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Autumn Sunshine

Discussion in 'Stories (Fiction)' started by satchitananda, Apr 3, 2016.

  1. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    This story has been published in an anthology.

    The rays of the early morning sun stream through the fronds of the coconut tree in front of Vasant Karekar’s house. There is a cool breeze blowing from the beach a furlong away. Mr. Karekar draws in a deep breath, opens his eyes slowly and looks around. He has just finished his morning yoga session and ended it with Shavasana. His looks belie his years. For all his 80 years of life, he could easily pass off for 65. He is extremely active, with his grey and white hair still intact, his skin a glowing healthy brown.

    He picks up the morning newspaper and starts browsing through it while sipping his morning cup of filter coffee. His faithful man-servant Ganpat, ensures that the coffee is served just as he finishes his yoga. Ganpat bringing in the coffee with the newspaper and Mr. Karekar surfacing from his Shavasana is always perfectly orchestrated. If this were ‘ye olde England’, Ganpat’s name would most certainly have been Jeeves. Of course Mr. Karekar is a far cry from being Bertie Wooster.

    Mr. Karekar’s eyes travel down the second page, a page he checks everyday for familiar faces of friends or acquaintances that might be featured in the obituary. He is at that age where his contemporaries would naturally stage an exit from the theatre of life.

    Today, one particular photograph catches his eye:

    We regret to inform you that our father, Mr. Balasaheb Mahajan, aged 85 years passed away peacefully in his sleep.

    Mourned by his wife Mrs. Susheelatai Mahajan, two sons Pradeep and Mandar and daughter Shalini Patankar, daughters-in-law Vishakha and Maya, son-in-law Sarang Patankar and grandchildren Anjali, Veena, Vivek, Prasad, Jayant and Malhar.

    A feeling of regret and pain crosses Mr. Karekar’s mind.


    *****

    55 years ago.

    In a world so very different from today’s world.

    ‘Susheela, will you marry me?’ asks Vasant.

    ‘Your parents will have to approach my parents. I cannot give you an answer directly. It would be inappropriate.’

    Vasant is a smart, intelligent and well-behaved young man living in Susheela’s neighbourhood. He works for the State Bank of India and is as eligible a bachelor as any parent could wish for, for their daughter. He is convinced that things will go smoothly and he will end up marrying Susheela, his college sweetheart.

    Susheela is a delicately built, intelligent, cultured girl who has been allowed to do her post-graduation – quite unusual for the times. She has also completed her B.Ed after her graduation and teaches the higher classes in a school close to her house.

    Technically there is no reason why their parents would not want them to get married, except one. Susheela has a limp in her left leg – a legacy of an attack of polio at a young age. Vasant’s parents won’t hear of him marrying her and refuse to go and visit Susheela’s parents. Susheela’s own modesty prevents her from talking to her parents about her love.

    Eventually, both end up marrying partners chosen for them by their respective parents.


    *****

    ‘Time and tide wait for no man, so they say.

    And the fact remains that it does not give women any special treatment either. The years roll by. Vasant Karekar moves on in life with his wife Sumana and kids. Susheela Mahajan does the same with her husband and children. No, they don’t forget each other, but the youthful love mellows down to fond memories.

    The two families live in the same area and they bump into each other occasionally in a shop, at some cultural or social event. The collective relationships are very civilized and formal.

    Vasant has two daughters, Kusum and Malati. They grow up, study well and take up jobs, get married and move away to set up their own homes and lives. Life moves like that, at that speed. It all seems like yesterday and meanwhile four decades have gone by.

    Life does not treat Mr. Karekar too well. Sumana is afflicted by Parkinson’s when she is around 55. She suffers for 10 years, her condition worsening by the year. Mr. Karekar suffers in his own way, watching her deteriorate. Both daughters come to visit and help off and on, but their own lives and responsibilities make it difficult for them to come more often. They request Mr. Karekar and Sumana to go live with them, but Mr. Karekar will not hear of it. He is too proud and his traditional values and principles prevent from accepting the invitation.

    Eventually Sumana succumbs to her illness and passes away. Mr. Karekar takes time to come to terms with his loss, but stubbornly refuses to move in with his daughters. He develops a routine of his own. Morning yoga exercises, followed by coffee and newspaper, attending to his bank jobs and shopping for groceries, lunch and a brief siesta followed by a walk in the park and a couple of hours at the club with his cronies leave him little time to brood or grieve.

    *****

    Mr. Karekar wakes up from his reverie. He summons Ganpat and tells him he will be eating late today. He has some work to be done. He calls on Susheela Mahajan for condolence.

    ‘I read the news in the obituary. This is really shocking. I saw Balasaheb just last week when I had gone to buy vegetables. He looked so hale and hearty. It is really hard to believe’.

    Susheela keeps silent for a while. ‘I went in the morning to wake him up,’ she starts, ‘but there was no response. I called out to Pradeep, but it was too late. He was gone by then. He passed away very peacefully but it is a tremendous shock for all of us.’

    Both sit in silence for a while. Then Mr. Karekar pats Pradeep on his back and says, ‘Please let me know if you need any help. I am a free man who has plenty of time and would love to have an opportunity to make myself useful.’


    Three months later Mr. Karekar is taking a walk in the park when he notices Susheela sitting quietly on a bench all by herself, looking all around at the couples coming and going, the kids jumping around and playing with each other and other elderly people taking their daily constitutional rounds. She looks quite lost. Mr. Karekar walks up to her.

    ‘How are you?’

    ‘Am alright.’ Susheela gives him a wry smile. ‘What more can one expect at this age? Aches and pains become daily companions and one learns to make friends with them and loneliness. I try to keep myself busy but there is a limit to the physical work I can do at home. Soonbai [daughter-in-law] manages all the housework. Pradeep is away at work all day. Mandar, his wife, kids, Shalini, her husband and kids come and visit me from time to time. I try to keep myself occupied reading books. Today I thought I would take the doctor’s advice seriously and start going for regular walks. Coming here to the park brings with it some perks. It is nice to see so many people around.’

    Mr. Karekar seats himself beside Susheela and they talk for a while. After about an hour they return to their own routines.

    Gradually a new routine sets in. Mr. Karekar goes for his walk. Susheela comes as usual for her’s. They start walking together. They discuss their versions of life – with its surprises, revelations, the good parts and the bad parts – and pass some happy hours in each other’s company. It seems as if life has brought them back together to pick up threads where they had left off.

    Life, however, is never so simple and does not allow people to live happily ever after so easily. Gradually gossip starts rearing its ugly head and eventually reaches the ears of their children and grandchildren. Mr. Karekar’s daughters being away are not so badly affected – they do not live in Mumbai. Susheela’s family, however, objects very strongly and tries to impose restrictions on her movements like the over-bearing parents of a young girl. Roles somehow seem to have been reversed. By and by, her walks to the park become rather infrequent.

    Mr. Karekar wonders why Susheela has stopped coming for walks. How is she doing? Is she ill? After about a week of her continuous absence in the park, he decides to visit her place.

    Pradeep’s wife, Vishakha, opens the door. She gives Mr. Karekar a cold stare. Mr. Karekar inquires about Susheela’s health.

    ‘Sasubai [mother-in-law] is not keeping well, she is sleeping,’ answers Vishakha.

    She offers Mr. Karekar a cup of tea. He senses the chill in the atmosphere and wonders what the problem is. He drinks the tea and returns home.

    Two days later, there is a knock at his door. He opens the door to find Pradeep and Vishakha standing outside. He gives them a warm welcome and invites them to sit down.

    ‘Ganpat, Mr. and Mrs. Mahajan have come over. Please get them some khau and tea.’

    Jee saheb.

    ‘Tell me Pradeep, how are you doing? How is Susheela Tai?’

    ‘She is doing alright. I have actually come here to talk to you about an important matter.’

    ‘Tell me, is there any way I can help you?’

    ‘Yes, you can, and that would be to stay out of my mother’s life. Please don’t forget we live in India. There is a lot of unsavoury gossip going around about you and aai. It’s causing a lot of difficulty to all of us. It is not nice to hear people speaking badly about my mother. I do hope you will understand.’

    Mr. Karekar is taken aback but maintains a dignified calm.

    ‘Son, you are still very young. The world is indeed a very cruel place. People have a problem with everything in life. You do something, it is wrong; you don’t do it, it is still wrong. Why do we have to keep trying to please people all the time?’

    ‘It is easy for you to talk, but the ultimate sufferers are us, me and my family. We have young children at an impressionable age. How do you think they will feel about what is going on?’

    ‘Tell me Pradeep, you are out all day long. Your children are busy with school, college, tuition classes and extracurricular activities. Your wife is busy looking after the house, the children, you..... She takes care of your mother’s physical comforts; but does anyone of you really have the time to sit with your mother and talk to her?’

    ‘You seem to be aware of how hectic our lives are. Then how do you imagine we have so much time to spend with her, no matter how much we want to? Or are you trying to accuse us of being insensitive to her needs?’

    ‘I am not blaming you. I am just making an observation. Obviously your hectic schedules make it difficult for you to spend enough time with her. That is completely understandable. But don’t you see how lonely she is? All of you do spend some time with her whenever you can, but there are still long hours when she is left to her own devices. So what is wrong if we spend some time together talking to each other in the park in the evenings? How does it hurt anyone?’

    ‘But people talk.....’

    ‘People talk. They will. They obviously don’t have much to do but to gossip. You belong to the younger generation. One would have expected you to be more open-minded. Unfortunate that it is not so. I am old now. I have lived my life. I don’t care about what people think. I try to keep myself occupied and it would make me happy if I could bring some happiness into somebody’s life. I, too, need a purpose to justify my existence. I would request you in the name of humanity to stop keeping your mother a prisoner at home. Let her come out, walk, get some fresh air and some wholesome company. Don’t deprive her of these basic rights in her old age.’

    By now Mr. Karekar is quite perturbed. Pradeep and Vishakha take their leave.

    Two days pass by. Mr. Karekar has been extremely disturbed. His daughters call him as usual to talk to him, but he is not his usual self. Both of them get worried and come down to Mumbai to spend a couple of days with him.

    That evening, Mr. Karekar has a long talk with them. Both Kusum as well as Malati are rather upset. There is complete silence in the house. They soon return to their own homes.

    Next day, Mr. Karekar writes a letter:

    Dear Pradeep,

    Subsequent to your visit, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on our conversation. Many years ago, my parents refused to visit your grandparents and ask for your mother’s hand in marriage. A lot of water has flown under the bridge since then. It appears that life is giving me an opportunity to set right wrong, done decades ago.

    Today I have a proposal to make. I am writing this to you to ask for your mother’s hand in marriage. I do hope you will agree, even if it is only to ‘legitimize the relationship’ between two old people. This might sound revolutionary to you, but I see nothing wrong in it.

    We might be old, but we still have our own emotional needs as well as our need for companionship. No one including our own children has a right to deny us our human needs. Society needs to see a change in the positive direction and I shall be more than happy if I and Susheela Tai prove to be pioneers in this respect.

    I request you to kindly reflect on this matter calmly and let me know your decision.

    Yours sincerely,

    Vasant Karekar ‘

    *****

    The door leading to the registrar’s office is decorated with garlands and the mood in the office is festive. Inside, it is rather cramped with some middle aged and some young people. A lot of curious onlookers are standing outside the door, peering in, amused, amazed and happy.

    ‘Please sign here Mr. Karekar’, the registrar says.

    ‘.....Mrs. Susheela Tai Mahajan, please sign here’.

    Loud claps resound through the office.

    ‘Now you may exchange garlands and tie the mangalsutra Mr. Karekar.’

    There is jubilation all round. Everyone is hugging everyone else. Mr. and newly Mrs. Karekar look at each other, happy smiles lighting up their faces, their eyes glistening with tears of joy. Emotions run high and tears flow abundantly, that day but all of that is washed away by the shrikhand and jalebis served up at the wedding feast, made by the bride’s family.

    The world is a beautiful place.

    And life, is beautiful.

    Despite everything.
     
    Suja9, kaniths, StrangerLady and 4 others like this.
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  2. sreeram

    sreeram IL Hall of Fame

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    Wow felt happy seeing your second story Satchi. Will post my feedback after reading it.
     
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  3. sreeram

    sreeram IL Hall of Fame

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    Indeed a very beautifully narrated story with an awesome touch of affection and humanity. Very much touched by the story. Fantastic work Satchi.

    Many of us live our lives according to the likes and dislikes of the society rather than our own wishes. Knowingly or unknowingly we change our life style because of others.
     
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  4. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks Priya. :)
     
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  5. Shivalaya

    Shivalaya Silver IL'ite

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    Heart warming :)
     
  6. sindmani

    sindmani Platinum IL'ite

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    Nice story.
     
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  7. Kukudukuu

    Kukudukuu Silver IL'ite

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    A very nice message conveyed in a great way.. you have a very crisp and lucid style of narration that can keep the audience glued up.. pls keep writing more..
     
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  8. StrangerLady

    StrangerLady Gold IL'ite

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    superb story satchi, very heart warming n different too. U have beautifully explained we cant be pleasing other people our whole life, sometimes we need to live for ourselves too. Very glad that your leads took a step in that direction.

    I really liked the above lines.
     
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  9. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks for your prompt response, Priya, though I am sorry, I was not as prompt in mine.
     
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  10. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks a lot Shivalaya. :)
     

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