A LOVE STORY - Episode 7

A LOVE STORY​

​

A Serial By Varalotti Rengasamy​

Episode 7​

Kamla had just retired for the day. It was <st1:time hour="23" minute="0">11 PM</st1:time>. Her phone rang. Arun.

“Doctor, I need to see you, right now. Please, Doctor.”

“What happened, Arun?”

“I’ll tell you in person. Absolutely sorry to disturb you.”

“Ok come along. I’ll keep the door open for you.”

Kumar had woken up. He sat on the bed and looked at Kamla.

“Arun is coming now. He’s in trouble.”

 

Part 2!​

​

Arun’s father was vehemently trying to reach him on his mobile on that day. Arun was in a day- long meeting at KT Publications discussing his next book.

He had kept his mobile in the silent mode and was fully engrossed in the discussion. He had forgotten to switch back the mobile to normal mode even during the time they had lunch in the office.

It was only late in the evening when Arun returned home after the meeting did he notice his mobile still being in silent mode. He was shocked to see 23 missed calls all from his father’s landline number.

He immediately called his father. But there was nobody to pick up the phone. The damage had been done already.

 

Part 3!​

​

Unable to reach Arun on his mobile his father promptly called his Bank Branch.

Arun had not told about his resignation to his father till then. He had planned to visit him during that week-end in his brand new car and then tell him about his success as a writer.

The Branch Manager picked up the call. Arun’s father identified himself and asked for Arun.

First the Manager wanted to tell him the truth – about Arun’s success as a writer and his consequent resignation. But then he remembered the snubbing he had received from Arun many times.

It was only because of Arun’s impertinence that the Manager missed a huge business opportunity with the Sharmas. Had Arun gone out for dinner with Mrs. Sharma, the Manager would have got a promotion by now. He would have been given a car.

Now was the time for revenge.

“Good Morning Sir, I am Somasekaran, Branch Manager speaking. How are you, Sir?”

“I am fine. Thank you. Can I talk to my son Mr. Arun Kumar, please?”

“Oh, My God! So you don’t know what happened. Right?”

Krishamurthi felt a vague pain in his chest.

“Sir, please tell me that Arun is fine. I am worried.”

“Sorry for saying this, Sir. But your son is a very rash young man. He is not behaving responsibly. Any problem in the home front?”

Krishnamurthi’s chest pain was a little more definite now.

“What happened?”

“Just like that he resigned his job. Impulsive decision, Sir. He came to the bank very late in the morning one day.

“I gently told him that discipline is very important. He got angry and shouted at me. I told him firmly that so long as he is working for the bank, he is expected to be on time and he should behave himself.

“Whereupon he wrote his resignation letter, threw that on my face and walked out of the branch.”

Now the pain was palpable. He was also gasping.

“I ran behind him. I begged him to return. I told him that I was sanctioning him a day’s CL so that he can come to office the next day.

“I told him that I won’t send the letter to the higher-ups till he came back. But he shouted at me and told me that his decision was final.

“People from our Bangalore Staff Section called him on his mobile and begged him to reconsider his decision. He was adamant.

“We had no other option than to process his settlement papers. I am very much worried, Sir. I don’t know how he is going to make both the ends meet.”

Krishnamurthy now felt a shooting pain radiating from his heart to his left arm.

He received a paltry pension from the bank. He had invested his terminal benefits in his own bank and was receiving some interest. That was sufficient for his sustenance.
But if Arun was without a job, how could he support him with that money?

He had already seen a few girls for Arun. The girls’ fathers were all eager for the alliance because Arun was working for a bank. But now they might not be interested.

Fortunately for him his neighbour had come to his house at that moment to borrow the day’s newspaper.

The neighbour saw Arun’s father holding his chest and falling down with the telephone instrument still in his hand.

He was taken to the nearby hospital and was advised to go to <st1:City><st1lace>Madurai</st1lace></st1:City> to a bigger hospital as they did not have an ICU Room.

As their cab was rushing to Madurai Krishnamurthi told him about his conversation with the Bank Manager.

Two hours later as Krishnamurthi was being wheeled into the hi-tech ICU room of the big corporate hospital in <st1:City><st1lace>Madurai</st1lace></st1:City>, the neighbour asked him, “Do you want me to inform any one?”

“No. Don’t tell anybody, particularly to my son Arun Kumar. And if anything happens to me see to it that he does not perform the last rites.”

In spite of those strong words the kind neighbour called Arun late in the night and told him everything.

 

Part 4!​

​

Kamla and Kumar wore a stunned look. Arun was on the verge of tears. He should have been crying for quite some time.

Kamla’s heart bled for him. Kamla wanted to hold his hands and comfort him. But she could not think of doing anything more than that.

For she had her own problems at her clinic. Rao’s illness was now taking a totally new dimension. Kamla did not want to disclose that to Kumar yet.

Kumar cleared his throat and asked Arun in a calm voice.

“What’s the name of the hospital in <st1:City><st1lace>Madurai</st1lace></st1:City>?”

Arun gave the name.

“Your father’s full name?”

“R.Krishnamurthi.”

“I’ll be back in a minute.”

Kumar went inside and placed a call to that hospital. The Doctor at the other end was very patient in explaining Arun’s father’s condition.

Kumar came out to the living room. Arun and Kamla were sitting in absolute silence.

“Arun, I talked to the Doctor. He says there’s nothing to worry. It’s a mild ischemia and they have administered some anti-coagulants. He is being monitored continuously. Whatever it is, you need to go. Right now.”

Arun did not know what to say

“Do you have a car with you or do you want me to call in a cab?”

“I have a car. I have a driver too.”

“Fine. Send the driver to fill up the tank and check the air pressure. I will come with you. We are leaving in another thirty minutes. Kamla, can you come in for a minute, please?”

 

Part 5!​

Kumar took Kamla to the small, well-decorated puja room in the house, where Kamla used to pray for an hour every day.

Kumar had never bothered to visit that room in the past. So Kamla was surprised to see Kumar almost dragging her to that room.

“Please light the lamp, Kamla.”

Kamla complied.

“You know Kamla, I have never visited this place. Though I believe in God and His love, I have never thought it necessary to come to this room to see him. I have not asked for anything from God till now. But now I am going to ask Him something. I want you to be there with me and endorse my prayer. ”

Kamla was worried.

“What happened dear? Is Arun’s father fine?”

“That’s the whole problem, Kamla. He is not fine. Though they have saved him for the time being, the Doctor fears that he might not last for more than a day or two.

“They say that he has a high BP and is a chronic diabetic. They could not even do an angio on him. So even if there is a very mild heart attack now, it could be fatal.”

“Oh My God! So you want to pray for his life?”

“No, Kamla. I would be the last person to interfere with God’s decision to take a life. My prayer is that he should live long enough till Arun and I reach there. Till there is some kind of a reconciliation between the father and the son.

“So that the father can die in peace and Arun need not have to carry feelings of guilt and hatred. This is a very crucial moment for both of them.

“I am begging the all-loving God to give a few hours of extension for Arun’s father’s life so that the peace process is complete. Will you join me in my prayers, honey?”

“Sure, Kumar. Sure.”

They silently prayed for a few minutes.

“Kamla, I have never believed in trading with God. I have always ridiculed people offering to do something to God in exchange of God doing something for them.

“But right now to show my earnestness I want to do something, though God doesn’t need any proof.

“So I am making a promise in this holy place and in your presence that if God listens to my prayer, I’ll quit drinking immediately.

“I swear in His presence that I won’t touch any intoxicating liquid for the rest of my life. Now ask Him to grant my prayer, my dearest.”

Kamla was moved to tears. Kumar had been drinking ever since he was twenty five. He was never an alcoholic. He never sought drinks as a refuge from his problems. For him drinking was an expression of joy and gratitude for favours already received.

He had never exceeded his quota of two larges a day – about 120 ml. He used to take two hours to finish those two larges. For him drinking whiskey was something as religious as the tea-ceremony in Zen Buddhism. During the last thirty five years he had never skipped his evening drinks.

Kamla knew how important drinking was for him. And Kumar was ready to sacrifice that for the sake of Arun. Kamla was speechless.

As they walked out of the Puja room, Kumar told Kamla,

“One more thing, dear. Arun should never know that I quit drinking for his sake. I don’t want that nice kid to feel obliged to me for the rest of his life. Please promise me.”

Kamla placed her hand on Kumar’s hand to promise. She then tightened her grip and told him in a choked voice.

“Kumar, it’s time again to recall your story of seven cows. There’s another twist to the story. You need not have given seven cows to me to marry you, Kumar.

“I should have given the whole world and more to have you as my husband. Now please place your hand on my head and bless me.

“Pray to your Lord that I should also have that kind of love in my heart. And tell him that I should be your wife in all my future births. With your kind of love you can order God to do whatever you want to.”

Kumar hugged his wife and they stayed in that state for a while.

 

Part 6!​

It was almost <st1:time minute="0" hour="0">midnight</st1:time> when they hit NH 45 in the outskirts of Chennai. The car was doing more than 110 kms per hour at the same time retaining the grace of a ballet dancer’s movements.

Kumar did not want Arun to be silent. He knew there were so many things in his mind. And he should get them out right now. In effect Kumar had started the peace process between the father and the son right there.

Unlike Kamla, Kumar was not a Counsellor by profession. But with a heart so full of love he could handle that brief as elegantly as his loving wife. It was psychological counselling at its subtlest best.

“Arun, I want to know more about your father.”

Arun was about to start a long narration about how he was suppressed, about how his father imposed his whims and fancies on him and almost ruined his life.

But then he remembered that his father was now in bed with a broken heart. He did not have the mind to talk ill of his old man. So he searched his memories to say something good about him. Surprisingly there were many.

“My mother died when I was 12. My father was hardly forty. I was the only child. My father’s eldest sister had a daughter who was about 30 at that time.

“She was very beautiful and because she had some problem in her horoscope she did not get married. They were very rich.

“My father’s sister told him that if he married her daughter she would settle a large independent house in his favour. Today that house would have been worth a couple of crores.

“My father held my hands and told her, ‘Hereafter I am going to live only for this boy. I promise on my dead wife and my son, my only living relative, that I won’t marry again. If you want to be of any help to me, please leave me alone.

That’s what all our relatives did. They just left us alone to suffer.

“You know how difficult it was for him to manage the house as well as a bank job in those days. We could not afford a maid or a cook. Nor could we afford much of household gadgets.

“He would get up at 4 in the morning. He would do the dishes and washing. He would prepare coffee and wake me up. He would spend two hours in the kitchen preparing breakfast and lunch for us.

“He would then send me off to school with a packed lunch and then get ready to go to work. In the evening as soon as my school was over, I would go to his branch. He would get me some biscuits and tea.

“We would come home together after his work was over. He would help me with my lessons and then cook our dinner. Whenever I fell ill he would not go to work and would be my side throughout the day. He was an honest man, a wonderful provider and a loving father.”

“But I heard from Kamla that it was he who suppressed your desires. It was he who did not let you pursue a career of your choice.”

“That’s true, Sir. But that was because of his ignorance. He grew up in a remote village and was almost the only man in that area to have finished his degree and got a job in a Government bank.

“He never moved out of the bank. He did not even suspect that there could possibly be a more interesting, a more rewarding world outside the cramped premises of his branch.

“That was not evil, Sir. That was more of a handicap. Do we blame a blind man if he is not able to see as we do? We only sympathize with him.

“For him a bank job was the finest thing in life and he always wanted the finest things for his only son. Now thanks to Vidya I was able to make the best use of my bank job.

“I know many full time writers who have flopped. Because money was their main problem and after a time they started writing for money.

“As I look back on my life I am sure that my father is blameless. I am the one to be blamed. I never tried to understand him, Sir.

“Whatever kindness and attention I showed to the pensioners, who visited my bank, I did not show to my old man who gave me everything in life.

“And finally I did the ultimate crime – of throwing away the bank job without first discussing that with him.

“I was a fool. I know how much this job meant to him. I should have explained the circumstances to him and taken his blessings.”

Kumar let Arun cry.

 

Part 7!​

The car was entering a busy town. Kumar patted the driver on his shoulder.

“What’s this place?”

“Villuppuram, Sir.”

Kumar saw the digital clock on the dash board. It was 2 15 AM.

“Can you please stop the vehicle near a good tea stall? We can have some snacks and tea.”

Once they finished their tea Kumar told the driver,

“Logu, you look very tired. Let me drive for a while. You sit in the front with me. Let Arun sleep in the back.”

The <st1:Street><st1:address>National Highway</st1:address></st1:Street> was now relatively clear. And many sections of it had been converted into a 4-lane road.

By 4 30 the car reached the outskirts of Trichirapalli. Kumar parked the car near the Srirengam Toll Gate. Arun was still sleeping.

The driver was also dozing in his seat. Kumar woke him up and the two went for a cup of tea leaving Arun to sleep in the car.

Refreshed by the rest and the tea, the driver was now behind the wheel with renewed energy. Arun woke up by <st1:time minute="0" hour="5">5 AM</st1:time>.

Kumar asked Arun about his recent success in his writing career.

 

Part 8!​

The car entered the Hospital’s spacious car park at 7 05 in the morning. They enquired in the reception and rushed to the ICU where Krishnamurthi was admitted.

As they were about to enter the ward a nurse came running from somewhere and blocked their entry. As a rule the hospital never allowed anybody in the ICU.

Kumar’s face fell. If something should happen to Krishnamurthi now all the efforts would go waste.

Arun was arguing with the nurse. Hearing the noise a Doctor came out from inside.

The nurse ran to him to complain about the intruders.

The Doctor ignored her and was staring at Kumar.

Then he ran towards him and touched his feet.

“Doctor, I was your student in <st1:City><st1lace>Stanley</st1lace></st1:City> in 1988. I am Dr. Sekar. I can never forget the way you handled the class. You are my role model, Sir. I am now practising as a Cardiac Surgeon in this city.”

Kumar chatted with him for a few minutes.

“Dr. Sekar, can you do me a favour?”

“This is your hospital, Sir. I am your student waiting for your orders.”

“Can I have a look at the case sheet of Krishnamurthi?”

“Please come with me, Sir”

“Arun, can you please wait here for a minute?”

Before Arun could respond the two men disappeared behind the opaque glass door.

 

Part 9!​

Once they were out of Arun’s hearing range, Kumar grabbed Dr. Sekar’s hands and explained his predicament.

Sekar listened to his former teacher with rapt attention.

“I should first talk to the man for a few minutes. And then I should call his son in.”

“The patient is bad, Sir. Really bad. I don’t know what to do.”

“You should do something Sekar.

“But.. will the patient… withstand all that…”

“Give him something to pep up his energy. Let him have some barbiturates under his tongue.”

“I’ll do my best, Sir.”

“And one more thing. You will have to introduce me as your Chief Doctor. I need to have some authority with that man.”

“And that’s not a lie, Sir. For me you are still my Chief. And I consider it as a blessing to be able to introduce you as my boss.”

“And you will have to leave me alone with the patient for a few minutes. And then let his son stay with him for some time.”

“But .. but.. will that not be a little tiring for the patient?”

“This is the last opportunity I have, Sekar. Please understand.”

Krishnamurthi was wide awake and even attempted to smile at the Doctor. Kumar could now see that Arun strongly resembled his father.

“This is Dr. Kumar. My Boss. Chief of Cardiology. I requested him to come to see you. Boss, the patient is yours.”

Sekar gracefully bowed out of the room.

 

Part 10!​

​

“Mr.Krishnamurthi I always insist on knowing what caused the heart attack in the first place. I got all the details from your neighbour.”

“Doctor, my only son… my only son.. has let me down….” Krishnamurthy was sobbing.

“Relax. You see these things do happen. I have a similar case in my family. My sister’s son was working for a bank in <st1:City><st1lace>Bangalore</st1lace></st1:City>. He was only a clerk. But his salary was good and he was living happily with his wife and children. Suddenly he quit the job.”

“Idiot.”

“That’s what I also said. The fool had purchased a Raffle ticket and had won a bumper prize of Rs. 5 crores. He thought the job was not necessary and resigned it without even telling his family.

“Crazy guy. Five crores is okay. But the bank-job was giving him a salary of Rs.15000 plus per month, liberal loans, PF, gratuity, medical benefits, ample leave and above all financial security.”

Krishnamurthi forgot his pain and smiled.

“Doctor, I can’t say he is crazy. Who in his senses would insist that he should stick on to his Rs. 15000 a month job, when he has Rs. 5 crores?

“If he deposits that money in our bank he would get a monthly interest of Rs. 4 lakhs plus. Why should he bother about the 15000 Rs salary?”

“Then why are you so upset about Arun’s quitting his bank job?”

“Do you mean to say that Arun also got a prize of Rs. 5 crores?”

“Much more than that, Mr.Krishnamurthi. He is an acclaimed writer today. His latest book has become a best seller. His publisher has gifted him a brand new Honda City car –worth Rs. 8 lakhs.

“And he is going to buy a duplex flat in Velacheri. Something he could not have done even if he worked for the bank for a hundred years. Take it from me he is going to be a great writer and would be earning several crores. ”

Kumar also told about the Branch Manager’s vicious twist to the whole story. He assured him that while Arun was in service he was a very conscientious worker. He would not even talk on his mobile during working hours.

“Mr.Krishamurthi, you have done a great job as a father. You have brought him up very well. You have instilled a very high sense of values in him.

“And you know, something, he is very proud of you. He still remembers how you suffered as a single parent to bring him up.”

Krishnamurthi tried to hit himself on his forehead. Had not Kumar stopped him at the right time he would have dislodged himself from the monitoring system.

“I had been a fool, Doctor. I didn’t know about his love. I have spoken very harshly to him. I told my neighbour that my son should not do the last rites for me. I don’t deserve a son like, Arun.”

“Relax. Relax.”

“Doctor, before I die I want to see my son. And beg his forgiveness. But will I last till he comes from <st1:City><st1lace>Madras</st1lace></st1:City>?”

“Don’t worry, Krishnamurthi. He is here. I will call him in, right now.”

Kumar went out to fetch Arun.