A Bend in the River of Life (45 page)

The climatic condition in the southern hemisphere is the mirror image of that of the northern hemisphere. For example, during the summer in USA and Europe, Buenos Aires would be shivering with cold blast from Antarctica. During two consecutive winters in Argentina, Paula and Joshua came from London to visit with them to the delight of Saurav and Smita. Children crave the company of children and the siblings did not forget the good times they had in London. So they wanted to reciprocate the gestures of Paula and Joshua by spreading out their hospitality. The first year they went to Bariloche on the Andes Mountains at the southern tip of Argentina for a week. Bariloche is known as the Switzerland of South America. It is an important international ski resort, which is a destination of the American, European and Japanese tourists fond of skiing and
other winter sports. They visited the ski slopes but did not actively participate in the sport because they had never ventured into it before.

One of the days they took a cruise on Lake Bariloche, a twenty mile long lake stretching east to west up to the borders with Chile separated only by the Andes Mountains. The view of the lake, splitting the Andes Mountain Range with snow-covered peaks on both sides, rising an imposing 23,000 ft. above the sea level, was awe-inspiring. Paula, Joshua, Saurav and Smita savored that experience for the first time in their lives. From Bariloche they came to the sun and sand of Miami to spend the rest of the vacation in Rana's island condominium. Miami was sizzling at that time. Yet Paula and Joshua were thrilled to have the opportunity to enjoy the best of both worlds during one single visit.

With that pleasurable experience behind them, Paula and Joshua came back again the following year. This year they went to the Iguazu Falls, a horse-shoe shaped waterfalls, which encompasses the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. From whatever angle one looks at the Iguazu Falls, it is a spectacular sight. In terms of sheer geographical spread and height, it is the largest and the most beautiful waterfalls in the entire world. Coming from the United Kingdom, Paula and Joshua were mesmerized at that marvelous sight. They had seen nothing like that in their country. They virtually fell in love with Argentina at a time when there was no diplomatic relation ship between their country and Argentina, for friendship is the ecstasy of mind. From there they went to visit Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. They enjoyed taking strolls on the famous beaches of Rio but did not go into the water because it was winter there and the water was freezing.

Next day a tourist bus took them to visit 130 ft. tall statue of Christ the Redeemer on top of the 2300 ft. tall Corcovado Mountain in Tijuca Forest National Park. It was astonishing as to how such a huge statue with so much weight was installed on top of a tall mountain. This statue is the first thing that the tourists notice
coming to Rio by air. Besides this statue, the panoramic view of Rio from the peak of the mountain with the backdrop of the blue Atlantic was breathtaking, to say the least. Anyway, for the second time in a row the vacation of Paula and Joshua ended up in the sun and fun of Miami. Their visits brought untold joy and happiness to Saurav and Smita. The foundation of friendship that had been laid down in historic London was solidified under the shadows of the Andes Mountains in Argentina and on the beaches of Miami.

Thus amidst song and laughter and fun and games, four years passed by in a hurry. Saurav became 18 and Smita 16. Time was ripe for Rana to fold up his camp office in Buenos Aires and move back to Miami lock, stock and barrel. The debt situation in his assigned area was brought under reasonable order. Now he could manage it by remote control from Miami. His boss called him from New York to say that as a reward for his extra-ordinary work he was promoted as the Regional Manager of the entire South American Operations with his office based in Miami. So at work things were moving to the right direction, but at home he encountered a mixed reaction.

Saurav became very happy with the prospect of moving back to USA. However, Smita became jittery, for by then she had a boyfriend in Buenos Aires named Carlos Santana. Carlos was a senior student, three years older to Smita. He was handsome, well-mannered and soft spoken. He came from a well-known business family in Mendoza at the west of the country on the Andes, kind of Napa Valley of Argentina. In the tradition of the family, his father Christian Santana had huge holdings of vineyards stretching a few thousand acres and several large wineries in Mendoza. Besides catering to the domestic market, he was also a leading wine exporter of the country. Buenos Aires being the commercial hub and capital of the country, all the Federal Government Departments were located in that metropolis. So Santana family used to spend a considerable amount of time in Buenos Aires processing their exports. As such, the family owned a mansion at Martinez, a beautiful town at the suburbs of
Buenos Aires, not far from Rana's residence. As an important customer of his bank, Christian Sanatna was pretty well-known to Rana. Be that as it may, one day after the school, Carlos took Smita to their house and introduced her with his parents and they liked her very much. Subsequently, Carlos took her home many more times. His mother Leticia became very fond of Smita. Especially, learning that she never saw her mother, Leticia developed a soft corner for her.

On the other hand, knowing about her friendship with Carlos from Saurav, Rana asked Smita to bring him home one evening for dinner. Rana actually took a liking for Carlos. During his conversation with Carlos, Rana found out that he was the son of Christian Santana. Carlos went home and told his parents about Rana. Christian called Rana, learning that he was Smita's father. Rana invited them for dinner at his house. They returned the favor and the exchange of visits continued. Thus a solid relationship was established between the two families. However, they did not discuss anything about the marriage between their offspring yet, because Smita and Carlos were too young. However, it remained understood.

All was well till Rana's physical move to Miami was announced. Smita was reluctant to move. She began shedding tears intermittently; she would not eat and she could not sleep. Under the circumstances, Rana again met Christian and Leticia. They all agreed that Carlos and Smita were too young to be married immediately; that they should carry on with their studies and marriage would take place in due course. The three parents sat down with Carlos and Smita and explained to them that they had their parents' blessings and their marriage would be solemnized when they complete their studies. They even promised that meanwhile, they would periodically visit with each other in Miami and Buenos Aires along with their parents whenever it was convenient. Willy-nilly a sullen Smita accepted the move back to Miami as the ‘fait accompli.' But a fear continued to grip her mind that once she was out of Carlos' sight, she
would be out of his mind also. It was crystal clear to Rana that she felt uprooted. Nevertheless, there was no other alternative; he had to follow the dictates of his employer, no matter what.

On arrival at Miami the siblings were admitted to a private school at the Grove. To start with, all was fine except that the international telephone bill kept increasing month after month. Obviously, these were Smita's calls to Carlos without any regard for frequency and duration of each call. He counseled Smita and she relented grudgingly. In the first year both the siblings did reasonably well in their exams. Meanwhile, Smita found out from her classmates that in USA children are lawfully out of parental control once they reach eighteen years of age. So she began biding her time. Telephone bills kept rising again. Rana counseled her against it. Instead of reversal of the situation, it deteriorated further. One month he received an astronomical telephone bill running well over a thousand dollars. He discontinued his international connection.

Nevertheless, to his surprise, in a few weeks he received a report from her school that she was not attending her classes, even though every morning she was going out with her school kit to board the school bus. He went to see her counselor along with her and on enquiry found out that she was missing the school bus deliberately and passing her time at a nearby McDonald's. Both the counselor and Rana counseled her once again. She restrained herself. However, there was no wonder that she flunked her final exam. In a few weeks, she turned eighteen.

Shortly, Rana found cash disappearing from his wallet. On the first occasion he thought it was his mistake. The second time and subsequently thereafter, the shortages were too glaring not to raise his concern. Consternation streaked through his mind that his lovely little Smita had been taking money from his wallet to pay for international calls made to Argentina from the near by post office. He sat down with her to talk over the matter. She readily admitted to have taken money from his wallet for calls made to Carlos. She
dropped out of school and said she was looking for a job to pay for her airfare to Buenos Aires. In a few more days she reported to have landed a job in Coco-Walk at the Coconut Grove. Rana realized that his little Smita was completely out of control and nothing would deter her anymore.

He called Christian Santana and apprised him of the development concerning Smita. He suggested if the Santana family had no objection, let the wedding take place at the earliest. Christian spoke to Leticia. She already had a soft corner for Smita because she lost her mother at birth and also grew up mostly without her father. They spoke to Carlos who was waiting for this moment. He began celebrating his wedding even before the engagement was confirmed and the wedding date was set. He had already dropped out of college and joined the family business. Money was not a problem for him. Thus wedding was hastily arranged in about a month in Miami. Smile broke out on Smita's face again, as the sun breaks through the clouds after a heavy downpour.

However, Rana's heart was torn apart at this unexpected turn of events. He felt guilty that in absence of her mother Keka, he could not accomplish his duty toward their only daughter. He thought his plan to take Saurav and Smita to Buenos Aires for their own safety and comfort yet providing the best education backfired. It seemed Rana was again playing into his own ego. In the misery of the moment he became oblivious of the fact that in the River of Life he was only a roleplayer not a decision maker. Decision had already been taken on his behalf before he came into it.

Wedding was planned as a very private ceremony. Apart from his colleagues at work and a few friends in Miami, he invited only Paula and Joshua because Paula developed a very special friendship with Smita though she was much older to her. Besides, Paula and Joshua met Carlos during their trips to Buenos Aires and made friends with him also.

Rana did not plan Smita's wedding that early in her life. So he was
not ready for this quicksilver development. Yet Smita was his only daughter, the gem of his adoring eyes. Despite all the unpleasant moments that he had to endure due to her indiscretions, he was not unmindful of her mental fragility arising out of an extra-ordinary vacuum in her life, affecting her psychologically. So he and Saurav took her to the malls of her choice to buy whatever she wanted for her and Carlos. When Paula arrived few days before wedding, she found out that Smita also wanted to buy a few more pieces of jewelry and some more cosmetics but felt shy to tell her dad. Paula accompanied her to the malls to complete all those purchases. She also chose Smita's wedding gown.

The wedding was scheduled to be solemnized on a Friday afternoon at the oldest Catholic Church at the Grove. On the wedding day, Smita was cheerful right from the morning. After the breakfast Paula accompanied her to the beauty parlor. On returning home Paula began to dress her up. When all was complete, Smita came to her dad to show him her fully adorned wedding outfit. Rana saw his dear little daughter, who was naturally very pretty, looking stunningly beautiful. In order not to spoil her make up Rana kissed her hair gently and said, “Mummy, you look like an Angel today. Be very happy through the rest of your life.” His eyes became moist, but he composed himself. Time was short. But before leaving for the church Rana took some quick photographs of her as the family treasure.

It was time for the proceedings to begin at the church, where in the presence of a small group of invitees Rana gave his lovely little girl in marriage to Carlos Santana. Wedding reception and dinner had been arranged at the near by Grand View Hotel. During the sumptuous dinner, all the pleasantries and formalities were performed. For Rana and Saurav the saddest part of the ceremony came at the end of the dinner. From there the bridegroom's party went straight to Hamilton Hotel at the airport. Next evening they would fly back to Buenos Aires. Rana kissed his daughter affectionately, wishing her a very happy and joyful marriage.

Next evening Rana was at the airport along with Saurav, Paula and Joshua. Bridegroom's party arrived a little late. There was not much time left for the take off of the flight. A beaming Smita came to her dad and held his hand. Looking at his face she knew that her dad was heart-broken for her imminent departure. She said, “Dad, please forgive me for all the pain I have given you. Don't worry for me. I am very happy. I will stay in touch with you as often as possible.”

Rana said, “Mummy, you have not given me any pain. Have a happy and prosperous married life. Take care of Carlos and your new family.”

He gave his daughter a parting kiss and hugged Carlos and said, “Please take care of each other and be happy.”

Smita then spoke to Saurav affectionately and thanked Paula and Joshua for coming all the way from London to help at her wedding.

The boarding announcement had already been made earlier. So Smita and her new family entered the boarding gate in a hurry. In a few seconds, Smita disappeared from their sight. Rana stood their like a defeated soldier with wounded dreams, bruised and battered in the battle of life. In his mind he told his long departed wife Keka, “My love, you left the heavy baggage for me to carry it alone. I thought I tried my best, but my best was not good enough. Please forgive me.”