Chapter XIV
Narayanan saw Gopal with the car door wide open and waiting affectionately with his hand outstretched for Lallu, and Lallu came running towards her Dad with the school bag on her shoulder. For Narayanan all the other activities in this world came to a standstill and this was the only event that was taking place. He thought, how happy it would be if he hugged both his son and grandchild together! He controlled his feelings …… .
Wait, wait for a minute Narayanan’s mind said, if you go now and stand before your son all of a sudden he will ask you a number of questions, have you met the tenant and so on…. I should not go and stand in front of Gopal now. The only answer, I have with me for all his questions is a big “No”. How can I tell him, all that has happened in Ponmudi? He may feel so bad. He may also ask whether Rudra has given me money for expenses, if I say No, it is sure an unnecessary fight will come between them, so better hide everything with a clever story.
If, I relax a little and think, I will get some good idea to handle this situation,Narayanan
thought …
Narayanan heard Lallu shouting, “Good Evening daddy!”, she hugged her Dad around his neck and kissed him on his cheeks. The next question she asked her Dad made Narayanan cringe.
“Did grandpa came?”
“He will definitely come tomorrow dear”, Gopal said.
“Ahh! You are daily saying this only Dad!” Her face withered.
That means the child is nagging her Dad daily about him “Here I am, Lallu”, he wanted to shout loudly.
“Okay, come Lallu, It’s getting late. I have to drop you at home and go out to meet a friend”, Gopal said.
She took the bag off from her shoulder and sat in the back seat reluctantly. Her face changed as red as red chilies. "I want to go to the restroom," she said as if she thought a way to irritate with her Dad purposely.
“Okay, dear, Go and come back fast.”
She lifted her skirt and said, "Take off the panty. I couldn't untie this knot."
"You're becoming so bad nowadays" he murmured as he tried to untie the knot. Narayanan laughed when he saw the work Lallu had given her Dad purposely.
Narayanan heard Gopal accusing Lallu, “You have pulled the knot the wrong way,” “You can go to the restroom at home. Let me tell your mom to untie it.”
“No need. I know how to do it myself”, Lallu said and slammed the car door shut after sitting near her Dad’s seat.
Narayanan hardly got time to hide himself behind a big banyan tree nearby. The car just passed him in a swift and disappeared.
Only after a few seconds he came back to his senses.
Though a smile came to him thinking of his granddaughter's naughtiness, one question disturbed his mind a lot, How Gopal's status has changed all of a sudden? Was he making money through any short cuts ….
Even he might have changed his house. In the old house, there were no space to park the car, even the scooter he was managing in the front hall. Sometimes he may be parking the car on the road side.
Within no time the school premise looked deserted and silent as by this time all children have left the school except a few who were playing in the ground.
What is that … ?
Where the car was parked a few minutes ago, a white box was there lying on the ground.
He picked it.
Lallu’s color box.
It might have fallen down when she threw her school bag into the car.
She will search for this everywhere when she gets back home! Can I give it to someone to hand this over to Lallu? He looked around.
Narayanan saw a woman attender locking up the Principal’s room at the end of the school's long veranda.
She was coming towards him.
“Excuse me, do you know Lallu, sorry Lalitha she just went by that red car …?She dropped this. Could you please give this to her.”
“Who are you?”
"I'm her grandpa," he said.
“Then, you can give it to her!”
“That is… I can’t go to her house, some family problem ..”, he said as his head bent down.
He sat on the school veranda leaning against a pillar after she left.
The place was very hot although it was evening.
The hunger pangs started playing its role . Again he felt that his whole body is getting weak every minute and slight dizziness took over him as before.
“Sir! Why are you sitting here, Sir? Sir! Look at me, Sir, Don't you recognize me, Sir? someone was asking ….
He tried to open his eyes with much difficulty. His eyes kept failing him. He could only find that it is an young man. “Who are you, Son? I can’t recognize you”, he said.
"It’s me, Sir. Look at me, Look at my face. You could recognize, couldn't you?" He asked eagerly as he raised Narayanan’s chin with his hand.
There was a flash in Narayanan’s mind. Not only he recognized him but also all the experiences, expectations, struggles, bonds, disappointments that he shared with him – Everything overflowed within his mind like overheated milk in the stove. "George! George!," he said, hugging and laughing like a child.” Look, son! Where we got separated, there itself, God made us meet again …. How are you, my dear? Did you get any job? Does your kid study here? But you are not married, right? Does your boss’s kid study here?” Narayanan asked wihtout stop.
“Sir! You look so tired. Don't talk too much,” he ran outside and came back with a cup of tea and gave it to him. As he drank it, George, fanned him with his handkerchief.
A change came on Narayanan’s face. “You didn’t tell anything about you, dear?”
“Yeah, I’m fine Sir,” George said. “I am with my mother in Ponmudi. She persuaded me to get married. She finalized the girl … I have come to city to buy some items for the wedding, Sir”
“Wow! That’s great! Man”, Narayanan said. He was realizing how difficult it is to act in real life before friends to show them that we are perfect and normal..
George looked at him from foot to head. Wrinkles in his face! Tired his eyes!Stains in his shirt and dhoti! Shirt without buttons! Torn and dirty chappals!
“What happened ,Sir? You said you have a son and he would take good care of you…”
“You are telling about Gopal. He is living very comfortable with car, own house… He has one girl child. Her name is Lalitha. She will not leave me even for a minute. My daughter in law‘s name is Rudra, Very nice girl. She is very affectionate to me, she calls me “Dad! Dad! “all the time. She will get upset even if I do a small work in the house. My son sent me for some work in Ponmudi… but unfortunately my purse was stolen. I came by walk. In that exhaustion… this dizzy...dizziness…”
The next second he leaned over George and became unconscious.Geroge shouted "Sir! Sir! Look at me”, He called for help, “Please help! This old man fainted. Please come and help,” Immediately the attenders, two or three teachers, and the boys who were playing cricket on the ground came running and surrounded them.
“Oh god! He was fine a few minutes back. He handed over a color box to me which he found in the ground, now what happened?”, a young woman said. Hearing the voice familiar, George looked up. “Jaya”
When she saw Narayanan she understood what condition he is in.
“First hold this old man. We will take him to that nearby class room”, she said. “Mani! Please go and get a tender coconut ,”she gave the attender a fifty rupee note from her purse. Then, to those standing around, she said “We know him…poor man! He is facing some difficulty at this age. We’ll take care of him don’t worry.”, she said and dispersed the crowd.
George asked, “Jaya! Is he fine? After a long time, we met today. A very good gentleman. Nothing should happen to him.”
“When you met him at least for courtesy sake you could have asked whether he need something to eat. God only knows for how many days he has been starving? You didn’t asked him anything and simply talking … and talking .. the poor fellow got fainted”
“Yeah, Jaya! I am a fool”, he admitted his mistake to Jaya and he enjoyed doing it.
“It’s , Okay! Let us take him to that class room”
They carried him to the nearby classroom. Tears rolled down from the eyes of George when he saw.. how tired and weak Narayanan was. “Sir! You have suffered enough. You should not suffer anymore … by god’s grace.” he wiped his tears.
He made him sit on a chair comfortably and switched on the fan. Mani returned with a tender coconut. “Sir! Drink this, Please try to open your eyes, Are you still feeling dizzy? Why are you coming out alone like this without staying back at home safe at this age”, Narayanan slowly opened his eyes as Jaya said this. He drank the tender coconut water and felt a little refreshing.
“Oh, God, he opened his eyes, you saved him, Jaya!”, George said excitedly.
Narayanan looked at him and asked, "What happened, George?"
“Don’t strain, sir”, Jaya said. “ You feel dizziness because you didn’t take any food for a long time. Nothing to worry. We’ll go and get something to eat for you. Is the fan’s speed enough? Or shall I increase the speed?”
“It’s enough!”
Both of them came out and closed the door silently. “He said that his son is rich and well settled, he has a granddaughter and his daughter in law is also very attached with him. If we can find where they are, we can drop him there “, George said.
Jaya laughed, “I have never seen an innocent guy like you.”
“Why?”
“Then what? Why should he starve to death when he is having such a wonderful family ?”, she said. “Jaya.You didn’t know ,what has happened…”George said.
“What?”
“When his son and granddaughter came, he hid himself and was looking at them longingly at a distance. It seems like that they were not allowing him to stay in their house. ‘I do not want to stay with them’, he himself told me.He was crying, poor old man!”Jaya said.
George’s eyes filled with tears..
