Chapter 2
"Ma'm...the man you brought in yesterday is slowly coming to..." The orderlie was out of his breath as he blurted out the entire statement in a single effort. The family was having breakfast, Mallika, her brother Aditya, her sister-in law Suhasini and nephew Bunty.
A strange expression came over Suhasini as she subconsciously checked her hair. It was neatly combed as over. Aditya caught that movement and almost choked over his orange juice.
"Ohhh Good..." Mallika muttered to herself. She put down her juice and hurried behind the orderlie.
Ashutosh was indeed stirring restlessly, his eyelids twitching as his brain tried to reconnect the missing events in the recent past. Mallika hurried to his side, her high heels clicking as her saree pleats swished from side to side.
"Ashutosh..." She laid a gentle hand on his brow. He opened his weary eyes.
"Ashutosh, how are you feeling now? Do you have a headache?"
The eyes were blank and the face expressionless.
The bejewelled lady frowned. Something was not right. OK, there was a wound on the temple that was cleaned and dressed up last night. It was not that deep anyways and would heal in a couple of days. But the unresponsive face...had the man gone deaf? No, at least he would have recognized her, right?
"Ashutosh..." she shook him really hard this time. He refocused at her again, as she raised her voice again.
"Ashutosh, remember me? Mallika? Your friend of 12 yrs? We worked together in KGH?"
The name rang a distant bell. Why did the woman look familiar? That bindi on her forehead was quite a signature. And the saree...purple magenta with blue sequins embroidered. Why was it familiar? Was that her favourite colour? Maybe: the walls in the room were done in same colours, and bore framed photographs of people he couldn't recognize much. Ohh golly...that was him! And the woman, with their arms interlinked...were they returning from some party or what? Did he know her? Why couldn't he recollect anything? Had he been here earlier?
Where was that? And where the heck was he right now? Something was hurting on his temple. He raised a hand and felt a bandage. Gosh...was he hurt? What happened to him? An accident? But when? And how?
A frown gathered on his forehead as his memory started returning in bits and pieces.
Where was he? OK, hurrying back from Delhi to Lucknow. Nidhi had called him and told about her engagement and the fact that her father had refused to call it off, even threatening to shoot himself if she didn't comply. So he had told her to go ahead.
Nidhi had initially pouted and the three of them had come to some sort of an agreement. Rohan's words reverberated in his brain.
"Ok, Dr Ashutosh...I agree to this engagement as a stop gap arrangement. But please come to Lucknow and talk to Col Verma. Till then, Nidhi will be my betrothed for namesake. Once you come back, I will engineer some sort of disgrace for myself and Col Verma will be forced to break off the arrangement..."
What arrangement? Nidhi...Rohan...Col Verma...Dadi Bua...The room started gyrating with their faces grave at times and mocking alternatively. He put a hand to steady the spinning.
The woman was by his side instantaneously, the frown distorting her forehead bindi.
"Ok Ashutosh...don't overstrain yourself. It's OK...take rest. For the time being, let me sedate you again..." He winced as a prick registered somewhere in his arm, blanking out the rest of the thought process.
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"Ma'm..." The orderlie was full of concern and Mallika took her own time to respond.
"Yes?"
"I don't think we can handle this man here, Ma'm. He is showing signs of extensive brain damage, including memory loss..." The man swallowed his words as Mallika glared at him.
"You mean to say...I don't know my job?"
"Not that, Ma'm...since the morning we have been trying to talk to him. He doesn't remember anything: his name, address, family, nothing. So just had a hunch..."
"Ok, go on"
"How about getting this man evaluated by a neurologist? Maybe he needs a CT scan or some other investigation? We don't have these facilities here..."
Mallika had cooled down substantially. What the man was saying made sense.
"Ok, when he wakes up next, can you put him on a wheelchair and I will take him to KGH for a scan. Maybe it is nothing: but then it is better to be safe than to repent later on.."
The man withdrew after nodding his concurrence. Mallika's eyes gleamed with the next set of actions. She picked up the phone and dialled KGH.
------
Suhasini withdrew quietly from the closed door, having heard everything that her sister-in law had talked on the phone. So, she was taking Dr Ashutosh to KGH for a scan, eh? But then, there were other hospitals nearby with similar facilities. So why KGH? To showcase the sick injured man to someone? Bingo! She peeped in the room and saw that Ashutosh was fast asleep, an attendant was dozing in a chair nearby.
Suhasini's eyes gleamed with a purpose. She would never let that happen. She would never let her sister-in law succeed in her evil designs, whatever they might have been. A shout from the room alerted her and she schooled her expression to one of polite obedience.
"Suhasini, where is my milk?"
"Sure Didi...coming!"
Suhasini balanced a glass of hot milk on a tray and swore inwardly. Boy, wasn't it difficult? Balance a hot glass of milk in a tray held in one hand and hold the pleats of the saree in another? Move around in the house without tripping over something? And those sarees...why did she have to wear them? Aditya would never mind her wearing jeans and a kurta, but this sister-in law of hers...insisted on medieval customs. Anyways, pausing outside the room, she remembered the last instruction just in time and knocked on the door.
"Come in..." She cautiously entered the room and handed over the glass of milk.
"Leave it here, Suhasini..." Mallika, reading a book, pointed to the side table. Suhasini did as directed, fussing a little more over the glass of milk.
"Can you wake me up at 5 AM tomorrow? You rise at that time, right?"
Suhasini nodded and withdrew from the room. Once outside, she withdrew her hand cautiously from behind her palloo, to reveal a strip of sleeping pills. Now how was Mallika going to take Ashutosh to the hospital? She had to wake up from a very deep sleep first...
Till then, could she fuss over the sleeping hunk downstairs? She did a quick recce of herself in the mirror and tiptoed in the room where Ashutosh was sleeping, totally unaware of the fact that Aditya, her husband had observed her entirely.
Aditya was feeling disturbed. Suhasini was indeed behaving strangely ever since that man had been brought in. They had been married for the past 7 yrs and never before she had behaved like this: she had even ignored their son! Not to forget the burnt vegetable on the dinner table...What was wrong? Of course, that man. Dr Ashutosh, his sister's friend, how long was he going to be there?
He knocked on his sister's room a few minutes later.
-------
Suhasini woke up with a start. What was wrong? She could hear a car start, and peering a little from her bed, she could definitely discern just one thing: it was her sister-in law's car! What had happened? She was sure of one thing: the sleeping tablet dose was enough to lay a horse.
A gentle noise of snoring alerted her to a possibility she didn't even dare imagine. Her husband was in deep slumber, and an empty glass of milk stood drained, on the side table.
Suhasini felt like banging her head to the wall! Aditya had received four notices in the past for coming in late on duty. Maybe today was the fifth one?
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Mallika negotiated the traffic with a little unease as her co-passenger looked around disinterested. She had woken up early and manoeuvred Ashutosh into the front seat with the help of an attendant. She had politely nodded her thanks and he had trailed around.
"Ma'm, would you need any other help?"
"Such as?"
"In the hospital where you are taking him?"
Mallika frowned. No, not needed. She was taking him to KGH anyways, there were plenty of wardboys and helpers around. She waved the man away.
"Not needed, there would be plenty of help around..."
The feeling of unease only increased as she parked her vehicle at her slot. What would be Ashutosh's diagnosis? And most important, would she run into Nidhi? How would Nidhi react to Ashutosh in wheelchair? She had casually dropped a hint to Dr Ranganath that Ashutosh was fine and was relieved that no questions were asked further.
She was acutely aware of the stares and abrupt ceasation of the banter as she wheeled in Ashutosh for the neurological consultation. Dr Uday Chopra, consultant neurosurgeon was indeed waiting for her and ushered them in.
His face was grave as he read the report after an hour.
"Temporary amnesia, Dr Mallika...brought on by severe head trauma. Though no internal bleeding or injury can be seen, but still, you cannot say...the CT scan has its own limitations!"
"Amnesia...that means?"
"Some sort of a temporary memory loss. He has forgotten everything. Including the fact that he is a surgeon of international repute. He has forgotten all about this hospital, about you, about me, about..." Dr Chopra left the part unsaid and Mallika waved him to silence.
"You said temporary? Does this memory loss reverse itself?"
"Again, that is how things are from a clinical point of view. Although many cases recover by themselves, it is not definite about how long the recovery will take. Some take a few days, others a few weeks and yet others a few years even! So..."
The silence hung heavy in the air as Mallika fidgeted with her heavy pulloo.
"So, what do you suggest, Dr Chopra? How shall I take care of him?"
"You need to prompt him to remember his past, Dr Mallika...take him to his house. Take him to the situations in the past, the people he knew in the past, and give him a good diet and rest..."
Mallika rolled her eyes. There was no way she was going to take him to his home. Who would care for him there the way she would?
"I think he can do with a bit of rest and good diet right now, Dr Chopra. Besides, if I took him home, who is going to take care of him?"
Dr Chopra seemed to agree with her.
"Ok, then...thank you for the professional opinion!"
"You are welcome, Dr Mallika...and keep me posted!"
Mallika wheeled the chair out of the door and stood still!
Nidhi stood in the corridor.
-----
Nidhi strode forward, her eyes locked on the wheelchair and its occupant. She had probably just stepped out of the OT and was yet to be out of the surgical garb.
Tears gathered in her kohl lined eyes as she walked on unsteady feet to the wheelchair.
"Dr Ashutosh?"
There was no reply from the occupant.
His face was devoid of all recognition.
Nidhi was not going to give up so easily. Tears welled up in her eyes as she sat on her haunches and shook the occupant by his shoulder.
"Dr Ashutosh, see, it's me...Nidhi! Your Nidhi...have you forgotten me? Try to remember, Dr Ashutosh...We love each other! You are committed to me and I am committed to you...remember the confession at the dargah? And then the Shahzaadi Salooba date...the rainy night and the Adrak ki Chai? I even learnt to cook your favourite hare chane ki kadhi for you...Then you had to go to Delhi and Baba fixed up my engagement here. He just wouldn't listen...I called you and you rushed here as soon as your work got over...Dr Ashutosh...please talk to me, Dr Ashutosh...I am dying a thousand deaths every moment...Please..." Tears started flowing freely now as there was no sign of any response from the occupant.
"Dr Nidhi..." Mallika's voice was like a whiplash, "Can you please leave him alone? He has suffered a severe brain trauma and forgotten everything, as you can see. So don't torture him anymore..."
"Forgotten everything?"
"Yes, Dr Nidhi. He has forgotten everything, including me, the KGH, his patients, his surgical knowledge, and the most important, You!
"No...No..." Nidhi screamed out aloud, her head spinning. She grabbed the nearest railing. Mallika continued, relentless.
"Yes, Nidhi, he has forgotten you! that's one good thing that has come out of this accident. I wanted him to forget you and I tried every possible trick. But nothing worked. And then this accident, well...looks like some divine intervention happened. It's God's wish after all!"
Nidhi sank to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Mallika manoeuvred the wheelchair around and imparted one parting shot.
"By the way, you got engaged that day, right? So now be faithful to your fianc!"
Mallika had not missed on the engagement ring that shone bright on Nidhi's finger.
----
Aditya was feeling grouchy. What happened to him? His head was almost coming apart at its seams and he had to grab it with both hands to steady the spinning. Then it came back to him. He had gone to talk to his sister last night and voiced his concern over Ashutosh staying in the house. But his sister, as usual had been headstrong and adamant over a few things. In the end, they had come to an uneasy truce and his sister had graciously offered her glass of milk to him.
"Cool down, Aditya...have this glass. You will get a good night's sleep!"
And what a sleep it had been! It was almost midmorning when he had woken up with a huge hangover. There was no way he could justify making it to office and had to send in a leave application. Suhasini had sulked the entire morning as she served the breakfast. Another instance of loss of pay, he thought with dismay as he gulped down the cold meal.
His reverie was broken by the sound of horn. His sister had arrived and rushed to her room, the attendant wheeling in Dr Ashutosh behind her. Aditya approached his sister cautiously, she was reading a journal, reclining in an easy chair. Ashutosh, lying on the bed, stared in space.
"Hey Aditya...no office today?"
"Nothing Didi...just a day off, that's all. What did the doctor say?"
Mallika stared at the ceiling for a while.
"Temporary loss of memory, Aditya. Ashutosh doesn't recollect anything. I took him to KGH, his face was totally blank. His CT scan is normal, the neurologist feels that this is amnesia brought on by the accident..."
"Didi, one thing: did you come across..."
"Nidhi?"
"Yes, her...did Ashutosh recognize her?"
"No..." Mallika rubbed her hands in glee. "That's the beauty of the whole thing. He has forgotten everything!"
"And all the effort we undertook to push Nidhi to a corner, her father's bankruptcy, the fraud by his business partner, her father's heart attack and the Bagchi affair..."He paused as a new thought struck him, "By the way, Sandip Bagchi willed the house to you, right? What do you plan to do with it?"
"Havent yet thought about it, Aditya...the papers are here in the drawer. Just got them that day and haven't had a chance to look at them ever since. Maybe sometime in future...By the way, why do you ask?"
"Oh just casually, Didi..." Aditya tried hard to hide his dismay. He had planned to talk to his sister about the house and get it in his own name. After all, it was only through his efforts that his sister had got it, right? So he was entitled to it...But one look at his sister, her flashing kohl lined eyes, flashy jewellery and the intricate bindi stretching across her forehead, he had swallowed his thoughts, like a bitter draught. There was nothing he could do about it.
"Aditya..."
"Yes, Didi?"
"You don't look well. Is anything the matter?"
"Nothing Didi. Just overslept, that's all..." Aditya tried to wave the concern away, but the nagging doubt remained. Why had he overslept? Was there something in the milk that his sister had passed on to him?
Bingo. It was clear in a flash. He had been drugged. By his sister. All because he had objected to Ashutosh being there. And now his sister was all set to dupe him of what he felt, was rightfully his.
The house, which Nidhi had sold to Bagchi. And Bagchi had passed it on to Mallika.
----
The brother-sister duo were totally unaware of a major thing.
They were being eavesdropped on.
Ashutosh's lips curved to form a smile. What he had predicted had been true after all: Mallika was the culprit behind the forced sale of his house.
He had forced himself to look indifferent when Nidhi accousted him in KGH. His hands had almost reached out to comfort her; it was with supreme willpower that he had kept them to his side.
"Wait, Nidhi...finally there will be justice for you. Have patience!"
Now for the papers...Mallika said, they were in the same room! In some drawer? Where? If and only if Mallika would leave him alone, he could search for them himself. The room wasn't so large, anyways...
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