BALI 100 KM (Book 1) ✔

Chapter 35

Bandu stood and took in the beautiful setting. It appeared as an artist's painting.

"So, this is where you live. It is a beautiful place. I am eager to meet your mother. She will be indeed happy to have you back and not be angry with you," Bandu said as they walked.

Finally, they reached the cluster of houses, distributed in four rows, and Nand walked into the first row. That row had about ten rooms attached, and Nand finally stopped before the sixth house. He tugged at Bandu's hand, indicating to him that they had reached. The neighborhood was silent.

"This is your house?" he asked Nand, and he replied in a nod, "Let us go in then," he told him, as Nand stood hesitating and indicated to Bandu to enter first, "No Nand, you must go and tell them about me, and then I will come in, ok. Now go," Bandu gave him a little nudge.

Finally, Nand budged from his place and, without knocking on the door, pushed it open and disappeared inside, leaving the door ajar. The room was in darkness. The only light seeped in from outside through the open door and illuminated a wooden cot covered with a thin mattress. A small girl lay on it covered with a hand-woven quilt. Two large trunks had occupied the space beneath the cot.

Suddenly Bandu heard a low tone scream of a lady followed by cries of "Babu, Babu, you are back, you are back," and then crying again. It must be a mother's tear of happiness, Bandu thought, and his heart was overwhelmed. The crying had ceased, but the whispers continued for a few minutes, after which the door suddenly opened wide, and a smiling Nand came rushing out of the house. He pulled Bandu by his hand into the room, without giving him any chance to prepare himself for the meeting.

Nand had dragged him through the room, where the girl lay, into another dimly lighted space and presented him before a saree-clad lady who stood before him with folded hands in greeting and gratitude reflecting in her wet eyes. She was middle-aged and looked sick and frail. She was fair, but her demeanor had not diminished, as was evident from her manners indicating that she has seen better days than this.

"Namaste, please be seated," she greeted Bandu and indicated towards an old wooden chair.

Bandu seated himself on the chair, which creaked with his burden, but their expressions assured him that it would not break.

"Namaste," Bandu greeted in return, "My name is Bandu Raghav, and I live in Goriyon. I run a small tea stall there," said Bandu introducing himself.

Nand switched on the light bulb in the room. At that moment, a familiar face reflected before him, which he could not recall from memory, but his heartstrings pulled at him. The person who stood before him had lost her smile, and a strange expression had replaced it, that went all dark and serious, and it was beyond his understanding why. But she gathered herself and hurried into another room. He heard her tackling the vessels and understood it to be the kitchen.

Bandu took this time to scan around the room. The right wall had a closed window. Below it was another bed set in the corner of the right and the wall behind him. A lone table stood beside it, and the chair on which he sat rested beside it. The wall opposite him had an opening to another room, the same as the left. The room did not have much furnishings or decorations. The walls had scribblings on them, and the paints were beginning to peel at many places where it was damp. Bandu had an idea how the family reached this predicament and was furious at the man responsible for this.

Just then, Nand's mother returned with a tray carrying a glass each of tea and water. Nand followed her with a plate of biscuits and kept it on the stool in front of him.

Bandu picked up the glass of water and quenched his thirst first. He wanted to soothe his headache that was still active.

"Thank you for taking care of my boy for so many days. I have no words to express my thanks," she began to express her gratitude with tears, occasionally wiping her eyes with the edge of her sari that she had curled up in between her fingers. "I had lost all hope of ever finding him again as the police were not helpful either. They only turn up once in a while and enquire about my husband. We also have no relatives who could help us in our search. You are a godsend angel to me. I don't know how I can return this favor. You have returned my treasure," Tears continued to flow as she spoke.

Dealing with women was one thing, but their tears were another sensitive matter, for both of which Bandu had no inclination how to tackle, so he was sitting there really embarrassed at his lack of tact. The bed in the adjoining room creaked, and thankfully everyone was distracted by it. Bandu observed that the little girl sleeping on the cot, disturbed by all the commotion in the room, had stirred and opened her eyes. Her tiny fingers tackled the quilt away. She sat up, dangling her legs from the bed. Staring at Nand, a smile broke out on her small face. Nand rushed to her side to dropped a peck on her cheeks and carried her to Bandu.

"Your sister? She is lovely," commented Bandu and scooped her up from Nand's arms onto his lap and began to talk to her, "What is your name?"

Here too, Bandu failed to impress the female next generation. A stranger that he was, she stared at him for a moment before scrambling down from his lap to run and hide behind her mother. That scene changed the atmosphere in the room and the direction of the conversation too.

"She is shy in front of strangers," her mother quipped, "Please drink your tea before it gets cold. Mother will be here soon," she informed.

Bandu picked up the glass of his tea, but everyone seemed distracted towards the door. The door framed a silhouette.