"Sir, we are here," I heard the driver's voice from the front and was brought out of my thoughts. Outside, I saw Shailini had come to receive me and she opened the car door. "Thank you," I said, stepping out and looking at the hotel. It was twenty storeys of grandeur that met my eyes.
"Sir, let's go inside," she said and egded me towards the entrance. Behind us, more cars were pooling in and the guests were still arriving. We climed the stairs and passed through the glass doors and were met with a pair of beautiful women in red saaris, greeting us with folded hands. I nodded a polite smile towards them and made for the other end of the lobby, towards the lift.
"What time does our chief guest arrive?" I asked her, as we gradually rose through to the 10th floor with the banquet hall serving as the venue for the evening's event.
"He will be here in about-," she took a quick glance at her watch before answering,"-half an hour."
The lift doors opened and we exited into a well lit corridor that extended on both sides. There was an invitation placard placed right outside the lift indicating the direction to the hall. We headed right till the end of the corridor and then turned right again to entre the hall itself.
The entire place was decorated lavishly. From the lights to the flower decorations, everything seemed perfect. At the far end of the room was a small stage and a podium. Chairs were arranged to surround it in a semi circle. On the other end were long tables, laid out with food and refreshments. The space was filled with people, some recognisable faces, others not so much, all greeting me with smile plastered on their faces, like the ones I had just seen on those two women downstairs. My eyes however, were scanning all around, searching for the one face I was looking for, desperately. Once, when I thought I had caught a glimpse of the person I wanted to see, the individual turned around to dismay me all over. As the host for the evening, I had to indulge in pleasentries with all the guests who had come to this event, but I longed for that one face that mattered to me the most.
Then, there was a sudden rise in mutterings amongst all gathered and we turned to face the entrance. I walked forward knowing the chief guest had arrived. It was Manoj who entered first, then followed by a bunch of security personnel in black uniforms, and amidst them was Dr. Shankaracharya Swaminathan, the honourable education minister of the country. The crowd in front dispersed on his arrival and I went forward to greet him. Dr. Swaminathan smiled as he saw me and we shook hands.
"Welcome sir, thank you for coming," I said.
"Mr. Dutta, how could I not, when you invited me so personally. And trust me, its a pleasure," he replied.
We walked towards where the sitting arrangements were made on the stage and everyone else began to gather around. More pleasentries followed as the minister was welcomed by the other members of SHIKSHA. When all the guests had settled down, Manoj took to the podium to begin the event.
It had been 10 years since we had established SHIKSHA as a nation wide publishing house, beginning in Delhi and Bangalore. Also, what had begun in the small conference room in Kolkata had eventually spread like wild fire. Social Media, which had been remarked as the the curse for youngsters, distracting them from their purpose in life, had finally acted as a boon for all of us. The drive that we had started, collecting and publishing stories from young writers all throughout schools and colleges had spread outside the boundaries of the state and had become a nationwide phenomenon. Not even days after establishing our offices in Delhi, were we piled with loads of written materials pooling through from almost every corner of the country. So much so that we had to revive the old Indie House establishments at Bangalore and setup another office there. Manoj had been almost wholly responsible for that venture. But later, after his marriage, he had moved to Delhi.
As far as the news spread, hope was kindled in the hearts of all those children who had the dreams to be established as writers or in the very millimal, take steps to get closer to that dream. SHIKSHA gave them that hope. And the confidence. As the years rolled by, we had more and more inflow of new and upcoming writers. In just a short period of time, SHISHA had outsold almost every other publishing house in the country. Our writers pool was so varied and so full that we could have printed a new material every other day and still it would last us for years.
As we gained, so we decided to give. It was an idea pitched by me to the BODs of SHIKSHA to establish a scolarship fund for underprivilaged children. The idea was majorly accepted and then the same was presented to the Ministry of Education. It wasn't a week later that we had received a call from the office of the Education Minsiter himself. When he heard what we had in mind and wanted to do, he did not just like the idea, he applauded it.
As a result, Siksha Scholarship Fund was created. Each year 30 children were selected from across the country, verified by the Government, and their entire education expenses would be undertaken by us. The evening's event was organised to commemorate this venture, where the first 30 students would be awarded their free scholarships.
When Dr. Swaminathan was called to the podium, he enlightened us with those very facts. When his speech drew to its conclusion, he called me forward to take his place. I stood up, and walked to the podium. The slight echoes of the applause still rang through the hall that had marked the end of his speech and the beginning of mine. I winced slightly at the light that fell directly on my face and adjusted the microphone.
"Good evening to everyone present out here this brilliant evening," I began, eyeing through the pages on the podium, that had my entire speech written on it by some office executive. Manoj had probably mailed me a copy, but I had never had the inclination to look. I read through the first page and then the second, all the while taking occasional glances at the silent crowd watching me. Then I saw her. She was sitting in the middle, the 3rd or the 4th row, i couldn't really make out, and she met my eyes. Suddenly, I was at peace. And I felt free.
I paused my reading and looked at the crowd, then at the pages in my hand, and finally back at them. I lifted those pages to show them to the audience. "There are many more pages to follow. But they are all the same," I said. The sudden change in the rythm was baffling to some, for I could hear some confused mutterings and even some slight laughter.
"Tonight, let us just skip these." I folded the papers and put them in my pocket. The crowd's eyes were looking at me intently, eagerly anticipating what I would say next. I am sure some of them might have began feeling slightly uncomfortable. That's what happens when we stray away from the normal. But I was never about the normal. And from the smile on her face, I knew, neither was she.
"Tonight, let me speak to you. Like, really speak to you and not just read. For words are meaningless without the feelings behind them. Feelings that develop into relationships of all kinds. Much like the one we share here tonight. We have the same regards for education, for knowlegde, and even empathy. This brings us together with a common cause. A cause that has brought us here to celebrate it, in grandeur.
"I had a friend once, who used to say, relationship between people is just like the flight of a bird. The body of the bird is the basic foundation of a relationship, like trust in our cause. The people, US, we are like the wings, and our emotions, feelings, they are the feathers. For a smooth flight, the bird needs both its wings to operate properly, with the efficient placements and recogniton of all its feathers. Its the same with our relationships, our bonds. If the people function as beautifully as those wings, our bonds soar through the heights.
"But the thing we need to concern ourselves with is, to what heights? To what level could we take our trust, our beliefs and our relationships? I say, to wonders. There are limits to everything, some would say, and I agree. However, I also know, that in each of us we have the capability to rise and face those limits, eventually surpassing them. And when we do that, we will herald a new dawn of our existence. We will create a future that would be fruitful for both ourselves, and our forthcoming generation. That's our legacy. That is what we strive to achieve. And the stepping stones have already been laid.
"So, for tonight, lets just pray, the wings stay strong. I thank each and every one of you for coming here. Its an honour to be amongst you and to be your host. Enjoy the remainder of the evening ladies and gentlemen. Thank you."
With those words I ended my speech and climed down the stage as the roar of the audience's applause greeted me.
***
Later that evening, as I was talking to some of the guests, I heard someone call me from behind. "Dhruv Uncle." The voice was that of a young man, whom, I turned around to find, was approaching me with a smile, accompanied by a beautiful young woman. The young man was Reyansh and the lady by his side was his wife Ankita. They had been married for 2 years now and even had a son. They came forward and then bent down to touch my feet.
"Where's little Siddhart? You could have brought him along," I inquired about their 11 months old son.
"He is at home. With my mom," Ankita answered. Her smile reminded me so much of Kavya.
We talked a bit more. I asked Reyansh about his job at the bank. He had been recently promoted to the position of Regional Manager. As for Ankita, she was a doctor, practicing in a renowned hospital in Delhi.
"Dhruv Uncle, have you seen Maa?" Ankita asked.
"Yeah, she was sitting with us during the speech," Reyansh added, "Haven't seen her after that. I don't even know where she went."
"I can't say for sure, beta. Maybe she went home?" I answered. Infact, I hadn't seen her after the speech either.
"But without informing us?" Ankita objected, looking genuinely worried. "I'll call home and ask amma." Then she went aside dialing at her phone.
"Do you still write?" I asked him.
He seemed a little embaressed at my question. "Not since college uncle."
"You should, you know. Keep that spark alive. Its the same advice I gave to your father. And he kept it," I said. He nodded obediently.
"I think we should leave uncle," he said.
"You are leaving already?"
"Its Sid uncle. He starts crying after a while if kept away from his mother. Also, Ankita can't stop worrying herself out. I should get her back home. Even see where Maa went. Will you let me know if you see her here?"
I nodded in approval. Then I accompanied the couple as they left the hall.
"Dhruv uncle, why don't you come home sometime? Maa keeps talking about you and papa, how you were the closest of friends. We would love to hear your stories. Wouldn't we Reyansh?" She nudged her husband to back her up.
"Yes uncle, please. Its like you stopped visiting all of a sudden. We miss you. Please come home sometimes. We will love it," he added.
I nodded again. Seems like that was all I was capable of. Then they went into the lift and the doors closed on their waving goodbyes. And I went back, half heartedly, to the lit room full of cheerful faces.