What a memory! Chapter 11

The dust storm raged on. The washing machine in the corner of the master bedroom's balcony had a printed white rexin cover. It looked beige now. In seventeen years, Ani changed six houses.

Ani whatsapped her only son, settled overseas with his wife. 

" Do you remember the address of each house that we stayed in?" Ani was slightly hopeful that he might remember at least three.

Rupai, her thirty-year-old son, responded immediately with the addresses.

Every house had some sweet some bitter memories associated with it.

" You are like your grandmother, who, immediately after the recovery from her cerebral attack, could recall every wee incident, every word of hundreds of poems that she professionally recited. Blood is thicker than water. The memory is your only legacy," Ani felt thankful that he has been deprived of her weak memory.

Rupai and Unnati had last seen each other when he was just a toddler. 

Ani was a university student then. She had completed her master's but was pursuing her bachelor's in education. Torn between the two families who were equally important to her. The ego battle of mature women had complicated even very simple and comprehendible situations. Nobody was willing to budge even a centimetre to make things pleasant or acceptable.

Ani watched the huge funnel of dust that moved across the fields and over the houses with closed doors and windows. Dusty memories let tears roll down her dusty cheeks .Her palms were dusty and she could not wipe them away.

 Vanity -thy followers are mental  & physical ailments-Chapter 10

Supti , an apparently pleasant tall, high-nosed, especially for those who with those bound to take instructions from her or are in no way of use to her, has not been in the good books of Aesclepius.

" How are you all here together? Aren't you aware of the protocols?" She reprimanded the defaulters.

The maid stood blinking. The teacher - on -duty was not only ignored by her in her round but the minimum courtesey of a soft look or a' good morning ' is perhaps not her cup of tea.

"You have no idea,Ani , how she imposes tasks /assignments on us. Most of the time we are doing most of the work", her immediate colleagues expressed their angst.

Ani recalled an insignificant memory of the willingness she had exhibited more than a decade ago to assist Supti with the Board Coordination work. Ani came to know how Supti chose her trusted one and did not have the politeness to inform Ani about that and Ani's trip to France had to be cancelled because Supti continued suavely to assure her that she would call Ani anytime to assist her.

Aesclepius, however,  showered all sophisticated urban ailments on Supti. She was theoretically well versed with the biological aspects of plant and animal life. She had the quality grease to apply where work-life needed it.

"I am not even going to give a side glance now to recognize her presence in this corridor," Ani told herself. 

" Is she unhappy, frustrated or is it her nature?" Ani asked herself to reanalyze  Supti.

Ani decided to divert her attention and plucked some fresh neem leaves from the tree looking down on the balcony and who but Supti addressed her as she made her way downstairs .

" Are you going to eat them raw?'Supti was curious.

"No .I will cook them with sliced egg plant,grated ginger and green chillies."Ani was quick to respond.

En route home Ani wondered about the enigmatic presence of Supti.

 Will They or Will They Not?--Chapter 9

" I wonder if I can allot any assignment or any academic responsibility to you ?" Sanjana seriously interacted.

Ani's heart suddenly slowed down its rhythmic beat. Superannuation is just round the corner. The Boss had only smiled and precisely conveyed to her that she will come to know if an extension can be offered to her or not. 

A little more than thirty-four years of continuous service and the thought of a discontinuation of a regulated life of great work pressure that kept her spirits high and her equation with the work environment pleasantly moving is about to phase out.

Ani was, however,  shown that work has been assigned to her, in the schedule prepared, beforehand.

She walked away slowly from the room to the faculty room corner, which she has recently found cosy and comfortable for her . Not only the departmental colleagues but many others from across the departments,  as they enter and leave meet her, greet her, share varied experiences and cheer her up with their warm smiles.

Ani,  whatsapped her only son . She still had some expectation from this busy young blood of hers of some words of sympathy. He texted a smiley . He was never fond of words earlier also. 

" Be thankful for small blessings in life ", Ani remembered her grandmother's words. Life has sudden twists and turns that gradually makes one seasoned with the passage of time.

 Couldn't he have written," Don't worry, Ma.I am there for you always", Ani spoke to herself. Not that she expected it but a hidden longing to hear it was surging in her. Ani let her laptop be by itself and walked up and down the corridor for about ten minutes to encourage  fresh thoughts and feeling to rise and inundate her.

 Bhunai -gluttony or inanity? Chapter 8

" You never call me up?" was an aggressive female voice on the other end." It's I, who pull you in when family gain comes."

Ani was greatly amused. She knew that Bhunai's insatiable hunger for wealth, like jewellery, money not only made her extra sociable but the aggression in her tone also gets enhanced. Building castles in the air and then getting frustrated has been Bhunai's record, down the years. However, she restarts with the slightest hope of an assumed opportunity.

" You perhaps forgot how irrationally you behaved and humiliated me for no reason," Ani spoke calmly.

" Please shut up . I am not interested in wasting my time talking nonsense. Perhaps you have no idea how everybody is in touch with me, respect me, invite me and wait upon my words. It's I who reunited with our cousins. They feel uncomfortable with you," was said almost in one breath by Bhunai.

" Look, I know how much truth is there in whatever you say. If there's anything worth listening to, please speak precisely", Ani responded.

" I am in the city now. Our ancestral property if given to real estate agents, might fetch us crores. We are around twenty claimants. I want you to benefit .So I  called. There are some who are not interested in it. That's it. " Bhunai's tsunami of words stopped.

" Have you thought of the ones who are staying there for tens of years? I guess their financial crisis in this pandemic has surmounted. Moreover, this property was handed over willingly and legally to a spinster aunt," Ani thoughtfully said.

" I have gone through the necessary information. We had a meeting . Who wants your opinion now? You and your ego are responsible for the life that you have. Look at me.I am loved by all. If I make one call my family and relations come wherever they are ....."Bhunai went on but for the sake of peace, Ani disconnected her phone.

O Lord, Ani thought, how long can one keep grabbing, speaking half-truth or concocting facts? What is the limit of shamelessness? Is it some form of emotional insecurity or a step towards mental imbalance that makes Bhunai get from bad to worse? 

It's an open secret that untruth is her cup of tea.No one contradicts for decency, politeness or may be because they are indifferent,whatever.

 MA --Why suddenly in my early morning dream?-Chapter 7

She had two plaits with red ribbons tied to a flowery knot at the long end.

Ani remembered how she had seen her with one and two plaits as she waited downstairs ,on the footpath ,near the front gate of her double storey building ,waiting for the school bus .

They both were usually absorbed in a conversation , from Monday to Friday that was same in content 

"Don't you forget to eat the banana. It's good for health. The hard toast has grated cheese and black pepper powder sprinkled on top. Black paper is necessary for the body.The boiled potatoes are sliced and tomatoes and beans are added to it. You must eat everything in the break time then only go to play.Is that ok ?"Ani almost knew by heart these regular statements that she heard from Nursery to the Fifth Class.

Gradually school timings changed. Ani was also getting into her teens. Her father ,too had to be taken care of .Kanai , her father ,worked in a Chamber of Commerce and he too left home by nine in the morning.

Ani's mother, Nita preferred now to deliver instruction from the first floor balcony ,between getting breakfast ready for her husband and arranging his shirt, pant, tie, handkerchief .

The school bus arrives with a lot of sound of the children exchanging good mornings in an over enthusiastic manner and the break making a screeching sound.

Ani called out loudly to her mother. It became a habit by then .

" Ma ,bye." Nita rushed to the balcony and waved out .

It was half past five when her eyes opened. It was hazy outside. Ani pulled up the thick bedsheet to her shoulder. It not yet warm. February is enjoyable. Has Nita come to Ani's dreams to remind her that she is young and happy in the next world?

Ani tried to recall every bit of her dream. She saw her mother in a white sari with red and green border. The  red 'bindi' strikingly bright like a red dot  between her well trimmed eye brows. Her eyes as bright donned up in black 'kajal', a type of home made eye  liner. Her plaits revealed the thickness of her wavy and long hair.

Ani never thought of her mother .She never missed her .She had distanced herself from her mother ,some five years before her death.Why then such a pleasant appearance of Nita ,in Ani's dream this morning ?