My Mysterious Man

OFFICE AND ASHRAM

He smiled warmly and left to the bedroom. He has a crazy family. All of them smile hard. He returned very quickly. He again dressed up and took me out in his black Range Rover. He kept driving through many big buildings before we entered the busy roads of Zurich and then we drove through many posh buildings and he stopped at a similar building. When he got out, the watchman rushed out to salute him! He opened the door for me and even placed his one hand over the roof so that I wouldn’t get hurt even if I hit it. His other hand was in his pants of his black suit. His tie and goggles complemented him so well that I can’t help but crush over him! He handed over the keys to the watchman and we headed into the buildings. Almost everyone who saw us wished us good morning though it was already 12. We took the lift and went to some 12th or 15th floor and it was damn white. The walls, the furniture, the closets all were painted white. It looked like a lab of some kind. He removed his coat and goggles and wore a white coat and he put the same on me. We wore gloves, head mask and safety goggles. We made our way through the lab and he kept asking me about different chemicals and told me about a variety of medicines. I just kept nodding because I had no answer. I saw how disappointed he was because of my silence. After an hour or so of such experimentation and useless blabber, he was so, so hurt that it looked he could take it no more. He said that we need to leave and quickly left for the washroom. I was curious why he’s behaving so impatient. I removed my lab wear and stood near the washroom. I seriously heard him cry and shout with pain and agony! When he came out, I stood with waiting eyes. I wanted him to tell me everything but he was just silent. We silently put back all the stuff and were leaving but then I saw the name plate in front of the laboratory. 
“Who’s she?” I asked him pointing out at the name plate of ‘Dr. Aisha Singhania'. 
He slowly moved his finger over it and gently kissed it! I don’t know why all such shocking stuff keeps happening to me. 
“She was the most brilliant pharmaceutical scientist I’ve ever known and is the most wonderful woman of my life.”
“What do you mean she ‘was’? Where is she now?”
“She’s... she left the job.”
“If she’s just an employee, then why is she so special to you?” I again don’t know why I was so interested in their relationship. 
He smiled. I felt relieved. 
“Are you jealous?” he asked. 
“What jealous? I’m not jealous. Let’s leave.” 
I left and he followed. 
All through the drive I kept thinking who that doctor is and why is this affecting me so much. He noticed my restless mind and asked, “About whom are you thinking?”
“About Arushi didi” I lied.
He smiled stealthily and said “Really?”
“Of course. Why would I lie?” I lied again.
“What exactly are you thinking about bhabhi?”
“About her outfits. I mean if she’s wearing a saree from Sabaysachi then why not jewellery from the same.”
“Actually even I don’t know the exact reason why bhabi prefers such combos but the thing is she just likes it. Anyway she couldn’t pay concentration to her beauty for most part of her life so she deserves to enjoy this experimenting.”
“Why couldn’t she pay attention earlier?”
“Do you think it’s that easy to become an auditor and a fashion diva at the same time? Some things take time, right.”
“So she’s an auditor?”
“Yup. Bhaiya and bhabhi met as colleagues and now are handling the company and family together.”
“Is Kabir.... I meant jiju also an auditor?” I want to kill myself for calling these random people with relations.
“No. He’s the MD of Prashasti Malhotra & Family Pharmaceuticals”
“So it means...” I was about to ask many other questions but his phone rang. 
“Hello.... We’re on the way..... What?... Is it already 2?.... No Sadhana it’s only 1:46..... okay okay, I know you’re the wife of a lawyer. So don’t prove your arguing skills..... Fine bye.... we’ll be there in 10.” He put the call after that. He stays with me all day and then has so many other girls in his life. First Arushi, then Aisha and now Sadhana! He again noticed my restlessness and asked “Want to ask anything?” 
“Yea.... Does Arushi buys a new saree every year for the Annual Summit?” I asked irrelevantly and I even missed out didi but he didn’t seem to notice.
“Yes. She even gets new jewellery.”
“She’s really rich!”    
 “Does she travel from Zurich to Delhi in saree?”
“Yea.. Anyway they’re going to attend the event directly from the airport so it matters little.”
“They’re rich and busy”
“Do you also want those sarees and jewellery? I’ll get them for you.”
“For now I would be much grateful to you if you get me such lunch”
“We’re going to Sadhana’s place to do that same thing” saying this he stopped the car in front of a big ashram of some kind. This place was a bit deserted and was filled with trees. I was a bit sceptical about getting into this. But it wasn’t a silent or lonely place because there were many noises coming from inside. We headed towards the gate and the watchman offered to park our car. No sooner did we enter into that ashram looking mansion than a woman in long khalis and palazzos came running towards us, followed by a tall man in cotton shirt and khaki pants. At that moment two things crossed my mind. Firstly, why do people always come running towards me and secondly, why would anyone where cotton clothes in Switzerland?” 
“What took you so long? It’s already 2 now. Aish is already late to take her medication. How many times should I tell you that lunch must be taken only when the sun is at his highest altitude?” she kept scolding my mysterious man.
“It’s fine honey! Let them have food first.” The overly tall guy said and put her temper down. By my initial analysis there I found that these two people in cotton clothes live in this ashram mansion with at least 300 more people. The 300 people were of all kinds. They were babies and also oldies. From the darkest shade to the lightest one, all were under their shade. Men, women and transgender all were working and none of them seemed to be affected by their differences. About 15 minutes or so, we were in the middle of a huge dining hall. Few middle-aged were still eating. Two women and five men, to be precise. All of them got up as soon as they saw us coming. All of them were having a kind of scared look. Sadhana’s temper got up when she saw them. “You guys na...” she was about to say something but her husband heckled her and said, “You guys continue. Your mom just needs to have her lunch.” This man really had the superpower of controlling her terrible anger management issues. If it was not him, then no one else would ever dare to part their lips in front of her. That guy who called his wife, mom to people of their same age escorted us to our places. The mystery man then said, “If everything’s fine then I’ll take my leave.”
“Won’t you eat?” Sadhana said. 
“Manas, Sadhana is also suffering from amnesia” he said and left while laughing sarcastically.
“What does ‘also’ mean?” I asked.
The husband and wife, whom I’ve now diagnosed to be Sadhana and Manas, looked at each other and then Sadhana started irrelevantly “Why did he say that I’ve amnesia?” 
“It’s because you forgot that it’s Saturday today” Manas said in response. 
“Oh yea!” she exclaimed “It got of my head completely.”
“So what if it’s Saturday?” I asked.
“He fasts on Saturdays” Sadhana said recovering from her amnesia.
“Why?” 
“It’s for you to stop questioning and start eating. Why don’t you eat more? Isn’t it nice?” she said to divert the topic. 
“The food of your ashram is way better than what he fed me with this morning.” I said exposing my frustration.
Both of them laughed and Sadhana again started speaking “Then eat more. Where’s the walnut pudding?” she said while eyeing out for the dish, “You should have more walnuts. That’s good for your brain.” 
It’s you who must have walnuts. You have amnesia, I don’t. I wanted to say but I didn’t. I then started suspecting if I had amnesia because I don’t remember anything of what happened with me before that day. The walnut pudding came and we began to eat and after eating, Manas left and to further interrogate about them, I asked Sadhana to take me around her mansion. She readily agreed. We kept walking through and from many rooms and corridors. That mansion was really huge. Though my personal mission to investigate about Sadhana was sucking, but I got to know a few things about them through her nonsense blabber. Man! She talks so much. I was almost on the verge of developing a headache only after 45 minutes of conversion. Maybe I shouldn’t call it conversation. It was just she who kept talking and I kept nodding. Her nonsense did have some information. She and Manas were a lot into social work since their college days so their parents thought they were a good match together. Then they got married and moved to Zurich and started this organisation to help as many as possible. Manas is a freelance lawyer and Sadhana is a freelance writer. With this freelance work, they are running a non-profit organisation for 300 people! But that was not enough I needed to know more and then it stroke my head that I can Google them! I looked out for my cell phone but I didn’t find it. 
“Where’s my phone?” I asked Sadhana.
She put on a tense look on her face and said feebly, “Maybe it’s in your home”
“Fine. I want to go back to my home. Call him right now.”
“Why do you want to go home so early?"
“I just don’t feel that good”
“Are you okay? Shall I call the doc?”
“No need, I’m fine. Just take me home.”
“Okay.. I’ll call Karan.”
“Karan?”
“Karan. He brought you here so he’ll take you back. Right?”
“Right.” It was at this moment that I got to know that the name of this mysterious man is Karan. I thought it would be better if I ask her too what my name is and what this mysterious Karan is to me. I went up to Sadhana who was talking with this Karan over phone in a rather sombre and tensed voice. Seeing me coming she told Karan to put the phone down. I was about to talk but she interrupted and said, “I’ll get some foodstuff for your dinner. I know Karan doesn’t feed you with much stuff.”
“How do you know?”
“Just by looking at you. See how lean you are.”
I had nothing more to say. She grabbed this opportunity to leave me alone. But I’m grateful that she did. She has been eating off my brain since one and half hours. I took this opportunity to go to those areas of her mansion where she deliberately didn’t take me to. Specifically her office was something which could provide me with a ton of information about her. I went and the first thing I saw was their name plates. 

‘Mr. Manas Mandal
CoFounder, the Mandal Foundation’
‘Mrs. Sadhana Mandal
Founder-Director, the Mandal Foundation’

Mandals, huh. It means they’re Bengalis. I should have known it earlier; both of them have spectacles and wear cotton clothes in Zurich. The size of Sadhana’s bindi was more than average and though Manas was talking in Hindi with Sadhana it had a Bengali twist to it and to top it all he was eating fish and Mishti Doi. How could I be so stupid? But clearly Manas was more ‘Bengali’ than Sadhana. In fact Sadhana looked more like a South Indian or maybe from Deccan. There might be a possibility of an inter caste marriage but she said they had an arranged marriage so that might not happen. Indian parents give a lot of importance to caste. Upon thinking all this, my head pained like hell and within no time I was shouting in agony. Sadhana and Manas came out of nowhere. Manas’s return might be the reason why it took Sadhana so long. They gently picked me up and took inside. They were comforting me when that mystery guy came in and started panicking. Poor Mandals! They now had two people to take care of. He literally started shouting at them! They couldn’t control his temper, not even the temper managing expert Mr. Mandal. I had to intervene.
“Karan, calm down. It’s not their fault.” 
“But it’s serious. You never get headache on the first day itself. I’ll call papa right now.” He said and pulled his phone out. I stopped him and said “Karan wait. I’m fine. Don’t freak papa out.”
“I need to... wait. Did you just call me Karan?” he said with tremendous glow on his face, “How do know my name?”
“Sadhana addressed you as Karan and I grasped it.” I said feebly.
“Come we’ll leave” he said with moist eyes. 
Why is this guy so dramatic? I thought and left with him. He made me sit in the car and gave me some medicines.
“Did you take meds after lunch?” he asked with concern.
“Yes”
“Fine. You rest. I’ll come after some time.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to apologise to Sadhana and Manas. I’ll be back in 10.”
“Karan, I need to know the answers of many questions. Who are you? What are you to me? Who are Sadhana and Manas to us? Why are you taking care of me? Why are you panicking for me? Most importantly, who am I? What is my name? Am I Ishu or Aish or Puchki? What am I? Who are my parents? Is Aruhi my sister? WHY CAN’T I RECOGNISE ANYONE?” I shouted and gasped for breathe. My body was definitely weak. It couldn’t bear all that stress. I fainted straightaway.