The Mother I Never Knew Read online

  He wanted to call her and tell her everything. When he phoned her some time later, she asked him how things were going and advised him, ‘You’re the favourite child of the house. So you must take care of your mother and sister. Don’t worry about me. I am managing very well here. Come back after things are settled there.’

  ‘What mother? What sister?’ he wanted to say. They did not mean anything to him today, but he could not explain all this to her over the phone. He said goodbye and disconnected the call.

  A few days later, it was time for the eleventh-day ceremony. Mukesh was still disturbed by his newly revealed past. He did not know what he was going to do about it. The family pandit came for the rituals and said, ‘Munna, get ready. We need to complete the rituals on time because I have two other appointments today.’

  Satish ignored Mukesh and went to Sumati, who was standing next to her son. He asked her, ‘Tell me, Amma, what rituals should I do?’

  Satish was sending a clear message to Mukesh—he did not belong to this family. So what right did he have to do anything for Rao Saheb? Mukesh felt terrible. He wanted to perform his father’s rites, not because of the inheritance, but because he still felt like his parents’ son, even though the attachment was not biological. He cursed the moment when Neeraja had found the picture. Had that picture remained locked away, life would have gone on as usual.

  Mukesh told Sumati firmly, ‘Amma, I don’t want any money from Appa or you. At least, I know where I come from now. Akka and you can keep my share of the inheritance, but I want to perform Appa’s final rituals. It is my right and I will do it for Appa.’

  His mother smiled, ‘Who said that you aren’t going to perform them? Come, sit down. Let’s start the ceremony.’

  7

  Be Careful What YouWish For

  After the rituals were completed, the pandit left and the house became quiet.

  Two days passed and things remained at a standstill. Sumati wanted Mukesh to move back to India and take charge of the property and the business. She did not trust Satish completely. But she also knew that her son’s heart was in the arts and history and he may not be able to handle a business. ‘Maybe he can appoint somebody else,’ she thought. But she was unable to talk to Mukesh about it because she knew that he was still reeling from the shock of finding out that he was adopted.

  However, her son’s thoughts were elsewhere. He planned to give his inheritance to Sumati and go back to London. She could decide what she wanted to do with it. It may be a little difficult for him to live with his limited salary, he thought, but he had been given a good education and that asset was the greatest of them all.

  But before returning to London, he wanted to find his biological mother. He was angry. Why had she abandoned him? The question troubled him over and over. Yes, it was very important for him to meet Rupinder. He started packing for Amritsar.

  Sumati entered his bedroom and saw that he was planning to leave. Tears glistened in her eyes, ‘Beta, where are you going? Don’t listen to anyone. Satish doesn’t know anything. We have built this company with love and hard work, and we did our best for Neeru and you even when there was no money. We love both of you. Appa’s will should be executed the way it is written. I am in agreement with his decision.’

  ‘That’s not what I care about, Amma. You are important to me but, right now, I must go to Amritsar and find Rupinder. I want to meet her.’

  Sumati was silent for a few minutes. Then she cried out, ‘Do you mean to say that you want to go to your real mother? Are you abandoning me, Munna?’

  ‘No, Amma, I’m not. I am just curious about her. Isn’t it natural? I promise you that I’ll meet her only once.’

  Sumati did not reply.

  ‘I need her address, Amma.’

  ‘I haven’t had any contact with her over the years but I remember what she had told me. Her family had opened a corner grocery store in a large chowk near the Mata temple. Her husband’s name was Surinder and his brother was Parminder.’ With a shaky voice she added, ‘Rupinder kept you for nine months inside of her. I know that I haven’t done that, but I love you as much as she did. She’s a fine lady, Munna. Don’t get upset with her. She was simply a victim of her unfortunate circumstances. I hope you will forgive her.’

  ‘I will,’ said Mukesh.

  Early next morning, he flew to Amritsar via Delhi. For the first time since he could remember, he was travelling in economy class. He’d always thought of Delhi as India’s capital but now it carried much more significance for him. It was the place where his father had started his business.

  It was Mukesh’s first visit to Amritsar and he checked in at a reasonably priced hotel. Usually, his father’s office took care of his itinerary but he wanted to take care of things on his own this time. Just before noon, he went to the Golden Temple and prayed there, ‘Please Wahe Guru, let me find peace during my journey here.’

  It was the beginning of summer and the weather was nice, but Mukesh did not even notice. He was wondering where he should start his search. Decades had passed since Sumati and Rupinder had parted. He took an autorickshaw and got off near the Mata Lal Devi temple. After he had walked around for a few minutes, he saw a chowk with a liquor shop at one corner, but there was no grocery store in sight. He entered the shop and found a middle-aged man sitting inside. As soon as he entered, the man stood up and asked, ‘What do you want—rum, gin, whisky or beer?’

  ‘No, I don’t want anything. I don’t eat meat or drink alcohol.’ He added, ‘Actually, I need information. Two brothers, Parminder and Surinder from Jalna, Maharashtra, opened a grocery store around this area. Have you heard of them? Or are they the owners of this shop?’

  ‘No, beta, the owner of this shop is Harpreet Singh—a young, intelligent, college-educated sardar from Delhi. I’m the store manager here. If you really want more details about this area, I have an uncle who lives nearby. He’s been here forever. I can phone him and you can go and talk to him, or I can ask him to come here.’

  ‘No, please don’t inconvenience him. I will go to his house.’

  The man shouted out to his errand boy and said, ‘Take Babuji to Uncle’s house and tell him that I have sent this young man.’

  Mukesh followed the boy to a house five lanes away. An old sardar was sitting on a green charpoy in the veranda and watching a serial on television. As soon as the errand boy told the old man about the unexpected guest, the sardar called out to his daughter-in-law, ‘Bring us something to eat.’

  Mukesh was polite, ‘Thank you, Sir, but I’ve had my breakfast already.’

  ‘You have come to a sardar’s home. How can you leave without eating anything? It’ll be a disgrace on us.’

  ‘Okay, Sir.’ Mukesh sat down on a chair near the charpoy and asked him, ‘Sir, may I ask how long you’ve lived around here?’

  ‘Fifty-one years,’ he said proudly.

  ‘Have you ever heard of two brothers, Surinder and Parminder, who came from Jalna, Maharashtra? They ran a grocery store here.’

  ‘Yes, I remember them, but for all the wrong reasons. Both of them frequently drank and fought among with each other. That’s why they lost their shop within a few years. The location of the store was so excellent that anyone with half a brain would have made tons of money, but these two buddhu and short-tempered men ruined their livelihood themselves.’

  ‘What happened to their family?’ Mukesh asked.

  ‘First, their old mother died of a heart attack right after the shop was sold. Then Surinder died of cirrhosis, and Parminder and his wife decided to settle down in the wife’s village somewhere.’

  ‘What about Surinder? Did he have a family of his own?’ Mukesh only wanted to know about Rupinder.

  ‘Yes, yes, he had a wife. But what was her name?’ The old man paused, ‘Well, I can’t recollect right now. Let me ask my wife. She was one of her good fr