Translated from the Original Hindi by–
Kanwar Dinesh Singh
The news was received on the phone, which made her suddenly upset. The husband asked her anxiously, “Is everything all right?”
In a deep voice, she said, “My brother is going to the U.K. for his company. I have only one brother, and he is going abroad. So far!”
He laughed aloud, “O, it’s pleasant news. What is worth living here? I can’t describe enough the beauty of living in a foreign country. Anyway, it’s time for globalization! Now it doesn’t matter whether you’re in your native country or on a foreign land. Distances are vanishing. Push the button and talk to whomever you want. Where do you get to meet every day while living in the same city? We happen to meet each other only occasionally, such as at a wedding once in a year or two. Usually, we talk on the phone. Is there anything far away for the phone? Talking to someone on the phone is as good as meeting them. Look at me, I have a brother in Canada and sister in the US, and after selling the old house, we purchased two flats here. Bapu lives on the ground floor, and we are on the third, and we still get to meet Bapu all the time. Mobile, SMS, and internet have brought everything close at hand. The whole world has become a village, so your sadness has no meaning. Just one click and the distances end…Ha! Ha!”
That’s when the call bell rang. He leaped and peered down from the balcony. Babuji’s housemaid was standing outside his flat along with some people. He suddenly rushed down to the ground floor.
The door was closed from inside. Babuji was not opening it. The neighbour went ahead and said, “I received a call from your sister in the US. Babuji must have given her my number. Sister was saying that she had been calling Babuji for two days, but there was no reply from him. Babuji is not picking up the phone. She is worried there. Sister told me that you live on the third floor of this building. This is your father; I did not even know that! There was never any mention of this? I was knocking on the door when this lady also arrived here….”
There was also a worry on the housemaid’s face, “When I came here, he was knocking on the door, but Babuji was not opening it. The day before yesterday, when I left him at eleven in the morning, Babuji was quite fine. Yesterday, I didn’t come here, as I had a holiday on Holi.”
He was feeling ashamed. Despite being so close, he had not seen Babuji for many days. He was lost in his own world. He did not even call him up! And Babuji…The door was broken. Babuji was lying lifeless on the easy chair in front. The neck was rolled to one side. His open eyes were looking towards the door as if waiting for someone.
*Kanwar Dinesh Singh< Poet, Storyteller, Critic and Translator (English/Hindi) Associate Professor of English & Editor: Hyphen
Email: kanwardineshsingh@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 94186 26090
