him. There were newspaper advertisements as well to search him. In spite
of several attempts, there was not even a single trace of him till date.
It was the festival of
Diwali and she could hear fireworks outside. She glanced out of the window and
saw the beautiful night sky. The sky was colorful and full of noise with fire-crackers. The
city of Mumbai was full of lights and energy. Diwali time was one of those
special moments when the city became very lively, energetic and happy. If not
really happy, the people pretended to be happy.
But the conversation
with Randeep had disturbed the resonance of her thoughts. She took her purse
and headed towards the door to leave.
There was a table just
beside the door. A white paper kept on the table caught her attention. The word
written on it made no sense to her. But it was Samrat's handwriting, she
realized. Strange, she thought.
And a loud firework made
noise and spread colors in the sky. She kept on wondering about the word. She
stared outside the window and again at the word. The fireworks did not stop;
nor did her thoughts. On the paper, it was written in black ink. Salamander.
