Hush a Bye Baby

Episode 5

11

At the Mehta household, the family dinner was not going well. First, everyone had waited and waited for Shravan to show up. Then, just ten minutes after it was decided that it didn't make sense to delay eating indefinitely and the rest of the family had tucked into the first course, Shravan rang the doorbell. It was patently obvious from his grumpy face that he hadn't quite expected his mother to take him seriously when he'd messaged, 'You can start without me if you want.' If this had been a cartoon, there would have been black clouds flashing lightning around Shravan's head. Since it was real life, Hasmukh Uncle said something so innocuous that no one at the table could remember afterwards what exactly he had said, but Shravan exploded. 'That is the most naive rubbish I've ever heard. Do you honestly think it's that simple, that black and white? Life isn't a bloody ledger that everything will get balanced neatly. Hell, even in a ledger there's so much ghochi that gets done. You know it! You've done it! Everyone here has done it!' It was, naturally, the accusation of fudging numbers that made everyone a little uncomfortable. Shravan's father cleared his throat and gave him a warning glance. Shravan shoved his plate aside, apologized, said he wasn't hungry and left the table.

Five minutes later, his sister Jaishree came up to the terrace where Shravan was smoking, carrying a plate.

'Done being a brat?' she asked casually.

'It's amazing you make a living as a shrink,' Shravan spat out, exchanging his cigarette for the plate and attacking the heaped food with grateful violence.

'When did you last eat?'

Shravan answered after eating two mouthfuls. 'Breakfast. No time in between.'

'Nandita Rai has put you on a diet?'

Shravan's shoulders slumped. He put the plate down and sighed. 'That case . . . I don't know what to do.'

'You want to talk about it?'

'Do I get patient-client privilege?'

'Are you paying my fees?'

Shravan held up a middle finger that was dal-stained. Jaishree held up two clean ones. He went back to his plate of food, head bowed over it.

'You get sibling privilege,'  Jaishree said to Shravan after watching him for a few moments. 'Talk.'

Shravan finished his plate of food. He licked his fingers clean. 'Bottom line? My client doesn't want to talk to me and my boss wants me to do shit that I knew I'd have to do sooner or later, but I was really, really hoping for later.'

'Why doesn't Nandita Rai want to talk to you?'

'Fucked if I know.' Shravan pulled out his phone with his clean hand and said to Jaishree, 'Listen.' He started playing a sound file.

There was nothing but some faint rustling in the background. Then there was a muffled 'thank you' and louder rustling.

'What am I listening to?'

'This is, well, never mind where it is. It's the meeting I had today with Nandita Rai.'

Jaishree pressed pause. 'You're recording your meetings? You realize that's not exactly a show of trust.'

'It's not like she knows.'

'This isn't helping that point about trust.'

'Just listen to her.' Shravan pressed play.

Hello Dr Rai.

Good afternoon Shravan. How are you?

I'm good, thanks. And you?