Yakshagni - An odyssey of unbroken devotion -II

 4) Himalayan Impressions

Dharma had never before seen Brahim so distressed, and she longed to comfort him but she was too choked with pain to soothe him. His unshed tears carried all the weight of his feelings for Kamya. Dharma was not a follower of any particular faith but she did feel that there was one supreme power that guided mankind, and she prayed to that supreme power for Kamya's recovery.

They were on their way to Parijatpur and Dharma was in constant touch with Garima. Kamya's condition had not improved and she continued to be critical.

In an odd twist of impression, the soaring peaks of Parijatpur suddenly seemed menacing to Dharma just then. A large number of cliffs were obscured by the clouds but a few of them were noticeable due to the thawing of snow. That range of Himalayas had been a constant and reassuring presence in Dharma's life throughout her growing up years. Dharma regarded them as a friend and protector. She knew by heart, the distinct aura that the mountains possessed during seasonal transitions. In her childhood, Dharma's vivid imagination had run riot with exotic formation of another world in the depth of the mountains, where she had been the princess of the woods who had been swept off her feet by the prince of the mountains. There used to be magical creatures who would fly and vanish in the air. Nevertheless, in all her creations, the mountains had been the central character that could devour an entire species or protect a whole breed from imminent danger. To Dharma, the Himalayas were the vital force that breathed life into Parijatpur and its beings. Sometimes, when she had been angry, she had found the protruding cliffs ugly and preposterous. She had then called them all kinds of ridiculous names. When she entered her teens, she had regarded the natural pyramids as long-suffering parents who endured the tantrums of their children with amused indulgence. When mist and fog had enshrouded the ranges during peak winters, Dharma would feel depressed; and on those mornings, when the sun's rays touched the rocky slopes, she would be overjoyed and would skip around the campus with glee. Now, as they neared the valley that cuddled Parijatpur, Dharma drew a trembling sigh. Observing the hills with affection and reminiscences, Dharma could not shake off the uncanny sense of foreboding. The feeling persisted even after seeing Kamya. They reached the town by late evening and headed straight to the hospital.

Kamya was still in the intensive care unit and they learnt that she had borne a head injury due to the impact of the fall. According to the doctor, the extent of the injuries could be deduced only after Kamya regained consciousness. Dharma and Brahim hovered outside the critical care unit, through the night, and did not allow themselves the luxury of food or shower when their friend lay inside the unit with tubes and bandages on her face.

The next morning, the doctor informed them that they had to do a surgery to stitch up the wounds on Kamya's head. Brahim and Dharma took turns attending to Kamya. While waiting outside the ward, Dharma checked her messages. She had sent a mail labelling it urgent to the office, citing the reason for her absence and copying it to Rashika and Sonia. There was a reply from the office, granting her leave but there had been no response from Sonia or Rashika.

An hour later, Dharma was shocked to find Chaitanya, Seema and her mother arriving. It was Chaitanya who saw her first. Seema nodded at Dharma but Seema's mother who blamed the feminine gender for every mistake that a man made, ignored Dharma.

Dharma and Brahim stood on one side of the corridor outside the operating theatre while Seema, her mother, and Chaitanya were seated on the opposite side. The hours flew, and Brahim paced the floor restlessly. Seema chatted with her mother, throwing occasional glances at Dharma. Chaitanya did not budge from his seat. He sat opposite Dharma, his legs stretched forward and his head resting on the wall behind. To Seema and her mother, he looked as if he was napping but not to Dharma. She could feel his eyes fixed on her. Once or twice Brahim tried to freeze him out with his stare. But Dharma had discerned that Chaitanya was not the type to get deterred by such tactics.

"Dharma, if that son of a bitch is making you uncomfortable, you can go to your room. I will be here," Brahim suggested softly, taking the chair next to Dharma.

"Uncomfortable? He is giving me the creeps," Dharma muttered. "You know what Brahim? I am not budging from this seat. He can stare non-stop but I will not be intimidated by him." A determined Dharma settled on the chair more comfortably and pretended to sleep, undaunted by Chaitanya and his sly games.

As the news about Kamya spread across the campus, more friends joined Dharma and Brahim. By the time, the doctor came out of the theatre, a large group had gathered around Dharma and Brahim.

"Surgery is over. We have to wait for at least twelve hours to come to any conclusion," the doctor informed, stressing more on the post-surgery care. From his account, Dharma sensed that the surgery was successful. As the group dispersed, Seema and her mother decided to go for lunch. Chaitanya resisted their attempts to take him along but Seema's mother was adamant and she took him away forcefully. Breathing a sigh of relief after he left, Dharma persuaded Brahim to take a break.

Sitting alone in the corridor, Dharma perused her emails and messages. Garima, who was in charge of the reception and who had called Dharma first about Kamya's accident, came hurrying towards Dharma.

"Dharma, I have something to show you," she whispered with urgency. Ensuring that there was no one else in the corridor, Garima showed the video clip on her phone, "It is footage from the CCTV outside our campus. Just watch and you will know what I mean..."

Scanning Garima's face with trepidation, Dharma played the video. The footage showed the bus that Kamya was travelling, slow down to a stop, outside the campus on the hilly road. After a couple of students alighted, Kamya stepped down from the bus. As soon as she moved away from the bus, a car came out of nowhere knocking her down. The video ended while Dharma continued to stare at it in speechless rage.

"Dharma!" Garima's voice jerked her out of her absorption.

"Bloody......." Dharma swore.

"Did you notice what I did?

"What?"

"Dharma, you will see if you freeze the picture when the bus is arriving," Garima played it again, pointing out at a distant object. "See! that is the car. It is waiting for the bus to arrive."

Dharma caught her breath, "Oh, my lord, Garima! Someone was waiting for Kamya."

"Exactly!"

"Wait, can you zoom the picture?"

"I did but I could not make out the face inside the car."

"Let me," Dharma enlarged the picture but it was hazy. "Why don't we check in the guard room Garima? They might have more footage."

"Sure, we can, but I think Kamya recognized the driver."

"Yeah, even I got that weird feeling," Dharma agreed, recalling the expression on Kamya's face just before the car knocked her down. A shiver went up her spine at the memory of the scene.

"So, should we go now to check the tapes?" Garima asked

"No, let Brahim come. Once he is here, I will come to the reception and we can go together."

Garima left and Dharma waited once again alone, horrified by the new discovery. Who would want to harm Kamya? Out of nowhere, an appalling thought jolted her like a flash of ominous lightning, the hair standing up on the back of her neck.

**********

Maurya was at the meeting of the heads of the departments to discuss the progress of work for the upcoming fashion show. The theme was decided and Tapan would be addressing everyone shortly with his PowerPoint presentation.

Maurya had been on edge since morning and he knew the cause for it. There had been another call from Shankaran Murthy requesting him to go and see the house, Avadhi. He wanted Maurya to unlock Avadhi so that it could be repaired. The man insisted that only Maurya should open the house while Maurya recalled that his mentor had advised him to go only with his so-called soulmate. Ideally, Maurya should discard his mentor's advice, travel to this desolate village and do as Shankaran Murthy insisted. Or following Mahendran's advice he could take Rashika and end the matter. So why was he hesitating? Why did he not invite Rashika to visit Anuragnicheri? He was also certain that Rashika would be more than willing to travel with him. And yet, he stalled the plan.

The discussion at the meeting veered to inviting guests for the show and many suggestions were forthcoming. One of the department heads proposed, "Sir, we can invite Sharad Kumar Kavle."

Maurya's brows knit together in deliberation, "Who the hell is he?"

"He is a motivational speaker and an author..."

Maurya interceded, "Author of what?"

"He is a self-help guru. He has written books on many topics."

"Like?" Maurya asked curiously while some others tried to search the man's profile on the net.

"How to seem sincere without being one...." he paused, trying to grope his memory for other titles. Maurya's eyebrows went a notch higher while others chortled. The poor man who suggested the name could not comprehend the reason for the humour.

"Very profound! What else has he written? How to reach atop without climbing?" Maurya asked drily

"No no... I think, "How to fake......." Before he could complete the sentence, others burst out laughing.

"Dinesh, take a break and read books on how to differentiate fake from real...." Maurya's joke was lost on the man but others cracked up and one of them patted the man's shoulders playfully.

"Any other ideas?" Maurya asked, checking his phone.

"There is Marveen Mathur," Tapan gave the name while others agreed that it was a good idea.

"Give me his profile," Maurya demanded.

"Marveen Mathur is a businessman who founded the conglomerate MM Companies. He studied in.........." the details of the profile were read out but the last sentence caught everyone's attention, including Maurya's, "he is accused by the Government of India and Interpol for conspiracy and cheating......"

"Stop!" Maurya's voice grated, "For god's sake, we are inviting guests for a fashion show and not for a television debate. And please, next time don't name someone who wrote a book on mountaineering but never climbed one or someone who is a guiding light for these fraudsters."

Maurya stepped out of the room to take a call and everyone guffawed, enjoying the hilarity of the meeting.

Maurya returned and Tapan began his presentation. Each time Maurya saw Tapan, he recalled with amusement, the conversation with Dharma. The designs that Tapan showed had chutzpah. The bold cuts and daring necklines could not be ignored. The brazen prints caught everyone's interest. The show-stopper was an absolute delight.

Tapan concluded his presentation and waited for the reaction, his eyes seeking Maurya's approval. There was loud applause and some of the women congratulated Tapan.

"What do you think?" Tapan asked Maurya

"Very good!"

"But?"

"I don't know, something is amiss. Give it some time. I will get back to you," Maurya strolled back to his office, calling up Index Fashion reception.

"Hello!"

"Hi, connect me to Dharma," Maurya directed

"Sir, Dharma is on leave today."

Maurya glowered at the view from his window. As soon as he had seen Tapan's designs, it was not Vasukinath or Rashika or other designers whose opinion he had wanted. It was Dharma and her probable reaction that came to his mind on first instinct. Without considering the intention of his action, he called Index Fashion to seek Dharma’s assessment of the designs.

The inconsequential action startled him with a new realization – that he who could always count on his ability to act on anything after thorough analysis was suddenly giving in to his whims and impulses. Dragging his fingers through his hair, he shook off the undefined powerlessness that plagued him. Coming to a decision, he called Rashika,

"Hey, how about a trip to the South?"

"South?"

"Yes, a godforsaken village of dilapidated houses with dead peoples' bones scattered around," Maurya grimaced at his own description.

There was no sound from the other end for some moments, then Rashika asked in a measured voice, "Are you talking about a horror movie or a trip? Arya, sometimes I don't know if you are joking or serious."

"Forget it! I was joking. How was the day?"

"Good good! As you had advised, I made Sonia and Lekha sort out their differences in front of me. Now, both of them are obligated to me," Rashika preened in blitheness, unaware of Maurya's dilemma.

Maurya was silent, half-heartedly listening to Rashika. Now that he had called her, he would not rest till he learnt the reason for Dharma's absence.

"I had the first look at the collection that Tapan had in mind."

"Oh! I am sure he would have killed them with his ingenuity," Rashika gushed

"I suppose!" Maurya grunted.

"Oh! Tapan is so talented. I wish we had someone like him in Index," Rashika purred unaware that she had provided the perfect opening for Maurya. And Maurya being himself grabbed it.

"You have Dharma! She had come up with an interesting collection last time," to Maurya's disappointment, Rashika clammed up.

"Hmm. So, you are not really taking me on a trip?"

"No! I was joking."

Recognizing the abstraction in Maurya's voice, Rashika blurted out, "Lekha and I have come up with some lovely ideas for our runway show."

"You should include all the designers in your discussions. Lekha is not heading your design now," Maurya drawled, not letting go of the subject so easily.

"I know but madam Dharma is on leave today..."

"Why?"

"God knows! Apparently, one of her friends met with an accident and she has rushed to her village… Anyway, I will come to your office tomorrow with these sketches," added Rashika with excitement.

Maurya was not aware of the answer he gave Rashika but he was already calling up Mohandham administrative office for details.

*************

Dharma and Garima headed to the security guards' station and asked the operator for the footage. There was only one camera at the gate and from its point of vantage, it could capture only a part of the accident. But something about the blurred image of the driver seemed familiar.

"Dharma, I think it is a woman!"

"What? Why do you say so?"

"Look at the hand on the wheel. They are wearing bangles,"

"Good god!" Dharma's face blanched as she recognized the bleary picture of the bangles.

"Who is she, Dharma?"

 ************

His cold indifference had turned her love into obsession and her obsession would not cease till she erased the object of his fascination.