Deep within

Next morning Raghunath again entertained me with stories from his past during the British rule. He said that his people were treated as slaves often with no food, clothing and shelter. Raghunath tried to protest, resulting in him being punished to stay here forever. To lighten the mood, I asked Raghunath where could I find some local delicacies to enjoy. He directed me to a wretched house where an old lady was sitting with her keen eyes on the door. Maybe she used to cook food and serve it to tourists to earn her living, which no one noticed due to the bad condition of the place. She offered me a big thali which had number of small bowls each having a different item in it. We talked while I devoured my thali.

All of a sudden a dusty portrait on the wall caught my eyes. It was faded with time but was recognisable. Surprise I realized it was my father. On interrogating her I got to know that the person I was talking to was my grandma. I was ecstatic. I asked her about my grandpa to which she sadly replied that he was no more. There was silence in the room. Then she took out an album to show me an image of my late grandfather. I was startled to see that the image was of Raghunath's, the gardener. I ran back to the hotel but could not find him. I even asked the officials but they said there was no such gardener working there. I returned to grandma and told her about my encounter. He wanted to see you. He might be in peace now. Tears of contentment rolled down her cheeks, as she said, the heart dies, desires don't.

I bid goodbye to James and decided to stay with my dadi now on, assisting her in our newly launched *Dadi ka Dhaba.*