‘YOU’RE A REAL fraud, Bhaji.’
‘Me? Or is it you, Krishna?’
‘You.’
‘And why me?’
‘Why didn’t you reveal the secret sooner? Why did you have to let the whole saga unfold one chapter after the other like the plot of a novel?’
‘Maybe you wouldn’t have cherished tonight’s encounter as much if I’d done that. But you are the real fraud, Krishna. Not me.’
‘Why?’
‘Why don’t you ask that from your own heart?’
‘I can’t figure head nor tail from these riddles of yours.’
‘Okay, I’ll tell you why.’
‘Please.’
‘You’re a fraud because when I mentioned Yusuf the other night, you merely wrinkled your nose and said, “Bhaji! Please don’t bring up his name with me ever again.” And you added a lot of other stuff too. But it is crystal clear now that you were lying. Doesn’t that make you a fraud?’
After a long, dark, and depressing night, this was the first ray of light that seemed the harbinger of a new dawn for Krishna. Her dreams, desires, and aspirations had grown golden wings and were taking her mind on a flight through the heavens. Yusuf, who had been present in her heart in one form or another since her childhood had today appeared as an angel from the skies to become the sovereign of her heart. Every breath of her body was turning into petals and flowers that would be offered as obeisance to the deity. His presence had reached into long-empty corners of her soul, filling them with a joy that was lapping at the edges of her consciousness and spilling beyond it. Her mind also bowed in gratitude to her brother Satnam for all he had done over the last few days. And it soon drifted to another thought. Was she truly blessed with some divine power that allowed her to change the course of events? Scenes from the dramatic meeting of the council flashed before her eyes as she recalled the way her maiden speech brought about a complete change in the views of a bunch of hot-headed young men. And wasn’t Yusuf’s transformation because of her words a miracle in itself?
As she sat with Satnam on a patch of soft grass outside the ophthalmology ward and went over the conversations of the previous night, her heart was still bounding with unrestrained joy. A rapturous voice echoed within her time and again, ‘I’ve finally achieved my goal. My Yusuf today is in no way less than the one who ruled ancient Egypt. I will today become Zuleikha for my handsome Yusuf. But what am I waiting for? Why are these minutes and seconds dragging on endlessly? That moment when I become my Yusuf’s Zuleikha, that blessed moment isn’t far now.’
Satnam’s gentle taunt made her close her eyes in embarrassment. Her head, heavy with thoughts swirling through the tumultuous night, suddenly felt like lead and slowly slid down Satnam’s shoulder and onto his knee. Her eyes were still shut and she was lost in her own world.
‘Krishna!’ Satnam smiled as he gently lifted her head and sat her upright. ‘I guess you really don’t like Yusuf, do you?’
‘No comment,’ she pouted with feigned anger as she got up and brushed the grass off her clothes. The redness in her cheeks, however, was breaking the silence to tell its own story.
‘Listen! There is one other matter!’ Satnam caught her arm and pulled her back. ‘Shouldn’t I explain the whole situation to Bapu ji?’
‘No, no!’ Krishna protested, turning her face away from him.
‘And why not?’ Satnam tugged at her chin to turn her face back towards him. ‘You know that there is an acute shortage of rations these days, Krishna. I don’t know how much longer we can afford to keep you at our place.’
‘So, why did you bring us to your house?’ Krishna queried with a faint smile on her lips.
‘Well! When we brought you home, we didn’t know that you would squat here for the rest of your life. Besides, it isn’t just me that wants to drive you out. Bapu ji is equally keen.’
‘Drive you out!’ Under a different set of circumstances, that sentence would have had a devastating effect on a person as sensitive as Krishna. But the notion that her family wanted to send her off into the arms of her lover sent a thrill through her body and set her nerves tingling with joy.
‘I don’t think Bapu ji is that keen to drive me out,’ Krishna demurred softly. ‘But it seems that you’re tired of me.’
‘Of course, we are tired of you Krishna. You know how difficult the situation is, how hard it’s become to manage food and rations for every single person.’
Krishna wanted to respond but checked her tongue. Satnam continued, ‘It’ll take another three or four days before Bapu ji’s bandages are removed. The doctor is confident that the operation has been a hundred percent success. And that’s what has given me a great idea. Let’s get you married the day Bapu ji’s bandages are to be opened. Wouldn’t it be such a treat for him? That the first thing he sees upon opening his eyes is Krishna in the full splendour of a bride? The only problem is that poor Yusuf is going to take at least a week before he can bid farewell to the hospital bed. So, let’s see how we can manage this.’
He paused for a minute before changing the subject. ‘The building on Queens Road where we have our meetings has a few empty rooms. I’ve had three of those cleaned up so that you move in there along with Bapu ji and Rukhman bhabhi. And who knows, that stranger called Mr Shafi may also have to be accommodated along with you!’
‘I don’t know anything about these matters. Leave me alone,’ she smiled coyly as she got up in a hurry and raced towards the Baba’s bed even as Satnam asked her to stay.
Those ten days appeared longer than ten years, but the wait was finally over and it was time to remove the Baba’s bandages. He opened his eyes gingerly, starting with just a narrow slit that slowly widened. The old man’s usually restrained countenance was beaming with excitement as he whooped in delight. ‘Krishna! Krishna! My eyes are absolutely fine now. I can see everything clearly now. I can count the hair dangling on your forehead, Krishna!’
‘Bapu ji!’ Krishna jumped with joy before collapsing on his chest. ‘Thank you, Lord. Thank you, a million times!’
‘Congratulations, Bapu ji!’ Kesar Kaur approached his bed and exclaimed. ‘Blessed is Guru Ram Das. Blessed is our true lord. You can really see without any trouble, Bapu ji?’
‘Bibi ji!’ the Baba was over the moon. ‘I have the eyes of a twenty-year-old. All credit goes to our benevolent Lord and to the devotion and care that I received from all of you.’
‘Krishna!’ Satnam piped up. ‘The occasion definitely calls for some sweets.’
‘Bhaji!’ Krishna responded with tears of joy streaming down her face. ‘You are the one who should bring the sweets. It’s your labour that has borne fruit.’
The extended family cheerfully sauntered home in the evening and as news of the Baba’s return spread around their lane, several neighbours turned up to join them as they left for the Golden Temple to express their gratitude. Krishna had taken a large platter of kadah parshad as offering and was struggling to balance it on her shoulder as they walked. Both Satnam and Kanhaiya offered to carry it, but she would hear none of it.
The Baba still couldn’t believe the miracle of regaining his eyesight and gazed fondly at the faces of his companions as his heart sang paens in praise of the Almighty.
He no longer needed his old companion, the walking stick that had served him faithfully for several years. In the excitement of having the bandages removed and getting discharged from the hospital, the poor stick was forgotten in a corner near the bed that the Baba had occupied for a week and a half.
The following day, on 13th August, Satnam got hold of the jeep to take the Baba and Krishna, escorted by Kesar Kaur, Munni and Kanhaiya to the house on Queens Road. Three rooms had already been cleaned and stocked with all the essential stuff that they would need to settle down.
Krishna could barely contain her excitement as she surveyed her new dwelling. Her heart danced with joy as she contemplated a new life in a new place where old aspirations would finally become a reality. Someone was gently strumming the strings of her heart and producing an alluring melody that was carrying her away with its notes. She waited anxiously for the arrival of her life partner. His and Rukman bhabhi’s arrival and of the Baba’s trunk with all its gold, silver, jewellery, and cash was going to transform everything. Satnam had outlined a neat little plan to Krishna that would bring this all together. The Baba, perhaps, was the only one who had been kept in the dark about the delicious conspiracies that had been hatched by the family, while they waited for his bandages to be removed.
Once everyone had settled down, Satnam went into the room that had been earmarked for the Baba. The rest of the family were gathered in a circle around the old man.
‘So, Bapu ji,’ Satnam queried as he entered the room. ‘Are you happy with this place?’
‘Come, Satnam. Come!’ The Baba asked Satnam to sit beside him, relishing the fact that he could now recognize the visitor without first enquiring, ‘Who is it?’
‘My dear boy,’ he continued as Satnam made himself comfortable on the cot. ‘I don’t think we deserve such luxuries. This is much too grand for simple village folk like us. It’s a lot more appropriate for people like you.’
‘But Bapu ji,’ Satnam laughed. ‘The havelis and mansions of those living in the villages are a lot more valuable than the homes of us city dwellers.’
‘That may be the case, my dear!’ the Baba replied gravely. ‘But you can’t count nomads like us among their ranks.’
‘How could you be a nomad, Bapu ji?’ Kesar Kaur smiled. ‘You are the master of a fortune of no less than twenty-five or thirty thousand rupees.’
‘Me? A master of twenty-five or thirty thousand?’ the Baba gave Kesar Kaur the kind of look reserved for one who has made a cruel joke.
‘Yes, Bapu ji. You!’ Satnam reiterated his mother’s comment. Krishna hadn’t spoken a word so far. She was enjoying the banter even though her head was poring over the knitting needles in her hands.
‘Nonsense!’ the Baba’s face once again showed his growing annoyance as he failed to see the humour beneath the lame jokes. There was a hint of disbelief in his faint smile.
‘So you don’t believe us, Bapu ji?’ Kesar Kaur chipped in. ‘Should we get you the evidence?’ A nod from her sent Satnam hurrying into the adjacent room.
‘Anyway, let’s drop this pointless subject now,’ the Baba admonished them as he turned towards Kesar Kaur. ‘Will someone enlighten me on why we’ve been brought here? I’ve already asked you this question twice, Bibi ji.’
‘There’s a wedding, Bapu ji,’ Kesar Kaur replied.
‘A wedding of one of your relatives?’ he asked. Before Kesar Kaur could respond, Kanhaiya walked into the room carrying a heavy trunk on his head. Satnam helped him set it on the ground and lifted its lid open as he smiled, ‘Do take a look, Bapu ji. Does this trunk, perchance, belong to you?’
‘What? … This? … This? … Here?’ the Baba stammered as his eyes went over the contents of the trunk.
‘Now tell us, Bapu ji?’ Kesar Kaur asked after he had taken a good look at everything. ‘Are you really the nomad that you call yourself?’
The Baba’s head was spinning and seeing the nonplussed look on his face, Satnam decided that it would be unfair to continue the charade any further. He mixed the facts with a bit of fiction and gave the Baba a quick rundown about the lost trunk.
‘And should I show you something else, too?’ Without waiting for a response to her query, Kesar Kaur left the room.
A minute or two later, Rukman could be seen sobbing at the Baba’s feet as he lifted her up and pulled her into a warm embrace.
‘Ishwar! Your ways are truly enchanting, my Lord,’ the Baba took a deep breath, caressing Rukman’s head as he closed his eyes in gratitude.
Once again, Satnam provided the Baba with an abbreviated narrative of the circumstances under which Rukman had been rescued and brought to Amritsar. But there was still no reference to the name of the person whose honesty and courage had helped in bringing both the trunk and Rukman to the Baba. Satnam appeared to be holding back on revealing his identity at this juncture.
The Baba, meanwhile, was finding it hard to come to terms with all the blessings that had fallen into his lap in quick succession. His heart longed to meet the brave and benevolent soul who, in Satnam’s words, had put his own life at risk to save both his daughter-in-law and his fortune. He made several attempts to find out his name from Satnam, but only got the response that ‘the person will soon appear before you and explain everything himself.’
The sheer bliss of those moments for the entire family was a sight to behold.
The Baba didn’t give too much importance to the fact that his fortune had been restored to him. For him, the return of Rukman was the most precious treasure and he couldn’t thank the Lord enough for that. Krishna, too, was overjoyed to see her bhabhi after six long months and was longing to sit with her and pour her heart out. Unable to wait any longer, she tugged at Rukman’s elbow and led her across to the adjacent room. Bolting the door from inside, she nestled her head on her bhabhi’s shoulder and spent hours catching up on everything that had transpired over the last six months, often breaking into tears over everything they had lost and then sighing as they thanked the Lord for being alive, for being together once again.