Gently Falls the Bakula Read online

  But he realized that Shrimati was an exceptional woman. She cared so much for her husband and respected his work that she never created any problem that would affect his career. He thought she was like the lady who carries a torch and removes all the obstacles on the road to success for her husband.

  Shrikant had taken her for granted. He had a rare diamond in his hand but he was searching for a worthless glass of achievement.

  TWENTY

  Dear Shrimati,

  Sorry for not having replied to your earlier letter. As usual I was in some part of the globe doing some work. I received your New Year card, and though late, Dorothy and I thank you very much. Our warm regards to you and Shrikant.

  Shrimati, a long time ago you had talked about the historical and architectural monuments of your country. You may not remember it but I do. You had told me that one requires at least six months to take a tour of your country. Right now, I have three months’ time and I have decided to visit India. My heart yearns to see the places that you had described.

  It would be a great pleasure if you could accompany me on my travels, but if you have any work, then can you please arrange my itinerary and accommodation? I am coming to Bombay directly.

  I will wait for your reply.

  Yours affectionately,

  Mike Collins

  Shrimati was delighted to receive this letter. Probably he was the only foreign guest whose company she enjoyed. Most of the guests she had to entertain were Shrikant’s business associates who looked at India from a very different angle.

  For them, India meant cheap software. Their itinerary was to sunbathe in Goa, see the Taj Mahal, buy tonnes of silver jewellery, stay at The Oberoi—that’s all. They didn’t really understand what India meant nor were they interested in knowing.

  Shrimati disliked people like that, but it didn’t bother Shrikant very much. When they were invited for dinner, the handsome Shrikant would smile charmingly and say, ‘Oh it was a great pleasure meeting you today’ or ‘You have made my day’. Shrimati would feel like walking out of the dinner party but she was aware that as Mrs Shrikant Deshpande, the wife of the company’s director, her presence was important.

  Since Shrikant was going to be out of the country, Shrimati was happy that she could join Professor Collins on his trip. Suddenly she felt she had grown wings. Her spirits soared and she felt like singing with the koel in springtime. Enthusiastically she made all the travel plans and waited for Professor Collins’s arrival.

  She went to the airport to receive Professor Collins personally. She was meeting him after five years. He looked a little older but was as energetic as ever. The pursuit of knowledge had kept him young.

  Shrimati had planned for their journey to start at Delhi and end in Bombay. Their first destination was Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar’s capital city. When they visited the fort there, Shrimati described to Professor Collins several significant historical events that had taken place at that fort.

  ‘Sir, don’t you feel that there is a difference between the Agra Fort and this small fort? It seems the Mughals shifted their capital from here to Agra due to shortage of water. When Akbar the Great did not have a male child, he prayed to the Sufi saint Salim Chishti for a son. He did get a son and out of gratitude, named him Salim. Even today, people come and pray at the tomb for their wishes to be fulfilled. They make a knot with a piece of thread and tie it on the window grille and when the wish is fulfilled, they come back and untie the knot. This saint’s tomb is here, in the fort.’

  From Agra they went to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. She explained the importance of this city to the professor.

  ‘Sir, Ujjain is a place with a very rich history. If one knows and loves Sanskrit, one cannot miss reading about Ujjain. It appears in all of Kalidasa’s plays. Kalidasa was a great Sanskrit scholar who belonged to Ujjain. Once upon a time this place was called Avantika. Goddess Avanti was the presiding deity of this area. This is also a place where the romance between Princess Vasavadatta and Udayana bloomed. In his younger days, Emperor Ashoka was the governor of this land. It seems his beautiful wife Vidisha was from the neighbouring town. His famous children Sanghamitra and Mahendra were born here. This place is extremely important for Hindus. The Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga’s shrine in Ujjain is one of the famous jyotirlingas of India. The myths say that there was a mysterious aura of light around the linga . . .’

  Professor Collins interrupted her, ‘Shrimati, is Ujjain not a strange name?’

  ‘Yes, Sir. Some historians believe Utkarsha Jaya, that is, “the great victory” was the root name for Ujjain. Others believe it was Udatta Jain.’

  From there they went to Mandu. There Shrimati related to Professor Collins the famous legend of Raja Baj Bahadur and Rani Roopmati. Their story is one of the greatest romances of Indian literature. Mandu also has beautiful palaces named after Hindustani ragas, she told him.

  As they went along Shrimati explained everything from two perspectives, one from the local folk tales and the other from important historical events.

  By the time they finished the north India tour, almost two months had passed. Meanwhile, Shrikant had returned to India and wanted Shrimati to come back home. He had some important guests and Shrimati was required to receive them, and be the hostess since they were important clients.

  Shrimati was disappointed. She arranged for a proper guide and made sure all the arrangements for the remaining one month were in place so that Professor Collins would have no difficulties before he returned to Bombay.

  When he came back to Bombay after an exhausting and exhaustive tour, Professor Collins was a little tired physically, but mentally felt fully charged. He declared that though he was seventy years old he was still young at heart.

  Professor Collins had made extensive notes during his travels. He had some ideas about what he would do with them.

  Shrimati had gone through all his notes and some of them she had appreciated and some others she had criticized. She was very happy about his visit but now she was sad that he was leaving. She would go back to being lonely once again.

  Professor Collins was to leave for Karachi the next day but since Shrikant was in Bangkok, they were unable to meet.

  After supper, Professor Collins and Shrimati sat in the balcony, watching the sea. Today, the sea did not soothe Shrimati. Professor Collins broke the silence.

  ‘Shrimati, what are you thinking of?’

  ‘My loneliness. Sometimes it is very depressing.’

  ‘Shrimati, may I give you some advice? Hope you will not mind. One should have the basic happiness within oneself. That happiness comes from confidence, and confidence comes from the kind of work one does whole-heartedly.

  ‘I have noticed that you have not lost your love for history. I have been observing you ever since I have known you. I remember how you described Badami and Sravanabelagola and Ajanta and Ellora many years ago. How you approached the monuments and places of historical significance on this trip was also commendable. You have become more mature. You are no longer as emotional about history, you have developed a critical and analytical approach.

  ‘I had thought that marriage, this kind of wealth, family responsibilities would have made you dull, lazy and arrogant. But you are still very sensible, your attitude to life has not changed. If anything, your thoughts seem to go deeper and have become clearer.

  ‘Shrimati, if you want to do a Ph.D even now, you can do it. Age is not a bar. I will get you a scholarship. A person like you can always pick up the threads.

  ‘But the decision has to be yours, your personal choice. I only wanted to tell you to think it over.’

  Professor Collins paused and looked at her face. There was sadness and there was immeasurable helplessness.

  He continued, ‘In life, everyone is not blessed with intelligence. People who have intelligence do not use it properly. I am surprised to see that you are leading such a fruitless life. If you hold water in your hand it trickles away. Your intelligence t