The Mother I Never Knew Read online

  SUDHA MURTY

  The Mother I Never Knew

  Two Novels

  Contents

  About the Author

  Also by the same author

  Dedication

  Venkatesh

  Unexpected News

  A Difference of Opinion

  A New City

  A Case of Mistaken Identity

  The Meeting

  Revelation

  A New Life

  Uncovering the Past

  Seeking the Truth

  A Meeting with the Past

  A Father’s Debt

  Mukesh

  The Fall

  Phone Calls

  The Outsider

  The Shattering Secret

  For a Better Life

  A Son’s Right

  Be Careful What You Wish For

  The Innocence of Love

  A Journey Continued

  The Final Stop

  What Matters in the End

  Acknowledgements

  Follow Penguin

  Copyright

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  THE MOTHER I NEVER KNEW

  Sudha Murty was born in 1950 in Shiggaon in north Karnataka. She did her MTech in computer science, and is now the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. A prolific writer in English and Kannada, she has written novels, technical books, travelogues, collections of short stories and non-fictional pieces, and four books for children. Her books have been translated into all the major Indian languages.

  Sudha Murty was the recipient of the R.K. Narayan Award for Literature and the Padma Shri in 2006, and the Attimabbe Award from the government of Karnataka for excellence in Kannada literature in 2011.

  Also by the same author

  FICTION

  Dollar Bahu

  Mahashweta

  Gently Falls the Bakula

  House of Cards

  NON-FICTION

  Wise and Otherwise

  The Old Man and His God

  The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk

  CHILDREN’S FICTION

  How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and Other Stories

  The Magic Drum and Other Favourite Stories

  The Bird with Golden Wings: Stories of Wit and Magic

  Grandma’s Bag of Stories

  To my friend Lakshmi

  for always giving me the right perspective through our

  decade-long friendship

  Venkatesh

  1

  Unexpected News

  Venkatesh was terribly upset when he found out that he had been transferred to Hubli. He didn’t know what he was going to do about it. Absent-mindedly, he started driving towards his house in Jayanagar.

  He had known that his transfer was due at the bank, and he would not have minded going to a place nearby like Kanakapura, Kolar or Mysore. But Hubli? It seemed so unfamiliar and distant. The end of summer was pleasantly warm in Bangalore. Who knew how it was in Hubli?

  ‘Maybe I should listen to my colleagues,’ he thought. Venkatesh knew that he did not really need a job. His family was healthy and financially sound. His co-workers often remarked that had they been in his shoes, they would have opted for voluntary retirement, but Venkatesh did not like to be idle. His wife, Shanta, ran the house very efficiently and handled the family finances better than an investment banker. So there was nothing for him to do at home either. He was just ‘Madam’s husband’ to the household help who knew that he had no say in any matter.

  When he reached home, Shanta was on her way out. He guessed from the fancy clothes that she had a programme at the Ladies’ Club. She was proud to be president there. Besides that, she was a member of the college committee and vice president of the school committee while being an active investor in the stock market. She was scarcely at home, and when she was, she was permanently on the phone or the laptop.

  Their daughter, Gauri, would often chide her mother, ‘Amma, please take your business outside. Your unending telephone calls disturb my study time.’

  It always made Shanta angry.

  When Venkatesh saw his wife today, he noticed that she had coloured her hair, got a facial and applied make-up. Yet, the lines of age showed distinctly on her face and hands. She was an unabashed show-off and was particularly conscious of her appearance; she was wearing a new white sari with diamond earrings, along with diamond bangles and a diamond necklace. It must be a special occasion to call forth the services of so many diamonds at once, he thought.

  Shanta’s sharp voice cut through his thoughts, ‘I have to see Appa on my way back from the event. Amma isn’t feeling very well either. So I’m going to be late. Don’t wait for me at dinner.’

  She left without waiting for a reply.

  Shanta’s parents lived nearby in Jayanagar. Though she had asked them to come and live with her, they had not agreed and were adamant about staying at their own place. Her mother had said, ‘It is not proper to stay with the son-in-law. If we continue staying in our house, we can keep a distance and be close to you at the same time.’

  Shanta had relented but visited them at least once every day despite her busy schedule.

  Venkatesh lay down on the sofa. When Gauri came downstairs a few minutes later, she found him deep in thought. She was immediately concerned, ‘What’s wrong, Anna? Are you feeling unwell?’

  He looked at his daughter. Gauri was tall, thin, dusky and attractive. She was a quiet and intelligent girl and Venkatesh loved her with all his heart. ‘Gauri, I have been transferred to Hubli,’ he said, his voice full of despair.

  ‘So what? Why are you upset? Hubli is not far. If you leave at night, you’ll be there by morning. Cheer up, Anna, cheer up.’ Gauri was an eternal optimist; she could make anyone feel better.

  ‘You don’t understand. I may have to set up house there. The place is new to me and I don’t know when I’ll be transferred back here . . .’

  ‘Anna, there are two solutions to your problem,’ Gauri interrupted. ‘You can ask Amma to use her connections and get the transfer cancelled; or you can go there, stay for a year and try to come back after that.’

  Venkatesh did not want to cancel the transfer through unofficial channels. Besides, he knew what his business-minded wife would say: ‘Why do you work for such a meagre salary? My manager is paid more than you. Ask for voluntary retirement and relax at home.’

  Shanta spoke little, and was always to the point. Sometimes it seemed that she was devoid of all feeling. Her lack of emotion may have been of great help in her business, but how could anyone live life like that?

  Venkatesh was feeling hot and decided to shower for the second time in the day. His house was fully equipped with modern amenities—thanks to Shanta and their older child, Ravi. Though Ravi had been young during the construction of the house, he had sat down and discussed everything with his mother.

  Ravi was now in America. He had foreseen the business possibilities in computers and majored in computer science. After his engineering studies, he had immediately found a software job and the company had sent him to the USA. He called his mother often to talk to her. ‘Times have changed, Amma. Who wants to stay in America permanently? I’ll work here for two years and then I’ll start my own company in India,’ he would say.

  ‘Yes, you must. Don’t be foolish like your father and accept an inconsequential job offer and stick to it. Fortune doesn’t tap on everyone’s door, you know. Only the courageous and aggressive win Lakshmi over,’ Shanta would advise her son.

  While showering, Venkatesh hea