A Bend in the River of Life (8 page)

This is how justice is dispensed in the whirlpool of the River of Life. It is the level playing field; the greatest equalizer of all. Each and every individual in its flow is accountable for his or her acts. The River of Life sets the same code of conduct and the same reward or punishment equally applicable for men and women irrespective of status. Any one in violation is put to rude awakening. There is no exception. No body escapes the sweeping reach of the River of Life. Ego has no place in it; the raised eyebrows of the high and mighty are shredded into fragments like the paddy on the threshing floor.

Amit did not go back to his business. His partners offered him an oversight position in Calcutta. He decided not to accept the offer. Rather he opted for an early retirement. The future horizon of the Roy family drastically shifted its course. The higher education planned for Rana on completion of his graduation became murky. The expansion plan for Rajani's country house suddenly evaporated in the thin air. The carefully woven dreams of the Roy family went haywire. This is how unpredictable the River of Life could be. The illness of Amit which became the plank for Monika's homecoming also became responsible for puncturing the dreams of the three generations woven during their sojourn.

Yet time goes on and the River of Life flows on. Along its tortuous ways many meadows are washed away blowing apart the protective fence of their embankments. Mending the fence becomes an inevitable and significant part of the dynamics of the River of Life. Rana's life continued to be virtually unruffled during this period of his family's intense battle of turf. He helped in mending fences by
remaining absolutely neutral. His focus remained his graduation. Just another year and he would be an honor graduate. That would open up a grand vista for his future. So he stayed focused. He had no doubt that the wounded dream would nurse itself and find its way out. After all, for every dream gone awry ten are in the making; for every dream accomplished ten are waiting to sprout. For dream is the veritable driving force behind the River of Life.

D
ays come riding the chariot of the morning-glow and they leave with the promise of many more to follow. Time and tide stand prisoners to none. The River of Life flows on in its measured strides, never in a hurry, never in a scurry, but always deceptively rapidly. In the midst of this prevailing scenario, Rana became twenty almost imperceptibly. He just completed the Bachelor of Arts exam of his university. With success, he would be an Honor Graduate in Economics. The results would be announced in a few weeks. Waiting out those nerve-wrecking weeks was every student's destiny. Nevertheless, it was time for rest and recuperation. He had a long-standing invitation from his aunt and childhood angel Devika to enjoy his vacation with her family in Darjeeling. They were waiting for him with Himalayan hospitality.

In the first phase of the journey Rana was supposed to fly to Siliguri at the foothills of the Himalayas. From there a “Toy Train” of the Indian Railways would transport him to Darjeeling about 6500 feet above the sea level. The flight from Calcutta was delayed due to a nor'wester quite prevalent in that part of India in the early summer. The flight finally arrived at Siliguri airport in the darkness of the evening. The next toy train to Darjeeling was scheduled to whistle off at six the following morning. The overnight stay was arranged at the Railway Guest House. Siliguri was a sleepy town after dark. There was nothing to see and no where else to go. So he took his dinner and went to bed early in order to get up fresh next morning to commence a delightful journey. In the morning, as Rana
stepped out of the Guest House to walk across the rail yard to the station, he had a stunned glimpse of the majestic monstrosity of the Himalayas. The ageless sentinel to the gateway to the kingdom of heavens stood there in dignified silence. That magical moment would forever remain frozen in Rana's mind.

The toy train with only a couple of compartments steamed out of the station in a short while and in about ten minutes began climbing up the slopes on its serpentine track. Little by little, the Himalayas started unraveling its breathtaking beauty. At first, it was a huge forest of teak and then endless mahoganies. They were followed closely by heavily wooded pines of all shapes and sizes. At higher elevations were rhododendron, fir and birch. Then appeared waves and waves of mountains in arrays, one vying with the other for attention. To romantic Rana, nature lavished the Himalayas with indescribable beauty. No wonder, the mythology and folklore suggested that the heavens existed somewhere on the Himalayas.

As the slopes were getting steeper, the growling of the engine was becoming louder. A few small stations came and went non-stop. At an altitude of about 4500 ft. Rana saw a large station from the distance and mistook it for Darjeeling. However, it was a junction named Kurseong. The train was scheduled to stop there for 30 minutes allowing the tourists to take their breakfast at the Railway restaurant. On enquiry, Rana found that a freshly serviced engine would haul the train to the destination, still about two hours journey. On the way, it would scale the highest point of the train track at a station named Ghum at an altitude of 7000 ft. Thereafter, it would roll down the valley of Darjeeling. He was told that the real mystical beauty of the Himalayas would be revealed somewhere around Ghum. Rana could wait no longer. After the rest, the toy train with its freshly serviced engine began whooshing out of the Kurseong station. Rana held his breath with unknown expectancy. In a short while, a local resident showed him the tea plantations stretching hundreds and thousands of acres of mountainous terrain. He knew
that the Darjeeling tea was acclaimed by the connoisseurs as the best in the world and being a tea lover himself, he was glad to see first hand where exactly they were grown.

In about an hour, the snow-capped peaks began appearing one by one in the northern horizon. Rana sensed that Ghum could not be far behind. In a few minutes the train entered the Ghum station. After a stop of 15 minutes the train whistled out of Ghum and began hurtling down the northern slopes. In a few minutes, the awesome Himalayas unveiled its unparalleled beauty beyond all descriptions. As far as the vision carried to the north, spreading from the far west to the far east, there was an unending array of tall white peaks skirted in patches at the bottom by the blue-gray color of the coniferous mountain vegetation that signaled the fast approaching summer on the Himalayan Mountains. In about 15 minutes the train turned round the corner of the mountain and the pretty township of Darjeeling, the queen of the mountain resorts, showed itself up in all its beauty. Slowly the train entered the station at the southern outskirts of the city. Apart from being a pretty mountain city, Darjeeling had a checkered history. As mentioned earlier, when Calcutta was the capital of British India, Darjeeling used to be the summer capital and the home of the Viceroy of India. As such, it had all the trappings of a great city. Even when the capital moved to Delhi, Darjeeling continued to be the summer home of the Governor of the state.

As expected, Devika and Siddharth were at the station to receive him. Their bungalow was about 10 minute's drive by a jeep from the station. It was one of the ten bungalows in a little groove neatly ensconced between two taller peaks on the east and the west with the north completely open. So the view of the tallest peaks of the Himalayas from that point was simply astounding. Observing him completely mesmerized by that picturesque scenery, Devika showed him the Kunchenjungha, the third highest peak on the earth, rising head and shoulders above the companion peaks. She mentioned that
the Mount Everest was also visible from there to the northeast on a bright and clear day. Rana had no other alternative but to wait for that bright and clear day to have a glimpse of the highest peak on the earth.

Rana took it easy the rest of that afternoon. However, the evening was kept free for socializing at the Government Officers' Club. Devika and Siddharth took him to the club primarily to introduce him to the club officials and to obtain a temporary membership for him for a month. That was the peak season for the tourists. Almost all the residents in Darjeeling had some friends or family visiting for a week or two from all over the country. By the time they reached the club it was pretty crowded. Introduction to the club officials and issuance of the temporary Membership Card did not take long. As a bonanza, he was also invited to the club picnic to be held at the Horticultural Institute on the same weekend. Devika introduced him with some members of the club and a few of her neighbors in their ten-bungalow groove. Everything seemed to indicate a promising vacation time.

Next morning, after Siddharth left for his work, Devika and her two sons took Rana to the Mall. No visitor to Darjeeling could miss the Mall because it was at the very heart of any Darjeeling trip. The Mall was a table land, undoubtedly the most conspicuous property in the Darjeeling valley. It was of the size of a few football fields, nicely paved with stones for people to take stroll without the fear of traffic while watching the greatest panoramic view that this world could offer. At the north and the south ends there were heavy stone railings with wide parapets to prevent any accidental fall. The northern side had a grand view of the entire Himalayan Range with endless rows of snow-covered peaks. The southern side had a bird's eye view of the valley of Darjeeling. The road to the east of the mall led to a shopping plaza.

As Devika, Rana and the children were walking toward the shopping plaza, she met one of her neighbors out of the blue. Her
name was Rita. She just came out of a ladies' boutique. She was accompanied by another lady and a very attractive young woman in her mid-teens. Rita introduced the lady as her sister Mita and the younger woman as Mita's daughter and her niece Keka. They were also on a visit from Calcutta. On her part, Devika also introduced Rana to them. After the exchange of the pleasantries Rita asked Devika, pointing out to Rana, “Devi, did you mention about him the other day? Is he the one who would be an Honor Graduate in Economics this year?

Before Devika said anything, Rana looked at her and said, “Why me again? You have already started talking about me even before I arrived!”

Devika smiled at Rana but responded to Rita, “Yes, he is the one.”

Rita said, “He looks very young and charming; in fact, too young to be a graduate.” She smiled at Rana in appreciation and he nodded at her acknowledging her kind words. She then asked Devika, “Will you go to the picnic this Sunday?”

Devika answered, “Of course, no one can afford to miss that.”

Before parting, Rita again said, “Most probably we will see you at the club this evening.”

Devika smiled and said, “Yes, we will be there.”

While Rita and Devika were talking, Rana and Keka exchanged timid and furtive glances at each other a few times and each caught the other stealing looks in the process. At the time of departure, they also smiled and made parting gestures. Rana felt the impact of the first blast of romantic feeling. For the first time in his life someone of the opposite gender swayed his heart. He thought Keka was very pretty. There was something in her eyes or something in her smile that made her more likeable than a traditional beauty. He avidly looked forward to seeing her again that evening.

From the next morning Rana began riding. There were a couple of reasons for that. Firstly, in his childhood his name led him to fantasize himself as a prince of Rajputana, the land of princes, on
horse back. Before that trip he had no occasion to savor that in real life. Secondly, his teacher said riding was a good exercise but he could not experience it before mainly due to lack of opportunity. There was an additional incentive for riding in Darjeeling. The riding facility was located at a very quiet and exclusive part of the city. It was a stretch of land, about a mile long, along the Governor's estate. It was picturesque and majestic; almost paradise on earth. Rana fell in love not only with riding, but also the awesome beauty of the place.

He spent the afternoons playing tennis and reading in the library and kept himself free in the evenings in order to catch a glimpse of Keka, not knowing when she would visit the club along with her family. Routine for the rest of the first week pretty much remained the same. All these evenings he came across Keka, but always closely surrounded by the family. All they could do was to exchange smiles only, no dialogues at all. The satisfaction for each, however, was that the other party also appeared to be as keen in opening a conversation. Anyway, by the Saturday of the first week almost everybody who is anybody in the club knew Rana by his first name.

Sunday was the day for picnic. Rana was given to understand that the annual picnic was an event that every club member would fervently look forward to. From the size of the turn out he had no reason not to believe that. There were lots of activities and ball games planned for the day. Surprisingly, Rana was sought after by everyone to be a partner in their chosen activities. But only thing he was interested in was an opportunity to begin a dialogue with Keka. So far, there were numerous exchanges of smiles, but not a spoken word whatsoever! Nevertheless, from her gestures and vibes it was apparent that she was equally anxious to talk to him. When he was playing tennis, he found her riding a pony in the distance. She also kept track of him in the crowd. She not only saw him from her pony but also smiled and waved at him. However, there was no way they could talk to each other. Rana found no greater injustice than that on earth! He was getting sick and tired of staying happy with long distance smiles.

Nonetheless, the opportunity that he was looking for came from an unexpected quarter. Before the day was done, Rita came to Devika with a serious request. She asked, “Devi, can I make a special request to you?”

Devika said, “Rita, there are no formalities between the friends and neighbors. Please tell me what's in your mind.”