7 The Queen of the Hearth Part 7

Jassi had taken up meditation and religious studies under Maa's tutelage. She was also translating Granth Sahib in English and write articles based on her interpretations. Maa sent one of her articles to the editor of the Times of India under her pseudonym 'Rani' and with time, she won her own column. The editor was happy with her interpretation and the way she wrote but sometimes asked her to pick up emotional, sentimental subjects that can move the readers.

Jassi was still not ready to ponder over any such topics. Whether it was separation from parents, loneliness, rape victims, human trafficking, riches-to-rags stories, domestic violence, or trust being broken by someone you love – she had experienced everything personally. She was not yet ready to dwell on them. So, every time, Jassi just wrote back:

"I will try, Sir. Thank you for the continued support."

Her hair had grown considerably. Maa had bought her some traditional suits and a pair of zero-number spectacles. In the other life, she would never have gone for such a behanji (simpleton) look. But now, it seemed like a blessing.

Maa used to say, "No one will know you now. Relax a bit. Mingle with people. Everyone at Gurudwara is safe." Sometimes, she used to bring one or the other Gurudwara staff to her room and introduce Rani. She told them that Rani was getting better and it will be safe to meet her for some time now.

They smiled at her and waved at her when they left. But no one really tried to talk to the crazy Rani. It suited Jassi well.

More Jassi thought about her past, more she wondered about how she managed to cover 280 kms in 24 hours. She had never been a runner. In fact, she used to shy away from sports. Books were her salvation.

One day, Jassi decided that she can't hide away anymore. She needed to walk, run and fly. She wanted to live once again.

She took a stock of the choices she had. She had never known her parents. All she knew was their names –Mr. Parminder and Sarla Arora. Her uncle said that he was just his father's colleague at the university where he was a Science professor. Her parents were not very social and her uncle fell into the same category. So, whenever there was a party, he used to stick with them.

At first, they used to stay in the quarter given by the university but later they changed their home. They never used to invite anyone to their home – not for a housewarming party or on the birth of Jassi or on any of the birthdays of Jassi. He came to know about the existence of Jassi when she was found safe in the car in which both her parents had died. She was 5-6 years old, calm, and had intelligent eyes.

He rushed to the site more out of curiosity than the shocking loss of a friend. He offered the police to take in Jassi until her relatives came to take her with them. But no one ever turned up and the police almost forced him to keep Jassi.

Her uncle – Mr Kamal Sharan – thought of adopting her but his wife and his kids refused to accept her outright. Jassi hardly remembered anything about her parents but she remembered how unpleasant the first two months with the uncle's family were. She was given acceptable food and clothes to wear but the uncle and aunt always used to fight over her. Her aunt did not want to keep the unlucky orphan at home when she had her own kids to take care of.

What she remembers next is that she was admitted into one of the best boarding schools in India.

Something was not connecting here. If her uncle wanted to sell her later, why did he spend lakhs of money on her to study in such an expensive school! And she knew for sure that she was sold for Rs 12 lakh. The annual fee of her school (along with tuition fee and boarding and mess charges) was about Rs 10 lakh! It means that her uncle had spent about more than 2 crores over her school and college education and regular upkeep. Why did he sell her for so less then?

He had also given a 'Missing Person' advertisement in the newspaper. Is it possible that Renny was lying or playing with her mind? Was her uncle not involved in the predicament that had befallen her?

Jassi did not want to get her hopes up until she could confirm whether to trust her uncle again or not. But what could she do to ascertain her status with her uncle? If he was not involved, he had surely been an angel in her life – and to just see and talk to him again would feel like a blessing to her.

She waited eagerly for Maa to return that day. She wanted to share so many things for her and discuss so much with her.