The Ruined Rainbow

CHAPTER 35

Quote:  Ishq ... Joh toofani dariya se bagavat se lad Jaye  Woh Ishq ...  baare darbar main Joh Duniya se lad Jaye Woh Ishq ... Joh Mehboob ko dekhe to Khuda ko bhool Jaye Woh Ishq

Love ... that battles stormy waters is love ... that fights against the world in front of everyone is love ... that forgets God when it sees their beloved is love

-- Bajirao Mastani (2015)

Ayesha

I was drinking lemonade, Cool lemonade as I watched Vinay Chacha barely closing his mouth and he was slightly breathless every time he would speak for continuously five minutes, take a break for 10 seconds, and then start again.  I noticed in amusement that he had not taken one sip of lemonade, whereas I was struggling to get the last few drops by the straw of my second glass of lemonade. Not moving my mouth once from the glass, I listened to Vinay Chacha's patient rambling about the company.  He had not changed one bit. He looked older though, with the long white beard and scattered hairs.

My mind went to the events of today morning. Once I ended up the call, the third bell had rung, indicating that I had to step inside the class now.

Vinay Chacha was one of the most loyal workers of my father who worked in the company. I had met him a few times, whenever my father used to take me to the company once in a few days.

Many times, Vinay chacha had come over to our house, to meet my father and discuss about the company affairs. But before he would do that, he would lift me by his hands and swing me around and place me down after I squealed with happiness. I knew him from when I was four, and I had always called him 'chacha' with affection.

The death of Aman Mehra and the take over by Satish Mehra had been an alarming phase in Vinay Chacha's life. Once Satish took charge, the first thing he had done was to isolate Vinay and keep a close eye on him because he knew the closeness between him and his brother. Though Vinay worked for my father, the relationship between them was much more close. My father treated Vinay with great respect and love as if he were his brother.

With Satish in-charge, Chacha was taken away from the Senior Assistant post and given the status of a mere employee. Everyone laughed at him, but not once did he think about leaving the company.

Chacha had watched in pain, the way the company was heading. Making illegal profits and other dirty business, the company had turned 'sinful'. The purity had been lost. He knew that he was fighting for a lost cause. He knew that Satish would never agree to him. Satish had always humiliated him in front of others, but the one reason he had never rebelled or left the company was a thing I could never understand. Surely, no one could face such humiliation and still readily work in the place.

After I had left Mumbai and come to Delhi, around a month later, I received a call from Vinay Chacha, who told me that the company is in bad condition, and that is when I guiltily remembered the mess.

Satish had a sentence to serve, and obviously, he wasn't going back to the company.  Even if he wanted also, he couldn't have. And after my father's death, not once did I think about the company.