A Bend in the River of Life

by Budh Aditya Roy

  The River of Life is a composition of old and new. It embraces both with equal grace. No one has seen the beginning of the River of Life and no one is likely to see the end, but it is always in a state of flux. The only constant in this flux is change. Change is the sign of life, stagnation is death. Change is in lock-step with time. Time is an inseparable concomitant to the River of Life. Nothing escapes the ravage of time. Every matter is measured in a span of time. When the span comes to an end, the matter decays and dies and is replaced by the new. Compared to Eternity, everything in life seems to be a flash in the pan. What appears fresh and new today will wear out like a garment in no time. What looks old and worn out today will soon come back to life in a new garb. Swaying between old and new the River of Life winds its way to it’s far away destiny, the ever reclusive Eternity.

  The autumn festivals came and went in subdued fashion. The only sparks of light were Saurav and Smita. She learnt to walk with a contagious giggle. Once again, Saurav became the principal cheerleader, encouraging and helping her little sister to walk. He would not let any visitor of the family leave the house without showing how his little sister walked. To see Smita growing up under his adoring eyes was a matter of great pride and immense joy for Saurav. Finally, there was someone of his age group who was ready to play with him. Saurav’s third birthday arrived in close proximity. The two families joined together again to observe the day, enabling Saurav and Smita to rejoice with the abandon of the playful antelopes. Though the celebration was for Saurav, the main attraction was Smita. Her smile, her giggle and her walk, all came under affectionate scrutiny. Saurav enthusiastically supported his sister’s antics and enjoyed the festivities associated with his birthday thoroughly.

  Nevertheless, Rana was getting worried over the next event of the family calendar. Smita’s birthday and her mother Keka’s death anniversary were approaching fast. Rana was in a quandary, rather distressed at the thought as to how to celebrate the birth of Smita and observe the memorial for her mother on two consecutive days. It would be a terrible tragedy he thought if Smita’s birth were to be muddled with the passing of Keka as if she connived with her mother’s death. It did not take long for him to decide on the course of action. On a silent and sleepless night a realization dawned on him that there was no need to observe two separate ceremonies for birth and death. Rather it would be a single and indivisible two-day celebration for life and life only—the River of Life, for Keka sacrificed her life not for nothing. She gave her life to bring in another new life. He heaved a sigh of relief and thanked God for giving him the light.

  Smita’s birthday arrived. The house was already decorated appropriately for the occasion. Mita and Devika adorned a picture of Keka and placed it on an altar prepared for the event. They also dressed up Smita and Saurav in new clothes. The priest came in. He began the proceedings by chanting verses from his religious book for the abiding peace of Keka’s soul, culminating the act by touching her forehead on the photo with duly sanctified sandalwood paste. He then turned to Smita and repeated chanting the same verses for her peace, happiness and long life. Sitting on Mita’s lap, she was surprisingly quiet and mindful of the act of the priest. Finally, the priest repeated the same steps for Saurav for his progress and prosperity. Perhaps the memory of his Mama flashed back in his mind. He quietly asked his dad if his Mama continued to come every night to kiss him and his sister. He became happy as usual with a positive response from his dad. During the proceedings Rana saw Rajani, Mita, Kamala and Devika dabbing their eyes discreetly a few times. After all, there was no solace for the mothers’ minds. Two days passed by in dignified celebration of Keka’s life and that of the two lovely children that she left behind as two precious gifts for Rana.

  In the design of the River of Life, with the scheme of time, the anniversaries keep coming at the precise date and time. Subject to the individual situations, the anniversaries are observed upto a certain period of time. Then the memories gradually start becoming dimmer and the inclination to observe the anniversaries starts wearing thinner. Finally, a stage comes when the memories of the anniversaries are obliterated altogether and the inclination to observe them is reduced to nothing. The anniversaries still keep coming without any trace of the prior existence of the people they are meant for, because people are washed away by the ravage of time. The new anniversaries and their observance begin all over again with the arrival of their offspring. They follow the same pattern as the anniversaries of their predecessors. Like the waves of a river, rising and crashing and melting away without a trace, the waves of humanity emerge from and merge into the River of Life without any vestige of their prior existence. However, nothing keeps the anniversaries from repeating over and over again, for they were set in motion at the beginning of creation to perform to the beat of the River of Life, which still keeps flowing, oblivious of the past, present and future, for its sights are trained unwaveringly to its tryst with Eternity.

  Rana was positive that the anniversaries concerning Rajani, Keka, Saurav and Smita were inscribed in his heart with letters of gold and they would be observed till the time comes for him to step on to that bridge connecting this life and the next. However, he has had no idea what would happen thereafter, for he would leave behind his decayed and worn out body and his memory would be obliterated altogether. When God’s judgment is passed on to him on the disposition of his soul, he would remember them no more.

  KIM WANG

  Soon Rana was invited by his company to attend a management seminar for a week in Taipei. However, there was a little snag. During those days his country did not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Accordingly, his travel plan had to include a stop-over for four days in Hong Kong, where his company would obtain his Taiwanese visa. Therefore, including the travel time he was going to be away from home for twelve days. It would be his first travel abroad. But he was in a quandary if it was appropriate for him to leave his two little children in the care of Rajani alone, considering her age, though the nannies were at her disposal. But Rajani said Rana must proceed on with his travel plan to attend the seminar, for it was related to his work and work was God. She asked Devika to come and help her take care of the children.

  Psychologically, it was not easy for Rana to leave behind his two motherless children. The night before his departure he took Saurav and Smita on his lap and asked Saurav first, “Saurav, my boy, I have to go far away to learn more about my work. Will you be able to stay with your great-grandma?”

  Saurav nodded his head in affirmation, but asked, “Dad, will you take sister with you?”

  Rana replied, “No, my boy, sister will remain with you and you will have to take care of her.”

  Saurav said, “I always take care of her, dad.”

  Rana said, “Saurav, I know you love your sister so much. You are a good boy. But what shall I bring for you?”

  Saurav said, “A toy train, dad.”

  At that point of time Smita was just about one year and six months old. Naturally, she could not express herself all that clearly. When she was asked the same question, she said a lot of things. But Rana did not understand what his little daughter was saying. Then she got down from his lap and brought a doll from their playroom.

  Saurav said, “Dad, please bring her a nice doll,”

  Since that was Rana’s first foreign travel, Kamala, Sumit and Sudip came to wish him well before his departure from home. Devika was already there responding to Rajani’s call. When the departure time came, Rana bowed down to Rajani to bid goodbye to her. She bit her right little finger to shoo away the perceived evil and said, “May your journey be successful.”

  Rana took Smita in his arms and kissed her. She kissed him back and said, “Bye-bye daddy.” She thought daddy was going to work as usual. Rana then took Saurav in his arms and kissed him. He also kissed his daddy back and said, “Bye-bye daddy.” But there was not much enthusiasm in his voice. His face was pale. He knew that daddy was going far away for more than a week. He b
egan understanding the difference.

  Earlier Rana advised his family not to go to the airport with Saurav and Smita because he might be emotional for them and they might be for him too. He said they should rather be around Saurav and Smita at home so that their minds would be busy playing and talking to them and remain unmindful of their daddy. They understood his point. So only the bank chauffeur drove him to the airport. The flight was on time. Departure announcement was heard over the public address system shortly. Passengers began filing toward the boarding gate. His turn came and he stepped out on the tarmac for a short walk to the waiting jet liner. His mind flashed back three years. He saw in his mental screen Keka walking to the airplane at the Bombay airport carrying just born Saurav on her way to Calcutta. Many thoughts crowded his mind. He thought of Rajani and hoped she would survive some more years in good health. His mind then dwelt on Saurav and Smita. He felt lucky that they were growing up under good care; yet a great-grandmother could hardly replace a mother!

  The jetliner became airborne and in about thirty minutes crossed the Indian air space. The first stop was at Bangkok to board a connecting flight to Hong Kong. By the time he reached Bangkok, his emotional upsurge settled down. When he arrived in Hong Kong in the late afternoon, he really began feeling fine. Perhaps it was the dynamics of the place. Everything appeared to be so pervasively vibrant that gloom and doom had no place in Hong Kong. He responded positively to the pulse of the place. There was a four-day layover in Hong Kong to obtain a Taiwanese visa. Next few days were hectic. Visa was obtained through the help of his bank in Hong Kong without much difficulty. As such, there was ample time to go round and see the places and objects of touristic interest. Hong Kong was always known to be a shopper’s paradise. Rana finished most of his shopping in Hong Kong before proceeding to Taipei, not knowing how much time would be available for shopping there in the midst of the seminar.

  A representative of the Bank received him at the Taipei Airport. Like most of the public relations people he was very smart and affable. So the long drive to the hotel in his company was quite enjoyable. Rana reached his hotel in Taipei by four in the afternoon and had clear twenty-four hours before the commencement of the seminar. He always preferred it that way and avoided doing things at the last minute. There was nothing much to do immediately on his arrival except to settle down in his room quickly. He took the opportunity to go through the list of restaurants and other facilities available in the hotel. He was hungry. It was long since he ate his lunch on board the flight just after noontime. So he decided to take an early dinner that night at the roof-top restaurant of the hotel.

  At about six thirty in the evening he took the elevator to go up to the restaurant at the penthouse level. The restaurant was on one side of the floor and the bar on the other. Perhaps because it was too early for dinner, the hostess was not at her desk outside. He waited a few seconds and then looked at the bar. The hostess was talking to the bartender. Rana was taken by surprise to see her from behind. He thought she was Keka! The bartender drew her attention to Rana’s presence outside and she came running. He stood there in a state of shock, seeing her both from the back as well as the front under the dim light of the bar. Her resemblance with Keka was so uncanny that he was absolutely dumbfounded. Not only that her face resembled Keka’s, but also her size, her gait, her smile and her gestures were shockingly similar. Seen from the proximity the only difference that could be observed was her eyes. Like the people in general in the Far East her eyes were slitty, but her slits were so slight that it did not make any difference to her likeness with Keka. Whatever might be the reason for that striking resemblance, Rana was speechless. The only thought that streaked through his mind was, “How is it possible?”

  The hostess greeted a stupefied Rana, “Good evening sir; are you here for dinner or drinks?”

  Rana was looking at her so intently that he did not even hear what she said. He was virtually not in his senses. She then repeated her question. Little embarrassed this time he responded hurriedly, “Good evening, I am here primarily for dinner.” He added apologetically, “Sorry, I was little lost in my thoughts.”

  Smiling understandably to Rana’s embarrassment, she said, “Never mind, Sir. But the restaurant opens at seven. Would you like to take a drink in the meantime?”

  Rana responded, “Sounds like a good idea.”

  She said, “Please come with me.” On entering the bar she asked, “Would you like to sit at a window table or the counter would be comfortable for you?”

  Rana looked around and saw the beautiful view outside. He replied, “Let me enjoy the impressive view from the window.”

  While leading him to the window table she asked inquisitively, “Sir, if you don’t mind, can I ask you a question?”

  He responded, “Sure you can, Mme.”

  She said, “You seemed to be surprised to see me. Did you see something strange in me?”

  Rana laughed visibly embarrassingly and said, “You might not believe it, but you resemble my deceased wife so much that I was awe-struck.”

  She said, “That’s interesting! May I know where you are from?”

  Rana asked, “What’s your good guess?”

  She said, “May be Singapore, Malayasia or Hong Kong.”

  He said, “No, not exactly; I am actually from India.”

  She said, “It almost came to my mind, but we hardly see any Indians right from India due to the absence of diplomatic ties between the two countries. However, many people of Indian origin visit us from the neighboring countries I mentioned.”

  He said, “You are absolutely right. I had to obtain my visa from Hong Kong.”

  She asked, “Are you on a personal visit or a business trip?”

  Rana said, “I am with American Inter-Continental Bank. I am here to attend a seminar hosted by our Regional Office in Taipei.”

  She said, “Oh yes, I believe this seminar has been going on for last several weeks and will continue few weeks more. So you will be here for about a week.”

  Rana said, “Yes, you are right.”

  She said, “It’s a pleasure talking to you, sir. My name is Kimberly Wang. I am known here as Kim. May I know your name and the room number please?”

  He gave his business card to her and wrote the room number on it.

  Drinks menu was on the table. Kim said, “Mr. Roy, you choose your drink and I will be with you in a minute.”

  Rana said, “Don’t worry Kim; I know the drink I want.”

  Kim said, “Then I am ready to take down your order, Mr. Roy.”

  Rana responded, “Please give me a punch of campari and sweet vermouth.”

  Kim said, “It would be served soon, Mr. Roy. Please enjoy your drink. As soon as the restaurant opens I will come and take you there.”

  Rana said, “Thank you, Kim. See you in a little while.”

  As she walked toward her desk, he settled down in his seat comfortably. Drink was served. While sipping his drink, he continued to wonder, “Is this a miracle? How is this mysterious likeness possible at such a far off place?”

  At the stroke of seven Kim came back and said, “Mr. Roy, the restaurant is open now; do you want to move there right away?”

  Rana responded, “Yes Kim, I am little hungry.”

  As a consummate professional she said, “Let me carry your drink to the other side.”

  He said, “Many thanks for your courtesy. However, I don’t let ladies carry my drinks.”

  Kim smiled and said, “It seems you are exceptional. Other men do like it.”

  Rana smiled and said, “Kim, I am not ‘other men.’”

  Still smiling, Kim said, “I can see that.”

  While walking across the floor, she said, “Mr. Roy, you have made me really curious. Do you have a picture of your deceased wife on you?”

  He answered, “Yes,” and as they walked to his reserved seat by the window he took out Keka’s photo from his wallet and gave it to her.

  With
a surprised look at her face, she exclaimed, “Wow! It’s unbelievable! I don’t blame the way you reacted when you saw me first! I cannot but agree totally that the resemblance is simply mindboggling!”

  Getting back to reality she asked, “When did she pass away?”

  He answered, “About a year and a half.”

  Kim was not in a hurry. It was still early for dinner and there were no other customers yet. So she asked again, “Do you have any children?”

  Rana responded, “Yes, I have a boy and a girl.”

  She asked again, “Do you have their pictures also with you?”

  He said, “Yes,” and gave her the pictures of Saurav and Smita too.

  She said, “They are so adorable!”

  He answered, “Yes, they are. They are also my constant inspiration.”

  Two patrons just walked in. Kim said, “I got to go, but we will have opportunity to talk again during the course of the evening. The waiter will be with you in a minute. Enjoy your dinner and please don’t hesitate to call me if you need my help for anything.”

  Rana said, “Kim, thank you for your wonderful hospitality.”

  In a few minutes, Rana was intrigued to see the Chef coming behind the waiter. He introduced himself as Chef Lee and said, “Sir, this is a service to good patrons like you. I have come to help you choose your dishes.”

  He thanked the Chef for his courtesy, but thought it was really the extra-ordinary clout of the Hostess who was in amazing likeness with his deceased wife. Anyway, the Chef helped him choose a few dishes that he had never tried before. Suddenly, the evening got busier. Droves of guests kept coming in. The restaurant appeared to be one of the hot spots in the town on week-ends and was well-known for its cuisine.