Finally after 20 years she had bought that house back in Banaras. The agent had called to confirm her flight details for the next day and now she was having cold feet. She was back in Delhi after a decade and tomorrow she would be where it all started five decades ago- her story, her life.
Baba had passed away ten years ago here in AIIMS and mom two years prior to him. She never came back after that. Anil and his wife had thrown ma-baba out from that house and the long drawn legal battle cost her parents their life.
Anil's extravagant habits and drinking had resulted in the house changing several hands in the last ten years, while she toiled tutoring Hindi to Japanese children in Tokyo, to save enough money to reclaim what was hers as much as it was his.
It was raining when she reached there, but there were no hot chai and pakoras waiting for her, no warm words, no smiles. She walked to the backyard, there it was the huge neem tree. Every time mom preferred Anil over her, every time baba told her ' arrey beta tu toh byah kar chali jayegi" (you will get married and go away", she would come here and nibble on a bitter neem leaf.
She plucked a leaf and pushed the bitterness deep inside. She did not even realise when she had dig her manicured nails into the soft earth, it hurt ,but she kept digging as if a demon from the past had overpowered her till she hit the metallic lid. She took the pot out, spread the pebbles out and diligently counted 967 times she was put down as a girl in this house.
Only 20 years to undo hundreds of insults, not bad she told herself. Next week was the opening of her Indo-Japan cultural museum in this house.
Baba had passed away ten years ago here in AIIMS and mom two years prior to him. She never came back after that. Anil and his wife had thrown ma-baba out from that house and the long drawn legal battle cost her parents their life.
Anil's extravagant habits and drinking had resulted in the house changing several hands in the last ten years, while she toiled tutoring Hindi to Japanese children in Tokyo, to save enough money to reclaim what was hers as much as it was his.
It was raining when she reached there, but there were no hot chai and pakoras waiting for her, no warm words, no smiles. She walked to the backyard, there it was the huge neem tree. Every time mom preferred Anil over her, every time baba told her ' arrey beta tu toh byah kar chali jayegi" (you will get married and go away", she would come here and nibble on a bitter neem leaf.
She plucked a leaf and pushed the bitterness deep inside. She did not even realise when she had dig her manicured nails into the soft earth, it hurt ,but she kept digging as if a demon from the past had overpowered her till she hit the metallic lid. She took the pot out, spread the pebbles out and diligently counted 967 times she was put down as a girl in this house.
Only 20 years to undo hundreds of insults, not bad she told herself. Next week was the opening of her Indo-Japan cultural museum in this house.
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