Vids stared at the email, and then shouted “Yennnaa, your son has sent an email.”
An eerie echo from downstairs reached her. “Alright, alright, I will check it on my phone.”
Raj unlocked his phone with the new pattern combination-facial recognition and finger scan. And with another swipe, he pushed the email from his phone to the window which turned into a reading pane.
“This new glass-tv investment is awesome.” Raj told himself.
And then he was motionless for a few minutes after reading the email. Vids came down and for a second, thought her husband was dead. She then got a breather, thanks to his habit of constant twitching his nose, to an otherwise motionless body.
“Yennaa, what happened?” She asked with great curiosity.
“I just happened to remember my dad and his emails. Only if I had gone back at the right time.” And then Raj went into a deep thought.
..
..
We go back twenty-five years to his second day in the US of A. Raj hated doing everything for himself, he had to make his own coffee, his own breakfast and he also had no newspapers. The newspapers were full of Ads and nothing useful. It constantly poured outside, and he had nothing to do inside. Survive he did, the two years flew. Lot of studying, course work kept him busy and thanks to video chatting with his parents almost everyday, he had a remedy for home-sickness. Also, a great group of friends to keep good company all the time. A period came, when he wanted to throw everything and run back to India. The job hunting period. His parents were supportive, asked him to return back whenever he wanted to. But then, he tried hard and didn’t give up. Luck was on his side, and soon he had a job and was moving up in his career, seeing new places and got married to an American. His parents first rejected the idea of him getting married to an American, but later won them over after he mentioned her Indian roots. She was trained in Carnatic, Bharatyanatyam and cooked awesome Avial. Her parents migrated to USA before she was born and had built a big media empire. With big shots in family, comes great networking and money. He was cruising with full speed in his career and life.
At first, he was gone to India for four weeks every year. And then it decreased. Gone were the days when he had meticulously planned his four weeks of stay in India. But now, he had his parents come over for 6 months in a year. The first year-six months, was amazing for him. His parents were with him and he was living the US life. What could one ask for more? The second year was exciting too with little Raj announcing his arrival. The new grandparents were happy to take care of the grandkid when Raj was busy globe-trotting. This went on for many years, until a point where his parents weren’t needed to take care of his son. Then came a point when Raj’s parents couldn’t travel anymore. Seeing Raj became a luxury for his parents. Video chatting dropped from daily (student days) to weekends (working days) to once in a month and then once in a few months. His four week vacation time was split between his family and his parents. Four weeks stay in India became two weeks, then became a week and then became a stop over whenever he had business to do in the neighboring countries. Raj was running, and he had forgotten how he had gotten there. The struggle, the support he received and the old folks who were with him in every decision he made.
And it came, the instance which would be his eye opener. He was busy with his clients in Thailand, being treated in the local luxurious ways. It was a fun life until he got a mail from his dad.
“Mom serious. No time to mail in detail, please call my cell.”
Call he did, after two days when he was at Nepal wrapping up his business work. Raj heard a broken voice from the other end.
“Chellam, how much time would it take for you to fly from Thailand to India?”
“Dad, I am in Nepal. I came here a day back, could have come yesterday to India, but thought of winding this last deal and head to Delhi. I will be at our door step in less than 3 hours.”
“Alright, make it soon, the doctor just asked me to get the papers in order. A couple of hours more, may be even lesser. I wish we could have travelled more often to spend time with you, dear son.” His dad hung up the phone.
Raj stayed motionless with the phone still placed to his ear. And then, he just started surfing his emails. 7 unread emails from dad. All asking hm to come back immediately.
Raj flew to Delhi, by the time he made it to his parents’ house, there was a big crowd. Raj knew that he was late. But he was thinking about what to do next. “I am going to take dad with me.” Raj told himself.
He entered the house, and was appalled by what he saw. There he saw, both, motionless with relatives grieving all around.
“What is my priority in life?” Raj asked himself.
“What did I do wrong? Or rather, did I do anything right?”
His mind went blank for many minutes. He then remained silent throughout his stay at his house in Delhi.
..
..
..
*DING*
New email from Bat.
“Vids, can you open it up?” asked Raj.
“Darn, I will never get this pattern right.” moaned Vids.
Dad, I gave it a thought, I have been here in this country for more than a month now. I am thinking of moving here permanently. I know it started as a business visit, but I guess, I have a bright career here and the place is pretty vibrant too. Love, Bat Dear Bharath, Send me your plan and where you intend to reside. I will get an apartment close by your place, if you are fine with that
Lots of love,
Appa
“Vidya. I am resigning tomorrow. And also, we are moving. I don’t want to mess it up once again.”
Vidya stared at him for a second. And then, when he thought it wasn’t going to work out, he saw a small smile on her face.
———-
“Yennaa” is a tamil usage to address the husband with respect. “Chellam” roughly translates to Dear.
Vijay
January 8, 2012
Dei pattaya kelappurey. Super story.
Supreeth
January 9, 2012
@Vijay: Thank you sir
amma
January 11, 2012
chellam,
any parent reading this story will have tears in the eyes, touching really.
knrajan (@knrajan1957)
January 16, 2012
powerful short story. yes one has to strike a balance between career and family
rajan