Nirupama

Nirupama-3

Nirupama

(Some Secrets May Better Remain Secrets Forever)

'I cannot bear this', 'I want to pluck my eyes out' only these two sentences were the clues which the late girl Nirupama left in writing one on a wall and one in a book quite unintentionally and involuntarily to know about the reason for her committing suicide. Her father Ranganath, detective Smaran and his niece Menaka along with Nirupama's friend Sukanya pretty well understood that Nirupama did not want the said secret to be known to anyone else. But since her father Ranganath hell bent upon knowing about the said secret, detective Smaran and his niece Menaka ruthlessly investigated the matter only to unearth the said ghastly, shocking and astounding secret which the dead girl terribly wished to keep only with her in her grave forever.

x x x x x

"After finding our daughter hanged to the ceiling fan in her room, my wife became mad. She is not agreeing that our daughter dead and she is thinking and behaving just like our daughter is still alive. I am feeling happy that she is happy just in such a way and I am not trying to convice her that our daughter is no more."

"How pathetic! Really very sad!" nodding his head with a sorrowful expression Smaran said. "I cannot think anything more to ask now. Come by this tomorrow and everything will be ready by then. And I am going to keep the photograph which you have given to me."

Ranganadh nodded his head, stood up extending his hand and Smaran took that. Ranganath and Smaran shook their hands and they both felt that a contract has already been made.

***

The next day at the same time Ranganath went to Smaran's office and Smaran handed over him the already prepared contract. Ranganath signed on the contract without bothering to go through it completely even Smaran urged him to do so and handed over to Smaran rupees one lakh cheque along with the signed contract. Smaran pocketed the cheque and put the contact copy in a box file after he also signed on that. Then he leaned back in his chair and said "Now again business. What was the date and month of Nirupama's suicide?"

Ranganath said the date and month to Smaran.

"Six months fifteen days." After hearing what Ranganath said, closing his eyes, calculating in himself Smaran said.

"You are right." Now there was no expression on Ranganath. They both were discussing it business like and Ranganath liked it.

"Neither you nor your wife found anything different in your daughter even on the date of her committing suicide."

"Again you are right. Not even little different. She was her usual self. Bloody usual self she retired into her bedroom after saying goodnight to me and to her mother." The expression changed on the face of Ranghanath and sort of heaviness settled on it again.

"You said that your wife has become sort of mad and she is thinking and behaving as if her daughter is still alive. How she is in other matters? I mean is she doing her regular work...."

"She is alright in all other matters except in thinking that her daughter is still alive." Ranganath sighed heavily. "I already told you that I am not trying to make her understand her daughter is no more. I just want to let her feel like that and be happy."

"But you can ask her and see how your daughter was just fifteen days or so before her committing suiside. Even she does not agree that her daughter is no more, she sure can say how your daughter was before committing suiside."

"I have to think about this." Ranganath said. "But my daughter is more intimate to me than her mother. I don't think that my wife could find any difference in my daughter if I could not."