RAINBOWS IN MY HOME

Short story by Dr M Sitaram

Disclaimer

All the characters in this story are fictional and any resemblance to actual persons or places is co-incidental. There is no intention to cast any aspersions on any persons or groups.

Preface

Adolescence, that delicate transient phase in one’s life when dreams start taking shape, new human relationships begin to emerge and attitudes get defined. This is the story of a group of young ladies discovering the wonderful world of friendship and love.

 

My Story

I opened the window blinds slightly to have my first peep at the breaking daylight outside my home & was glad to note that it had stopped raining at last. I ventured out of the house with a cup of hot coffee in my hand and took a deep breath of the lovely fresh air! The aroma of wet earth tinged with the wafting fragrances of flowers tickled my nostrils and brought a smile to my lips. I was glad I had decided to settle down here in Papireddy Guda, a suburb of Khammam in Telangana, away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities. This was what I always loved - clean air, pure water and the smell of mother earth!

“Good Morning Doctor garu” a friendly voice greeted me and I turned my gaze towards the source, an elderly man with a kind smile, who was standing across the fence in my garden. “I am TK Reddy, your neighbor!” he continued “I was away with my son in UK and just returned yesterday!”

I recalled someone mentionl his name when I moved in to my home last year and also knew that Mr. Reddy was a successful businessman who owned a large farmhouse in the area. After an exchange of pleasantries, I asked him about his family and he told me that he has 2 children, and was away to visit his son in UK while his daughter was studying in Hyderabad.

“How come you had left your busy medical practice in Hyderabad and come to live in such a remote   place?” there was a puzzled look on his face after I told him about my last job in the Hyderabad and I smiled at his curiosity! Like on many previous occasions when I faced this question, I patiently tried to tell him that I everyone’s life, there comes a time when one feels like running away from the hustle & bustle of a metro city and try to find some peace of mind in a tranquil place far from the malls, the crowds and the mad traffic. “Moreover, I have 2 teenage daughters who are studying to crack the competitive exams for college entry and I thought a small quiet place free from too many distractions would be ideal for their studies!” I added.

“What a wonderful idea, doctor saab! Was this exam you were talking about, the EAMCET exam for entry in to medical or engineering? That’s the exam my daughter in Hyderabad wrote 2 days ago. Now she is eager to come to spend a few days here with us!” he replied as I laughed at the coincidence but I realized that probably half the kids of this age group would be taking the same examination in May every year!

I saw my wife Padma on the porch trying to call me back in to the house and excused myself from Mr. Reddy’s jolly company, to turn towards my front door where Padma was indicating that I had a telephone call to attend.

The phone was full of static noise (as usual) when I tried to answer the incoming call but I could make out the faint voice of Ratnam, my younger sister from Hyderabad shouting at the other end.

“Annayya, is that you? Thank God! Why is no one answering this stupid land line of yours? We are so used to mobiles in Hyderabad while you are still stuck with your old-fashioned instrument!” “Nothing is wrong this side, Chitti! Your vadina has Mauna vratam today being Tuesday and wouldn’t pick up the phone, that’s why I had to take this call! How’s everything with you?” I enquired.

“I was trying to call you since yesterday! We are all fine, Pavani, my daughter, was feeling bored here after writing her EAMCET exam and wanted to come and spend a few days with you all. Hope you have no other plans this week!”

“That would be wonderful and kids will be very happy! When is she coming? I’ll go to the bus stand to pick her up” I said, as I tried to imagine Pavani, the little impish girl growing up so fast and planning to visit her uncle all by herself.

“Well, that’s the reason I’ve been trying to call you urgently, she has already started from here early morning today and should be reaching your place shortly. Don’t bother to go to the bus stand. She’ll find her way to your place and she’s got a friend of hers to accompany her. Hope you don’t mind!” she said as she hung up.

My wife was looking at me enquiringly, and I told her “Well, we are going to have guests! It’s time to arouse our sleeping beauties” as I started up the staircase to the girls’ bed room to wake up my two Cinderellas!

 Advaita’s Story

As the rickety rikshaw slowly ploughed its way through the muddy roads around the bus stand of the town, there was hardly anything to look around and I was wondering at the wisdom of my choice to accompany my friend Pavani to her uncle’s village (yes, that’s what I would like to call this place, a vintage village!). Papireddy Guda, the village we were visiting, was still in deep slumber at 7 AM on a week day and I was trying to suppress a strong desire to jump out of the slowly moving rikshaw and run back to the bus stand to try my luck to get a seat back to Hyderabad. The possibility of my Guitar getting damaged in my escape bid possibly made me chuck my plans and I decided to stay back and see this visit to its culmination. Perhaps we could cut short this visit if I didn’t like the next few days. Let’s wait and see!

After trying to fiddle around on my mobile for 5 minutes, I gave up, realizing that there was no network coverage in these parts. As Pavani my friend, kept up a chat with the rikshaw puller (Pulliah was his name, what an apt name), I kept looking at the spelling mistakes on the name boards of the few shops in the market to pass time. Soon we were on a side road full of trees with no sounds but for the chirping birds in the orchards. Wow, not a bad place after all, I conceded as the silence of the morning and the serene atmosphere worked their magic on my mind and I felt very relaxed!

The rikshaw stopped at a simple wicker gate and as we alighted, there was a distant sound of Suprabhatam music from a large bungalow and an elderly gentleman approached the gate to welcome us. Soon we were ushered in to the compound and as Pavani touched her uncle’s feet in reverence, she motioned me to come and be introduced to him. As Aunty joined us, I folded my hands in Namaste, I felt their kind eyes on me and immediately felt at home in the new place. This is going to be a wonderful holiday!   

Monika’s story

As dad woke us up and asked us to get ready and be prepared for a surprise, I could hardly guess what was on his mind! Maybe he would again show us some old B&W movies on the video player. I find them appallingly boring, but Didi & I have decided we didn’t want to mention this (as it hurts my parents’ feelings, you see)!

Just last night, as I was discussing with Meghana (my Didi), we realized that the post EAMCET stage in any student’s life was supposed be the most enjoyable stress-free period to relax, and here we were, stuck in this little town where nothing exciting ever happens!

So, suddenly when the door to our room was flung open and my cousin Pavani from Hyderabad barged in with her bags, I let out a big whoop of joy! As we embraced, I pulled her to sit on my bunk bed to riddle her with so many questions. “Monika, my darling! How have you been?” Pavani asked as she hugged me.  As Meghana Didi emerged from the wash room with a big towel around her head, there was another blood curdling whoop resounding in the room and they embraced.

It took me a while to realize that there was another guest in the room behind Pavani and as I extended my hand to the shy girl with glasses, she said “Hi, I am Advaita!” and I immediately started liking this new friend! As Advaita was looking for a place to park her Guitar, I immediately pulled her to the next room (a spare guest room) and told her that we both could be roommates here and let Pavani stay with Didi in the other room. We could make as much noise as we wanted and we could go & check on those guys whenever we wanted, by walking through the connecting door! “Whoopee” I let out a blood curdling shout, just to let the whole neighborhood know that our real holidays have started just now. I told Advaita to get ready as I ran down the stairs to fetch coffee and biscuits for all us!

 

Meghana’s Story

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw cousin Pavani & new friend Advaita in our room this morning! It’s as if our prayers have been answered and all our boredom & anxieties about exam results vanished in to thin air! As I was chatting with them, we realized that all four of us had gone through immense stress from exams as well as the social distancing enforced on us to allow us to concentrate on books. We all agreed that this approach was incorrect as we need to share our anxieties and hardships with our friends, on a day to day basis and it wouldn’t work if the lines of communications were cut off before a big event like exams. But who is going to listen to teenagers now a days? It’s as if we are in a world of our own, sailing in unchartered seas, as everyone just tells us to keep going and things will be alright in the end! I mean it is okay for dads and moms to be pillars of support for kids floundering in uncertainty about their future. But we want to hear about their hardships and anxieties too. It helps reassure kids to know that parents had their rough patches too! I am convinced that I will chart my own course through life on my own terms. I am not sure what is my real goal in life is, but I will definitely get there, laughing and singing all the way! May be that’s the reason, I rejected my results of my last year EAMCET exam and decided to write the exam again this year with less tension and more confidence. Moni my younger sis, feels I think too much and will be a philosopher one day! Well I am not saying she’s totally off her mark! But, coming to this week, we are going to make a full program of how we are going to enjoy and we will make it a memorable holiday for all of us!

 

Pavani’s Story

I was so relieved when my parents let me travel all by myself to Doctor Uncle’s place in this remote village! Actually, I was worried that they may force me to go through another visit to a temple town (we had already been to Tirupati/ Vijayawada/ Sreesailam) where Mom kept praying that I should get a medical seat soon! I feel embarrassed that I am forcing my parents go through these divine channels just to see me through an entrance examination!! I was feeling totally suffocated and badly needed to get away from Hyderabad for a while and was happy that I could visit Monika & Meghana, in their happy village!  Adi (my best friend Advaita) thinks like me and I was happy that I could convince her to come away with me on a holiday. She told me that she needed to get away too!

Whatever misgivings I had about me & Adi landing on doctor uncle at short notice disappeared when I saw the welcome smiles on their faces and the warm hugs from M & M, my cousins! A week’s holiday seems too short when I realized how much stuff we need to catch up with! Adi has merged in to the family like she was born here and has become every one’s pet! I am so glad we are here! With so much music and dancing in the air, could there be a better holiday than this?

 

My Story

The weather is definitely better this week compared to the last fortnight (when we had unexpected rains before we could protect the mango orchard) but things are under control now. Pallavi and her musically gifted friend Advaita have definitely made our quiet little place lively and the first floor (where the girls have made their kingdom) is always full of loud laughter with thumping music and I suspect that dancing sessions are going on full swing! I tried to go up to see about the TV dish antenna but was chased down with loud squeals of protest. Parents were clearly not welcome beyond the staircase!

Yesterday, there were scraping noises from upstairs and we learnt that the furniture has all been moved to the spare bed room as they made a dancing floor with facility to drag the mattresses on the floor so that all the four girls could sleep together and keep chatting till midnight! When my wife said that it would be like sleeping on the railway platform, Monika snapped back “Mom, did you ever sleep on a railway platform? How would you know if it’s nice or not?” Padma & me just exchanged looks and kept quiet. May be the girls should know that back in our times of joint families, living in a house was like a platform itself, with shared floor space, shared living room and shared dressing rooms, not to mention sharing dreams! I wish I could take them back to our times when marriages and festivals were 5 days affairs when all of us shared floor beds and sometimes slept out in the open or under the cots!

Every day, soon after getting up, I take a walk in the small garden around our home with a glass of coffee in my hand, just to see how my little plant friends are doing. Sometimes, Padma also joins me in our ‘Garden Rounds’ (as she calls it) and she proudly shows me her kitchen garden additions. Over the last few months, these morning walks have proven very relaxing for both of us as we could see the whole of our post retirement life in proper perspective.

This morning as we were sauntering along in our front yard looking at the flower beds, I found a visitor approach our gate. It was a young girl in her teens dressed in casual salwar kameez ensemble, with a small metal box in her hand. In the early morning rays of the sun, her ear tops sparkled and she looked pretty in her simple dress. As I opened the gate, she entered and said” Namaste, Uncle!
I am Swandana, daughter of Mr. Reddy, your neighbor” Turning to my wife she said “Namaste Aunty, I came here to borrow some coffee powder as there’s none at our house and I just came yesterday from Hyderabad!”

Swandana’s Story

As I started from Hyderabad for our house in PRG (Papireddy Guda) I had no idea on how I was going to spend the next week or two before the EAMCET exam results are declared. Life was pretty dull at my aunt’s place in Domalguda and I longed for some fun & excitement. All my study mates had already left for their respective hometowns and I thought it would be the right time to come & spend a few days with my Dad. He was staying alone after returning from UK while Mom stayed back in brother’s place in London. The rains had stopped by the time I reached my home but the streets were still muddy and full of stagnant brown water. The house was kept well maintained by the servants but my bedroom on the first floor had a musty odor as it was not opened since many days.  As I opened the window panes of my room, I suddenly found lovely music floating in to my ears from the house right across my room! When I went in closer to investigate, I found that the neighbor’s kids were having a gala ball with peals of laughter, thumping beats of groovy music and great guitar chords!

I was surprised at finding this oasis of fun in the middle of this dull backward place and it blew my mind! I decided that come what may, I am going to gate crash in to this party scene at the earliest and enjoy my holiday here.

Catching the elderly neighbor couple early in the morning on their morning stroll and entering their house with a request for coffee powder was too easy but I found that I became a big fan of Doctor & Aunty within a few minutes of meeting them. The ambience, the kitchen garden and the friendly neighborhood doctor family stole my heart. When I told them about my EAMCET result anxiety, they laughed it off and encouraged me to go upstairs to meet their daughters and learn to relax a little! I literally ran up the steps and walked in to the middle of a yoga class with everyone sitting in a lotus position with crossed legs while trying to focus their eyes on the tip of their nose! I knew that I had arrived at the correct destination.    

Padma’s Story

We chose to leave the big city and live in a simple town to spend our days in the tranquility of mother nature. The girls too liked the shifting which also gave them time to prepare for their important exams! Life was very peaceful, at least till the exams were over and Pavani & her friend landed at our place to spend their holidays. Suddenly the kids got totally excited and our little peaceful world went in to a top spin. We didn’t mind their noise, games or music but they had so many plans that my workload had suddenly doubled! Both Monika and Meghana were small eaters from the beginning and I had to constantly prod them to finish their food at the dinner! Suddenly, everything changed and my refrigerator started emptying very fast. Egg trays were vanishing, milk packets were running short and snacks were always in demand night or day! Maybe it’s the company of their friends or the burden of exams being over, my girls have discovered their lost appetites. The hectic running around the house, the galloping over the steps, the filmy dances, the chases around the gardens etc. etc., left them hungry and thirsty! I was happy to see them enjoy their time at the dining table with stories, jokes and Antakshari songs! I just wished all of them should stay happy like this forever!

The girl named Advaita (the one Pavani brought along) had intrigued me from the first day! Try however hard, I couldn’t place her native language! She spoke Telugu with a style of her own and at times seemed at a loss for words for common items! She had a gift of music and I wondered if she was from Kerala or a bordering district with Tamil Nadu! She loved fussing around the kitchen along with me while crooning some classical ragas and this morning when she caught me staring at her, she smiled at me and said “Aunty, I always sing to myself when I am happy! I feel so happy in your presence. I love you and your lovely home” she took off her glasses, wiped her eyes and gave me a long hug! My heart gave a small tug as I patted her head and blessed her!

One evening the girls were all in a frenzy and wanted me to give them more bed sheets and blankets as if they were going on a camp! “Mamma, can we all sleep on the terrace tonight? We want to see the night sky!” I almost dropped the cup I was holding, as I imagined my little girls sleeping up on the roof in total darkness in this village! My eyes widened in alarm as I looked to my husband for support! He just smiled and gave a small nod! The kids were jumping with joy with the new found freedom as I was left shaking my head!

The arrival of our neighbor’s daughter Swandana added further intensity to their daily games and partying! Whenever I looked at this tall girl with long legs bounding on our stair case taking 3 steps at a time, I used to get breathless myself! “Swandana, were you an athlete in school?” I asked her as I handed her a plate of samosas to be taken for everyone. She smiled, fluttered her lovely eyelashes at me and asked sweetly “How did you guess Aunty? I was the school champ for 3 years in a row!” She vanished as she bounded up the stair case like a deer!

“Aunty where is doctor uncle? I couldn’t find him anywhere” Advaita demanded one morning. I smiled and pointed to the Lord of the house sitting on a small stool on the garden steps, trying to tune his old pocket radio. “Uncle, so here you were all the while, while I searched everywhere!” Advaita said as my husband looked up! “Please uncle, can I have your spectacles?” She stood upright extending her hand. Doctor saab was clearly taken aback “What happened? You lost yours? But I see them right up on your nose!” he said. “Uncle, we are staging a drama called ‘Quit India ‘and I am playing Gandhiji. So, I need your glasses!” She persisted. My husband was amused “But you already are wearing glasses, why don’t you continue wearing them in the skit?” “No, my frames are different! Your frames are more like Gandhiji!” the girl was clearly not taking no for an answer!

My husband meekly took off his glasses and Advaita vanished in to thin air with his specs! I was shaking my head in disbelief! “How could you hand over your costly spectacles to that girl just like that? When I try to clean them once in a while, you make such a fuss and wouldn’t even let me touch them!” He just gave me a wink and said “I can always take your glasses in an emergency!” But I was clearly not amused!

Last evening, the girls wanted to clear of all the furniture in our drawing room for a dance performance and I protested that already they had enough space upstairs to jump around!

“But, Mom, Swandana is going to teach us ‘Bhangra’, the Punjabi dance! It requires more space, don’t you understand?” my daughter Meghana explained to me! I just prayed that all my valuable flower vases and corner tables would survive the Bhangra!

The previous day, Swandana came to me and said “Aunty, can you please teach me how to tie a saree just like you?” I was pleased that at least someone in this house appreciated my dressing sense and took her to my bed room to select a suitable saree for her. As I opened the cupboard, Swandana gave a big ‘Wow’ in awe, as she saw my collection of vintage silk sarees! She gave a huge shout “Hey Pavani, just come & take a look at this!” As the room quickly filled up with the girls each trying to touch and admire the heavy silk sarees, I had to step back and smile at their astonishment at the variety of sarees I had collected but hardly had an occasion to wear! “Girls, girls”..Swandana clapped for silence! Tonight, we are going to have a ‘Fashion show with Bathukamma collection’ and Aunty is going to join us”. There was a huge round of applause and I was clearly at a loss for words! The whole day was spent with collection of flowers from the garden, preparation of floral trays, saree tying classes (Telangana style) and practice ramp walks with recorded music in the back ground!

My husband was totally perplexed (as he returned from his post office trip) on finding our home bristling with young models in silk sarees balancing floral pots on their heads while thumping drum beats beat up a frenzy. He turned his back to go for a walk outside but was stopped by Advaita “Uncle, uncle. Please don’t go away! We need you to click our picture as we pose on the stair case! Please tell us to smile before you click! Come on ladies!!”

“Did you give them permission for all this?” he hissed at me but I just walked by with a smile, adjusting my nose stud and balancing the flowerpot on my head! I was feeling young again!

 

My Story

My world is upside and my house is in a top spin for one week! Nothing stays in one place anymore! My books get displaced, my spectacles went upstairs and my walking stick has gone for a walk. I now understand how the simple folk of the French city Paris must’ve felt when the Germans invaded them during 2^nd world war!

This morning, there was a big noise from the first floor as something fell with a “Thud” and there was a loud wail of a girl followed by a big commotion! I suspected an accident and bounded up the steps rapidly as I found my daughter Monika crying in pain with a bleeding wound on her leg! I calmed her down and put her on the bed as I gently examined the wound below her left knee. Luckily it was a superficial cut only and the bleeding stopped after a few minutes of pressure. I asked Meghana to rush down stairs and fetch my first aid bag I keep on my desk ready for emergencies. A bit of cleaning of the cut with iodine and application of a band aid dressing to the area solved the problem. Fortunately, the cut was superficial and did not require any suturing.

As I was coming down the steps with the first aid box, Padma asked me anxiously what had happened. I told her not to worry and that I just applied a dressing to Monica’s leg! But how did it happen, my wife was insisting on the details and I told her “Listen Padma, I am a retired military doctor. My job is just patch them up and send them back in to the battle. I never ask them about how they go hurt in the first place!”

Actually, I knew that the rehearsals for the ‘Quit India’ drama were going on in full swing upstairs and I was glad that it was not ‘Gandhiji’ who had fallen (as my glasses were in danger) but Monika in the role of Netaji Bose, who had tumbled from the stool!

A while later Swandana came to me panting with the effort of running down the steps. “Uncle, can I have a knife please or better still, do you have a sword?” I looked at her in the eye and asked her “Did you have a fight? Whom are you plan to stab now?”. “Very, very funny uncle! I am playing Jhansi ki Rani in our skit and I need a sword urgently for the role!” When I shook my head and I told her that I only had a surgical scalpel with 3 cm blade, she thought for a while and ran away. A few minutes later, I found her come in carrying a magnificent long sword with a shining blade and a carved handle. When I gasped in surprise and asked her how she managed to get hold of a sword so fast, she replied “Oh, I remembered my dad kept one in his cup board in the bed room!” When I enquired if she has taken her dad’s permission to take out the sword, she slapped her forehead and exclaimed “Oh, S***! I forgot!” and wanted to go back with it. I advised to keep the weapon here for the moment and take it back to her home when her dad was out of the house! She liked the idea and left the sword in my room and I wrapped it up with some newspapers for safety.

As luck would have it, Mr. Reddy, Swandana’s dad, walked in to our home a few hours later for a chat “Namaste, Doctor saab! Looks like my daughter likes your home much more than ours. I hardly see her at home nowadays!” I explained that all the kids were having a whale of a time in their holiday home upstairs and complemented his daughter’s creativity. After a while he started to leave for home but his eyes fell on the handle of the sword wrapped up in a bundle on my desk! “Wow, looks like you have purchased a new sword! Can I have look at it? I like old swords and daggers!” I told him that it was still very dirty to handle and I wanted to get it thoroughly disinfected before opening it myself. That satisfied his curiosity and he walked out of the room. Suddenly he turned back and asked me how much I had paid for the sword? I quickly thought of a figure and mentioned it to him and he let out a big laugh “Doctor, you may be good in your profession, but you don’t know anything about bargaining! Next time you ask me before buying any antiques!” I collapsed in sheer relief after he exited from my gate.

That evening when I was trying to clear a few weeds from the front garden, a car came and screeched to a halt in front of our gate. Two men came out running and entered the garden, “Doctor saab, please come quick, there’s been an accident at Mr. Reddy’s farm house! He has sent us to fetch you immediately!” My first thought was about my friend Reddy garu and asked the messengers about his safety! They assured me it was not about Mr. Reddy but someone from the film crew who had come to shoot a short film on the ranch. They did not know many details as they had drove off here soon after they were deputed to fetch me. I quickly picked up my doctor’s bag and rushed out after shouting to my wife that I am off to see an emergency at the farm house!

After a furious drive of 2 km, we arrived at a huge film set erected between the trees and among the crowd of people, cameras and lights, I located Mr. Reddy, who appeared greatly relieved to see me!

“Good that you could come fast, Doctor! It’s the film hero Mahesh, who is here to shoot a short film. He had some snacks during a break and has suddenly become very sick. This way please.” He guided me to the center of the crowd where hero Mahesh was resting in a garden chair while some one was fanning him with a large cardboard!

My first look at the patient was enough to set the alarm bells ringing in my head. He was conscious but very restless and had bloated face with puffy eye lids almost closing his eyes. There were red scratch marks all around his neck where he was scratching furiously and the area was swollen! The breathing was labored and his voice was croaky when he spoke to me. I gathered that he was in good health till one hour back when he had some snacks made of mushrooms and fish. A quick examination revealed that he had fast thready pulse of 120 per minute and the Blood Pressure was 90/ 50 and was gradually dropping as he struggled to get his breath. I quickly made him lie down flat on a make shift cot and took out my medicines box. He was clearly a case of food poisoning, probably due to allergy to mushrooms & the anaphylactic (allergic) reaction was threatening his breathing by swelling of his voice box (larynx). I quickly injected some antihistamine (Pheniramine) and pushed in 100 mg of hydrocortisone in to his veins to hold his allergy in check. As I waited for the steroid to take effect, he continued to show further deterioration by starting to mumble incoherently and stopped answering questions. I wish I had an oxygen cylinder but the nearest hospital was 10 km away and the rickety ambulance could never make it here in time through the bad roads. I wondered what else I could do and suddenly remembered an old trick we were taught many years ago when we were treating asthmatic attacks in elderly people in the past. I took out my box once again and searched for the single ampoule of adrenaline I carry for dire emergencies like this one. Quickly I diluted the contents of the ampoule in saline and injected a few drops of dilute adrenaline solution under the skin before settling to wait for 5 minutes by my watch. Every five minutes, I kept injecting a few more drops of the solution, while carefully watching his pulse and consciousness. Adrenaline was one of the oldest and one of the most powerful medicines for anaphylactic shock but had to be handled with utmost caution since it could cause irregular heart beat and sudden collapse. But my patience and the medicines, slowly started showing results and the patient started to breathe easy. Over the next half an hour, his restlessness disappeared and the puffiness over the face had already started receding. I checked his pulse and BP for one more time before I stopped further injections and closed my medical bag. I reassured the anxious film crew that everything was going to be alright within the next few hours but clarified that there should be no more standing or physical exertion for the rest of the day since he would need full rest. As I wrote my prescription for medicines to be continued for the next few days, I could see that Mahesh was looking almost normal and even asked for a glass of water. I walked over to him to say good bye and advised complete rest as he smiled and shook my hand in gratitude. I explained my treatment to Mr. Reddy as he walked with me to the car and folded his hands in thanks as I left the place.  

Back at home, as I washed my hands and put away my medical kit, the girls listened wide eyed as I narrated the story of hero Mahesh’s narrow escape from real life medical emergency. “Dad, you could’ve at least taken his autograph when he became conscious!” Monica said with a big sigh!’

“Uncle, at least you could’ve taken a selfie with the hero before you left!” was the admonishment from Swandana! “Well, you could’ve gone to see the film shoot yourself! Afterall he was shooting on your farm house!” I told her. “Me, Uncle? No way! Dad says if he sees me anywhere near these film folks, he’ll break my leg! And he means it too!” Swandana replied dejectedly!   

Meghana’s Story

Life is so peaceful in this house after Pavani & Adi arrived from Hyderabad! Even the daily quarrels (I used to have with my sister Monika) have stopped, as we had to plan our daily activities 24 hours in advance and required to coordinate the ‘team activities’! Yes, we were a team now and I realized that being a team organizer is as exciting as being a team player! Perhaps, I should reconsider the thought of joining medical profession and just join a degree college leading to MBA! Oh God, after all the hassles of tackling my second EAMCET exam, how could I ever break the news to my parents, that I had changed my career plans again? Everyone already calls me a dreamer who is unable to make up my mind!

As we sat around on the bed and were discussing the sequences of our skit ‘Quit India’, Pavani got a call on her mobile and went in to the next room to take it. We heard loud exchanges with her mother on the phone and Pavani was almost pleading! Soon she joined us in the room with a crest fallen face and announced “Well, that’s it, guys! Our nice holiday is over and my dad wants me to return back to Hyderabad at the earliest. I believe the exam results are going to be out next week and I have to get a lot of certificates to be prepared!”

A collective gasp went up from all of us and Swandana asked “You mean, no time even to complete our ‘Quit India’ skit?” As Pavani shook her head slowly, the painful reality soon sank in to our brains!

No more fun and games, the world and our parents were waiting for us to pick up our academic threads and get on with our studies! No one spoke as we lay back dejected, wondering if ever get a chance to meet again before our ships sailed in different directions after the examination results!

A shout from Mom, brought us back to our senses and we all trooped down to the dining table for lunch. As we ate in silence, mother immediately sensed a drop in our enthusiasm and enquired if everything is okay! Clearly puzzled when no one was touching the delicacies she had prepared, she said “Alright, now tell me the truth! What is wrong with you all? Why the sour faces in the morning today?”

“Pavani’s parents want her to come back immediately” it was Moni who spoke in a soft voice. “Our results are going to be announced and Pavani and Adi have to go back tomorrow!” I thought she is going to cry after the announcement but luckily there were no drama moments here!

“That’s great, girls! Exciting week ahead and I am sure all of you are going to be so happy with your results” it was Dad who walked in as Moni was speaking! “I will speak to Chitti and tell her that you’ll start by morning bus tomorrow! I suspect both your parents are more anxious than you!”

That night, as we lay on our terrace and watched the black night sky studded with a billion stars, everyone had the same thought on their mind. How come these ten days passed by so quickly and how come all of us had so much fun in such a short time! A few stray shooting stars flashed across the dark sky as if mother nature was putting up a spectacular night show for our benefit tonight! We wondered about what our future would be, and if we could ever meet as group one more time!

“Listen guys, I have a plan!” it was Adi who spoke, “I believe that if you make a wish while a shooting star flashes by, the wish comes true! So, let us all make a collective wish on the shooting stars and see if it works!” No one spoke as we all lay back and watched the silent night with brilliant diamonds in the sky.

The sky was full of shooting stars that night as we slowly drifted off to sleep!   

My Story

A light morning drizzle has just ended and I came out of the house to look at my car parked in the porch. My suspicion was correct. The left front wheel was totally flat, possibly from a puncture the previous day! I had no spare tyre in my dickey and have to wait for the car mechanic to show up!

Early in the morning, there were sounds of scramble upstairs as the girls ran down from the terrace after being rudely woken up by the rain drops! Pavani has to leave today and I was wondering how to drop them off at the bus stand as I had no transport. Even my neighbor Reddy garu had gone off somewhere and I had no telephone numbers of drivers to call.

Eventually after a hurried breakfast, Pavani & her friend Advaita were ready to leave for their journey. Carrying back packs and hand bags full of trinkets and books they were looking like real tourists out for fresh adventures! My daughters were looking crest fallen and as the girls exchanged hugs & mobile numbers, I could sense a sense of disappointment as their holiday was cut short!

Padma emerged with a tray of sweets for the girls to carry on the bus trip and presented them with new sarees as they touched our feet respectfully.

“Thanks uncle, we had great fun” Pavani said as I blessed them and wished them luck. “Hope all of you get admissions into the same medical college and become doctors soon” I said as we walked to the gate together.

“Wait for me” there was a shout from across the fence, and we watched Swandana run out of her home with a huge back pack to join her friends. “I have decided to return to Hyderabad with you guys!” she said as all of the hit high fives. When I expressed my apprehensions about the girls walking all the way to the bus stand on these isolated roads, Swandana said “Don’t worry Uncle, I took classes in Karate in high school! And if required, I can club any villain on the head with Adi’s guitar!” “No need to damage my precious guitar yaar, we will just choke their neck with bare hands” Advaita protested.

As all of them laughed at this welcome light banter, I saw a black car approach our home and stopped at the gate. There were a couple of more cars which came to a halt, and I did not like the look of the hefty muscular men who jumped out of the cars. Apprehending trouble, I motioned the girls back toward the home and move forward protectively. The door of the Mercedes car opened and I saw a smiling person emerge and walk to our gate. “Namaste Doctor garu, it’s me Mahesh, your patient” he said as he folded his hands in greeting. I relaxed as I recognized Mahesh, the famous cine hero whom I had treated a couple of days ago in the farm house location.   

When I expressed my happiness at the pleasant surprise on finding him at our house, Mahesh said “I am totally alright now after your timely treatment. My wife in Hyderabad spoke to our family doctors there and they say that you have literally saved my life with the timely injections and medicines. I could not thank you enough! You were really an angel who came to my rescue in this small town. I am rushing back to Hyderabad today and was enquiring about your home to say a big Thank You as I leave. Do drop in my home in Hyderabad whenever you visit and my family would love to meet you.”

As he turned to leave, he saw the girls wearing their back packs behind me and said “Oh, looks like the young ladies are going on a picnic! Can I drop them somewhere?”

“Actually, they were going to the bus stand to catch a bus to Hyderabad! I was waiting for a rikshaw and..!” I said wondering if I could ask him to drop them off to the bus terminus.

“Coming to Hyderabad! Wow. That’s great! Come in ladies, I think we have a lot of space in my car if you can hand over your luggage to my assistant! It would be nice to have your company on this long journey to Hyderabad.” He motioned his assistants to take the girls’ back packs and make space in the car. As the young girls squealed in excitement while they ran to the car before the hero changed his mind, I could see the escort party quickly take their places in their respective vehicles. The whole entourage took off on their journey while we stood and waved till they vanished from sight.

My girls were clearly excited as they chatted loudly about their first encounter with a real film celebrity. “They are so lucky Daddy!” Monika sighed as she imagined Mahesh with her friends on a long car ride! “It is so unfair! It was you who treated Mahesh but Adi & Pavani get to ride in the car with the hero! I should’ve gone too” she moaned!

“Don’t worry darlings! One day two big heroes will come riding on their horses and I’ll gladly send you with them!” I said as we all slowly walked back to our simple home!

The End!