We took a break at a restaurant for breakfast. We ordered Upma, it was edible. When Rishi was so lost in eating, I was thinking about Antara. The story of how they met and were engaged.
“Rishi, can I ask you a question?”
“Is it about Antara?”
“Hmm...How did you meet? How were you engaged? I mean she was an orphan so was it a love marriage?”
“You seem to be a lot curious. My maternal uncle is one of the members of the organization which support the orphanage. Antara was in that orphanage. Her father died before she was born and her mother died when she was in tenth. She had no other family as her mother cut ties with everyone, so she was admitted to the orphanage. Every year the members used to celebrate the foundation day of the orphanage. I used to attend it. And I was there that year too when she was admitted to the orphanage. She was seventeen by then. I saw her during that time. She was busy handling the chores. There was something different, unusual about her; her aura attracted me towards her. I kept glancing at her. I wanted to be with her. I was in the last year of my graduation and my family was busy searching for my better half. So I just asked favour to my uncle and he accepted. Later he convinced my family and so they adopted her. We were engaged when she turned eighteen...”
“What about her education?”
“She completed her high school. She passed 12th standard with good marks... No further questions. She is already dead, so please stop.”
I was going to ask a few more questions but I wasn’t able to ask them. When I listened to his story I felt love and grief. His tongue found it hard to utter the words. I can understand his suffering, losing the one you loved.
We both drove the car alternately. We reached our destination in the evening. His house was surrounded by tall mountains. It had the support of a river in the east. The whole village settled between the valleys. Rishi’s family was one of the wealthiest families in that district. The house was big with two storeys. It had many rooms, Varanda with Tulsi Vrundavan made up of stone and in the backyard, there was a barn. The family belonged to an agricultural background. When we stepped out of the car, a little girl saw us and went around screaming and alerting the people of our arrival. Soon Rishi’s father came outside looking for him. He touched his father’s feet and thus same I did. We got good blessings. His family was so big. Though they used to live separately due to work they were gathered for the ceremony. Rishi introduced me to the family. They all were so traditional. His father was dressed in Dhoti-Kurta, his mother was wearing a saree and this dress code was followed by the rest of the women. The atmosphere was unlike my family. This death anniversary of Antara had special meaning as it was accompanied by another event. Rishi built a library for the villagers in memory of Antara. It was named after her. The inauguration ceremony was the later day.
After exchanging thoughts and facts we were given access to a room. There we freshened ourselves and went for dinner. The freshly cooked food was served and it was delicious. The aroma was smelled by my heart. I had such food after a long time. After dinner, we had a conversation. And then we went to sleep. But I am unable to sleep at foreign places so I thought to take a look around. When I was enjoying the warmth of moonlight my attention was driven to the library. It was near the house. It wasn’t locked so I just entered. I thought to get some material to read. So I just went to the shelf of my interest. While picking a book I heard a sound. As if someone opened the window. I suddenly turned around and I saw her. She was sitting on the table and was watching the sweetness of the dark. That night the moon was pouring blessings and she was accepting it. She was enjoying the slight breeze and her hair was flying carelessly. I kept looking at her until she looked at me and I called out, “Antara...”
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