Vaidyanathan stirred in his bed as the aroma of filter coffee assailed his nose.  At the background he could hear M S Subbalakshmi’s Suprabhatam.  He slowly turned and got up from his bed.  He looked at his palms and recited the shloka “Karagre Vasate Lakshmi”.  He then brushed his teeth and his wife Sukanya met him at the dining table.  “Good morning, here is your cup of coffee and today’s paper”, saying this she placed a cup of strong coffee in a stainless steel tumbler in front of him.

Sukanya or Suki as Vaidyanathan fondly called Sukanya was 60 yrs old and Vaidyanathan was pushing 65.  By the time Vaidyanathan had woken up, she had already taken her bath and was busy chanting the “Skanda Shasti Kavacham”.  They were married the last 40 yrs and had one son Kumaran who was with the BSF and was now posted in Jammu and Kashmir.  He was 30 yrs old and was born to Vaidyanathan and Sukanya after much prayers and penance. 

Amidst her chanting Sukanya muttered, “ I wonder how Kumaran is?  It has been over a week since he called home and this time when he comes for his vacation, I will ensure that he sees a few girls and we will get him married soon.  It is also high time that he quits this job of his.  I’m quite worried about him”.  Seeing that Vaidyanathan was not responding to her she grumbled, “ Once you get the paper, you forget the whole world, you could not care less what happens to me or Kumaran. I’m sure even if a robber comes you would be oblivious of his presence”.  Knowing Suki’s penchant for grumbling, Vaidyanathan just kept quiet and continued to sip his coffee as he read the fine print.

Later in the evening as Vaidyanathan was reclining in his armchair reading Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov, the phone rang.  From the ring tone he could make out it was an STD call.  He knew it was from Kumaran; he called out to Suki, but realized that she had gone to the temple with Kamala their immediate neighbour.  “Hello Kumara” said Vaidyanathan into the phone.  “Hello, Is this Uncle Vaidya”?  This is Vijay, Kumaran’s friend” said the caller.  “Hi Vijay, where is Kumaran?  I hope everything is fine, it is a week since we heard from Kumaran” said Vaidyanathan.  “Yes Uncle, everything is fine, Kumaran is now at Drass near the LOC and he cannot reach you, so he requested me to convey his enquiries and wishes to you and aunty” said Vijay.

When Suki walked in later Vaidyanathan told her about the call, but he did not tell her that Kumaran was near the LOC.  He did not want her to worry especially when he knew that she had a weak heart and an attack of anxiety was the last thing that he wanted.

After Kumaran had been posted out of Chennai, Sukanya and Vaidyanathan felt very lonely.  But they kept themselves busy with the activities in their housing society and also at an orphanage nearby.  Suki also took some tuition classes for the maid’s son Shyam and was fond of him.  The boy also helped her out doing some odd chores or running errands for her. 

Vaidyanathan and Suki also loved music, especially Carnatic music.  In fact the house resonated with music all through the day.  Their close friends Sundar and Shraddha who were treated more as family by Vaidya and Suki also frequented the house.

It was now over 15 days since Kumaran had called and there was no news from him.  Suki was getting very anxious and everyday she would pounce on Vaidyanathan and ask him to call their son’s camp and enquire.  Vaidya also tried to call but the call would never go through and he gave up after many attempts.

During one such day, a call came again in the evening.  Suki had gone shopping with Kamala and Shraddha.  Vaidyanathan was at home with Sundar for company.  He picked the call and he heard Vijay’s low and feeble voice on the other side.  The line was not clear.  “Uncle Vaidya, there is a bad news  - the bunker that Kumaran and his team were manning were blown by the enemy yesterday.  We are sorry, but we have not even been able to identify anyone from the camp.  We have cremated whatever remains we found.  His clothes and other personal belongings are being sent to Chennai Unit today”.  Vaidya could only give a sharp cry of anguish when he heard this.  The dreams that Suki and he had for Kumaran all went up in smoke.  He cried for the unborn grand children that he and Suki would never be able to cuddle, he cried for the lonely years that he and Suki were going to spend and finally he cried for their boy whose face they would never ever see. 

Hearing his cry Sundar quickly rushed to his side, Vaidya told Sundar about Kumaran’s death and made him promise that he would never tell Suki.  He then gave Sundar a few numbers of his family and asked Sundar to call them and inform them about Kumaran’s death and also not to tell anything to Suki.  Suki and Shraddha entered the house after their purchases; Suki was beaming over the discounts that she had got at many of the shops in T Nagar.

She then quickly heated the sevai, which she had made before going out and served it with yummy chutney to Shraddha, Sundar and Vaidyanathan.  “ What happened”?  she asked Vaidyanathan “ you usually love sevai and you have not even had a mouthful".  Vaidya forced himself to eat a few spoons and then pushed the plate and walked away.  Suki raised her eyebrows at Shraddha and Sundar and Sundar could only look away.

It was literally a living hell for Vaidyanathan.  Everyday Suki pestered him to call Kumaran and everyday he  had to come up with a new lie to cover up Kumaran’s death.  Thankfully the newspapers and media downplayed the issue as usual and Suki did not get to hear it.  Vaidya turned to his books for solace; he was more or less to himself and spent as much in their small patch of garden in their house.  Suki did find his behaviour odd initially but then she also knew about Vaidya’s love for books and did not give it too much attention.

It was a month since Vaidya and Sundar collected Kumaran’s personal belongings from the Chennai Unit and most of Sundar’s clothes were given away at the orphanage.  The other things were kept in Sundar’s house, as Vaidya did not want Suki to find out.

It was a hot afternoon and Vaidya dozed off in his recliner reading a book in the garden while Suki walked over to Kamala’s house in search of a magazine.  Vaidya’s nap was disturbed by Kamala who shook him, “Vaidyanathan Sir, Sukanya has fainted, please come over, hurry”.

Vaidyanathan rushed to Kamala’s house and he found Suki unconscious and in her hand was a paper dated last month and he found a small news item which mentioned about the bombing in Drass.  The paper also mentioned about the death of the BSF officer Kumaran.

Suki was like a zombie once she came around.  She did not cry nor did she smile.  She went about her work like an automaton.  Sundar and Shraddha tried their level best to talk to Suki and bring her out of the shell that she had drawn herself in.  But they drew a blank. Vaidyanathan felt absolutely helpless as he saw his wife sinking in despair.

One-day Shyam, the maid’s son came and said “Amma, can you please help me with the Maths sum”?  Suki turned around and said “Kanna, where were you all this time, yes sure I will help you with the Maths sum.  Please ensure that you come home everyday”.  It was the first time she smiled after she read about Kumaran’s death.

The dark grey clouds that had loomed menacingly over Vaidya and Suki’s heads seemed to clear.  The sun shone brilliantly and Vaidya’s eyes moistened with unshed tears.  He knew his Suki had survived. 

In the background he heard the song “Nannaga obba maga huttidnavva”.

Glossary:

 
Suprabhatam - The hymn to wake up Lord Venkateshwara

Skanda Shasti Kavacham – A shloka or prayer in Lord Karthikeya’s name

Shloka – Religious hymns or verses
LOC - Line of Control

Sevai – A south Indian delicacy made with rice and looks like noodles

Nannaga Obba Maga Huttidnavva (Kannada song) – Mother, A son has been born to me.