'May I come in, Govind sir,' Vidya's cheeky voice in my home sounded so
strange that I sprang up on bed. And what was with
I he sir?
She had the thick MX. Khanna book and a notebook in her hand.
'What are you doing here?' I pulled up my quilt to hide my pajamas and vest
attire.
She, of course, looked impeccable in her maroon and orange salwar kameez
with matching mirror-work dupatta.
'I got stuck with some sums. Thought I'd come here and ask since you were not
well,' she said, sitting down on a chair next to my bed.
My mother came in the room with two cups of tea. I mimed to her for a shirt.
'You want a shirt?' she said, making my entire signalling exercise futile.
'What sums?' I asked curtly after mom left.
'Maths is what I told my mom. Actually, I wanted to give you this.' She
extended the voluminous M.L. Khanna tome to me.
What was that for? To solve problems while bedridden?
My mother returned with a shirt and left. I held my shirt ill one hand and the
M.L. Khanna in another. Modesty vs Curiosity, I shoved the shirt aside and
opened the book. A handmade, pink greeting card fell out.
The card had a hand-drawn cartoon of a boy lying in bed. She had labelled it
Govind, in case it wasn't clear to me. Insidf it said: 'Get Well Soon' in the
cheesiest kiddy font imaginable. A poem underneath said:
To my maths tutor/ passion guide/ sort-of-friend, 1 cannot fully understand
ycrur loss, but 1 can try. Sometimes life throws curve balls and you question why.
There may be no answers, but I assure time will heal the wound.
Here is wishing you a heartfelt 'get well soon'.
Your poorest performing student, Vidya
It's not very good,' she murmured.
'I like it. I am sorry about the sort-of friend. I am just...,' I
said.
'It's ok. I like the tag. Makes it clear that studies are first,
right?'
I nodded.
'How are you doing?'
I overcame my urge to turn to the wall. 'Life goes on. It has to. Maybe an air-
conditioned mall is not for me.'
'Of course, it is. It isn't your fault. I am sure you will get 1 here one day. Think
about this, aren't you lucky you weren't in the shop already when it happened?
Imagine the lives lost if the mall was open?'
She had a point. I had to get over this. I had to re-accept liittoo Mama's smug
face.
I returned her M.L. Khanna and kept the card under my pillow.
'Ish said you haven't come to the shop.'
'The shop is open?' I said. Ish and Omi met me every evening but never
mentioned it.
'Yeah, you should see bhaiya struggle with the accounts at home. Take tuitions
for him, too,' she giggled. 'I'll leave now. About my classes, no rush really.'
'I'll be there next Wednesday,' I called out.