Episode 3

“Vrinda Chaturvedi...”

The pale lady, dressed in simple and comfortable clothes, repeated after Sucheta as she looked at the picture of herself and her family in the album, hoping for some sense of familiarity strike her but it was of no avail. She just felt blank and lost despite scrutinizing the family photo with every bit of her consciousness in a hope of igniting her mind.

“He was your father,” said Sucheta as she pointed to the man with kind eyes who held himself in a prideful posture, “Bhanuprakash Chaturvedi.”

“Bhanuprakash Chaturvedi..” Vrinda repeated after her once again, in a futile attempt to rouse some memory of the man who was her father. But the only solace was the warmth which spread through her as she continued looking at him.

“And she was your mother, Sandhya Chaturvedi nee Trivedi.”

The woman in the pictured was a simple and docile looking lady whose smile emanated love and affection. Vrinda could feel the warmth coursing through her heart increase despite not able to recall anything about the woman, whom she was sure, loved her dearly and she loved her the same if not more.

“You used to call them Paa and Maa. Your father began one of the most successful companies of Uttar Pradesh - DioTech, based on DNA structuring and biotechnology, being a molecular biologist himself. The company produces a major part of the technology used in hospitals, medicolegal setups and labs along with their own lab which is one of the main centers of DNA Fingerprinting in the country. Your mother chose to be homemaker, despite a sound knowledge in finance,” explained Sucheta, showing the data related to DioTech and a few more pictures of her family.

Vrinda found herself proud after listening to her father’s achievements and her mother being a homemaker did not shock her since her smile was unadulterated and her eyes held so much of love which, despite losing her memory, Vrinda felt that she could have lost if she had worked in the corporate world.

“Am I the only child?” questioned Vrinda, hoping that she had some family left in the world.

To avoid the repercussions of the revelation, Sucheta decided to divulge the truth about the death of her parents while Vrinda was still in the hospital when she had fervently questioned about Sucheta’s identity and demanded an explanation for the delay in rescuing her, from what she described to be the hell descended onto earth.

“Yes, you are. Sir and Didi had many siblings themselves and they saw their parents struggling to balance between their kids and they thought that they were not capable of balancing in the way their parents did and they decided to have just one child. Quite luckily for them, they wanted a daughter and God decided to bless them with you,” answered Sucheta, reminiscing the jubilation dancing on her parents faces at the time of her birth.

“And my name? I heard the nurses speaking that my name is not a very common name. Why Vrinda?” the lost lady asked, wondering if there could be any special story behind her naming.

“You were supposed to be Radha Chaturvedi. According to astrology, you should be addressed with name beginning with ‘ra’ and your mother had chosen Radha but your father had a different wish. He never believed in these superstitions and hence quashed the restriction. More than the superstition, I guess, it was the meaning of the name which mattered to him. He wanted his daughter to be known for purity like Vrinda, which is another name for Tulasi, rather than Radha which is the name of eternal lover of Krishna. He had heard of so many failed love marriages, humiliated parents and cheated spouses that he despised the idea of falling in love and hence everything associated with it,” Sucheta explained, the happenings of the naming ceremony playing on the canvas of her mind.

She always found it slightly irritating that he publicly rejected the name chosen by his wife because Radha was the epitome of love, forgetting that she is a Goddess and it was love that kept the world going.

Vrinda could not understand the psyche of her late father. It was true that he had the right to decide the name of his daughter but not believing superstitions yet believing that name can hold so much value felt contradicting to her.

“How was I as a child? Fast learner or slow?”

--FLASHBACK--

“I don’t know what is wrong with Vrinda, Sucheta. She is almost fifteen months old and she still has not taken her first step. I am worried if there is any problem with her. Our family doctor, Ayush Ji, said that she just does not have the will to walk and there is no physical disability. I wonder when she will take her first step,” exclaimed Sandhya, as she flipped through the book about children and walking to find any solution to her daughter’s problem.

“Relax, Didi. I am sure she will start walking anyday. If there is no developmental anomaly, then it is just a matter of time that she will start walking. Maybe, she is waiting to surprise you,” consoled Sucheta, placing her palm over Sandhya’s shoulder affectionately in an assuring gesture.

“MALKIN! Beti Ji Chalne Lag Gayi Hai!” shouted the nanny, making Sucheta and Sandhya jump from their seats and run to the play area where their kids were playing to witness a beautiful sight playing out infront of them.

Vivaan had just started to walk and Sucheta could only guess that seeing someone of her age walk in front of her compelled Vrinda to stand up and begin walking but the beauty lied in the way their tiny palms were intertwined and it appeared that the two kids supported each other, making their way to their mothers.

Sucheta smiled warmly at the kids before looking at Sandhya, whose happiness knew no bounds, in a loving way. Sandhya had helped her greatly after the birth of Vivaan despite giving birth few weeks before her and it gave Sucheta great pleasure to see her son helping her friend’s daughter.

Although they had begun walking, they could not walk for a long distance. Vrinda was the first one to land on the ground while her weight pulled Vivaan down due to their joined hands, making their mothers run to their rescue once again.

--FLASHBACK ENDS--

“Vivaan? Who is he?” questioned Vrinda, the mere utterance of his name making a shiver run across her spine in the most tantalizing manner.

Sucehta knew that the question would be coming and she vested hours wondering what could she answer in reply to the question.

“My son and your bestfriend - Vivaan Agarwal.”

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