Amor Fati - Our Love, Our Fates [COMPLETE]

Part 48 - Hope

Present times, Bengaluru

Madhukar Nayak entered the posh restaurant and headed straight to the bar. Mukesh Gupta, his long term accomplice-cum-friend, was already there, a gimlet on the bar top in front of him.

Mukesh greeted his friend with elan, post which they shifted to a table for two in the right corner of the room, towards the wall.

These two had known each other for long since their school days, though Mukesh Gupta was now settled in the north of India, in Gurgaon (present Gurugram). He had been an ace designer in his times, but now Mukesh had shifted to agro farming. He was a genial extrovert, who was often the life of the parties, whenever he chose to attend. 

As they ordered for food and waited, the two friends caught up with the latest in their lives. Mukesh was in Bengaluru to meet his old friend and also cajole him to visit Delhi and interact with few more people who were coming up with prestigious projects, in and around the city of Delhi and Gurgaon.

"I don't want to enter the fray there" Madhukar Nayak said, as he sipped on his lime cordial. "There are already too many big players there, fighting for a share of the pie"

Mukesh banged his fist on the table lightly

"And that's why you should come. You are right, there are too many big players ... but their ideas and all have got saturated over time. There is no new'ness' to their designs, no authenticity - everything just seems to be a copy and paste effort. This could be a perfect opportunity for M N Architects to establish a foothold.

Anyway, you had earlier mentioned about exploring the opportunities in the NCR, I remember. So when these discussions came to my notice recently, I thought why not connect with you?"

Madhukar Nayak was genuinely appreciative of his friend's goodwill; he searched for words to thank him but could find none. Mukesh was correct. A few years before he had really been ecstatic about setting up a second base in Delhi; but then his business in and around Bengaluru boomed, and all ideas were forced away. M N Architects did deal with a few clients in NCR (National Capitalist Region) on short commissions; it wasn't as if they were totally absent from the scene. Niche projects, niche consulting ... that's where their forte rested.

He lazily wondered if Rohini could still drive the entire effort; but the very next moment, he pushed the thought away. He couldn't push the child to deal with these now. She needed to be back up on her feet, on her own, and find the way forward.

"By the way Mukesh, why didn't you come over to my house? Why meet here?" he asked.

Mukesh called the waiter and ordered for second round of drinks - "I am returning early  morning tomorrow, Madhu. This hotel is nearby the Airport and I hope to reach the Airport on time, given the traffic travails of Bengaluru."

He laughed generously

"I am here just for the evening, so I decided to make you travel instead ..." Mukesh bellowed out in laughter.

"You are the same Mukesh that we know from our college days. You haven't changed a bit" Madhukar Nayak smiled as he patted his friend on his back.

"But I wish I could meet the children" Mukesh added, a bit serious now.

Abject sadness enveloped Madhukar Nayak as he looked down at his plate of food. He was about to push the food away when he recalled how Rohini scolded him every single time he fiddled with his food. Rohini was the nurturer in the family. 

He smiled through his tears shaking his head - "My home ... my children ..."

Mukesh covered his friend's hand with his