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It was late in the night, and Deepak wondered why Akash had not had his dinner yet.
“Haan, I tried to explain to him several times, it is not good for his health to have such late dinners but…” said Sashank.
“Bhaiya, please…” Akash pleaded with him not to say anything.
Akash helped Deepak with his luggage. “Deepak, I will wait for you. Let’s have dinner together; please come back soon.”
Deepak agreed and left to freshen up.
“Sashank bhaiya, I will keep Deepak company, and we will have dinner together. You can retire for the night,” Akash said.
“All right, tomorrow is Sunday, and I will catch up with Deepak then. Both of you eat well.” Sashank patted Akash’s shoulder and left for his room.
A wooden Deco-Lam table with six chairs sat just opposite t
he kitchen. Kaki and Lakshmi got the food and table ready for dinner. The stainless plates, watis and glasses for water were arranged for each of them. Kaki brought the dal, a vegetable curry, chutney, chapathi, and rice to the table. Akash again asked both the ladies to go rest for the night while he and Deepak took care of the rest; Kaki and Lakshmi agreed and left for the night.
Meanwhile Deepak was fresh and wore a comfortable cotton kurta pyjama and joined Akash at the dining table; both brothers had a casual conversation during dinner.
After a few bites, Deepak said, “Ooh, this is so tasty! It has been so long since I ate such good food.”
“What do you do for food, Deepak?”
“It depends; most times I cook a simple meal or go out to a restaurant. I don’t always eat Indian food.” He smiled. “I eat Chinese, Italian, and Thai also, bhaiya.”
“Hopefully all is vegetarian,” stated Akash with a smile.
“Of course, only vegetarian,” replied Deepak and smiled back.
“Okay, eat well. Kaki and Lakshmi aunty are very good cooks. If you need any special items, just ask them, and they will be happy to make them for you.”
Both brothers relaxed in the family room after dinner, catching up on a few topics.
Akash sighed. “I am glad you came, Deepak. It is too lonely sometimes with just the two of us. Acha, tomorrow is Sunday, and we are home. Let’s catch up tomorrow. I am tired and want to go to bed.”
Deepak was tired from his long international journey too, and both brothers retired for the night.
~ ~ ~
Deepak’s visit to India this time had a purpose. Of course he wanted to spend time with his brothers, especially Sashank bhaiya. Secondly, he had met a girl, Karen Foster, who had worked with him on the recent project. Deepak, being the lead on this project, was very appreciative of her dedication, her engagement and willingness to work. She was a mature and disciplined individual, and Deepak admired her and started to show some interest in her. Deepak knew nothing more of her other than her employment in his company. Of course, he was apprehensive of the cultural differences but wanted to get to know her better. However, before he could take the next step, he wanted to discuss this with his brother, Sashank bhaiya. Sashank had done so much for Deepak and Akash; Deepak would not dare do anything to cause distress to his brother. He was also confident that Sashank cared for Deepak’s happiness, so if Deepak decided to pursue his relationship with Karen, Sashank probably would not object.
However, there were different plans going on in India for Deepak.
Chapter 1
Introduction to Verma and Gupta Families
Introduction to Verma Family
Mr. Kishen and Mrs. Madhuri Verma and their four children (all boys) were a happy upper middle class family living in Mumbai. Satish was the older son, Sashank their second son, then Akash and Deepak.
Mrs. Madhuri Verma died when Deepak was three years old. Satish, the oldest son, was twenty-three years of age when their mother passed away. Since all the other boys were young, especially Deepak, Satish was married to Nirmala with a hope that Nirmala would assist Kishen Verma with the house and the younger siblings. Although still employed, Kishen Verma assisted Nirmala as much as he could with the household work. Satish was studying for his MBA, and soon after his MBA program, he was able to secure a decent job in a company in the outskirts of Mumbai. Nirmala appeared to be a very docile woman, but as soon as Satish started working, she started ill-treating the family members. Since Satish left early and returned late, he was unaware of the things happening at home.
Mr. Kishen Verma was treated like a servant, doing most of the work at home, with Sashank helping him when possible. This continued for a couple of years until Mr. Verma couldn’t take it anymore. Sashank was twenty-two years old and graduated with a master’s degree. He was very unhappy to see the behavior of his sister-in-law towards them. Deepak was very young, and Nirmala never provided the nurturing he needed. Satish and Nirmala started their own family and had their daughter, Purvi. Unfortunately Satish was blindfolded to all the events at home; even if he became aware to a few incidents, he chose to remain quiet to avoid ill-feelings. Kishen Verma bore all the troubles in silence, but Sashank was bold and confronted his brother a few times. This led to major misunderstandings and arguments between the brothers.
Sashank managed all the finances after Kishen Verma’s retirement. Nirmala was not happy, and she picked a fight with her father-in-law. The argument was very intense, and Kishen Verma suffered a major heart attack and passed away that night. Sashank and the younger siblings were a witness to this incident, and this left an indelible mark in their hearts. At an opportune time when Satish left on a business trip, Nirmala kicked Sashank, Akash and Deepak out of the house. Satish was told later that his younger brothers left the house without informing Nirmala after they fought with her. Satish was annoyed at his brothers for misbehaving with their sister-in-law; he made no attempts to find their whereabouts.
After this incident, Sashank moved to his parents’ house with his younger brothers. He appeared for bank exams and secured a bank job. Since his father had left some money, he hired Indumathi (Kaki) to take care of them for cooking and other household work. In a couple of years, Lakshmi aunty was hired to help Kaki with the housework. Over time, Sashank advanced in his job at State Bank of India and very soon became an officer.
