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November 24th
Deepak’s phone rang first thing in the morning. Roshni woke up, startled. She opened her eyes to check the time. It was 7 a.m., and she wondered who it could be. Deepak was fast asleep, and Roshni leaned over Deepak and picked up the phone.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Roshni bete,” said Sashank bhaiya.
“Sashank bhaiya, you! Is everything all right? Why are you calling this early in the morning?” Roshni asked him.
“Roshni, give the phone to Deepak, please.”
“He’s still sleeping, bhaiya. Is it urgent? Do you want me to wake him up, or can I take a message?”
“Wake him up!” was his response.
Roshni was concerned and raised her eyebrows with a question. What could it be?
She woke up Deepak and gave the phone to him, signaling that it was Sashank bhaiya. Deepak lay in the bed and took the phone from Roshni.
“Hello, Sashank bhaiya.”
“Happy birthday, Deepak. I wanted to wish you first thing in the morning.”
Deepak sat on the bed. “Thank you, bhaiya, it is so nice to receive your blessings.”
Roshni was all confused. Why is Deepak thanking him?
“May God bless you, Deepak, with a long, healthy life,” Sashank repeated and blessed Deepak.
“Thank you, bhaiya.”
Kusum came on the phone next, and Roshni guessed it…it was Deepak’s birthday. Then Akash, and Roshni listened to all the family wishing Deepak birthday wishes. He asked Deepak if he had any plans for the day, and Deepak had to think. Both hung up. Roshni hadn’t known of Deepak’s birthday before this call!
Slowly she got out of bed and turned sideways to face him. “Deepak, happy birthday!”
Deepak stared into her eyes. “Thanks, Roshni.”
Obviously he was expecting much more than this…maybe a hug and a kiss! None of this happened. She quietly walked towards the bathroom, and Deepak got out of bed, disappointed. He walked to the balcony and looked around. The sun was making its way above the horizon. He saw people already on the streets, walking hurriedly to their destinations. The carts with vegetables were rolled by hawkers shouting.
Deepak stood there, watching all this. The thought of provoking Roshni to vent her feelings was still on his mind. He rubbed his palms a few times and brought them to his cheeks, feeling the warmth his body generated, and made a determination – he had to provoke Roshni. A great hope sparkled in his eyes, and hopefully this was it!
Roshni slowly walked towards the kitchen on her crutches, and Deepak followed her. Roshni was pretty quiet, not indulging in any conversation. Sheetal was up, and she was excited because Akash was arriving. She was technically supposed to go back to work on Monday, but lied to Roshni and Deepak that she had to work on Friday. She pretended not to know of Deepak’s birthday and joined them in the kitchen for chai. All three were at the table, enjoying chai and a very casual conversation with Sheetal sharing news from Poona.
“Sheetal, I heard Akash visited you and your family in Poona. How did that go?” asked Roshni.
Sheetal was taken aback at this question. How did she know of this? Regardless, she continued to tell Roshni and Deepak how both of them attended Ravi Shankar’s workshop and his discourse and that Akash met her parents.
Roshni listened intently.
“And Sheetal, what did aai and baba think of Akash?”
Sheetal was confused at this question and so was Deepak. Then he remembered the comment she had made earlier – “Akash may have found a girl for himself” – and wondered if that girl was Sheetal.
Very casually he asked, “Why do you ask this question, Roshni?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Because Akash had never met people like this on his own, so I wondered how he managed and how Sheetal’s parents reacted.”
“Everything went well. I think they liked Akash, and he was very open and friendly with them,” was her response.
