House of Cards: A Novel Read online

  ‘Oh, when she will be back?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Come on, Dad! Amma can’t be angry for ever. It isn’t her nature. She’ll be back soon. Don’t get upset.’

  ‘Sishir, she’s taken a transfer there.’

  ‘Then it must be serious. You always neglect her and take her for granted. At least, try and get her back. If you really try, you’ll succeed.’

  ‘So, Sishir, how’s work?’

  ‘Work’s okay, but I miss home and Amma. When I was there, I never realized how important she is. When I see women here, I realize Amma’s selfless sacrifice. She’s great like you too, but in a different way. Dad, without her help, you would’ve never built such a big empire. She has been and is your strength. When I was there, I laughed at her advice, but today, I follow everything she used to say, including going to bed early and getting up early. Dad, home is not just made of four walls and luxury items. Home is home because of a father and a mother. Cheer up, Dad. Amma must be finding it hard to live without you too. Don’t wait for her to call you. You should make the first move. But I’ll try and talk to her too.’

  Sanjay was surprised. Their son, who had always hero-worshipped him, had changed after being away from home. He was seeing life in a different light.

  The next day, Sanjay kept waiting for Mridula’s call. He picked up all his phone calls eagerly but none of them were from her. She did not call. His ego did not allow him to phone her either.

  Days went by. Sanjay was slowly losing interest in everything he did. Within a few weeks, he had lost interest in his nursing home too.

  Sishir called him every day to check up on him.

  29

  Hope

  Two months passed by.

  Mridula was sitting on the swing under the big banyan tree opposite the Hanuman temple. It was Ugadi time, in the month of February or March. Summer had just arrived. The mango trees sported soft reddish-green leaves and the cuckoos were making lovely coo-coo sounds. Everyone in the village was busy preparing for the festival. Yet, there was a pin-drop silence near the temple.

  But for Mridula, nothing mattered. She was swinging without any bondage and with a free mind. From the swing, she could see her house. She was happy.

  Mridula was not like everybody, she was different. She had enormous enthusiasm for life and unlimited energy. She wanted to spend every minute of the day fruitfully. It seemed that the sun rose for her and the rainbow colours were meant only for her. Every day was to be lived to its fullest and every beautiful minute to be enjoyed.

  Suddenly, Mridula felt that someone was trying to stop the swing. Surprised, she turned to look.

  Sanjay was holding the swing, with his one good arm.

  Acknowledgements

  I want to thank my editor, Shrutkeerti Khurana, for her incredible dedication that has inspired me to write this book.

  I also want to thank Udayan Mitra of Penguin Books India for encouraging and persuading me to bring the book out.

  THE BEGINNING

  Let the conversation begin...

  Follow the Penguin [email protected]

  Keep up-to-date with all our stories YouTube.com/PenguinIndia

  Like ‘Penguin Books’ on Facebook.com/PenguinIndia

  Find out more about the author and

  discover more stories like this at penguinbooksindia.com

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)

  Penguin Group (Australia), 707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, Block D, Rosebank Office Park, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  First published by Penguin Books India 2013

  www.penguinbooksindia.com

  Copyright © Sudha Murty 2013

  Cover photograph by Rahul Lal

  Cover design by Pallavi Agarwala

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual person, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved

  ISBN: 978-0-143-42036-1

  This digital edition published in 2013.

  e-ISBN: 978-9-351-18177-4