Part
99
Her
Saket
…. To Golf Links
April
3rd 2011
She
was deeply emotional… but very few knew that about her, outwardly she was a
classic goofball, talking more than breathing, laughing more than thinking….. she
was born after “tapasya” her Dadi would scold….
Family
astrologer had told Sushil, his misfortune would end if a “girl child” is born…
so even by her birth Radhika happened to be radical.
In
a country where female feticide is not uncommon, she was a reward for prayers….
And
his luck did take a U turn….
They
moved from the outskirts of Delhi to Saket, Sushil bought his first mutthi bhar
zameen, the Saket apartment after her birth…
She
was the baby…. Ritwik was almost 3 years older…
Fiesty
and naughty from childhood, had the most friends of the opposite gender even at
the day care near Gargi…
She
would gush and coo and started to talk at the end of the first year… in 3 word
sentences… not surprising considering how much talking had to be done…
She
was Rachit’s favorite and Ritwik’s adversary, A born leader, she could be heard shouting in
the terrace on many a Delhi summer afternoons when the mercury peaked at 46F
She
was the “principal” if they played “school” she was the “boss” when they played
“office office” she was the cop when they played “chor police”
And
boy did the boys receive a thrashing, once she beat up Mukul from Pocket C
soundly and his nose started to bleed…
That
did not did the chor police games though… she was on the roof twisting the
antenna before Sushil could afford cable television, once at the neighbor’s Mr
Bansal’s she climbed from the balcony on to the concrete shade over the window to rescue a rajai cover that had flown off the
terrace….
Sudha
watched in horror as Radhika hoisted herself from the railing on to the window…
She
was part of the neighborhood cricket and volleyball teams
She
fought with the society guards if she found them pilfering subzi or fruits from
the hawkers’ carts
Righteous
she was… from her toddler years.
Sushil
and Sudha insisted the kids be respectful and polite and well mannered… a “UP
trait” Radhika would tease often.
She
tried to keep in touch with friends from playschool, she met friends from
Springdales (she moved to DPS R.K. Puram 5th on wards) for lunch
years after she quit that school.
She
was Papa’s lil girl, she was home by 7 every nite as a kid, to stock up on her
brownie points
Getting
a rank between 1-3 helped some as well.
She
was always asking questions, championing for causes from raising money for the
school ayah’s foot surgery to helping Gopi’s maasi return to the village.
“She
would argue endlessly with the society RWA Secretary about water wastage and
how sprinklers were left on negligently for hours…
Scientist
or an activist?… Sudha and Sushil would ponder many times
She
set her hair on fire once trying out a science experiment in the kitchen
They
realized then…. the latter maybe…J
“Ma
main shaadi nahi karoongi, will you approve if I live in” she would ask
seriously.
Sudha
would swallow a fly or two… or choke…
“Mujhe
bache bilkul nahi chahiye, shaadi hogi to bache honge” she would declare pompously
Sushil
let her cut her hair almost like Ritwik’s when she was 18 and wanted to donate
it for a cause
She
cried uncontrollably when friends inadvertently hurt her, she cried when she
watched sappy movies with her Ma
She
teetered from being overjoyed to drowning in despair… no emotion was in half
measure for her.
She
jumped off the balcony on to the downstairs neighbors coir cot to go meet her
first boy friend at nite.
Her
first tattoo at 19
Her
first, second set of ear piercing at 20
Her
first navel piercing at 21
Her
first visit to first base at 22…
Her
first break up?... a long time ago
She
wanted to “do it” with the jeweler’s son… like she was the only one in her “group”
(of 22 friends!!!) who hadn’t done it…
Dadi
showed up in town that evening and ruined it all
Rad
had the house decorated, given Gopi the evening off, and even gotten a “head to
toe” thing at the spa… in anticipation…
“Tum
itna udaas kahe ho gayi Radhi” Dadi pestered her all nite long…
Little
did she know that she had rained on her only grand daughter’s “party”
Then
she broke up with the “johari” as she
would refer to him derisively
She
almost plunged into an abyss………. Almost
Work
always yanked her out of personal melodrama
She
loved it, cherished it, soaked in it and craved for it…
Her
biggest aspiration…. To work for a clean water NGO happened….
Before
her life hit the qtr century mark she had a long list of accomplishments at
work… was nominated for the “NGO Star” award twice in a row… got herself 3
interviews in mainstream newspapers…
And
brought clean drinking water to over 9 villages…………………..shut down operations,
brought permanent indictments against 3 major corporations!!!!
Then
Raghav happened……….she had no idea who he was, for some strange reason she
could hear her heart beat in her ears when he approached…
She
thought he was mute… at first…
He
stared and lounged…
Some
one taller than HER!??
“Raghav’s
got to be the sexiest name” she had once told Ritwik…
He
didn’t wait he kissed her… she shut her eyes all the way home in the auto many
evenings after…. Feeling his touch…
For
someone like herself who thought she was a “Ms Knowall” he made her feel
clueless
He
just listened….
When
she stopped gasping for air…. He would
smile and wait… for her to continue…
He
held her hand… like they had known each other ages…
“You
must think I am a naïve dork” she said once
“Nope, incredibly sexy” he responded…
