The Rule Breakers

by Preeti Shenoy

  Aparna was having none of it. She shook her head. ‘Sorry—I cannot excuse such flagrant flouting of the rules. I will have to report this to the head office and there will be an inquiry commission. They will investigate and submit a report. This is mandatory.’

  ‘Aparna, we did it because we wanted good results. We have been working day and night for that. How is it that you don’t see what we have achieved?’ Kanika tried to reason with her. She was angry with the way Aparna was quoting the rules.

  ‘What have you achieved, Kanika? The death of an innocent boy?’ Aparna’s voice was as cold as steel.

  That sentence hit them hard. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

  ‘And yes, all three of you are suspended from duty. We cannot have you as teachers till the commission finishes the inquiry and submits their finding. You don’t have to come to Sankalp from tomorrow onwards,’ Aparna added calmly.

  ‘What?! How can you dismiss us like that?’ Kanika asked.

  ‘I don’t owe you an explanation for my actions, Kanika. I am not the ones the parents have a problem with. They don’t want you near their kids,’ Aparna said. Her tone was curt. As far as she was concerned, the conversation was over.

  Veda and Ron were dumbfounded at what they heard. They sat there, staring at her, not knowing what to do.

  ‘You can leave. That’s it,’ said Aparna, indicating the door. She shook her head disapprovingly, her eyes narrowed to crinkled slits.

  Kanika stood up without a word. Veda and Ron followed suit.

  They walked out of Aparna’s office in silence, completely flabbergasted by the unexpected turn of events, not knowing what had hit them.

  Chapter 36

  April 1997

  Kailash Mandir Colony, Pune

  Not being able to work with the children at Sankalp affected Veda. She found that she had a lot of time on her hands. She went to college one morning, to find out about the paperwork to be completed to retake an exam that one had failed in. She got all the necessary forms, filled them up and submitted them. She found out that she would be able to retake the exams in a few months.

  Now that they had employed a cook whom she could order around, her mother-in-law did not involve Veda too much in the housework. As a result, Veda had a lot of time to spare, and she did not know what to do. She asked Bhuwan about the library, and he directed her to it. She took a membership there, carried books home, and began reading. She also started a vegetable garden on their balcony, which her mother-in-law, to her surprise, approved of. She went with her mother-in-law to a nearby nursery and got soil, fertiliser and seeds. Together they planted coriander, mint, ginger and green chillies. When the tiny chilli saplings sprouted, her mother-in-law was delighted and eager, like a happy child.

  Veda had never thought that it would be possible to enjoy doing something with her mother-in-law. A few months ago, she had seen her as a torturer and a sadist whose only purpose in life was to trouble her. But now, here she was, planting seeds and watering the garden with her mother-in-law. She had started the garden just so she would have something to do, and to preserve her own sanity. She was surprised to see how proud Padma Devi was of it.

  Padma Devi invited Shanta and Kanti behen over to show off the little garden. ‘See, look at this mint. How fresh it is,’ she gushed.

  ‘These are so wonderful, Padma,’ exclaimed Shanta. ‘You must teach me how to do this,’ she said. She had a lot of questions about how to plant seeds, what soil mixture to use, how long it would take to grow and many such things.

  ‘My daughter-in-law is very good at all this gardening. You can ask her the details. But for her, we wouldn’t have fresh greens,’ Padma Devi boasted.

  Veda was happy to answer all of Shanta’s questions and even offered to set up a garden for her.

  ‘That would be very nice, Veda. Come over. It is nice having Kanika around these days,’ said Shanta.

  Kanika had not told her mother about them being suspended. Neither had Veda told Padma Devi. They had decided not to. They both stuck with the story that there was construction activity going on in the office buildings, and therefore, Sankalp was closed temporarily.

  Once a week, Ron, Veda and Kanika met at the coffee shop near Ron’s house.

  ‘Ron, don’t you want to go back to the UK? Now that you are not teaching?’ Kanika asked him.

  ‘Yes, I have been considering it. But since I signed on to be a teacher, and since there is an inquiry pending against our names, I cannot leave till the final report is submitted and our names are cleared. Also, I am waiting to see the results of the exams. I do want to be around when they are announced,’ Ron said.

  ‘I miss seeing Kajol and the others,’ said Veda.

  ‘Oh, me too. But in the present circumstances, there’s no way we can enter Sitawadi,’ said Kanika, ruefully.

  Until now, since Veda had been so immersed in Sankalp activities, she had not thought about Suraj at all. But over the past few days, she had increasingly felt she needed to respond to his last letter. There was so much that had happened in her life since then. And she had put off replying to him long enough. However, since a lot had happened, and she still did not know what to say about his friendship with ‘that girl’ (she couldn’t bring herself to say her name), she continued to postpone writing to him.

  One morning, just as she and her mother-in-law finished their morning round of gardening, a letter arrived. She expected it to be from Vidya, but the moment she opened it in her bedroom and saw the familiar writing, her heartbeat increased.

  April 1997

  Mumbai

  Dear, dear Veda,

  How are you? It has been a while since we wrote to each other. What is going on? Hope everything is fine at your end?

  I am sorry I haven’t been in touch earlier. There is such a lot going on in my life.

  The Youth Day celebrations went off well. Everyone loved the programmes that we managed to put together. They enjoyed the contests, the dance, the fashion show—all of it. The senior managers appreciated it immensely as we had added events keeping them in mind. We managed to get a renowned motivational speaker, and they loved his talk. Oh, the logistics involved in organising this kind of thing is mind-boggling. There are hundreds of details to be taken care of, so many egos to manage, and a lot of things can go wrong. There were a few tiny emergencies, but we had a good team in place. Priya and I were heading the team and directing everyone, giving them instructions about everything. The crowd went crazy when Colonial Cousins performed. The performers were happy with the arrangements too.

  Later, the chairman of the company himself called Priya and me to his cabin, and told us how much he appreciated our work on the programme. It feels great to get recognition for your efforts from the senior management team.

  A few weeks back I went to the Ajanta and Ellora caves with Priya. (Her parents were very okay with her travelling with me. I have met them a few times now and they like me.) It was a fantabulous (fantastic + fabulous) experience. We took a train from Mumbai to Aurangabad, and stayed two nights at Aurangabad, as the journey takes about six hours. I wanted to explore the caves leisurely, and since we stayed for two nights, we had ample time to wander around.

  You know how history excites me. Visiting a historical site is like visiting a fairy tale that happened in the past, with proof to show for it. The cave shrines were all cut from rock, by hand, and they rank amongst some of the most outstanding specimens of our ancient Indian architectural heritage. The thirty-four caves at Ellora and the twenty-nine caves at Ajanta remained shrouded in obscurity for over a millennium, till John Smith, a British Army officer, accidentally stumbled upon them while on a hunting expedition in 1819. The point from where John Smith first glimpsed the caves provides a magnificent view of the u-shaped gorge and its scenic surroundings.

  A visitor said that he was so overwhelmed when he first entered it, that it took him a few moments to compose himself. He was speechless with awe. I ca
n imagine why.

  They are simply breath-taking, astonishing and awe-inspiring. I was so excited that I clicked at least three film rolls (thirty-six photos per roll!) of pictures.

  There are a few places in the world that one MUST DEFINITELY visit. Ajanta–Ellora is one of them.

  The other news from my side—I have been nominated to go for a team-building activity which is happening in two weeks. Priya has been nominated for the same as well. It is a three-day event and the company has booked a beautiful resort for this, on the outskirts of Delhi. After the team-building exercise, I wanted a few days off to visit my grandmother. I took permission from my boss to do so. He readily agreed.

  When I mentioned it to Priya, she said she has never been to Joshimath and she would love to come with me. I asked her what her parents would think. She laughed and said that her parents completely trust her judgement and that they trust me. So I will be taking her to Joshimath.

  I will definitely try to meet Vidya and I shall introduce Priya to her as well. How is Vidya? How is college going for her?

  How did the children of Sankalp fare in the board examinations? How are Sanju, Kajol and all the others?

  Write back when time permits.

  Your friend,

  Suraj

  Veda read the letter, and with each word, her jealousy returned and coiled itself around her heart. She could already foresee where all this was heading. There was no doubt in her mind now that Priya was in love with Suraj. She re-read the bit about them spending two nights at Aurangabad. Had they stayed in separate rooms? Or had they shared a room? He had not mentioned that detail at all.

  She was his friend before Priya was, and yet, he had never taken her to meet his grandmother. Would Priya stay with him at his grandmother’s house? She pictured both of them walking in her hometown, breathing her mountain air. Priya had no right to be there. She was not from Joshimath. How could Suraj take her there?

  She knew she was being irrational, but she could not help feeling this way. She felt like going to Mumbai and telling Priya to back the hell off, and that Suraj was her friend and hers alone. The next moment she chided herself for being jealous and silly. She should be pleased for him. She was a married woman. There could never be anything between her and Suraj, she reminded herself. She tried to feel happy about it. She said to herself that Suraj deserved to be happy and that Priya was making him happy. But she could not.

  She wanted so badly to have been with Suraj when he went to the Ajanta and Ellora caves. She wanted to be with him when he went to Joshimath. She knew it was wishful thinking on her part, and yet she longed for it. It mattered so much to her. She had no right to feel this way, yet she did. But more than anything else, what she could not understand was why she felt betrayed and oh, so hurt.

  Each sentence in Suraj’s letter felt like a blow to her insides. She was so upset that she crumpled the letter in frustration. Then she smoothened it out and read it again, feeling fresh waves of jealousy and pain. It made her feel helpless, to be caught in the grip of something she could do nothing about. She had to do something, or else she would go mad. To distract herself, she tried reading a novel that she had got from the library. But she could not focus on even a page of it. No matter how many times she tried to read a paragraph, she lost focus and did not know what the author was talking about. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and it stayed there like an unwelcome guest. She couldn’t get rid of it.

  She asked herself what she had been hoping for when she had started exchanging letters with him in secret. She did not know. All she knew was, hearing from him, talking to him, made her happy. ‘But you are still hearing from him, aren’t you?’ the logical side of her brain asked. ‘Yes, but I don’t want to hear about his time with that girl in his life. I hate her,’ the emotional side of her brain answered.

  Who knew love could hurt this much?

  That evening, Bhuwan returned home early from work. Her mother-in-law had gone to meet her friends and Veda was alone at home.

  ‘Veda, I have some good news. I will soon be getting a promotion at work. I am also getting a raise,’ he said, his eyes shining.

  Veda was happy to hear it.

  ‘We should celebrate, Bhuwan. That is wonderful!’ she said.

  ‘I am very happy that my efforts have been recognised. It just motivates you to work harder, knowing that someone cares,’ he said, as he removed his shoes and put them away.

  ‘I know. It is sad when it doesn’t get recognised,’ she said.

  ‘What do you mean?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s a long story, Bhuwan,’ she said.

  ‘Tell me, Veda. I want to know. And as a special treat for you, I shall make tea. Please go and relax on the balcony. I will join you there,’ he smiled and said.

  Veda did as she was told. Bhuwan was being sweet and caring, as always. She chided herself for having feelings for Suraj. Here she was, a married woman, with a husband who was kind, thoughtful and considerate. Why was she carrying on writing to Suraj? She was suddenly filled with shame for what she had been feeling all this while towards Suraj. She should have, instead, focused on making her marriage stronger, and she should have made a bit more of an effort in her relationship with Bhuwan.

  It was true that Bhuwan was immersed in his work most of the time. But it was also true that she had been immersed in her Sankalp activities as well, up till now. Initially she had been busy ‘adjusting’ to the marriage, and then had got completely involved with Sankalp. She had not even paused to think about their marriage. Now it occurred to her, and she could see it clearly for what it was—their marriage was in a state of limbo. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. Veda saw with accuracy how emotionally involved she was with Suraj. She hated herself for getting carried away. How could she have allowed that? Bhuwan was not a monster, and he deserved a lot more love than what she was giving him. She made up her mind to make an effort to communicate with him a bit more openly from now on.

  Bhuwan joined her on the balcony with the tea he had made. He had also arranged some biscuits, as well as two delicious-looking chocolate pastries, on a plate.

  ‘Oh, nice! Where did you get the pastries from?’ asked Veda, in surprise.

  ‘It is from a lady who bakes at home. The moment Vikki heard about the promotion, he called her and she had it delivered to me,’ said Bhuwan.

  ‘That is so sweet of him!’ said Veda.

  ‘Indeed. He was the first person I called this morning, when I heard of the promotion. He immediately placed this order, so that I would have it before I left for home.’

  ‘Do thank him for me, Bhuwan.’

  ‘I will. He wants to treat us to dinner over the weekend. He wants to try out a new restaurant in Koregaon Park. Want to go?’

  ‘Of course, that would be nice,’ said Veda.

  ‘So, when will you be starting work again at Sankalp? When will the renovation be done?’ asked Bhuwan.

  Veda then narrated the entire story of why she wasn’t at work, and what had transpired over the last few days.

  ‘Oh no, Veda! That is just terrible!’ said Bhuwan.

  ‘Yes, and the worst thing is, we can do nothing about it,’ she said.

  ‘You know, it struck me that you were looking sad the last few days. But you never said anything, and I thought I was just imagining things,’ Bhuwan remarked.

  ‘Yes, Bhuwan. I am actually very upset about it. It is just that I didn’t get the chance to tell you before.’

  ‘I am sorry about that, Veda. I know I have been a workaholic, of late. I know I have been travelling a lot and keeping late hours.’

  ‘It’s okay! You have now been rewarded for it, haven’t you?’ she said, as she smiled at him.

  ‘Yes, I most certainly have been. Thank you for putting up with me,’ he said, as he smiled back at her.

  Talking to Bhuwan was like a balm to Veda’s aching heart. She was happy that he was home early. She decided that, no m
atter how late he came home, she would take a few minutes from her day to have a conversation with him.

  When Padma Devi came back from her walk, Bhuwan told her about his promotion. She was happy to hear about it.

  Veda noticed that he did not invite his mother to the celebratory dinner that Vikki had planned for them. Later, when they went to bed, she asked Bhuwan about it.

  ‘Don’t you want to call your mother for the dinner? Won’t she feel bad?’ Veda asked.

  ‘She has planned to go for a music concert that day! Why do you think Vikki chose that date?’ he grinned.

  ‘Clever!’ said Veda.

  ‘Oh, yes. It’s not that my mother will ruin the fun. It’s just that the place he has selected is a lovely bar and she won’t enjoy it at all. It’s not a place where I can take her,’ said Bhuwan.

  ‘Yes, I understand,’ said Veda.

  Over the next few days, Veda made an extra effort to talk to Bhuwan. She started waiting up for him, making conversation with him about his day. She discovered that she enjoyed this.

  That weekend, Veda and Bhuwan went out with Vikki. It was a nightclub which played peppy dance numbers. Veda had never been to a place like it before.

  ‘Bhuwan, everyone here is wearing Western clothes. I am wearing these traditional clothes. I think I stick out like a sore thumb,’ Veda whispered to him.

  ‘Veda, you look beautiful!’ shouted Bhuwan, over the din of the loud music.

  Bhuwan did not want to dance, but Veda saw that Vikki was dancing and enjoying himself. When the song ended, he came towards them and pulled them both onto the dance floor.

  ‘Come on, you two! Just copy me. I will show you the moves,’ he said.

  Bhuwan started copying his steps and Veda joined in, laughing. Soon she was enjoying herself. This was the most fun she had had in ages. Bhuwan did transform into a fun-loving guy in Vikki’s presence.