He awoke sweating,
startled from a nightmare. His mouth felt salty from the tears that had flowed
in.
"What happened? You look
worried!", asked
wife dearest.
"Dad, why do you keep
worrying. Of all days, today! It’s my wedding... please! Your ministry and its
affairs can wait", said
Hari.
That worsened the
dark circles under his eyes.
**********************************************************************************************
Ooty, was cold.
Not like Chennai.
"She's only 16. Looks
like she was kept waiting for you."
Her pretty eyes
were welled with tears.
Kumar, his
confidant in every sphere of life, beamed proudly at his new ‘catch’ for his
boss.
Occasionally, to
escape his wife, he would go on a long 'business trip' which usually started
and ended at his estate bungalow, in Ooty.
Rum.
The fireplace.
And something to
lay one's mind off business and politics.
That something
waited in his bedroom.
A terrified 16-year-old.
He downed his last
glass of rum and walked in.
**********************************************************************************************
"Dad, this is Ramya, I
told you about. My junior from B-school. Why don’t you have a look at her
credentials. She's quite efficient. I'm sure we can fit her in somewhere."
Yes, he could
easily employ her. He had a fairly large office. His business empire had grown
over the years. The Anand Group was among the largest business conglomerates
in the country.
Whatever he
touched turned gold.
It didn’t take him
long to plunge into politics.
It was an easy
field for people like him.
**********************************************************************************************
The old man had
wrinkles all over. He smiled and stood like an obedient servant.
"He takes care of the
girl, her only distant relative. He says she is pregnant."
He threw a bundle
of notes into the drunkard's greedy palms.
"Get her married. I don’t
want to see you or her ever again. Else, both of you will be gone. I don’t need
to tell you what Kumar is capable of, should I?”
The old man smiled
again, obediently nodding his head.
**********************************************************************************************
"Dad, that Ramya girl is
really good. She seems to have got into the good books of mom too! I mean, not
bad knowing mom and her eccentricities!", Hari seemed exceptionally happy.
It took him some time
to figure out why.
**********************************************************************************************
"Happy Birthday! You
turn four today!"
They were cutting
the cake through the icing which read Hari Anand, when the phone rang.
"Sir, Sir!", Kumar gasped.
"Kumar, haven't I told
you to never call me at home?"
"Aama Sir, but this is
urgent. That girl died ..."
"Which girl? What are
you talking about? Listen, I don’t have time for this nonsense"
"Sir, please listen.
That girl Lalitha. She delivered last night. And she died on the spot. The old
man didn’t take her to the hospital…"
'Papa, come cut the cake with
me!'
"Yes Hari, Papa is
coming.
Shut up! I was talking to my son. I can’t talk to you now!"
Shut up! I was talking to my son. I can’t talk to you now!"
"Sir, but the baby... the
old man disappeared when she died. The baby was left at our doorstep this
morning..."
"What baby? Throw it
somewhere. Where is the old man? Bastard. I will kill him."
"Sir, but what will I
do?"
'Anand, come fast. We are all
waiting! Can't you keep the phone down for a minute!'
"Yes Suji. Coming.
Kumar, listen I don’t know what you do! You are responsible for this mess. Kill it. And don’t call me ever again!"
Kumar, listen I don’t know what you do! You are responsible for this mess. Kill it. And don’t call me ever again!"
"But sir... "
Beep.
The cake was
stale. It didn’t taste as sweet as it looked.
**********************************************************************************************
"Dad, mom, I need to talk.
I think.... no. I know that I love Ramya. She is the girl in my life."
Now, that was a
tough one. Accepting into his family a girl with modest or rather no roots.
Especially when
business magnets awaited with proposals promising dowries of crores and joint
venture deals that valued more.
But the PR almost
made up for all the losses.
"The minister's way of
guiding the society."
"Philanthropy starts at home."
"Business men are not
always business minded."
The couple became
a smash hit. The minister’s son and the orphaned girl.
Couldn’t help but
bless them. After all, the empire he had built, was for his son.
**********************************************************************************************
Kumar never
called. Until yesterday.
"Sir, Kumar here. Your
old servant..."
"Oh! what a pleasure
Kumar. I was hoping you heard about the wedding. It's only a day away. I want
you to..."
"Listen to me
first...!"
Arrogance. With
years, he has grown gutsy enough to interrupt me!
"Sir, this is important.
That girl Ramya. Who do you think she is? An angel who will make up for all the
evil you did? She will be the cause for all your distress..."
"What do you mean?"
"She is your blood. Sir,
she is your child!"
"KUMAR!"
"Don’t scream at me. It’s
the truth!"
"I thought you killed
the baby. Was it a girl?"
"I couldn't kill her.
For all the sin I did, this was the only way I..."
"No. You killed the
baby. You told me you killed the baby..."
"No. I put her in
school. I sponsored her education with your money. I knew you would never let
her live if you knew. So, I kept it a secret. But now..."
"This can’t
happen...."
"Sir! You need to stop
the wedding..."
He couldn’t hear anything,
anymore.
**********************************************************************************************
"Where's Dad?"
"Anand... Anand... where
are you?"
He tried to hide
inside the palatial house.
"Minister calls off his son's
wedding to sibling - Exclusive coverage."
"The blood thirsty Minister's
appalling past"
"The Anand Group of
industries - A black-mark for India"
He awoke sweating,
startled from a nightmare. His mouth felt salty from the tears that had flowed
in.
"What happened? You look
worried!", asked
wife dearest.
"Dad, why do you keep
worrying. Of all days, today! It’s my wedding... please! Your ministry and its
affairs can wait", said
Hari.
**********************************************************************************************
Hari looked
handsome as ever!
Ramya looked like
her, decked in her bridal red sari. Yes, she had her looks. The same eyes. How
could he not see it all this time?
The priest
announced that the auspicious time had come to tie the knot. Everyone was
rushing to get the closest spot on the Mandap.
He was dragged
along.
Tears welled up.
His inner voice
screamed.
His conscience hit
him. Hard.
Yet, he returned
to silence...
