The Bare WAlls

     Ram Kumar was exceptionally over excited. He had finally got through  the noose of red tapism and got his visa made. He might have checked his  rack- sack  several times in order to be sure about the safety of his paasport. Luckily he was assigned  the counter where one north- eastern officer was in charge and he could manage well because these officials have fair knowledge of the native tongue. He was instructed by his son to carry all his IDs  and other proofs of his financial assets to get through the formalities.He had also instructed him to apply for a shorter period in order to secure visa hassle free.  Since  mentioning  a long duration could   make them suspicious of his intensions of over stay in the country. Ram kumar complied with all the instructions because he was quite apprehensive not to miss the visa. It was virtually a drudgery  to go through all the formalities . At  every step there was some or the other noose around his neck which he could loosen up with great struggle. The running around  was extremely hectic and a sort of  demeaning exercise.To claim for his   own rights too had turned into a mean feat. He had to humble himself  to the extent  that it took  time to  straighten up. .His son was a t techie in   one of the foreign companies abroad.He remembered how he and his wife got a shock when one day their son declared that he was joining some MNC  in   a  foreign land. It was like  bolt from blue.He was their only child and they were getting old.He remembered how his brother’s children left their parents one by one leaving them to fend for themselves. He was somehow sure that this was not going to happen to  them since  their  son was quite concerned about their age and its accompanying failings.. and  he further  convinced them that it was a matter of  a few years and then they would join him at the earliest. This consoled them and   gave them some relief from  the intense despondency. They   saw him off with a cheerful demeanor but feeling terribly hollowed out from inside. His wife   almost went  into a delirium

Their son  had  given them all the necessary know- how of how to use the lap top. Like phoenix rising from the ashes they surfaced and started practicing   the gadget and quite feverishly faced him the  first time  on the screen. It felt weird seeing him almost so near  yet inaccessible. The  little conversation soothed their jumping nerves and they got settled. His wife gaining her composure, started peering deeper into the screen .She wanted to check his living place its aura and the get up  but she could not visualize much since her son was sitting static  on the  bed and the wall at his back was  bare..She could only feel that the place did not look gorgeous rather it gave the effect of some gloomy  bare space. They were eager to know  when he was calling them but  some premonitions  forewarned them to let it be for some time. Ram Kumar  somehow  fell  into his routine but it was  very difficult for his wife to come to terms with the emptiness around.  

It took a lot of time for their son to settle down in the new place  and he made them  realize that it would not be feasible for him to call them for some time soon.Time elapsed and parents being parents they got worried about his marriage and one day he agreed to the proposal and eventually got settled.  Ram Kumar  and his wife now had an added member on the skype to ogle at. Each  morning  both of them scampered around preparing themselves to face the screen  suppressing the sea of emotions and bringing forth an equanimity of concern  and joviality.

 Ram Kumar  was feeling jittery. So  much was to be packed and time was very less. He had to fly within  a couple of days and his wife was insisting upon to take with him all the totems for the baby to be born. She had packed all her son’s baby clothes which she had been preserving since her son grew out of them. They were the most precious items meant for her future grand child.She caressed them pleading  with her husband that he should make sure her daughter- in- law made  the baby wear them.This was for the baby’s long life and to ward off the  evil eye. Ram Kumar  felt a strange pang stabbing at his heart but he could do nothing because his son had  said that it would be inconvenient for both of them to come together at the same timer. He rushed to the airport. There was hardly anyone to see him off. The travel was smooth and quite exhilarating.

It was abnormally quiet at the airport .After hugging his son who seemed to be  a little flustered,  they proceeded to his  residence.The roads were empty, the pathways lined with trees. Everything was spick and span and  laid out temptingly but none to savour it.There was no honking.He also felt hesitant to look boisterous or overjoyous to meet his son after such a long time. He was curiously  looking  around the residential areas which seemed to be sparsely laid. He got  somewhat  disappointed.The picture in his mind was different.He had expected to see magnificence on grandiose  scale and  some sort of western glory. The name America itself used to raise pictures of exotic ambience,  but looking around he felt as if he had come to a regimented area. They reached the apartment .It was plush inside .A complete doll- house with of-course the elegant and comfortable bedding. He relished the food served by his daughter- in- law .He was shown his room which was quite neat and comfortable the temperature having been adjusted to their requirement.He felt a little downcast. He had expected a good heart to heart chatting and a togetherness of which he was deprived since his son’s absence from India.

His daughter- in- law had still some time for the delivery of her child and he was meant to stay there till she could manage on her own  say a month or so. He was not able to sleep that early or wake up late and once his son left for his job  he would try to help his daughter- in- law in her house hold chores. He felt very awkward carrying the garbage  bin to a far away dumping place to empty the bin He had never done it back home. It was the maid  who did this job.  Unconsciously  he  peered around  to see whether he was being watched.He felt bad seeing his daughter- in- law mopping, washing dishes and spending a lot of time in the kitchen. While they  had separate maids for these jobs  back at home.He felt uncomfortable sitting idle while she slogged. He offered to help.He found it tough to wield the vacuum cleaner and by and by he learnt to pick his own plate and clean it  prompto which he  never did at home ..He never even bothered to give a cursory glance to the sink full  of dirty dishes. He did not find much use  for  his   dresses there  since no  body  bothered here about what the immigrants wore and then there was hardly anyone to interact with. The strange part being people here did not seem to be into news- paper reading. What- ever papers  he saw lying outside the doors of the residents were  some local papers. He got his son to subscribe for him the national daily which was quite costly as compared to  the ones in his own country. Slowly he felt that he was entering into  the cocoon  of gloom. The boisterousness of his persona had left him. He was of a  slight  built   and the mundaneness around   rendered him  morose looking.  On week-ends they would go on shopping sprees where he would see his own country people. Majority of them being from sourthern  part of India .He wished to greet them but there seemed to be some unsaid moratorium on  not to approach or open up before the strangers. All of them roamed around like snooty  creatures who seemed to be carrying the burdens of the world over their slim brown shoulders. He would also partly push the cart and help unloading it in their car. The days were long there and quite dazzling  which brought to surface the stark vastness of the area and its eerie aloofness   which turned even the lush greens of the surroundings into  something that  wailed the  aloneness of the spirit.  Ram  Kumar  had enough time to go out around the premises. He would slowly make rounds of the area look  at  the trees and try to find some familiarity with them. The huge ugly squirrels seemed   inimical  and gradually he was surprised to notice that even the vegetation lacked the softness of  texture which otherwise  turns them malleable.His son would often ask him whether he felt good and he replied he was fine.But he noticed that he was getting a little vague and he felt that he wanted some prolonged human companionship to   overcome  the hang over. He would remain outdoors for a longer period. His vacant looks would search for some native touch. His daughter- in- law had some more  days left for her delivery and then he would feel occupied he thought.

It was during one of those days that he got strayed  into some  different direction and lost his way to his home .He was not carrying his mobile. He got nervous since there  was not a soul around. He  started walking closer to the residences which somehow are called properties there.The inmates saw him and panicked. They informed the police that some dangerous small man of around thirty years was hovering around and that  they were in danger. The police arrived within no time and questioned him. He could not explain since he did not know the language he only pointed out towards the direction  of his son’s house. But  they lost  cool and manhandled him. Being of slight built and of   brown complexion  they sort of disregarded him as somebody of  no consequence,  handled him carelessly , breaking his neck in the process. He moaned feebly  and lied there in a pathetic state.He was taken to emergency where  like a vegetable he lied prostrate,  his eyes  hung on the canvas of the  bare ceiling of the hospital room..