Destiny

31. Anand Gets To Know Things About Anupama

Anand was going to his father-in-law’s house for the first time. But instead of feeling happy, he was consumed with shame and guilt. He had known that
Satish was a teacher who lived in a small village, but he had never thought
of visiting him there.
At first he had thoug
ht of writing to Satish to gauge his reaction, before
going to the village to bring back Anupama. But since he did not want to delay matters any further, he decided to go in person to apologize to Anupama. He was well aware that she might not forgive him immediately, but he was determined to persuade her to return home with him.

Lost in thought, he steered his car along the mud track that led to the village.
As soon as it came to a halt in front of the school, the village schoolchildren
promptly reported his arrival to the headmaster.

The headmaster was perplexed. Even the education inspector always came on
a scooter, and that too once a year after giving him prior intimation. Besides, he
had visited the school recently, and his inspection was over and done with.
Then who is this new visitor and what is he doing here? wondered the headmaster.

He looked curiously at the wealthy-looking, slightly grey-haired
man who stood before him.

In a low tone Anand said, ‘I aant to meet Satish Master.’ He looked very
uncomfortable in the squalid surroundings. All the children were peeping at him through the window.

The headmaster politely dusted a chair with his bare hands and asked him to
sit down. He said, ‘I joined only recently. There is no Satish Master here. He
was probably transferred somewhere.’

Just then one of his colleagues who happened to come in said, ‘Satish
Master got transferred to some other village long ago.’

Anand was in such a hurry that he even forgot to thank them before he left. It
would probably mean another three-hour drive, but he was impatient to meet Anupama that day itself.

He wondered what Anupama’s reaction would be when she saw him after so many years. Would she be angry or surprised, or maybe even happy? After all, her husband had returned for her.

When he neared the village school, his heart began to thump in anticipation.
He was aware that the reality could turn out to be very different from what he
had imagined. When he reached his destination he hesitated, wondering what his father-in-law would say.

Would he look at him with contempt and call him a coward? He contemplated going back, but only for a moment.
To err is human, to forgive divine, but have I erred beyond the point of
forgiveness? I will plead with Anupama to forgive me. After all, we are all
human and this is part of life.

He got out of his car and went to the school office. This was a bigger school
than the one he had visited earlier. There was no one in the office room other
than the clerk who was busy writing something.

Anand asked him politely, ‘Could I meet Satish Master? Where is his
house?’

The clerk looked at him strangely and replied, ‘You can’t meet him.’

‘Please tell him Anand is here. I am sure he will come.’

‘How are you related to him?’ The clerk’s inquisitive eyes bored into him.

‘I am his son-in-law.’

‘Strange. Don’t you know anything about your own family?’

Anand was becoming impatient with the clerk. ‘Please tell me where he is. I
am in a hurry.’

‘He died a few years back.’

Anand was shocked. The news was totally unexpected, but he had come to
meet Anupama and that was more important at that time.

‘What about his family?’

‘I don’t know anything much about them,’ the clerk replied indifferently. ‘His wife had come here once to sign some papers and take the arrears of pay. It
seems she stays with her brother somewhere near Miraj.’

So Anupama was in Miraj with her stepmother and sisters, Anand thought to himself.

‘Do you know where his daughter Anupama is?’

The clerk looked up from his work. He felt he had stumbled on something that
promised to add spice to his humdrum life—a husband who didn’t even know
the whereabouts of his wife!

‘So you’re here to enquire about your wife?’

‘Yes.’ The rich and well-known Dr Anand was being humiliated by a petty
clerk. But Anand knew that he would not get any information about Anupama
from the clerk if he did not keep his temper in check.

‘Satish Master never mixed with the others, so I really don’t know much
about him. And he wasn’t here long in this school, but I think I can help you.
Rao Master was slightly acquainted with him. I can call him, but he might not know the details either.’

Feeling self-important, the clerk went in search of Rao Master. Anand sank
into a rickety chair and waited. He was mortified by the fact that he had been
forced to find out about his wife from a stranger.

Rao Master came into the office room and looked at him sympathetically,
‘Satish was a very troubled man. He would never talk about his family, and
if we did, his eyes would fill with tears. So we rarely talked about personal
things. There was a rumour that his daughter’s in-laws sent her back because she got some disease. Some say she’s left home and gone to a different place and
others believe she committed suicide. Something tragic must have happened to her.’

Heartbroken, Anand left the school in a daze. He did not know where Anupama was, or even whether she was alive or dead. No one seemed to know what had happened to her. But one thing was evident. He had deserted her when
she needed him the most and that made him morally responsible for whatever
tragedy had befallen her. If only he had not obeyed his mother’s wishes blindly,
had given his marriage and Anupama a chance instead of brooding over her
disease, he might have had a family of his own. But he had thrown it all away in the pursuit of beauty. Guilt engulfed Anand and his eyes brimmed with tears.

There was no salvation for the sin he had committed. He would never have peace of mind for as long as he lived.
Anand’s repentance was sincere, but it was like the coming of the rains after
the grass had dried.