Serendipity

3

Ambawadi, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

The doorbell disturbed Anuj's train of thought. He ignored it, just as he had ignored the twenty other doorbells that had disturbed their peace since 6 am in the morning. First, the milkman, then the bread man, then one nosy neighbour, then GK's long-lost friend... and then Anuj lost count.

He shut himself up in his old bedroom and continued to fire instructions to his team in New York. GK had insisted on staying at their old house, the one he'd never managed to sell all these years.

"Why waste money on a hotel?" he'd argued. And then he'd softened and said, "A house is like a living thing. It needs to be lived in to feel loved and cherished. Otherwise, it begins to fall apart."

Anuj had relented. After all, his parents had lived their entire lives in that house. That house meant everything to them. It had memories, bittersweet ones of his childhood, his adolescence, the love his mother showered him with, the courage and patience his father had imbibed in him. He'd had a blessed childhood filled with fun and laughter and only this house remained to tell those tales. The doorbell rang once again. As GK crooned kem cho in his most melodious voice, Anuj began to smile.

The decision to come to India had worked out well. It had been a mere three days and GK was already sporting a healthy glow. Simply being able to talk to people in Gujarati was giving him an innate sense of joy. Food was adding to that magic. GK had taken to eating five wholesome meals a day that included a variety of Gujarati delicacies, an act that had Anuj both annoyed and amused.

While GK was faring extremely well, the same couldn't be said about him. The time difference between USA and India had resulted in Anuj working odd hours. What's more, his project partners in India had chanced upon this unique opportunity of Anuj being physically present in the country and flooded his mailbox and inbox with invitations ranging from weddings to social gatherings to political events. He glanced at the growing pile of colourful invitations next to his workstation and pried his eyes away. There was no way he could humanly manage to attend them all.

And so he'd bargained with GK to have him stand in instead. GK would represent Anuj at most of these events and gatherings, with Anuj only picking up the pieces when GK was already booked for that time slot. It let GK do what he enjoyed the most, socialize. It let Anuj stay away from what he enjoyed the least.

There was only one small problem. And that was that there was no way Anuj could foist his first social commitment on GK - the Annual Day function at the S.G.V.P International School. He was one of the school's trustees and founding directors. And the Principal, Mr. Kishor Patel had been pretty insistent that Anuj personally attend this ceremony. When the Principal had used the school children as an excuse, Anuj knew he'd lost the battle.

*****

As the school principal invited Anuj to the dais to say a few words, he took out his handkerchief and wiped a sweaty brow. Anuj Kapadia was well known for his oratory talent and yet addressing a bunch of school students was making him nervous. What was he to tell them? That he was a backbencher in school, that he barely passed his exams, or that he never took life seriously until his parents passed away? He didn't consider himself a role model for children. He'd been lucky.

"Luck is another name for hard work," a faint memory made its way to the fore. And so he decided to lead with that.

Clearing his throat to a round of applause, Anuj told the students a story that his mother had often told him as a child - of a young man who'd created his wealth by selling a dead mouse. But the dead mouse was just a start. The man had to work very hard, think out of the box and come up with creative ideas to constantly multiply his money. He sold the mouse and with the money bought some cake and tea. He sold the cake and tea every day and when he had enough, opened his own bakery. He used the money from the bakery to buy a building. In the end, he was the richest man in the country. And the King, extremely pleased with his ingenuity, appointed him as one of his advisors. So what was the moral of the story? Luck is often disguised as hard work. And the rich and famous have to work hard constantly, perhaps more than the average man, to ensure they continue to stay just that.

Anuj's speech received a standing ovation. The Principal, teachers, and students were all impressed and inspired by his story. Standing in the far corner of the auditorium was Anupama, cheering the loudest for her college friend, who had seemingly turned this fable true.

*****

When Anupama had found out that the school's trustee Anuj Kapadia was none other than her senior in college, she'd wanted to go and say hi. And then she learned about his successes, about his business acumen, about his wealth, and that he was sought after by the who's who in this world. And Anupama changed her mind. It wasn't as if she'd been extremely close to Anuj in her college days.

College days, the words wrung a dry laugh. Anupama had attended college for exactly 47 days before she'd dropped out to wed Mr. Vanraj Shah. And in those 47 days, she'd maybe interacted with Anuj Kapadia for 10 days at the most. He was the Head of the Cultural Committee and she was a dancer in the Garba group.

She was sure he wouldn't remember her. And she didn't want to embarrass herself by standing in front of him to be proven right. So she'd decided to watch the ceremony from the far end of the auditorium that was barely visible from the stage.

She was proud of what Anuj had achieved, proud of her short acquaintance with such a brilliant strategist and visionary. But those feelings were hers and hers alone. She didn't have it in her to get embarrassed once again publicly for her foolishness. Mr. and Mrs. Vanraj Shah had filled her lifetime's quota of embarrassment.

So she kept quiet and told no one of her faint connection with Anuj Kapadia. For that's what she believed it to be.

*****

The air conditioner mixed with his sweat and hot breath was causing his eyeglasses to fog. Yet, despite the unclear vision, Anuj spotted someone looking extremely similar to Anupama standing at the far end of the auditorium. He shook his head - another figment of his imagination. From what he'd gauged of Anupama's family, her husband and in-laws were extremely orthodox people. They wouldn't let their daughter-in-law work.

He blinked a few times. Looking straight ahead at the Principal, he began his speech. But while he addressed to the students, his eyes kept going back to the corner of the auditorium where he'd envisioned Anupama. Was she really there? He couldn't clean his eyeglasses while standing on the podium, so he made a mental note to ask the Principal about it as soon as the felicitation ceremony was over. He'd have to be discreet though. He didn't want Anupama's life to turn into a nightmare because a strange man inquired about her in school. He hoped the person he saw was her. He prayed it wasn't.

Such was the irony of life. The ever-sure, ever-confident, ever-risk taking Anuj Kapadia seemed to lose all his mental faculties when it came to Anupama. 26 years ago, he'd been too late to decide; and now, well, it had been too late even then.

As he stepped down the dais, Mr. Patel congratulated him and shook his hands for that very inspiring speech. He smiled, nodding his head listening to everything that was being said to him, while his hands removed his eyeglasses and cleaned them. When he put them back on and looked to the corner of the auditorium, there was no one there. Convinced it was his imagination, he took the Principal's leave and began to make his way back to the car.