CHAPTER 4

Chandni had only two purposes remaining in her life now; Suneet and work. Whenever Chandni was not spending time with Suneet, she was working in her father's firm, Caira Constructions. She immersed herself so much that the result was that, the banner of Caira Constructions was becoming a big name to reckon with, even on international level, having many branches overseas, in Gulf countries etc.

Similarly, Suneet was also growing up under her love and care. Chandni had proven herself to be a wonderful mother and a spectacular businesswoman. But the loneliness of her life could never be ended because she herself was not ready to let go of the past and fill the vacuum of her life. This is how life proceeded for Chandni and Suneet.

Soon, Suneet had grown up in a young man. He had fallen in love with an English girl whom he had met in the UK, where he had gone to complete his Masters. He asked Chandni's permission to get married to Rachel. Chandni had no objections, and agreed to the marriage. She wanted a grand wedding and reception for her son. She invited all the family members, immediate and distant, and friends of Raj. The wedding itself was a big hit among the people who attended, and was widely covered by the media. Chandni felt that her responsibilities were finally over, but as they say, 'the worst was yet to come.'

Chandni was in the middle of closing a big development deal when Suneet had called, "Hey Mom … it's not working out." The break in his voice alarmed Chandni and she tenderly asked, "Why Sunu, what happened?" The voice inside her head told Chandni that her worst fear had proven true, Rachel was the wrong girl for Suneet. "Mom, she married me for our money," Suneet was barely able to talk, "her ex-boyfriend is here in Paris. She called him to our honeymoon destination. I saw her sneak out of the hotel and meet with him in secret. When I confronted her upon returning, she said she didn't want to live with me. I love her … but sor..r..y Mom … please forgive me …," Suneet was sobbing bitterly.

Chandni immediately made travel arrangements and reached Paris. She handled the entire situation personally. Rachel was interested in money and Chandni gave it to her because nothing was more important for her than Suneet. Luckily, nothing had been transferred in Suneet's name. Rachel had made the mistake of overestimating Suneet's personal finances and was under the genuine impression that the entire construction business was in Suneet's name. Chandni was able to pay Rachel to quietly leave Suneet's life, but the incident had left a lasting impression on Suneet who had taken to drinking heavily and had become involved in other vices such as philandering, truancy etc.

Chandni could not idly stand by and watch let her son destroy his life like this. She spoke to Madhav, who was a very good friend and confidant of hers, and who actually had been a mutual friend of both Raj and Chandni.

After hearing what Chandni had to say, Madhav suggested, "Recently, the daughter of a close associate of mine has gone through a divorce. I can fix the alliance between her and Suneet, if you like." Chandni's face lit up, because with Madhav she felt safe and confident about finding a much better and suitable match for Suneet.

Veenu turned out to a sweet and well-natured girl and, for some time thereafter, Chandni's worries were put to rest, but that was not to be. Veenu had proven herself to be a good girl, but her own son had failed her. When Chandni realized it, she knew it was already too late.

One day, an accident took place at one of her construction sites. Being the woman she was, Chandni personally went to the site and handled the situation responsibly to the best of her ability. Chandni handled the situation very quickly and effectively, but inevitably the police had gotten involved. One of the workers had died during the accident, and Chandni could be held liable for negligence. Chandni was looking at going to prison for something that she had actually no hand in.

Chandni's trusted aid, Hamid, advised her, "Ma'am, you must travel to the USA for some time until the entire matter blows over, and during your absence I'll engage the best lawyers to resolve the situation till it's safe for you to return." Chandni had said smilingly, "This is the one thing that I have never done, and will never do, in my life – run. I won't shy away from any problems in life. By the way, who is going to handle this case? Let's have a meeting with them."

Hamid appeared reluctant to follow her instructions and said, "I don't think it's a good idea, Ma'am. She has a very bad reputation."

"What is her name," Chandni asked, feeling an apprehension of her own creeping towards her. Before they could discuss the matter further, Chandni's secretary barged in with a troubled look on her face, "Ma'am, the police have come for you. They say that they have a warrant to question you seize documents. What should I say?"

Before Chandni could respond, Hamid immediately said, "Tell them that Ma'am is not here right now, and you don't know where she is."

The secretary turned to go when Chandni told her, "Send them in." Hamid gave her a surprised look, "But, Ma'am, would it not be better to first consult a lawyer. After all, it's the police …"

However, Chandni was calm and composed, and invited the A.C.P. into her Cabin. Chandni shook the hands of the female Assistant Commissioner of Police, "Hello, Miss Chandni Roy. I am Dhara Pathak."

Standing before Chandni was a nightmare from the past. Dhara and Chandni had been classmates together in college, since the very first day had not shared a good relationship. Dhara's father was a Minister in the Government, at the time, and was even more influential than her own father who was a successful tycoon even then. Dhara had always strutted about the campus, but Chandni was the only one unaffected by her father's influence. Needless to say, Dhara did not like Chandni's attitude towards her. She made several attempts to first bring Chandni in her own clique, and when that failed, to put her down, but to no avail. Chandni could not like her despite all her efforts. Dhara couldn't accept the fact that Chandni was liked more by the students than her. When Chandni aced the finals and bagged the top position in college, Dhara was dealt the final blow between them. Dhara had taken the defeat at Chandni's hands harshly, and had made attempts to make Chandni's life miserable even after college. Consequently, Dhara's father had to interfere and she had to take time off for medical treatment. Needless to say, Dhara held severe grudges against Chandni.

Finally, Dhara had gotten an opportunity to take her revenge from Chandni. So, Chandni was arrested without any investigation or evidence, solely on the basis of anonymous information. Chandni was put behind bars for a crime, for which the rich rarely go to jail. Though, this arrest was a bad one to begin with, it created a huge scandal which rocked the political world, and Chandni was released quickly. However, Chandni had fallen seriously ill while in custody, and Dhara's refusal to acknowledge her condition worsened the situation.

Immediately upon release, Chandni was admitted to the hospital and she was diagnosed with heart disease. She traveled to the USA for treatment, and was absent from the business for a while. Suneet had not accompanied her to the USA. During her period of convalescence in the USA, she was dealt the biggest blow of her life. Hamid informed her, "Ma'am, the anonymous information that led to your arrest was provided by Suneet Sir. He provided the information to A.C.P. Dhara, after which she came to arrest you." Naturally, Chandni refused to even entertain such a malicious rumor, but before he could be dismissed, he said, "Please forgive me for saying this, but I have the proof. While you were obtaining treatment, I looked into the matter because I partially felt guilty for not having taken proper legal recourse before your arrest. It's all my fault. But now I will not let you down again. Please tell me what you want to do and I will do it."

Chandni was shocked, but she had worked with, and known, Hamid for long enough to know that he was not one to make loose or irresponsible statements. Also, she herself had noticed a visible change in Suneet's behaviour towards her since a long time but didn't want to believe it. How could she have believed or even thought that that her own son, her life, could betray her? Again and again, memories of Suneet flooded before Chandni's eyes; Suneet playing with her father; her only solace in life after Raj's and their second child's death; her emotional dependence on him; and how after Raj's death she would go to Suneet's bedroom again and again, used to hold him and console herself that he was alright and both of them would always be there for each other. She was feeling as if she had failed as a mother, and it was her fault that Suneet had turned out like this.

"No. You are not going to do anything." Hamid was surprised at Chandni's instruction, but her voice was calm and clear, and he simply said, "Of course, Ma'am."

"Just do me one favor. Do not tell anyone else that Suneet was responsible for my arrest. Also, for the time being, I shan't be returning to Mumbai. I need you to make some arrangements for my travel, exactly as I tell you to. And, if anybody asks, you have no idea where I am."

After that, Chandni never went back to her house, her office, Mumbai, or even Delhi. She went to a distant place, as far as she could go away from this world. She had been broken again, just like after Raj's death, someone who had seen the ugliest face of life. Perhaps, Himalayas would welcome her into its lap and heal her, because she did not want to die a broken-hearted woman. Hamid arranged for setting up of a comfortable cottage in the middle of wilderness in the hills, after which he, also, was instructed not to get in touch with her again. "But, Ma'am. You are a leading businesswoman who has lived in bungalows and posh offices. How are you going to live like this alone in the mountains," Hamid beseeched Chandni to reconsider and only treat this as a temporary respite. But, Chandni was adamant and thanked Hamid for his services and asked him to return.

Around 5 Kms from Chandni's cottage was a small village, and in need of urgency, Chandni could reach the village for assistance. In the beginning, her life at the cottage, alone in the wilderness, was difficult. She would visit the village for provisions once a month, but would not speak to anyone except out of necessity. Reciprocally, residents of the village were also hesitant about approaching her. Hamid has ensured to make his introductions with the village head, and secretly kept in touch with the latter to find out about Chandni's condition and well-being.

Eventually, realizing that Chandni meant no harm to anyone but was simply enshrouded in deep sadness, the ladies and children of the village felt less and less hesitant about approaching her until they were already talking to her now and then. Chandni relished talking to them about simple and cheerful things.

Soon enough, upon need of the village and insistence of the ladies, Chandni volunteered to teach the village children because there was no other teacher. There was no school in the village and to go to school, children had to cross the river which was very dangerous. Only some of the senior children were able to go to school there. Chandni felt as if God had sent her there for some reason. Unable to make a substantial difference by herself, she used the village telephone to contact Hamid and make arrangements for construction of an ad-hoc school. With infrastructure and facilities, followed teachers and educators. After some time, things became organized and children were able to attend a proper school. Money had been the least of Chandni's problems and not a second thought was given to the expense. However, Chandni asked no questions about the ongoing circumstances in Mumbai and forbid Hamid from volunteering any information.

Whereas, at Mumbai, Suneet was surrounded by difficulties and problems which were beyond his ability to fix; things which he had taken for granted and thought were easy to deal with, proved to be too difficult for him to handle. To add to his list of problems, Chandni's trusted second-in-commands who were handling the business overseas in London and Dubai had flown to Mumbai to discuss the future of business with Suneet, finding to their own dismay that he was wholly inept for the responsibility. They were furious and asked, "What have you done with Chandni Ma'am? Where is she? Let us make this clear to you, this business … it is not yours. It was built by your grandfather and raised to this height by your mother. You, without your mother, are nobody. It was the desire of your mother to build a pan international business, for which reason we have faithfully continued to manage it overseas. But, that does not mean that we'll let you run it into the ground. Now, we have not heard from Ma'am in over six months, and nobody seems to know about her whereabouts. Rumors are also going about that you had a hand in her disappearance. Have you really done something irreversible … where is she?"

This bashing, if not enough to turn Suneet into an adult overnight, was enough to bring him out of his stupor. Suneet seemed to realize what was happening around him, his sycophant employees had been stealing money from the accounts, the firm's business in Mumbai had taken a hit, Veenu was not talking to him and already fought with him, "I can't live with a person who doesn't respect his own mother! How can I believe that you won't do the same thing to me too?" Now, to add to this, he had fallen out of grace with the senior officials in the firm as well. His reputation had nosedived since, even in the corporate world, a lot of weightage is given to moral values.

"The only way to solve all these problems in one go, is to bring your mother back. Every unsettling problem will be put to rest once Ma'am is back," was the suggestion given by Hamid. Despite Chandni's strict instructions, Hamid could not shun Suneet who appeared to have deeply regretted his mistakes or Chandni's departure.

Suneet took a flight, and a taxi, and a cart, after which he had to hike for half a day based only on directions, before he reached Sathu village, where Chandni was residing. He asked about Miss Roy, but nobody seemed to recognize the name until one young woman realized that he was referring to Chandni Didi. She took Suneet to the school and was astonished to find the place full of children, smiling and talking incessantly, answering questions and playfully learning from the teachers. Even among the chaos of the school, there was a certain order, respect, and discipline being maintained by the students and the teachers alike.

It was lunch time and the mid-day meal was being served to each child on a clean platter with variety of foods of proper nutrition, along with one egg, which was a delicacy and hard to come by in huge quantities here.

The woman returned after asking about Chandni and as she noticed Suneet's expression, she told him, "This is served daily to the students and Chandni Didi manages not only the school, but also the affairs relating to such things." When Suneet did not say anything, she continued, "I asked for Chandni Didi, but today she has gone to another village on the other side of the mountains to inaugurate a school there, which also was opened by her efforts, and won't be back for another 2-3 days. I'm sure she's going to open several such schools like this. She's truly a godsend."

Suneet was speechless at the information. His mother had been spending so much money here on these illiterates whereas he was facing financial and business difficulties back in Mumbai. She was not only wasting her time and money here, but also depriving him of opportunities. He would have to bring her back to Mumbai, and somehow mitigate this unnecessary expense. With this resolve, he decided to go to the aforesaid village to bring his mother back.

Chandni was unmoved to see Suneet and met him with a stoic expression. Standing in front of her was the son without whom she could not have imagined to live for even one day; who, after Raj's demise, was her whole and sole reason to live; had now ceased to be the center of her life. It seemed that she had foreseen such an occurrence, after all, for she cut her travel short and returned to her village the next morning. She travelled separately from Suneet and had no words to offer him. Chandni had shifted from her own solitary cottage to one of the houses in the village. Suneet looked around the house and saw only bare necessities without any expensive furnishing. He noticed his late father's picture in the center of the room, and it seemed that it was religiously cleaned every single day. Chandni had already prepared necessary papers for transfer of majority of the business in favor of Suneet, save and except a small share which she was going to retain. She handed over the papers to Suneet with a few parting words, "Do not ever come to me again for your business related issues. I have no more concern with the business, but you are still going to be my son. If ever you miss me, you can come to see me. That is all. Please, leave now. I have urgent chores to attend to."

As soon as Suneet had closed the door behind him, Chandni slumped down on the chair like the day she had cremated Raj and had felt her life slip away from the body. She felt loneliness akin to that day, except tonight, no tears came out of her eyes. She was lost in her thoughts when suddenly a child came knocking on the door, politely yet urgently, who whispered, "Ma'am, we heard that you were back. Look what Rohu is doing, please come and see." Chandni was suddenly grateful for the little unassuming child for having pulled her out of her thoughts, and she forgot all her miseries among the hustle bustle of the children.