Yakshagni - An odyssey of unbroken devotion - II

 27) The Grim Discovery

Maurya was unsettled and disoriented by the realization. He simply had no idea what to do. Was he discomfited about the hypothesis that he had loved Dharma before? Surprisingly, he wasn't. A wide range of sensations overwhelmed him, their intensity staggering his usually collected countenance. What made him so certain that it had been Dharma who had talked to him about the Sun and the Moon being the Earth's parents? As far as he knew, no one else had come up with such unconventional theories, not even Mahendran Namboodri.

"Explain your theory once again…" he directed.

Grimacing at his tone, she carried on, "I said Autumn comes after..."

Maurya broke her off, "No, not about autumn. You said something about the Sun, the Moon and the Earth."

"Oh, that! That is something I came up with. I consider the Sun and the Moon as the parents of our planet," Dharma said in response.

"Has someone mentioned this earlier to you or is it your own theory?"

"Actually, I don't know. I think it was me who arrived at this conclusion but maybe someone else pointed this out to me when I was young."

Maurya frowned as he considered her face thoughtfully. Why did her words entail a feeling of déjà vu to him?

Dharma turned to thrust the dress back on the stand.  His next words aggrieved her, "When I make an appointment for a meeting, I expect you to be there. Don't send your assistants instead."

Her temper tethered dangerously on edge, added to it was his imposing presence which befuddled her brain. She checked her temper and asked calmly, "Are you angry because I didn't show up or because I didn't obey you regarding the show-stopper piece? I never thought you would turn out to be a Hitler!"

Maurya raised his brows and studied her enraged eyes and crimson cheeks. Damn! the silky wisps were disrupting his concentration once again. He lifted his hand to brush back the unruly tendrils that had strayed over her cheeks.

Dharma recoiled as his hand extended towards her and bolted a step back in alarm. She eyed him in suspicion. He dropped his arm and swore silently at his momentary madness.

"I want the original colour for that piece. Don't even think of changing it." With those words, he left her. She stood glaring at his departing back, her jaw clenched in resentment.

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

The next day, when she got to work, she received Maurya's call.

"Well, if you feel that strongly about the colour of the last piece, we can compromise. I suggest you keep blue as the base; add yellow, green and brown prints. That way, we can depict autumn, fall and the Sun," Maurya waited for her response.

"Alright! But I will have to get the last piece printed the way we want. That might take a couple of days more."

"No problem but make sure that the prints match the theme."

Dharma sighed in relief. At least the blue was not banished. In fact, she liked Maurya's suggestion of adding more prints in different colours. This would add zing to the collection. Eager and fired up, she began to sketch the prints and colour them.

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

Maurya had just wound up the meeting when Tapan sauntered in. Following him were two of his assistants who carried a pair of wrapped dresses.

"Maurya, these are the samples we are sending to our retailer in London. Take a look at them."

Maurya perused the outfits. "They look good enough to me. Just make sure that the collars are not turned out. They have to be flattened."

"I will see to it. Otherwise, are they good enough to be displayed?"

Maurya nodded his approval and the assistants carried the garments back while Tapan lingered. When he and Maurya were alone, Tapan summoned the courage to ask, "I heard that you were not happy with the garments that Dharma showed you."

Maurya shot an irritated glare at Tapan, "Since you know everything, why don't you tell me why I was not happy?"

Tapan flushed, "I thought the collection was fabulous. I am just curious as to why you didn't like them."

"We have sorted it out. Anything else?" Maurya asked, his gaze not moving from the laptop screen.

From what Tapan heard, Maurya had been furious about one piece, and that, he had rushed to Index Office to give a hearing to the team. He searched Maurya's face which did not seem very inclined to listen to his counsel.

Maurya raised his gaze to Tapan, "You want to say something, say it. Don't dawdle there pretending to care for my reaction."

"Right! Let me tell you that I have seen the collection and it is fab. So, I request you to not cancel or postpone the show."

Maurya scanned the younger man’s face, "Got it. Now get out...Stop irritating me."

Tapan pivoted on his heels and headed to the door, pleased that Maurya was not cancelling the show. On his way out, he saw the notice board where Maurya's secretary had pinned news clippings about the company from newspapers and magazines. One news item was about Maurya's accident. It read, "Maurya Verma, Chairman of Krishna Industries meets with an accident."

Tapan strode back to Maurya's desk, "Maurya, I forgot to tell you one very important thing. It just slipped my mind."

"What?" Maurya asked, his focus on the annual balance sheet.

"Remember that night...when you had the accident," Tapan prodded Maurya’s memory. When he had Maurya’s attention, he began to fiddle with the paperweight. Maurya spied on Tapan, becoming curious now. He knew Tapan fiddled with something only when he was introspective or serious about something.

"Actually, I got a call from Dharma suddenly that night."

Maurya stiffened, his gaze intent on Tapan.

"Would you believe that she was worried about you? Apparently, she tried calling you many times but when your phone was switched off, she was concerned. She called me then and persuaded me to find you. She was certain that you were in some trouble."

A precipitous silence descended on the room. Tapan glanced at Maurya who had gone unusually tense; his eyes were fixed on the computer screen.

"Maurya, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, go on..."

"So, when she hastened me to check on you, I called you. Your phone was switched off so I called Rita. She said you had left Neemrana. I went around to your flat to see if you had reached and when I didn't find your car, you know what happened."

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"I wanted to tell you the day you came back to the office after hospitalization but you were in a bad mood then. And later, it slipped out of my mind."

Maurya strolled to the window, staring at the view outside, his hands buried in his pockets.

"I think if it had not been for Dharma, god knows how long you would have lain in there in the cold. I even asked her," Tapan continued and Maurya swivelled around.

"What did you ask her?"

"I asked her how she knew that you were in trouble. She said something like she was worried when your phone was switched off."

Tapan watched Maurya for some reaction but his mentor was looking down at his own shoes, not revealing a wee bit of his feeling. So typical of Maurya! Sighing, Tapan got to his feet, "Anyway, I thought I should tell you."

Tapan strode out of the room but Maurya stayed in the same position, near the window till midnight, his thoughts in turmoil.

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

A week after leaving Thanjavur, Dushyant called Shankaran to report that he was leaving for Modhera the next day. They had parted in Thanjavur as Shankaran had to report for work. Dushyant travelled to a couple of towns during the week, the ones that they had noted down. Finding nothing conclusive in those towns, he planned to travel to the next place in his itinerary.