Shraddha……

Her mobile phone was ringing. Shraddha did not hear it. One missed call. She always kept her phone in her room and that was one reason she usually missed a lot of calls. With a plate of fruits and a glass of milk she went to Aradhana. Shraddha took a slice of apple and offered it to Aradhana. Aradhana looked at Shraddha and said, ‘I don’t feel like eating.’ Shraddha sat beside Aradhana and said, ‘The doctor said if you don’t eat fruits and milk, you will feel weak. And it means, less immunity. In these testing times do you think it will be wise of you to not eat fruits and milk at least?’ Aradhana brushed Shraddha’s head and said, ‘I must have done something great in my earlier life to be blessed with a daughter like you.’ Shraddha said softly, ‘And my mom is a darling too. I too must have done something great.’ Aradhana looked at Shraddha and said, ‘God bless you my child.’ Shraddha held the palm of Aradhana’s hand and said, ‘I love you mom.’ Saying that, Shraddha got up and walked back to the kitchen. She had to make some rice and lentil soup. She and Aradhana would eat that for lunch. After lunch she had to go to the hospital as well.

While cooking she thought of Aditya. Aditya, her love, her little world. He meant everything to her. She recalled all the moments she had spent with him. Aditya’s smile, his way of talking, his love, his care, Shraddha kept on thinking about him. How much she longed to meet him. While reminiscing those moments, she realized, she had not checked her phone since morning. She quickly put some rice and water in the pressure cooker, put the put the pressure cooker on the gas stove and went to her room. Oh! There were 5 missed calls. Aditya had called. Damn! She quickly dialed his number. A voice said, ‘The number you have dialed is unreachable, please try again later.’ Reaching Aditya’s phone was a herculean task. The network was so poor that getting an opportunity to talk to him felt like a dream come true. She called him again. No. This time too the call did not go through. She tried again. She heard the dial tone. Yes, Aditya’s phone was ringing. Aditya received the call. The conversation after that:

Shraddha: Sorry Adi, I missed your call.

Aditya: It’s okay. I understand. How are you?

Shraddha: I am fine. How are you?

Aditya: Fine. How is mom?

Shraddha: Fine.

Aditya: I wish I was there with you.

Shraddha: I am fine Adi. I will go to the hospital in a while.

Aditya: Will you be able to do it all by yourself, love?

Shraddha: Yes. I will.

Aditya: I have never felt so helpless in my life.

Shraddha: You are always with me, aren’t you?

Aditya: Shraddha…I… don’t know what to say. I am feeling so damn helpless. Damn!

Shraddha: Shhhh. Baby….you know your Shraddha, don’t you?

Aditya: Yes baby. I love you.

Shraddha: If you love me then please try and take care of yourself. This is the need of the hour now.

Aditya: I will….

Before Aditya could say something more, the line went blank. Network disturbances never let these love birds talk. Shraddha tried calling Aditya again and again but the call never went through.

Shraddha went back to the kitchen. While talking to Aditya, in between, she had come to the kitchen to switch off the gas stove. She then cleaned the gas stove and washed the utensils. She took the casserole of rice and lentil soup to the dining table and kept them there. She then got dishes, spoons and bowls. After that, she swept the house and mopped the floor. It took her around 45 minutes to finish these chores. She then went to Aradhana’s room and said, ‘Mom, come and have lunch.’ Aradhana looked at Shraddha with moist eyes and said with a choking voice, ‘I can’t eat.’ Shraddha sat beside Aradhana, held her hand and said, ‘Look at me Mom.’ Aradhana looked at Shraddha. Shraddha said, ‘Mom, I need you to be my strength. We can do this together. If you do not eat, I repeat, you will feel weak. Mom, sometimes we need strength of both the body and the mind. I cannot do this alone. I need your support. I need you.’ Aradhana broke down and cried like a baby. Shraddha hugged Aradhana tight and said nothing. She let Aradhana cry. Shraddha was wearing a light blue cotton kurta with white leggings and white scarf. Aradhana’s tears wet Shraddha’s dress. Shraddha said nothing. Aradhana must cry. Aradhana wept. She cried her heart out. She wailed. Shraddha did not stop her. For straight 10 minutes, Aradhana cried. Shraddha felt she was holding a little girl. After some time Aradhana’s tears dried. Gently, she took her head off Shraddha’s shoulder and said, ‘My little girl. I too will come with you.’ Shraddha said, ‘Look at the bright sun outside Mom. It’s 42 degree celsius. Moreover, over there, it will take time. You will not be comfortable. I will manage everything.’ Aradhana said, ‘But, you can’t go hungry. Come, I will feed you.’ Shraddha said, ‘I will eat only if you promise that you will eat too.’ Aradhana nodded. They went to the dining table. Aradhana fed the first spoon of rice and lentil soup to Shraddha and said, ‘May God always bless you my child.’

Shraddha quickly gulped her food and went to the parking space. The sun was harsh. It showed no mercy. The inside of the car was blazing. Shraddha was sweating profusely. She opened all the windows of the car and rushed to the hospital. The hospital was busy with doctors and nurses running around attending to patients. Shraddha wore her mask properly and went inside. She had to meet Dr. Amar Mathur. He was the one who would help her in completing the formalities. She went ahead to the reception. The receptionist took down all the details of Shraddha and allowed her to go and meet Dr. Amar Mathur. Dr. Mathur was in his cabin. Seeing Shraddha, he said, ‘I was waiting for you.’ Shraddha said, ‘I hope I am not late.’ Dr. Mathur said, ‘Not at all. I will get the papers. You can sign those and then I will assign some hospital workers to help you.’ Shraddha nodded. Dr. Mathur got all the papers. Shraddha signed those. Dr. Mathur then handed over a file to her. Shraddha took it. Dr. Mathur then took Shraddha to the mortuary. Seeing Mr. Arvind’s dead body, Shraddha could not control her tears. She had to be strong. She tried to control herself, but she broke down. She whispered, ‘Oh Dad. You should not have left us so early’, saying that she cried like a baby. The doctor waited there patiently. Shraddha then somehow calmed herself and identified the body. The doctor then called the hospital workers. They carried the body in a stretcher and put it in the ambulance. Shraddha’s mask drenched with tears. She then directed the ambulance driver to follow her car. The driver followed Shraddha’s car and in half and hour, they reached home.

Seeing her husband’s dead body, Aradhana could not stop herself. She knelt, put her head on his chest and cried her heart out. Mr. Arvind Sharma had suffered a massive stroke two days ago. Shraddha had rushed him to the hospital. The doctors operated on him, however, the next day he breathed his last.

After Mr. Arvind’s dead body was put in the hall of the living room, Shraddha requested the hospital workers to stay back for some time so that she could go and the get the priest. Because of the virus pandemic, Shraddha had a hard time finding a priest. After a lot of effort, she found one. She had to plead to the priest to come. The priest agreed. It took some time for the priest to collect all the stuff for the rituals. After they came home, the priest arranged everything that was necessary for the rituals. He asked Shraddha to get all the stuff he had brought with him. Aradhana sat there like a statue, broken and shattered. Shraddha was exhausted. She was exhausted with sorrow, she was exhausted with agony, she was exhausted with the herculean pain of missing Aditya. If only Aditya was here.

The priest chanted all the ‘shlokas’ and, with the help of the hospital workers made a bamboo stretcher to carry the body out. The body was bathed and dressed in clean clothes. Shraddha did all of that with a strong heart. She did not let her tears weaken her. After all the formalities, when the body was to be taken to the cremation ground, the priest said, ‘Who will light the pyre? Only a son should do that.’ Aradhana, who was seated all the while like a statue, stood up and said, ‘My daughter Shraddha will do it.’ The voice at which Aradhana had said that, the priest and the people around knew that there was no point arguing here. At the cremation ground, Shraddha lit the pyre of Mr. Arvind Sharma.

Aditya had tried calling Shraddha; however the network gave way. Although, it did not seem right, Shraddha had requested one of the hospital workers to record all the proceedings on Shraddha’s phone. After all, Aditya had every right to see his father and the rituals that followed.

Aditya was the only son of Aradhana and Arvind. He was a Major in the Indian Army. After two days of his wedding with Shraddha, Aditya was asked to report to work because of an emergency. Shraddha stayed back with her mother in law and father in law. Right after the emergency operation was over, Major Aditya Sharma wished to come back home for some days so that he could be with his parents and Shraddha. However, the Corona Virus Pandemic struck and because of lockdown, he could not travel back to his hometown. Saddest part is, he lost his father, but he had no way to come home. Shraddha managed everything on her own.

After lighting the pyre and completing all the rituals at the crematory, Shraddha came home. Aradhana sat in front of her husband’s picture and said, ‘You left us suddenly. You never bothered to wait for your son. You know why? Because you knew that God has blessed us with a daughter who is as strong and capable as our son.’ Shraddha stood there listening to everything her mother in law said. She went out, knelt under the vast sky and looked up and said, ‘Will always miss you dad.’