It was a bright sunny day

It was a bright sunny day. Yogesh, a retired bank officer, sitting in the reclining chair and glancing through the news paper was enjoying his morning tea. Sneha, the little cute grand daughter was running round her grand mother, Ammatha. For this tiny tot, the grand old lady was a great friend. Ammatha has already helped her daughter in law, Sumitra in cutting vegetables for the morning lunch. She also helped her in getting the lunch ready.

Sumitra, was fully engaged in attending to the chores of her husband, Prasanth who was in great hurry to leave for his office. With his tie on his neck, he was having his breakfast. He glanced at his watch. It was nearing eight.

“Oh! Ho! I will be late for the meeting, Sumi. By the by, I do not want my lunch box as I would be joining a visiting team in the office for lunch. So, sorry!”, he pleaded. The lunch box was already kept ready for him. Sumitra was visibly upset by the sudden change of plan of her husband. She made her annoyance clear and loud by taking away the tiffin box from the dining table.

She was also in a hurry. With the clock ticking nine, she was trying to put her plait in order simultaneously adjusting her pallu. She finished her morning meal- a brunch- and stuffed the lunch in her box. She gave her final instructions to her mother in law as to what remained to be done, the needs of Sneha, coffee for the servant maid who will be coming around noon etc., etc.

Saying bye to her daughter, she swung the door open and flew like a bird flying out of its cage. She should catch her 9:17 train from Santacruz to reach her office at Churchgate at 10:00 in the morning.
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The summer heat was visible in getting hot air blown from the ceiling fan. Yogesh was having his afternoon siesta. His wife, Ammatha was trying to immerse herself in reading Bhagawat Gita. Just then, the door bell rang. The courier boy was waiting with a letter to be delivered. He called for Yogesh. The old man identified himself as Yogesh and received the letter. He opened the envelope and started reading the letter. It was from their second son, Rakesh. He is an accountant in a reputed company in Chennai. His wife is working in a bank there. The old man did not show any expression in reading that letter. But the old lady was curious. She wanted to know the details and asked him. With reluctance, Yogesh handed over the letter to his wife. She glanced at it and gave a quick reading. She looked up to him with a question mark on her face seeking his response. The gist of the letter from his second son was that he wanted his parents to come to Chennai immediately as he was under orders of transfer to Hyderabad and so his parents particularly the old lady -mother, would be able to take care of their two children.

Ammatha looked at the clock and it was about to strike three. She got up to make tea for her husband and herself. She also wanted to prepare some tiffin for her grand daughter, Sneha who will be coming home around four in the evening. It was the duty of Yogesh to fetch the grand daughter from the school nearby. So, she hurried the preparation of tea and placed it before him with a few biscuits. Yogesh was in a pensive mood deeply drawn from the message of the letter received from Rakesh. He sipped his tea silently and got up to go and bring his grand daughter from her school. Ammatha broached the subject to know his mind. He simply said that they could tell the contents of the letter to their first son and daughter in law after their return from their offices.
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It was dinner time. Till then, Yogesh did not open the subject to his son. Ammatha also did not tell Sumitra about it. The old lady started serving food for both her husband and son. Sumitra was helping her daughter in her school -home work. Ammatha, as though he had forgotton, reminded him of the letter received in the afternoon. Yogesh raised his head and with a hesitant tone opened the topic. He indicated to his son that they would like to leave for Chennai as requested by Rakesh. Prasanth was taken a back for a while. Sumitra though did not follow the conversation, heard that both of them wanted to go Chennai to be with their second son. Prasanth wanted his parents to stay back with them until atleast alternative arrangements are made. Sumitra was reluctant to put her daughter in a crèche as she knew that comfort and safety of their presence can not be ensured even if Sneha is put in a crèche. So, she also joined the conversation and asked them not to go to Chennai at that stage. Prasanth suggested that he would talk to Rakesh if needed. But, it was not required. Soon the telephone bell rang. It was Rakesh on the other side. Prasanth tried to persuade Rakesh to allow him to keep the parents at Mumbai itself and advised him to make alternative arrangements for his children.

Two days went by without any decision and every day, Rakesh was phoning up enquiring about the travel plans of his parents. Third day, he landed at Prasanth's place taking the morning flight from Chennai. It was totally unexpected. First, he wanted his parents to leave for Chennai in a day or two by train. Sons and the daughter in law were in deep conversation. The old parents were watching from the side without actively participating in it. After some discussions, Rakesh suggested that if need be, father can be kept with Prasanth and he be allowed to take the mother with him as he has two kids to take care. With great reluctance, Prasanth and Sumitra consented to the division of parents between the two brothers. The oldies were just watching. Their willingness, convenience if not consent - nothing was sought from them.

The dinner time again. The old lady served her two sons and husband. They were engrossed in discussing how much money they had to spend on their children, sarees, pants, shirts etc. etc. from time to time to keep pace with the colleagues in the office and seasonal changes. They also talked of how difficult for them to stay at home in the hot summer and the need for an airconditioner and their plan to install one in their apartments. Rakesh, however, said that he cannot afford to fly his mother to Chennai and so she can travel by train in two-tier sleeper class, and if available by three tier A/C class.

It was a quiet night outside. The two oldies were whispering to each other. It was obvious that they were not consulted by either of the sons and they were unable to say against any of their proposals. The darkness made the night look more dangerous and the two fell asleep without knowing what to do next.
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It was a yet another bright sunny day. It was also a Sunday and so, Ammatha need not take care of Sneha. But, she was assisting Sumitra in her preparation of break-fast. Rakesh was planning to leave by morning flight itself. Hence, everything was prepared with greater hurry than a normal day. For Ammatha, every day was a normal day. Suddenly, they noticed that the old man Yogesh was missing. His easy-chair was empty. Prasanth asked his mother about his whereabouts. She did not know as to where did this old man vanish in the early hours. Was he angry with all and ran away from home? Was he unwell and so had gone to the doctor by himself without any help from his sons and wife? It was nearing nine in the morning. He did not even have his morning cup of coffee. Every one at home became worried. No clue left to find his whereabouts nor any message to know his mind. The time was ticking. Everyone became nervous with weird thoughts crowding their mind and fear overpowering them. They almost decided to go to the police station to make a formal complaint and were about to come down.

Around ten in the morning, they saw from their balcony, that the old man was slowly entering the building compound. Wiping the sweat from his forehead and holding a small bag near his chest, he claimed the stairs to reach the first floor where their flat was located. There was a great sigh of relief in their faces. Ammatha took the mangalsutra in her hands and pressed it against her eyes and thanked God. But, the sons were in a mood to take him to task and waiting for him to enter. No sooner he entered than they started asking one question after another seeking his explanation as to how dared he ventured out leaving everyone in utter confusion.

The old man smiled. He did not retort. He called his wife, Ammatha and said " I have purchased two tickets for both of us. We are going to Udumalpet by train leaving Mumbai today afternoon by three. I have a friend there and I have phoned him up to look for a house for us to stay. He has his own house to spare and he has agreed to let it to us". So saying he turned to his sons and remarked, "Look, we would like to continue as your parents and not servant maids to take care of your homes and children anymore. I think that this is possible with this arrangement." Ammatha moved swiftly to pack their belongings for the next journey. She had never spoken against anything her husband said or did. Everything he did was for the larger good, she knew. Though, there was some amount of sadness in leaving both the children, there was an overwhelming joy that she would stay put with her husband. At this old age, he also needs her presence more than anyone else. She was munching her thoughts and moved away. It was yet another bright sunny day for her.
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