A suitable Man

Chapter 4

Mahendra's story

Mahendra was the only son of Karunakar and Vasundhara Shetty. As early as he could remember, there had been an accident with his father and grand father in which his grandfather had expired and his father was rendered speechless due to an injury. It so happened one night, Mahendra was sleeping when he suddenly heard a lot of commotion from the hall, his mother and grandmother were wailing at the sight of a body kept in front of them. He saw the lifeless body of his grandpa and his father clutching his bloodied throat. A fire had broken out in the back side of the house. His mother came running to him, picked him up. His grandma supported his father. They collected whatever they could and ran out from the house before the fire could engulf them all. His grandma lamented the loss of her husband and her house. But they had to save themselves, with whatever clothes on their person and with an injured Karunakar, they fled to the bus stand and got in to the bus going to Bangalore.Mahendra was too young to understand the chaos happening around him. The only thing he understood was something very bad had happened to his father and grandpa.
They reached Bangalore the next morning. The first thing they did was take Karunakar to an hospital. But the doctors informed them that it was too late for the treatment and nothing could be done to restore his speech. His injury had caused him to lose the ability of speech and due to further degeneration in his nervous system, he started getting tremors in his hands and feet. This made him confined to a place. Mahalakshmi and Vasundhara were devastated, they had lost their rock solid support, their home, their wealth and they had a small child to take care of. Life had to go on, survival was of the utmost importance. Both of them were strong women and took charge of their situation. They sold all the gold that they wore and rented out a small room in the Rajajinagar area of Bangalore. As both the ladies were very good cooks, they started a small home catering service. They served their native Udupi cuisine and in a short span of time they were catering to almost all the working crowd of their neighbourhood. Karunakar's condition didn't improve and he was confined to his wheelchair always. When Mahendra was twelve years old, they set up their first Udupi restaurant named after their most respected man" Hotel Jagganatha". Slowly and steadily the catering business grew in to the " The Jagganatha group of hotels", with restaurants in Bangalore, Tumkur and Hebbal. Mahalakshmi and Vasundhara had brought their business to the pinnacle of its glory. They both had toiled day and night to reach this stage,
Mahalakshmi had burried their past long ago. For her; Mahendra was the most important person and she took utmost care that the past would never overshadow his future. She ruled her business with an iron hand, just like how her dear husband had.She was lovingly called as "Dodda" by her staff and everyone who worked for her. Even at the ripe old age of 75 she knew the first names of all her employees. Vasundhara also was equally respected for her grit and determination. She efficiently handled the finances while deftly handling Karunakar's condition too. Mahendra was the apple of their eye. They had built a legacy for him and they made it sure that he was made capable of heading it. He was sent to the best schools and colleges.They did not compel him to join the family business, but deep down both of them wanted him to take over the reins.

Mahendra was a bright student, he was among the toppers of his class. He completed his graduation from BMS college of engineering and went to Boston to complete his masters. He got a job in a reputed steel company and was supposed to join in few months. He had come back for his short vacation to Bangalore.

"Dodda" was more than happy to have him back home. Although she wanted him to join the family business, she was happy about his working in USA, in his chosen field. Vasundhara too agreed on this. Mahendra was a sensitive boy, he had seen his mother and grandmother struggle, he knew that they wanted him to head the restaurant business. But as his interests lay in core mechanical engineering, he pursued the same and also got a job in it.
"Dodda" would often see a young Jagganatha in him. He was of similar build, although he resembled his father more, he had his mothers eyes. It was as if the goodness of the entire family had amalgamated in her wonderful grandson, her Mahendra. All was going fine when one  day
Mahendra's world turned upside down.