The reconciliation, thanks to Raju (1159 words)

 

Savitri was seen pacing anxiously between the living room and the front veranda till she finally called out to her husband who was watching TV,” Gopal, it is nearing 8.15 pm and there is no trace of Raju yet. He is usually back by 6 pm from the playground.”

“Ask his friend Shankar who lives three apartments away down the corridor,” Gopal suggested without taking his eyes off the TV.

” Aunty, Raju did not come to play today,” was the reply from Shankar

He has not gone to any place other than school and playground without informing. There were frantic calls to close relatives in the city and a few of his school friends. They drew blank from everywhere. There was no inkling of where he could have gone. Like any other day, on return from school, he kept his school bag on his desk, washed his hands, changed his clothes and had noodles with Horlicks. He looked normal though he did not speak much to his mom or sister.

The dailies and WhatsApp messages were full of stories, mostly false and some partially true, of the kidnapping of children for ransom and how in many cases the children were harmed if demands were not met. Some neighbours added to their anxiety with thoughtless remarks about children being maimed for begging or their kidneys being removed for sale.

 Savitri panicked and started crying inconsolably. Gopal, a senior manager in a reputed business firm wished to seek the help of the police. A couple of neighbours counselled patience and asked him not to rush to police as they felt such a step could bring harm to the child. It was already 9-30pm with the sky dark. It was also drizzling making the gloomy atmosphere sombre. The only redeeming feature was there being no call for ransom as yet.

Gopal spoke to one of his friends, who had influence with wide contacts, seeking his advice on how to proceed in the matter. He suggested that it is always advisable to seek the help of police as they are trained to nab the culprits without endangering the lives of the victims. He said that no time should be lost and that he would speak to a close relative of his in the police department. After talking to the relative, the friend took Gopal to the residence of his relative to lodge a complaint. He did not want Gopal to be seen going to the police station.

Men were put on the job. Gopal was asked to keep talking without disconnecting if there were any calls for money. He was advised to keep stalling by requesting the kidnappers to reduce the ransom amount or plead for time to borrow money Meanwhile the police would be monitoring the calls to his number.

Gopal and Savitri were awake the whole of the night. There was no call. The searches continued and phone calls were made again to Raju’s friends. The day dragged into the night with no progress. Another day went by with no clue about the whereabouts of the boy.

Raghavan was a regular caterer supplying lunch and dinner to bachelors or households living in various parts of the city. He rode a bike specially fitted with several hooks to carry many bags and covered areas like T Nagar, West Mambalam, Ashok Nagar, KK Nagar and Vadapalani. He had been supplying in the vast building complex at T Nagar where Gopal was living and even to his apartment on many occasions. Raghavan could identify members of the families to whom he supplied by their faces.

When he went to supply lunch to a customer in a block of flats in KK Nagar, he found to his surprise Raju playing alone near the staircase of the ground floor. He knew the boy lived in a posh apartment complex at TNagar and asked him how he was there and with whom he was staying. The boy, without replying, hastily ran into the flat. Raghavan did not take any special note of this as he was not aware of the boy missing from his home.

The next day when he went to supply food to someone’s house in Gopal’s complex, at TNagar, the lady of the house was telling him how a young boy, Raju by name, from one of the adjacent flats had been kidnapped three days back with no trace of the boy till then.

Raghavan immediately told her that he had seen the boy only the previous day at such and such a place in KK Nagar and how the boy ran inside a flat without replying to him. Both of them rushed to Gopal’s house and soon all of them went in a car to the place where they saw Raju.

It transpired only then that Gopal’s aged mother was living alone in the flat and the relations between the old lady and Savitri were so badly strained that the elderly lady was asked three years back to live separately with no contact whatsoever with her thereafter. Gopal was also not allowed to meet his mother.

They saw the boy hiding below his grandmother’s cot. The old lady past eighty who could hardly walk without a crutch was greatly surprised to see her son Gopal with his wife after years. She told him that his son Raju had come three days back saying it was vacation time for him and that he wished to stay with her. He had not told her that he had run away from his house without telling anyone. She was surprised no doubt as no one from his house visited her for years.

Savitri hugged Raju and was seen crying in joy that he had been at last found. Raju wrenched himself away from his mom and snuggled around his grandma. Gopal asked Raju why he left without informing anyone.

The boy replied amidst sobbing” I felt bad for grandma. She is alone here. She cannot see properly. We have to shout to her for her to hear. She is not allowed to stay in our home. You never met her. Mom would also not permit me to meet her. I felt sorry for her and wanted to give her some company. I know I have caused you worry but there was no other way.”

Raju’s grandma immediately remonstrated with him saying, “This is not the way to talk to parents and I disapprove of it. You should not have left the house without telling them. Apologize to them  right now in my presence,”

When Gopal turned towards his wife, he found Savitri falling at the feet of the old lady pleading for her forgiveness and begging her to come with them to their home permanently.

When Raju saw a trace of a smile on the wrinkled face of his grandma, he let out a shriek of joy and promptly fell at the feet of his parents.