Leo's Desire

by Sundari Venkatraman

  “Hello, Mom.” Dev gave her a perfunctory hug. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine. But where’s Chaahat? I thought you’ll bring her home.” There was irritation in Karishma’s voice.

  Dev sighed. “I want to have some tea. Would you like some?” He walked into the kitchen, not keen to chat with his mother and listen to her latest list of complaints. He planned to address both his parents at one go. He kept a pan of water on the gas, adding ginger and cloves to it, along with sugar.

  “Dev! Did you even hear me?” Karishma’s irritation had blown into a temper by now.

  “I did, Mom. Can’t we wait for Dad to get back home? I don’t want to discuss the same thing twice.” He turned to add tea leaves to the simmering water. “So, when is he expected home?”

  “In an hour. But what’s there to discuss? Chaahat wanted a break after her MBA results and she went to your farm. Ten days are over. I’ve never taken more than a week’s break in the forty years of my career. I can’t understand the youngsters of today. They just want to have fun and don’t want to do work of any kind. We have set up three interviews for her this week. Chaahat has to get back to Mumbai. She…”

  Dev raised a hand to stop her mid-lecture. “Will you please calm down, Mom? I’m young.” He pinned her with his steel grey gaze. “And for your information, I work all days of the week.” He turned back to pour the tea into two mugs, before carrying them back to the living room on a tray.

  Karishma gave a nervous laugh. While she and her husband had tried their best to find fault with Dev’s career, they couldn’t argue with the kind of success he had become. He had taken a risk and come up an absolute winner. “You, Dev, are in a different league altogether. You are one of those few people with the Midas touch. You…”

  “And how do you think I got there in the first place?” He sat back on a sofa to cross his legs, sipping his tea. “Listen Mom.” He handed her the other mug once she settled down on an adjacent sofa. “Times have changed. You and Dad have wonderful jobs that you love. You guys also make a lot of money and that’s great. You feel secure since you are getting a big chunk of income month after month without taking any risks. All that is fine. But our generation, we want to explore things. We want to take risks. The whole world has opened up and is teeming with opportunities, with alternate careers, new formulae. I think…”

  “What are you saying, Dev?” Karishma kept her tea mug on a side table with a thud as she glared at her eldest born. “Are you saying that Chaahat wants to do something different? Is that what this is all about?”

  Dev sighed deeply, keeping his mug away too, only he was gentle with it. “Do you guys ever listen to what your children tell you?”

  “As elders, we know best.” Karishma snarled at her son, her grey eyes spitting fire. “How dare you speak to me without respect? Just because you are a big man, it doesn’t mean you insult your parents. How…”

  “What? When did I insult you? Are you crazy, Mom? I asked you a simple question. Why can’t you give me a straightforward answer to that?”

  Karishma was on her feet now, pointing a shaking forefinger at him, determined to make him bend to her will. “You just mind your own business, Dev. I don’t care that you are a hotshot billionaire. You are still my son. And moreover, you don’t have a say in your siblings’ lives. They are my children, mine and Durgesh’s. I don’t care what you do with your life. But you’d better not interfere with theirs.” She was yelling by now.

  Durgesh walked in just then, looking first at his wife and then at Dev. “Hello Dev. Good to see you, son. How have you been?”

  Dev got up to hug his father, saying, “I’ve been good, Dad. How about you?”

  “Getting older.” Durgesh shrugged his heavy shoulders, before sitting back on a sofa after pulling off his suit jacket and tie.

  “Let me get you some tea.” Dev went away to get a mug of tea for his father, unable to help but hear his mother’s loud voice as she complained to her husband.

  “Dev has come alone, without Chaahat. I can’t understand the game the two are playing. You have to tell him, Durgesh, to stop interfering in our children’s lives.”

  “Mom, I’m sorry to interrupt. But you need to admit that Chaahat and Jai aren’t exactly children. They are twenty-three.”

  “Exactly. It’s high time that they settled down with proper careers. I don’t much like the idea of Jai working in some unheard of MNC up there in the north. He’d be much better off in a city like Mumbai or Delhi or maybe even Bengaluru. He’ll have better exposure in the metros. I don’t really understand his fascination with the hills. And Chaahat, she’s been fooling around for too long. She…”

  “Mom, Chaahat does not want to take up a job. She wants to…”

  “Dev!” Durgesh finally joined the conversation. There was a time when he wouldn’t have thought twice before ripping his eldest born to shreds with his harsh words. But not anymore. Durgesh couldn’t deny that Dev had carved a path for himself and had become too successful. People kept coming up to Durgesh, congratulating him on his son’s success almost every other day. He looked at his son now and said softly, “Dev, listen, you don’t know Chaahat like we do. She’s too lazy to do any work. We even thought of getting her married, but then, nowadays, girls with no job don’t have much value even in the marriage market. If I don’t push her, she…”

  “Dad! Chaahat isn’t lazy. If she was, she wouldn’t have done so well in her studies. Do you agree?” He looked at his father and then at his mother, a thick eyebrow up in query.

  Durgesh gave a hesitant nod, unable to argue with Dev’s logic. He raised his hand to stop his wife from talking as he waited for his son to continue.

  Dev took encouragement from that. It looked like both his parents were listening for a change. “She wants to do something else. She…”

  “If you are talking about that modelling nonsense, I don’t want to hear anymore.” Durgesh’s expression was stern now. “Chaahat is totally unfit for all that. From what I know, that’s not a career for family people. And for another, there may be no success or money even after putting in a lot of effort. Forget this nonsense, Dev. Send her home and let us deal with her.”

  “Are you aware it’s a human being we are discussing here?” Dev’s temper had gone up too and his voice rose by a few decibels. “I don’t understand what you mean by dealing with her. Chaahat’s an adult, for God’s sake. Okay, you believe she’s making a mistake. So, let her. But how will she know if she never gets a chance to try? I think you are both extremely unfair, Dad, Mom. You guys have a fixed idea of what success is. It’s different for different people…”

  Durgesh raised a hand to stop his son in mid-sentence. “Just because you took a blind risk and succeeded doesn’t mean…”

  “Excuse me, Dad. I didn’t take a blind risk as you call it. I took a calculated risk after studying all the pros and cons. I think you both just need to get off your high horse that just because you both are older, you know best. That’s just not true. Yes, I agree that you both want the best for your children. But I think you need to let them be. Jai doesn’t want to lead a busy life in a metro. He wants to write. That’s why he’s taken a job in Shimla. He’s liking the laidback lifestyle since it gives him time to write. He already has a publisher who likes his story idea and they have promised to back him. He…”

  “What the hell are you saying?” Karishma jumped up to scream at Dev. “Are you saying that Jai is doing time pass and doesn’t have a proper job?” She turned to Durgesh with tears in her eyes. “See, see. This is what happens when you allow one son to do what he wants. Now everyone wants to rebel. I…”

  “Mom, hello! You guys didn’t allow me to do anything. I left home of my own volition to chase my dreams, or have you forgotten?” Dev’s gaze was steely as he got up to tower over his parents, looking at them piercingly. “Okay, let me tell you what I came to say. I didn’t choose to interfere in your other children’s lives. But I refuse
to show my brother and sister the door if they come to me for help. Chaahat knocked on my door and I’m going to give it my best shot to help her become a fashion model, whether you guys approve or not. Do what you can!”

  “How dare you? Just how dare you, Dev? Have you become too big to…” Karishma caught hold of Dev’s shirt in both her fists and shook him, only he didn’t budge.

  “Never, Mom. I’ll never grow too big for my parents. I’ll always treat you with respect. But forgive me if I say that you guys are not the best career counsellors in the world. I’ll take your leave. I need to get back home.”

  “So late? It’ll take you a long time to reach Karjat. Why don’t you spend the night here at home?” Durgesh tried to stop his son from leaving. He had decided by now to attack Chaahat directly and hence had become calm.

  Dev laughed. “Not in my helicopter, no.” He left them standing there in the living room, a stunned expression on both their faces.

  He decided then and there to give Jai the farm manager’s job if he was still interested. Might as well be hung for a sheep than for a lamb!

  Chaahat fretted and fumed every moment of her time spent at Raheja Health Resort. At the end of three days, she had decided that she hated the treatment programme; she hated the resort, and she hated Dr. Sindhu Raheja—not necessarily in that order, and all from the depth of her heart.

  Every single day had been horrendous, the worst she had ever experienced in her whole life. What kind of devilish treatment was this?! They made her eat and drink stuff that was positively vile. Then they made her do such tough exercises in the name of yoga. She could have tolerated everything if they didn’t make her eat regular meals. Okay, even that wouldn’t matter so much if they let her drink something decent. The water boiled with herbs that was on offer was fit for pigs.

  Okay, the oil massages weren’t too bad, but she could complain about those too, if she set her mind to it. They made her feel sticky and kind of yuck. Thank God for small mercies. Her room and the ensuite bath were too luxurious. Probably the only saving grace in the place.

  And meditation! What the hell was that?! Why did one need to do that to improve one’s health? Chaahat found it tough to sit quietly in one place for more than a couple of minutes.

  Then there was her stomach! It seemed to be in constant motion, something like a see-saw, and utterly confused by the strange diet on offer. Okay, the food was vegetarian. That she could tolerate. But wasn’t this supposed to be a health retreat? Didn’t they ask the patients—okay, the guests, as Sindhu Raheja would insist in her stylish, fake accent that neither belonged to Britain nor America—to starve, skip meals, drink vegetable and fruit juices instead of solid food? That was one of the main reasons that Chaahat had agreed to sign up for the programme. But here they were different. Starving is not the way, she was told, since the guests needed to be able to maintain the weight loss and not regain it once they were back to their routine life.

  Okay, maybe she could have put up with all of that, if, only if, they would let her smoke one measly cigarette a day. What harm could that be? But then, she should have realised that Sindhu Raheja would wage a personal vendetta against Chaahat for sure, especially after the kiss she had stolen from Shaan inside the jeep.

  Chaahat sighed softly, a smile on her face now as she stared sightlessly at the calm waters of the Mulshi Lake. Shaan! She was curious to know if he thought of her as much as she thought about him. More than missing him as a person, she missed his lovemaking. What a lover! He had been relentless in the giving of pleasure the night she had spent with him. And had had no qualms in taking pleasure from her either.

  She had opted to give her cell phone into the resort office’s keeping before she began the treatment. They did let people keep their phones if they were insistent. But they had also clearly advised that focussing more on the treatments and less on the distractions of social media would be a great help. But in Chaahat’s case, it was more to safeguard herself from her parents than anything else. Dev had the resort’s office number and could contact her any time he wanted. And she knew for a fact that her brother would have told Shaan of her whereabouts if the man had made the effort to ask. It’d been more than seventy-two hours and he obviously hadn’t!

  Chaahat shrugged her shoulders carelessly, refusing to admit to feeling hurt. Deep down, she felt it difficult to accept that the man who had taken so much interest in her health, the one who had made torrid love to her through one whole night, had simply forgotten all about her existence.

  And now, here she was, stuck in this stupid programme, all thanks to Shaan. Why the hell had she fallen for his advice? Should she call Dev and ask him to take her away from here? She knew that her brother would listen to her for sure. But then, was she ready to admit defeat? And again, what other choice did she have as on today? The only way was forward and it looked like she needed to be as healthy as a horse before she began her career in fashion modelling.

  Just now, the resort was also a place to escape to from her parents. Dev had sponsored her stay and treatment for three weeks. She wouldn’t spend any extra time, but shouldn’t she at least complete the twenty-one-day course before giving up?

  With a deep sigh, Chaahat shut her eyes before leaning back on the recliner in the open area where guests hung out together. Yeah, the others did, while she refused to socialise with any of them. There were at least thirty other people staying at the high-end resort, a few foreigners among them. And a huge number of staff, of course. But Chaahat kept to herself, refusing to mingle, too angry with everything and everybody.

  11

  It was almost ten that night when Nishaan walked into Dr. Rajat Singhania’s private nursing home. He walked up to the receptionist and said, “I’m here to visit Aadarsh Ahuja.”

  Sangram Singh, the receptionist-in-charge, stared at the tall man standing in front of him, a frown on his face. “It’s way beyond visiting hours, mister. Please come back tomorrow morning at ten o’ clock.”

  “Is Dr. Singhania here?”

  Before Sangram could reply, the doctor walked into the reception. “Ah, there you are, Nishaan. I was just wondering about you. Come along.” He placed an arm around the younger man’s shoulders and walked him down a long corridor before stopping at a door on the left. With his hand on it, the doctor said, “Three minutes max, Nishaan. Your father will never admit it, but he doesn’t have the strength to chat for longer than that. He needs to seriously rest to attain complete recovery.”

  Nishaan nodded to the doctor before walking into the ICU where his father Aadarsh was lying on the bed with an IV tube connected to the back of his hand and another wire constantly monitoring his heartbeat. He opened his eyes when he heard the door open and smiled tiredly at his son. “Hello, Nishaan. Am I glad to see you!”

  “Pop!” It was with great difficulty that Nishaan controlled the shock from showing on his face when he noted his father’s grey face. Aadarsh seemed to have aged by at least a decade since the last time he saw him. He bent down to press his lips to his father’s forehead, saying in a soft whisper, “How do you feel, Pop?”

  “Much better after seeing you. How have you been, son?” Aadarsh’s voice was weak, unlike his typical roar.

  “Not bad, Pop.” Nishaan pulled a chair close to the bed and held his father’s hand. “You gave Mom a shock.”

  “I did, didn’t I?” Aadarsh grimaced through his smile. “But Rajat here tells me that there’s not much wrong with me.”

  “That’s right.” The doctor agreed. “I’m going to shift you to a private room first thing in the morning. I’ll let you remain there for exactly three days after that. Then you go back home.”

  “That sounds encouraging.” Nishaan nodded his head at the doctor before turning to his father again. “So, Pop, looks like you can get back to your regular life after only a few days.”

  “I didn’t mean that exactly, Nishaan.” Rajat shook his head. “You father gets to stay at home, but has to take
things easy. Yeah, the attack was mild, but the recovery is a process. He needs to take things easy for at least two months,” said the doctor in a firm voice before he left them alone.

  “Okay. Well then, Pop. You heard what Rajat Uncle said. You can play king of the castle while Mom and I will get to play your loyal subjects. What say?” Nishaan grinned at his father.

  “I like the idea.” Aadarsh winked at his son, his eyes searching Nishaan’s face avidly. “You’re looking robust. Have you been enjoying yourself?”

  Nishaan’s grin turned wider. “Not in the way you think, Pop. I’ve been working on a commercial farm, as the manager. It was an experience for sure. I learned a lot about myself while there.”

  “Aah! I’m so glad to hear that. So, are you ready yet to take your position at Ahuja Constructions?”

  “Yes, Pop, I am. And I promise you that you won’t have to worry about anything there till you get back to work.”

  Aadarsh looked at his son, pride in his amber gaze. Nishaan seemed to have grown up a lot since he had seen him last. He was bigger, broader and there was an air of maturity about him. Aadarsh was glad that his son had gone away to find himself.