She waited for the bus, anxiously
looking at her watch every few seconds. It was 5.45 already.
As she peeped to see if the bus
was there yet, she noticed the big-bellied man with briefcase stare at her
again today. Uncomfortable, she adjusted her already-perfectly-pinned dupatta and thanked God as she saw the
bus arriving towards the stop. She got in hurriedly and sat down for the 25-minute
journey, hoping there wouldn’t be any traffic. She stared out at the orange
sky, the sun shone like a bright glowing ball; both of them watched each other
go home, as the wind blew on her tired face.
This was her life every evening.
She rushed back excitedly from work to be with her 6-year old daughter, Aaryahi.
Her little sunshine.
‘Aaryaaa!’, she happily screamed
out, as she reached the first floor of her apartment, unlocking the door to
their flat and removing the electricity bill sheet stuffed in the handle of the
door.
‘Mommy!’, came the joyous little
shrieking voice, as the girl came running out of the neighbour’s door, with
arms open to hug her mother. Mahima hugged her daughter, pushed the small
fringes from the girl’s forehead and kissed it, as she thanked Mrs.Deshpande,
like she did every day. Of course, she has been kind enough to offer taking
care of her daughter every evening after school until Mahima returns home. A
fifty-something petite widow, she had no children of her own and pampered
Aaryahi like her own granddaughter.
“Mahi.. The doodhwala had
come to collect his monthly bill.. “, Mrs.Deshpande started to say..
“Oh aunty, I’m sorry.. I forgot to give you the money! How much was
it?”, asked Mahima, anxiously. “600 rupees.. I have paid him... Not a hurry,
give me later”, said Mrs.Deshpande with a sweet smile. Mahima thanked her again
and gently closed the door.
“Mommy, do you know what happened
today in social science class? Ruhi and Preeti were fighting over a notebook
and then Braganza Ma’am….”, it went on. Mahima patiently listened to her
daughter, as she changed her into her karate clothes and packed her little bag.
She fed her a few pieces of apple and a glass of milk as she quickly gulped
down a cup of tea.
“Let’s go, baby”, chimed Mahima,
as she buckled the belt of the small red helmet on Aaryahi’s head, held the
tiny hand of Aaryahi and rushed her down. They both quickly hopped on the
scooter and left. As they scooted through the busy
evening lanes of Andheri, Aaryahi was filling her mother in with stories from
her school. “Mommy, let’s go to the beach, please mommy’, chirped Aaryahi.
“Not today, baby. I will take you
there on Saturday, okay?”, promised Mahima, as two young boys whizzed past on
an expensive sports bike, driving zig-zag, missing Mahima’s vehicle by inches. Aaryahi
closed her eyes in fear. ‘Weren’t you scared, mommy?’, she asked innocently.
“No Aarya.. we both are wearing helmets, we are safe .. but did you see that
those two bhaiyyas were not wearing
helmets? So they are the ones who should be scared of getting hurt while
driving like this.. don’t worry,”, assured the mother whose heart was racing in
the thought of what could have happened.
Mahima dropped Aaryahi in the
Martial Arts Centre and left to the market. Aaryahi was the youngest student at
the martial arts class. Her colleagues often asked her why she wanted to put
her little daughter in the martial arts and football classes when she is too young
for them. She smiled and said, ‘I am training her to be tough, to face the big
bad world’. Isn’t that why she named her after Goddess Durga? Strong and
fearless, she thought.
Mahima parked the scooter a
little away from the crowded corner of the market and went purchasing
vegetables and necessary groceries. She also bought a beautiful watercolour set
and some craft materials for Aaryahi’s school project. She heard a faint sound
of music and then she realized it was her phone ringing. By the time she
searched through her bag to get to the mobile, it stopped ringing. 3 missed
calls. From Major Dev. She dialled him back, the line didn’t get through.
Her heart was racing again. It
has been a week since her husband Rohan had called. But it wasn’t abnormal, she
thought, as she dismissed any possibility of scary thoughts. She has been
assuring herself every single day of the last 8 years that ‘Rohan would be fine’.
Being the wife of an army officer is never easy, she was always told. Yet she
had gone against her family’s wishes to marry him. With the vows of the
wedding, she had also vowed to be strong and support him the most.
She had stayed true to the vow.
She had been strong, independent and understanding. She did everything possible
to make life normal for Aaryahi. There
were days when she missed her dad, there were days when she didn’t remember him
much. There were nights when Mahima shed some silent tears missing Rohan. As
much as she was proud of her husband spending sleepless nights to guard the
country, she also had her own fears and nightmares that she silently suffered
through. There was always a cloud of uncertainty looming over their lives. She
met him for a month every year and waited eagerly for his phone call every
other day. It had been 10 months since he had come home. One more month to go
before she could see him.
Why had Major Dev called? Was anything wrong? The tensions were
severe in the Indo-Pak borders after the recent Uri attack and surgical strike.
She remembered watching the news clips where the martyrs were brought home. A
chill went down her spine. As she shook her head subconsciously, she hated
herself for letting her mind travel through these thoughts. She looked at her
watch again. 7.30. Time to pick Aaryahi.
She pushed the thoughts away
temporarily and smiled as she picked Aaryahi up. “We learned a new kata today..
Heien Yondan”, she shrieked happily as she got on the scooter. “Wow..will you do
it and show me after we reach home?, asked Mahima. “Sure mummy, KIAI”, Aaryahi
playfully screamed and giggled and punched her fist up in the air.
The ten minute ride felt like ten
years. Terribly worried, she was only hoping that her worst nightmare wouldn’t
come true. Why did Major Dev call? She
couldn’t stop wondering. As she parked her vehicle and went up to the first
floor, Mrs.Deshpande was waiting by her apartment’s door, ‘Mahi, can you please
come inside for a minute?’, she said. Growing more anxious by every passing
second, Mahima rushed inside holding Aarya’s hands.
She thought she was paralyzed for
a moment and her heart skipped a beat. She saw her husband standing there, arms
open, tears welling up in his eyes. She couldn’t believe what she saw. The
moment seemed frozen, those few seconds when Mahima and Rohan started into each
other’s eyes, a lot of unuttered words exchanged silently. The silence was
broken with a loud ‘DADDDYYYY!” as Aaryahi ran to hug her father. He bent down
on his knee, held her close to him and kissed her cheeks. Mahima joined the hug
and smiled through sobs of happiness and relief.
“Rohan..Rohan..I was..very
worried..”, Mahima spoke through sobs. “I know.. I know, Mahi.. I wanted to see
you both, I couldn’t be away.. So, here I am”, replied Rohan. There were no
words to describe what they both felt.
The next few minutes were their
happiest. Rohan lifted Aaryahi up in the air and played with her. Mahima
couldn’t stop hugging him while still in tears. It was an evening filled with
the biggest surprise for her. All those fears and anxious moments faded away as
she held his hands now.
“I wouldn’t be able to take my
yearly one-month off this time.. but you understand, right? It is an emergency
situation. War could break out any time. So I thought I’ll visit home early for
a week and get back”, he said.
“I understand, it is okay.. I’m
glad you came”, she said, not telling him that she was scared for him, as both
of them exchanged understanding glances.
The next seven days, their home
was filled with so much laughter and happiness. They cherished every minute
together until it was time for him to leave.
Mahima waved him goodbye, holding
her daughter closer and blurredly watching him disappear around the corner of
the road. She had hope and faith to grip her, until she saw him again.
This is just one story out of a
million more stories. Dedicated to the families of 1.5 million active personnel
in the Indian Armed Forces. The brave men who choose to dedicate their lives to
safeguard the country, leaving behind a love-filled home and family members waiting
to hear from them.
Salute ... Jai Hind!
