The Game Changers

By Kiran Kumar

Suman, a compassionate teenage beauty and a dream girl of every boy is in steady pursuit of her life’s goals when she runs into a young beggar girl and the purpose of her life changes.
During her eventful journey, she crosses paths with two headstrong and extremely patriotic youth.
One is an ardent supporter of a separate state movement and is hell-bent upon achieving the seemingly impossible.
The other is a giant volcano full of aggressive enthusiasm and revolutionary ideas, resolved to transform the whole country, take it to a different level. They set out on different paths.
Sparks are bound to fly when great passion meets surreal beauty. Love blossoms. But are their personal feelings greater than their ultimate goals? Are their goals inter-related? Do these fiery youngsters achieve what they dream of?
The Game Changers – youth on fire is a story about three common, yet not so common youngsters of India, who whole-heartedly dedicate themselves to their causes in life. It is a narration full of youthful energy, fun, great transition and an unpredictable climax.
Last but not the least, Kiran Kumar, the writer, has expressed through this book his strong belief that youth has an amazing energy in them, a fire which when channelized constructively, can yield incredibly positive results.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Notion Press
• Release date: Jan 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9789352067190

Book preview

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1

An Unusual Long Journey

It was a fine morning in May, 2007. Suman was getting ready to leave for an entrance examination for a course in engineering. Her father, Narayana, was waiting outside and dusting off his scooter with a cloth.

‘Summi, come fast!’ he shouted.

‘Coming, dad!’ Suman screamed back as she put on her sandals.

Narayana heard her despite the loud sounds of the bell that Suman’s mother, Laxmi, used while performing the regular puja, or prayer. Laxmi seemed to be spending extra time in the puja room today.

Suman came out of the house with her purse in tow. Just as Narayana was about to start his vehicle, Suman’s mother rushed outside.

‘Wait, wait! Don’t go without taking the Aarti.’

She extended the Aarti - a religious ritual of worship specific to Hinduism, where wicks soaked in clarified butter or camphor lit aflame are offered to one or more deities, and then to devotees, to seek blessings from. Suman waved her hands over the flame and touched her hands to her face, and Narayana followed suit, doing the same.

Laxmi, with her finger, applied a dot of saffron on both Suman’s and Narayana’s foreheads. She asked Suman to show her the hall ticket for the entrance exam. Suman took it out of her purse, and her mother applied a smidgeon of saffron to the hall ticket on all the corners.

Narayana was annoyed at this. ‘Come on! This is not a wedding invitation!’

‘True, but major occasions should have the blessings of God!’ Laxmi responded.

Narayana blinked, not knowing what to say. Finally, he recovered. ‘Can we leave now?’

‘Yes,’ Laxmi said, returning the hall ticket to Suman. She kissed Suman on both her cheeks and wished her luck.

‘Thank you, mamma,’ Suman said, and smiled.

Narayana’s scooter started on the second kick, making the terribly loud noise that it always made, like an aircraft engine, reminding everybody that it was too old to be driven. Just as Suman was about to climb on, they saw Narayana’s sister’s sister-in-law, Vasundhara, approaching.

‘Oh, no! Dad, she is cutting across our way and it is bad. I prefer a black cat crossing my path to her!’

Suman did not like Vasundhara, who was in her mid-forties. She always had some plans for Suman. She wore make-up that seemed like an inch of thick paste on her face. Narayana smiled and switched off the engine. He greeted Vasundhara.

Acknowledging Narayana’s wish with a sigh, Vasundhara turned to Suman. ‘Hi, baby, where are you going?’

‘Aunty, I have to take my entrance exam for a seat in the engineering course,’ Suman replied, observing Laxmi hurrying back into the house as if she had forgotten something.

‘All the best! Do you remember my suggestion, though? My darling, you will really make it big in the field I told you about.’

Vasundhara thought Suman was beautiful and was convinced that she would make a good actress. This opinion was formed during a family function when she saw Suman in a blue ghagra choli. Suman’s theatre and dancing skills made Vasundhara conclude that she had all the ingredients of making it big as a good actress. Since then, she made sure to tell Narayana and Laxmi to encourage her to take up modelling. She also promised to help her get modelling assignments.

‘Aunty, you already know my promise to dad that I will become an engineer. I am determined to do that. I will think of other things only after I get into engineering,’ Suman responded softly with a smile.

‘Okay, darling! As you wish!’

‘Aunty, shall I leave now? It’s getting late!’ Suman asked, looking at her watch.

Meanwhile, Laxmi came out holding a cap in her hand. She had already left it on the table for Suman to wear, arguing that because it was summer she would find it helpful. Suman refused to wear it at first, but finally did, upon her mother’s insistence.

‘Summi, please wear it on your head.’

‘Sorry, mamma! I forgot!’ Suman took the cap. ‘I promise I will wear it.’

Narayana kicked his scooter twice and it roared to life. Suman climbed on, waving goodbye to Laxmi and Vasundhara, who waved back at her, too.

Vasundhara started off again. ‘Suman is fair and has a golden complexion, with a height of 5’7". And her beautiful eyes, sharp nose and long hair, not to forget her talent of singing and dancing! She has such a cute smile! God has given her all these assets. Let us use them well!’

Laxmi tried to explain that Suman was very sensitive and had other priorities. She asked Vasundhara to wait for sometime as Suman wanted to focus on her education first.

The summer sun shone brightly and the weather was sultry. Suman wore the cap her mother had given her. Without a cap, Suman’s head would become hot and this would weaken her brains, leading to her faring badly in the exam. At least, that was what Laxmi thought. On her way, Suman cursed her aunt for having crossed her path. Narayana told her not to think of anything and to free her mind so that she could write the exam well. All of a sudden, the vehicle began to slow down. Narayana tried accelerating, but in vain. The engine shut down and the vehicle came to a halt.

Suman got down and nervously asked, ‘What happened, dad? No fuel?’

Narayana gently dragged the vehicle to the side of the road. ‘No, I had the tank filled yesterday. The carburettor was cleaned, too. I’ll see what the issue is.’

‘Even if we have a new scooter, it wouldn’t work! This is Vasundhara aunt’s wish. I think she is praying to God that I should not study further so that I can fulfill her wish. Her prayers are probably more powerful than mother’s!’

Narayana tilted the scooter onto its side, alternating the left and right. Persevering in the hot summer sun made him sweat. After repeated rounds of tilting and attempting to start the scooter again, he tried to open the spark plug. A young man on a motorcycle slowed down, probably wanting to help. But, seeing Narayana’s glare, he sped away.

Narayana wiped the sweat off his forehead. ‘Summi, if it takes too long, take an auto rickshaw and go to the examination centre.’

‘No, dad. I will only go with you.’

Narayana smiled. He tried cleaning the tip of the spark plug, replacing it, and kicking the vehicle again. Finally, it started. Narayana accelerated the scooter. It roared loudly and a cloud of smoke emanated from the vehicle. Suman happily gave him her handkerchief.

‘It’s okay, Summi.’ Narayana had his own handkerchief. He pushed the scooter forward and climbed on. Suman got on, and they sped off.

They turned into a narrow lane and found a car going in the same direction as theirs. There were many motorcycles and scooters parked outside the shops and houses on both sides of the lane, making the already narrow path tougher for vehicles to navigate through. The car almost stopped and the driver honked loudly to make the owners of the parked two-wheelers to move them out of the way. Not all owners responded. Narayana turned around to see if he could reverse the scooter and take another route, but he was surrounded by other two-wheelers and auto rickshaws. The place was packed with vehicles. The frustrated car driver got off and shouted at one of the parked two-wheeler owners. ‘Is this road your father’s property, that you park your vehicle here?’

‘This is also not your father’s road for you to bring a big fat car! Can’t you see this is too narrow for cars, you senseless moron?’ the owner retorted.

‘How dare you call me that?’ the car driver screamed. The fight was cut short by the others on the road who honked and shouted loudly. The car began to move as more and more owners moved their vehicles aside.

Suman looked at her watch, frowning. ‘Dad, twenty more minutes wasted.’

Narayana followed the car slowly. At the end of the lane, where the road widened, Narayana sped up. Suddenly, a motorcyclist ahead of them spat paan, a mix of betel leaf, areca nut and tobacco. It landed squarely on Narayana’s face.

‘Hoo!’ Narayana shouted and stopped his vehicle. The motorcyclist was oblivious to what had just transpired and sped away. Others on the road found the sight all too amusing. Suman got off, cursing the man. Narayana wiped his face and fumed, as the scooter stopped. ‘These idiots have no right to live in this world! They do not know how to behave.’ Narayana kicked the scooter and spent a few more minutes repeating the ritual until the engine came to life. He heaved a sigh of relief and accelerated harder. ‘I don’t know why the scooter is acting up like this today!’ They continued on their journey.

They reached a signal and saw the traffic moving at a snail’s pace. A car on the right suddenly turned to the left and Narayana followed suit. To avoid bumping into a motorcycle on his left, he again swerved to the right and lost balance. Suman smartly got off the vehicle and ran a few steps until she stopped. Narayana tried to control the vehicle with his legs, but failed. The scooter toppled, and Narayana fell off the scooter and onto the road. He was unhurt, but his hands and clothes got dirty. Suman felt bad for him, as did he, for her. People around stopped their vehicles and tried to help them, but as other vehicles accumulated behind them, many of them continued their journey.

With the help of a passer-by, Narayana picked up the scooter and took it to the side of the road. He tried to start the scooter, again, but even after ten to twelve attempts, it did not start.

‘Dad, the first thing I will do when I start earning is to buy you a car.’

Narayana nodded and smiled. ‘I am sure you will, my darling.’ He tilted the scooter to the left by 45 degrees. Straightening up, he tilted it to the right by 45 degrees – and finally, the scooter started.

Suman was worried about this eventful journey and wondered whether she would really make it to the examination centre on time at all. There were only 25 minutes left and they had about 9 kilometers to go. They crossed a few signals on the way, slowly eating into the time they had left until the exam would begin. At the next traffic signal, when they stopped, the noise of the scooter was going down as if it was about to shut down. Narayana raised the accelerator enough and ensured that the engine did not die down. But Suman lost her cool.

‘Dad, I will not forgive Vasundhara aunty! I don’t know if we can make it on time to the centre!’

Narayana was just as unsure, but assured her no less. ‘Don’t worry, Summi. We will make it.’

‘Dad, I feel like crying.’ Suddenly, Suman felt somebody touching her elbow. She shuddered and pulled her hand away reflexively. She looked around to see a girl, perhaps about six years old, begging for money. Suman lost her temper and began abusing her. ‘Why did you touch me, you stupid girl?’ Oblivious to Suman’s anger, the girl smiled. This irritated Suman even more.

‘You shameless girl! I will not give you anything. Get lost!’ Suman continued shouting at the girl. Narayana noticed that Suman was too tensed. She was likely to scream at him if he gave the beggar girl anything. But the girl smiled serenely. ‘Akka (sister), you will have a great day today!’ she said.

‘Just, get…’ Suman began, but stopped suddenly, realizing that the girl had wished her luck. She realized that the girl was still smiling. Suman’s anger vanished. She was touched by the little girl. She had a beautiful smile and a dimple on her cheek. Suman thought that this was the kind of face she should be looking at rather than her aunt’s. The good wish from the girl was what she desperately needed. She quickly took out ten rupees and gave it to the girl.

‘If my day turns out to be good, I will give you some of my old clothes tomorrow, okay? They are all in good condition!’

The girl nodded and taking the note gently from Suman’s hand said, ‘Okay akka!’

‘Will you be here tomorrow?’ Suman asked.

‘Yes, akka!’ The girl said, smiling with happiness, ‘Tanku!’ Suman smiled. Narayana was touched by the change in Suman’s demeanour. As they sped off into the distance, Suman kept looking at the girl until she disappeared out of sight.

‘Dad, did you notice the girl? She was so cute and innocent! She has dimples!’

‘Yes, the girl was sweet. But, I did not observe the dimple, dear.’

‘I was relieved when she spoke to me. She did not speak much, though.’

‘I don’t know how relieved you felt, but I know now that you will be relieved of your old dresses,’ Narayana teased. ‘You never allowed us to give your childhood dresses away!’

‘Dad, her words calmed me. I felt I should be doing something for her. Her dress was torn; maybe that’s why I volunteered to give her my old ones. Maybe this is the occasion I was waiting for. She is the one who deserves my clothes!’

‘But will you really give away your clothes to her?’ Narayana asked.

‘Yes! Why not?’

‘You said it was on the condition that your day goes well! I think that is bad, because the girl will be waiting for you either way.’

‘You are right. I should not have mentioned the condition,’ Suman said, clearly filled with remorse.

Narayana told Suman that they had almost reached the venue for the entrance exam, but Suman ignored him and continued talking. ‘Dad, did you notice something? If the girl had been dressed neatly and had her hair done tidily, she might have passed off as a girl from a fairly affluent family!’

‘Of course.’

‘Dad, in India, we say children are like God. Then why…’

‘Only rich children, dear. Not all. This is the best example of hypocrisy in our country.’

‘Dad, what will happen to these children?’ Suman seemed genuinely concerned.

‘Summi, let us not talk about these things right now. Focus on your exam, okay?’

‘Okay, dad. I think the girl was a good omen for us. We had no problems with our journey after we saw her!’

‘Yes, Summi. Now look. We’ve reached the examination centre!’

Narayana drove into the campus. It was the Mufakkam Jah College of Engineering. Suman heaved a sigh of relief. ‘Yes, dad! All thanks to the girl.’ Suman’s watch showed 8:45 a.m. She had intended to reach at least 15 minutes in advance, and she was right on schedule. The exam started at 9:00 a.m. There were many young boys and girls milling around. Almost all of them had finished checking their room numbers on the notice board placed in front of the main building. Narayana rode on to the parking lot. Suman set off to find the room number. Narayana followed after parking, to see if she needed help.

‘Dad, I got the room number. It is 6D.’

‘Good. Did you check thoroughly?’

‘Yes, dad. There’s an attendant who showed me where the room is. Can you see the building on the left, just after the entrance, the second room is mine.’

Narayana wished her luck. Suman happily shook his hand. ‘Thank you, dad!’ Narayana was happy to see her smile again, with her eyes twinkling. Suman left for her room. Narayana noticed that all the students appeared nervous and tense – but Suman seemed to be confident. His original plan was to head home and return to the examination centre to pick her up on time when the exam would end. But the vehicle had given him enough trouble that he decided to stay back.

With time, Narayana became tense and wondered at what his daughter had gone through. Was she upset with the things that happened today? He prayed that she should be fine and not be affected by anything. It was 11:50 a.m. and a few students had come out of the exam hall, their faces glowing with satisfaction. Narayana wondered why they had come out so early. They could have remained in the hall and used the time to re-evaluate their answers. By noon, more and more people came out. Some looked happy, some looked sad. Narayana overheard some students complaining that they did not have enough time to complete the paper. Staring towards the entrance, he waited for Suman to come out. He heard somebody calling out his name. Narayana turned around and was surprised to find Shastri waving at him and approaching him. Shastri was his boss.

‘Oh, Mr. Shastri, how come you are here!’

‘Why shouldn’t I be? Is it that only your child should write exams?’ Shastri joked and burst out laughing.

‘Oh, yes, your son is also appearing for the exam! Good!’

‘I am sure you came for your daughter. You took leave so that you could be with her on her important day. My son is not studious, and yet I did not take leave. But as a father, I still wanted to check how he fared, which is why I came!’

‘Okay,’ smiled Narayana. He saw Suman coming out of the exam room, talking to another girl. They seemed happy, and this relieved Narayana a little. He was still anxious to know how she fared in the exam, and wanted to hear her tell him about it. Suman waved at him. She bid the girl goodbye and walked up to Narayana.

‘Hey, dad! Thank you for waiting for me,’ said Suman, noticing Shastri standing beside Narayana. ‘Hi, Shastri uncle! How are you?’

Shastri was surprised. ‘Hello, Suman! I am good. I am surprised you remember me! I saw you when you were in the 8th or 9th standard!’

‘Uncle, dad keeps talking about you frequently and I remember you!’

‘Is it? What does he tell you about me? Does he complain that I give him a lot of work to do, or that I keep bossing over him all the time?’ Shastri asked laughing.

‘No, uncle. He tells us how punctual, how sincere and helpful you are. The most important thing is that for a good cause, you even gather union people and pull all stops to ensure that justice is done!’ These words made Shastri happy.

‘Oh, is it?’ Just then Shastri heard his son calling out to him. ‘Dad?’

‘Narayana, this is my son Vikram. Vikram, this is my colleague Narayana and his daughter Suman.’

Narayana extended his hand, ‘Hello, Vikram!’

‘Namaste, uncle!’

Suman said hi, and that was when Vikram noticed her. She was beautiful! Suman realized that he was observing her keenly.

‘Have you come to write your exam?’ Vikram asked Suman politely.

Suman intended to respond with a jocular repartee, saying ‘No. I am here to meet you,’ but instead answered by saying softly, ‘Yes.’

‘I came to write the exam too,’ he said, volunteering information though he wasn’t asked. Suman again wanted to ask, ‘Why are you telling me? Did I ask you?’ But kept mum. Vikram’s imagination started running wild immediately. He thought his father was fed up of his poor results in his academics and was planning to get him married off soon. He wondered if this meeting was arranged with that intention right here in the university grounds. He wanted to touch his dad’s feet for finding such a beautiful girl for him. But he realised that he was too young for marriage and was about to tell his father just that, when he heard Shastri ask, ‘Vicky, shall we leave?’ Vikram came out of his reverie and nodded reluctantly.

‘Bye uncle and bye…’ Vikram tapered off, but could not remember her name. Before he could ask her for her name, Suman said, ‘Bye, Vikram!’ Vikram decided against asking her for her name, lest he anger his father. He waved and simply walked away.

After they left, Narayana asked Suman, ‘Yes, Summi, tell me. How was your exam?’

‘Oh, Dad! It was great. I wrote it very well!’

‘Great, Summi!’

‘Dad, when I was going through the paper and saw the easy questions in it, I remembered the girl we met.’

‘Oh, you mean the beggar girl?’

‘Yes, dad.’

‘And when you saw the tough questions, who did you remember? Vasundhara aunty?’ Narayana chuckled.

‘Dad, please don’t bring up her name for now!’

‘Okay, dear.’

‘Dad, the little girl’s smile was what I remembered several times,’ said Suman beaming.

‘So, you are giving her your old dresses, then?’

‘Yes, dad! Even if I had not written my exam well, I would still have given them to her!’ Suman seemed happy, saying this. Narayana smiled. They set off for home.

2

Promise Fulfilled

Next day, Suman woke up at around 9:00 a.m. Her mother’s rituals filled the air with their sounds. Suman did not find her father in his room, so she sat in the drawing room, reading the newspaper as she waited for her mother to finish her prayers.

‘Oh, my princess has woken up!’ Laxmi said with a smile. ‘What can I get you, madam? Tea or coffee?’ Flipping the page and returning the sarcasm, Suman said, ‘Princess wants to know where the king is. He slept late last night and I thought he would still be sleeping.’

‘Your uncle Surya fell off his bike last night, and was groaning with stomach pain all night. We found out about it this morning at 6:00, when Swetha called!’

‘What? You could have woken me up, mamma! I would have gone along to take care of Ashrita, if Swetha aunty was busy with Surya uncle! How did he fall? Was he drunk?’

‘No idea. Your father called and told me that he was taking him to the hospital and that he would call back later.’

‘Is Swetha aunty also going along?’

‘No. Your dad took him to the hospital by himself.’

‘Mamma, shall I go to Surya uncle’s house now? But, I also need to meet the girl to give my old clothes.’

‘You finish your work, Summi. If we need to be at their house, we will go together.’ Suman planned to go with her father, but since he was not available now, she called her friend Manjula to check if she could come. Manjula was her childhood friend and lived at walking distance from Suman’s place. Manjula told her that she was going to watch a movie with her aunt and that she could not come. Finally, Suman decided to go on her own.

Carrying a polythene bag full of clothes, Suman boarded a bus to meet the girl. The bus was crowded as usual, but Suman found her way inside and stood at a fairly comfortable place. At the next stop, many people boarded and started pushing each other. Suman moved further into the bus, close to where a bunch of men stood. Amongst them, she saw a boy struggling to find a place to stand, getting crushed in the process. Suman thought she had seen him somewhere, and then remembered that it was Vikram, her father’s colleague’s son. ‘Hi!’ Suman said, but realized that her voice was too soft for him to hear. She raised her voice a bit and tried again.

Along with Vikram, the rest of the crowd turned to look at Suman. But seeing her, Vikram’s face perked up and, with a wide grin, he greeted her back. Suman continued observing him and found that he was rather funny. His right hand held the rod above for balance and his body tilted to the left, his legs were separated with a stranger’s leg in between and he had one hand tucked into his back pocket as he tried to protect his wallet from pickpockets. The bus was too crowded, so they could not continue their conversation until the next stop, where many people got down and the bus emptied considerably. Vikram felt that God was kind enough to free the bus so that he could talk to her. He was nervous as he moved towards her. Suman smiled at him, and he searched for words to talk to her. Eventually, he said, ‘So…you boarded the bus?’

‘No, I boarded the train,’ Suman wanted to say, but instead, smiling politely replied, ‘yes. And I am sure you also did!’

Vikram did not understand the joke and continued, ‘Where are you going?’

‘Panjagutta,’ Suman said, expecting that he would tell her where he was going without her asking.

‘Why?’ he asked bluntly, surprising Suman. She realized that his question was innocent. She didn’t know if it was right for her to tell him, so she settled with saying, ‘Well, I am going there to meet a friend!’

‘Friend? Or do you mean boyfriend?’ No sooner had he said those words than he realized he had made a mistake. ‘I mean a friend who is a boy, I mean a good boy, I mean decent…’ he blabbered as he tried to set it right.

‘Decent means, like you?’ Suman asked, jocularly.

‘No, I am not a decent friend!’ trying to sound as if he had never been a boyfriend to any one, and realized that he had blundered, again.

‘But, I am decent. Maybe you are going to meet a girlfriend!’ Suman enjoyed his discomfort. ‘I think boys have girlfriends, not girls, no?’

‘Yes! But girls also can have girlfriends. I mean good friends who are girls,’ Vikram said, sheepishly. Suman realized that he was nervous and confused as he talked to her. ‘Okay. Where are you going?’

‘Ku…’ He wanted to say Kukatpally, but realised that Kukatpally was many stops after Panjagutta, where Suman was planning to get off. He changed his mind and said, ‘Panjagutta!’ Vikram thought about their previous meeting when he could not talk to her properly because of his father’s presence. This time, he decided not to miss the opportunity. ‘Oh? So you are going to Panjagutta too? Good! What for?’

Vikram had no answer, but as Suman was looking at him for one, he said, ‘Same! Meeting a friend.’

‘Same friend? You mean we have a common friend?’ Suman asked, joking about and enjoying his discomfort.

‘No, no, no. I mean my friend!’

‘Girlfriend or boyfriend?’ Suman giggled.

‘No! I don’t have any boyfriends or girlfriends,’ retorted Vikram, trying to sound like a gentleman.

‘So, does that mean that you don’t have any friends?’ Vikram fumbled for an answer and Suman looked out of the window. The bus was nearing the Khairatabad bus stop. She wondered if Vikram would also get down with her. He would see what she would be doing. This may not go down well with him and he might convey all that he saw to his father. She wondered if his father might not appreciate what she was doing. She had a wild imagination. As the bus neared the Khairatabad bus stand, Suman, as though suddenly remembering something, said ‘Oh, I am supposed to meet my friend at Khairatabad! Not Panjagutta!’

Vikram felt as though a bomb was dropped on his head. He was sad to see his plans fizzle out so quickly. He wanted to shout, ‘No! You are lying!’ but instead stammered, ‘But…you can still get down at Panjagutta and walk back. I mean…’

‘Walk back?’ Suman laughed, even as Vikram was cursing himself for saying such stupid things. Before Suman could say anything more, the bus pulled up at the Khairatabad bus stand. Suman reached the door, turned back and smiled at him. ‘Bye, Vikram!’ she said.

Vikram was in a state of shock and did not know what to do. He managed to say, ‘Bye. Shall I come? I mean, to help you?’

‘No! I have friends here. See you later!’ Suman got off and waved at Vikram. Helplessly, Vikram said, ‘Bye!’ He wanted to shout out and ask her what her name was, but the bus had pulled away by then.

Suman boarded another bus to reach Panjagutta. The bus stop was a few meters away from the crossroads, so she had to walk back a small distance. She wondered if she would find the girl or not, or whether the girl had waited for her and left.

As she reached the signal, she stood at the spot where she found the girl on the previous day. The traffic was chaotic. She began scanning the area for the girl, first on her own side of the road and then, not finding her there, the other side. After a couple of seconds, Suman found her begging on the other side of the busy road. She wanted to rush across to her, but as the signal was green, Suman could not. The moment the signal turned red, she crossed the road, but by then, the girl wasn’t around. Suman had missed seeing her in the barrage of vehicles that had congested the road until she crossed. Ironically, she found the girl on the side she had crossed from – clearly, they had crossed at the same time. Suman realized that the girl was moving around based on the traffic signal. She decided to stay put and wait for the signal to turn red again, and for the girl to come to her side.

When the signal turned red, though, the girl walked about, begging. Suman waved at her, but the girl did not notice. Finally, Suman called out to her, and the girl looked at Suman. But, since she was in the middle of begging from a prospective benefactor, who looked like he was about to offer her some coins, she turned her attention back to her benefactor. He tossed a couple of coins, and she collected it, looking around at Suman with joy. She began to walk towards Suman.

‘Don’t you recognize me?’ Suman asked when the girl reached her. The girl was bewildered. She could not understand what Suman was trying to say.

‘You remember? Yesterday I gave you a 10 rupee note?’ The girl thinking that Suman was asking for the money to be returned, said, ‘No, I have not taken your paisa!’

‘Hey, come on! I told you that I will give you my old clothes, remember? Yesterday, I gave you a 10 rupee note, remember?’ The girl appeared like she did not remember anything. She was genuinely puzzled by Suman’s questions. The signal turned green and the girl was about to leave, when Suman said, ‘One minute. I am giving you some clothes for you to wear. Will you take it?’ The girl nodded. Suman took out a white frock from the bag and showed it to her. ‘This is for you!’

Taking the dress, the girl smiled. Her face radiated with happiness. Suman thought, ‘What a beautiful and innocent baby she is! The dimples on her cheeks are so cute!’

Suman tried to help the girl wear the dress, when a woman from the street walked up to Suman. ‘What Amma?’ she said, referring to Suman with a term that is used out of respect to address women. What are you doing?’

‘I brought a few dresses for this girl.’

‘Amma, we cannot wear costly clothes! It will be good if you could give us very old dresses even if they are faded or torn!’

‘What are you saying? Can’t she wear good clothes ever in her life? I am giving her a chance to wear them!’ Suman said, angrily.

‘That is what I am saying. You are helping, but your help will not work. If she wears this dress, nobody will give her money! People will call us thieves, as if we have stolen this from somewhere!’

Suman did not know what to say. She thought the girl would look pretty in the new dress, but this was something she had not known about. ‘What rubbish!’ she muttered. ‘Yesterday, my mother and I spent the whole day searching, gathering, washing and ironing these dresses! I brought a few sandals too for this girl!’ said Suman in despair.

‘OK, Amma. We will take it, anyway,’ said the lady in order not to disappoint Suman. ‘Gauri, collect the bag from Amma.’

‘Oh, your name is Gauri?’

‘Yes, Akka,’ said the girl, with a smile.

‘Good! Keep the clothes and wear them please.’

The girl was unaware of what transpired between Suman and her aunt. She was happy to see the clothes in different colours. She began pulling them out of the cover one by one. There was one in white, red, pink and so many others. The girl’s joy knew no bounds. Suman pondered for a while, wondering how she could help retain this happiness in the girl. She vowed to do something, if not today, then later. Looking at her watch and remembering that she needed to leave, for she and her mother had to go to Surya’s house. Suman touched the girl’s cheek and said, ‘Bye, Gauri!’ The girl replied with her endearing ‘tanku’. Suman smiled and left the place.

3

Family

Surya was Narayana’s younger brother. He got married three years back to Swetha, and it was a love marriage. They had a one-year-old daughter, Ashrita. Surya lived about a mile away from Narayana’s house and worked as a shop-in-charge at a small supermarket, while his wife worked as an accounting clerk in a small manufacturing unit. He had a big heart and spent a lot of money recklessly, sometimes, much more than he earned.

He was a regular drinker, which made him lose control often. Earlier, he met with accidents twice while he was drunk. Once, he had to be hospitalized for two weeks.

Narayana had to borrow about Rs. 3 lakhs for his wedding. This was at a time when Narayana had enough loans of his own to repay. He could not plan financially for anything else. Narayana unwillingly made Surya live separately with Swetha so that he could learn to understand his responsibilities.

Suman was so attached to Surya that initially when he lived separately with his wife, she visited him regularly. Suman did not differentiate between Narayana and Surya. She had spent a lot of time with Surya since she was a child. She slept beside him in her childhood days and he used to buy her lots of toys, more than what Narayana bought her.

Narayana was the eldest of four siblings. His father was a clerk who did not earn much for his children to inherit after his death. His children were his only assets! Narayana’s mother passed away soon after, as though she was in a hurry to go join her husband. The only good thing Narayana’s father did was being a government clerk, which Narayana inherited.

Narayana was only 23 when his father passed away, leaving him, his two daughters Rajani who was 20 and Kavitha who was 17 and his younger son Surya who was 13, for him to take care of. After his father’s death, Narayana became a father for his siblings.

Narayana’s paternal and maternal relatives never helped them, except when it came to getting marriage proposals for his sisters Rajani and Kavitha. Narayana did not like any of the matches, as they were arranged only for the sake of arranging something – there was no thought behind choosing them. When Narayana began rejecting the proposals, his relatives began distancing themselves.

Rajani was a fair-looking girl and smart in academics. She gave tuitions to help Narayana with the family income and to pay for her education. She had a dream of getting a good job and helping her brother. Narayana insisted her to study further, so she pursued her MBA degree. During this time, she fell in love with Harish, who hailed from a rich family.

When Harish’s family approached Narayana, they realized that he would not be able to afford an elaborate wedding, so they offered him money for the ceremony. Narayana declined, and decided to celebrate the wedding according to their expectations. Narayana borrowed Rs. 5 lakhs from a bank and arranged the wedding to meet the groom’s family’s expectations. Narayana’s relatives were surprised with the wedding and felt that they were wrong, as they wanted to marry Rajani to some random Johnny for the sake of helping.

Harish’s older sister was Vasundhara, and her husband was an IAS officer who worked in the revenue department. She had been planning to start a marriage bureau, and found that Rajani’s wedding was the perfect start for her new venture. Someone asked her about Kavitha who was behaving like a perfect host from the bride’s side. A month after the wedding, Vasundhara came to Narayana’s house and gave him the invitation letter for the launch of her marriage bureau and insisted that he bring Kavitha with him. Narayana obliged and attended the event with Kavitha.

At the inauguration, Kavitha saw a friend of hers in the crowd and disappeared, leaving Narayana alone. Vasundhara called him and introduced him to an elderly couple and their son. The couple began talking about their family background and their son Prasad, too. Narayana only understood that they were from Vizag and that their son was a civil engineer in a construction company. They told him that they had seen Kavitha at Rajani’s wedding and that they were interested in seeking Kavitha’s hand in marriage to their son. Narayana was happy to hear this, but politely told them that Kavitha was yet to graduate, and only after that would he think about her wedding. They assured him that they would encourage her to continue her education.

Meanwhile, Kavitha came back to Narayana with another girl and introduced her as Laxmi to Narayana. Laxmi greeted him with a Namaste and informed Kavitha and Narayana that the elderly couple were indeed her parents and Prasad was her brother. Narayana was surprised when Vasundhara approached them and put in a dual proposal.

‘I know both families very well. I thought about this carefully and planned something during Rajani’s wedding. I propose Kavitha for Prasad and Narayana for Laxmi.’

The elderly couple told Narayana that they had to inform him about their son, but they did not ask him to recount his own background. They said that they knew him well.

Prasad’s father said, ‘As far as Laxmi is concerned, we are proud of her. You may find out about her with Kavitha. We will be happy if you are okay with marrying our daughter!’

Narayana stood there, speechless, Vasundhara