A Bend in the River of Life (12 page)

Though Rana was not expecting that innocent question from Keka, a city-bred, school educated young woman, he was not entirely surprised by it either, for tradition and old habits die hard. However, to keep their relationship as equal as possible, he also answered innocently as if he did not know the reason behind the question, “Why? My name is Rana; so you will call me Rana.”

Keka began swaying her head from side to side and said rather shyly, “No, that can't happen. My mother does not call my father by his name.”

Rana responded discreetly, “May not be so. Neither does Devika call her husband by his name. But those are the anachronism of the past. The wind of change is blowing. The society must respond to that.”

Keka still kept on shaking her head unconvincingly. In fact, Keka's unconvincing state of mind was the reality check everywhere on this beautiful earth. Slavery or mastery is a state of mind in the context of time. In reality, the mental servitude or the arrogance of perceived ownership cannot be swept aside by a simple statement or jargon. Slavery cannot be abolished just by the stroke of a pen or proclamation on emancipation. A paradigm shift is possible only when the entire society rallies round a just cause. Otherwise, the Civil Rights Movement was not necessary hundred years after the official abolition of slavery by way of the most defining law in the history of mankind.

Be that as it may, realizing that it would be futile to convince Keka
at that moment, Rana said in an encouraging manner, “Okay, you start calling me Rana effective immediately. If anyone takes exception, just say that I have asked you to call me by my name. If they bother you further, tell them very politely to talk to me. Or, else, you tell them, you stand the risk of offending me. Just put the blame squarely on me. I trust you will be able to do that.”

Keka neither said ‘yes' nor ‘no' but kept on smiling all the while. Perhaps she was not sure if Rana was serious or making light of the situation.

To mark the end of that discussion, the waiter served the food. It was delicious. While eating, they talked about everything under the sun, beginning with Keka's story about the impression that Rana created on her family. There was no way Darjeeling would escape their discussion still being so fresh in their memory. Keka also mentioned that her classmates saw her pictures taken in Darjeeling, especially, her photos with him. She said that her romance with him created a stir among her classmates and they would be waiting impatiently to hear her accounts of that evening.

At the end of the dinner they came out of the restaurant and walked hand in hand along the entire stretch of the walk-way, seemingly contented that their first romantic outing went smoothly. Nevertheless, they had to withstand the glare and close scrutiny of the people around. Whatever they did or did not do during that encounter raised their eyebrows for free-mixing of the unmarried couple of their age was still an anathema.

As they came to the end of the walk-way, Keka said, “We have to get going now. Otherwise, my mother would start worrying.”

Rana concurred that Keka's mother had reasons to be worried, her daughter being only a sixteen year old female. He told her that he himself was a twenty year old male and a graduate at that, even then his grandma Rajani would worry if he did not return home by nine in the evening.

On the way back home Keka said, “Many thanks for choosing the
strand on our first dating and for being so caring toward me. I'll remember this day forever.”

Rana said, “Pleasure is mine. From the next day you choose the venue. For me your company is more important, venue is secondary.”

Coming close to her residence, Keka said, “Don't just run away. Please come at least to the drawing room. Let me call my mother. Say hello to her before leaving.”

Rana said, “No, no, I will not leave you on the street. I will hand you over hale and hearty to your mother. Otherwise, she will not trust me any more.”

Keka smiled and said, “You sound like my grandpa. He will appreciate it when he comes to know your sense of responsibility from my mother.”

They went in. Rana waited in the drawing room. Little later Keka came back with her mother. Rana exchanged pleasantries with Mita. She said she was very glad to see two happy faces. Rana then asked her permission to leave and said he would be back next Friday as usual.

In one of these romantic encounters Rana told Keka that he liked her name very much.

He said, “Keka, if you would recall, on the very first day we went riding I told you that I loved your name. That was true from my heart. Your name is short, crisp, romantic and meaningful.” She was exceedingly happy to hear that. Then Rana asked her, “Keka, do you know the meaning of your name?

Keka said, “It did not really strike me and I never asked anyone. So I do not know the meaning.”

Rana then elaborated to her, “Keka is actually the intonation of voice of our national bird peacock, indicating its romantic feeling toward the rain cloud.” He explained further, “The beautiful and unusually romantic bird peacock is mostly seen in Delhi and the adjoining states of Haryana and Rajasthan. The male peacocks are more beautiful and romantic than the female ones. Their plumage is
longer and more colorful and they use this asset cleverly when courting the female peacocks.

Anyway, the district of Delhi and the states of Haryana and Rajasthan are in the arid regions of the country; the rainfall is few and far between. Especially, the landscape of Rajasthan is dominated by the Desert Thar. The precipitation there is next to nothing. As a result, the earth remains parched almost always and every living creature is perennially thirsty. But once in a blue moon when rain is in sight and the peacock sees the dark rain clouds on the horizon, its joy knows no bound. In its delightful ecstasy it opens up its exquisitely colorful plumes fully in the shape of a rainbow as if to lure the rain bearing clouds to come closer to it to drench the landscape and not simply fly away. Simultaneously, it emits a particular musical expression or tone resembling the sound ‘Keka,' conveying its romantic feelings and begins dancing to the rhythm of that intonation. The music itself is not as melodious as that of the songbird nightingale or cuckoo, but the entire sequence of sights and sounds is what is breathtaking. It defies any language to describe the intense communication between a bird and the nature. As I have mentioned before, the male peacocks especially go berserk with the same song and dance sequence while courting the female peacocks. It seems that the peacock can impart a lesson or two in applied romance to human beings.”

Keka appeared to be spellbound by the tale of her apparently simple and innocuous name. She listened to it as intently as a child listens to the fairy tales. At the end she said, “Wow, you know so much! You are a good teacher.” Then, perhaps to assuage Rana's feelings she said, “I like your name too.”

Rana said, “My name makes no sense. ‘Ranadhir' means one who is calm and composed in war. Just by being calm and composed no one can win a war.”

Keka laughed to her heart's content, but did not say anything. She understood very well that Rana was trying to boost up her ego at the
cost of his own, like the male peacock.

And that exactly is the nature of love. It always strives to hold the object of love on a higher pedestal to play on its ego and derive immense pleasure out of it.

Keka's birthday was at hand. She became a fully blown seventeen. Her vivacious beauty made her look like all of her seventeen years. Luckily, that year her birthday fell on a Saturday. As such, their weekly get-together on Friday remained uninterrupted and they celebrated the occasion on two consecutive days. With Keka's concurrence, Rana decided to observe her birthday exclusively between the two of them on Friday evening. Among the gifts that Rana gave her was a painting of her that he painted himself from a photo snapped in Darjeeling. To begin with, when she received all other gifts except the painting, she was overwhelmed with emotion for that was the first time that she received something other than roses from her beau. What woman would not love to see her gifts immediately? She asked Rana as soon as she received them, Can I open the wrappers?”

Rana answered, “Of course, they are now yours. You can do whatever you like with them.” She opened the gifts and appeared to be very pleased with them. She said, “You have wonderful taste. How did you know these were my favorites?”

He said, “I am glad that you liked them. When I meet people I keep my eyes and ears open. I want to know in the first place what their likes and dislikes are, so that I do not do anything that displeases them.” He smiled at her.

She smiled back and said, “Well, I can see that here.”

Rana then said with a little emotion, “To me all these gifts are just fine. They can be bought and sold in the market with money. But the one I am about to give you now cannot be found in the market, nor can be bought with money. This one is very special. This can come only from the core of one's heart.” Saying this he handed over the packet to her.

Keka asked with lot of curiosity, “What is it?”

Rana said with a smile, “You cannot see it unless you open it.”

She opened the wrapper very cautiously and took the picture in her hand. Her facial color changed and her usually expressive eyes became larger. She said, “Wow, this is beautiful! But you never told me that you could paint!”

He responded gleefully, “How can I blow my own trumpet? Rather, I thought of giving you a pleasant surprise. I am delighted that you like it. Now you can blow the trumpet for me.”

She said, “Many thanks for taking so much pain for me. I will put it up on the wall over my study table so that I can always see it and remember you.”

Rana said, “That would be my pleasure too. Whenever I go to your room I will be able to see not only your picture reminding me of Darjeeling, but my artwork too.”

Little later Rana asked, “Keka, I have to ask your permission for a small thing only because today is such a special day for you and me.”

She asked. “What is it?”

Rana asked, “Can I kiss your beautiful cheeks?”

Keka nodded her approval shyly. Rana gently kissed her cheeks and said, “Very happy birthday to you.”

Keka blushed and said, “You are a naughty boy and getting naughtier day by day.

Rana said, “It is better to be naughty than lifeless, isn't it?”

She smiled and said, “You are very clever too.”

He quipped, “Would you be happy if your beau is a stupid?”

Keka laughed and said, “I am sorry, I'll not be able to keep up with you.”

Rest of the evening went by in fun and frolic; in a light and jovial atmosphere. On their way home they both agreed that it was one of the most enjoyable evenings of their lives.

Rana got admission to the M.A. class in Economics, but kept his
options open for a good job offer. As conscientious as he was, never for a day was he forgetful that his father retired and money was not easy to come by like before. He also took a private teaching job to pay for his own expenses.

Keka's High School final exam was approaching fast. So her academic activities also increased considerably. However, nothing disturbed their weekly rendezvous. On the contrary, Keka's mother Mita requested him to coach Keka whenever possible on the subjects she was not up to the mark. Rana said to himself, Coaching Keka? He would coach her 24-hours a day if needed. Mita did not have to coax him further to coach her daughter. There is a saying in Latin, “If you get a space to sit down, don't just sit, you lie down.” That was exactly what happened to Rana. From then onwards Keka's need for help kept on increasing by leaps and bounds. Consequently, Rana's visit to Keka's home also became too frequent and each visit too long for every mother's comfort. However, Mita never uttered a word about it.

In a couple of months Rana got a job with a medium sized engineering firm. His specific job requirement was to develop an easy-to-understand Management Information System and prepare Management Reports for Senior Management and Board Meetings. He found the job to be pretty interesting and responsible. He put his heart and soul into it and gave up the university classes. He began his project at the department level to streamline their reporting requirements and devised simplified reporting forms to the delight of the Board members. To reward him for all the improvements that he made in a relatively short period of time, the Board approved his promotion as MIS Manager with substantial pay increase after just about six months on the job. Coinciding with his promotion and raise approached the month long autumn festival season. With all the extra money at his disposal he bought generous gifts for his grandma Rajani and his parents. He also bought exquisite gifts for his sweetheart Keka and her mother Mita. It was expected that Keka
would be happy to receive her gifts. However, Mita was also enormously appreciative of his good gesture to acknowledge the supporting role that she was playing behind his courtship with Keka.

In about a year, things were getting a little discouraging at work. As the Manager of the company's information department it was crystal clear to him that the company was losing market share against general economic trend. The company was expecting a few high value businesses. When they did not materialize, the board decided to lay off 20% of the workforce. Though he himself was not affected by the staff reduction, it was prudent to think about the future. Even otherwise, it was out and out a family owned company. There were stumbling blocks on the way up. He, therefore, kept looking around for a challenging opportunity elsewhere.

It did not take long for the opportunity to knock at the door. In a few weeks Rana saw a news item in a local English daily that American Inter-Continental Bank was going to expand its operations in Calcutta and as a part of that process would open another branch at the southern end of the business district shortly. Rana went and saw the designated Manager of the upcoming branch. He told Rana that all their recruitments were centralized in their main office and he should go and see the Operations Manager. He, however, talked to Rana for a while and appeared to be satisfied about his qualifications. He then wrote a nice hand-written note to the Operations Manager (OM). Rana went to see the OM on a Wednesday without an appointment, but took that note with him.