Chapter 14: chapter 14

"Sat Sri Akal veerji", he greeted him joining his hands. My father-in-law returned the salutation and offered him to sit on the sofa. When my father-in-law seated himself comfortably on his comfy sofa chair, uncle rose, took a pinch of pink herbal-coloured powder, and bowed down reverentially touching his feet. My father-in-law flourished his hands on his crown as an act of blessing and applied a tikka on his forehead. Then, my uncle proceeded towards my mother-in-law law. I and my husband also repeated what my uncle did a while ago. My father-in-law blessed me explicitly keeping both his hands on my head which was covered with a dupatta. He was smiling all the while, happy to be surrounded by his immediate family. It was unusual, as he always blesses with only his right arm. My younger son tried to smear some colour on his long grey facial beard after offering his obeisance. He protested with a casual smirk, "No beta don't colour my beard. All these years I have kept it uncoloured." All of us started laughing in unison. I served tea, kheer and snacks on the table. Everybody relished it amidst a lot of chatting, recalling old memories and laughter. After my uncle took our leave, my son's friends came to seek our blessings. I served them dahi bhallas and kheer. My sons also left the house with them to offer their adulations to the neighbour families adorning their traditional kurtas and pyjamas. Thus, the festival of Holi strengthens our community bonding. People celebrate together irrespective of culture, caste and religion. That is the speciality of Indian festivals and it is rightly said that India is a land where unity in diversity exists widely. The day ended on a happy note. It is noteworthy to mention here that my in-laws stay at home only on this day which comes once a year as all the shops observe a holiday on this day. To specify, Holi brings a holiday for my ever-toiling in-laws. The pandemic year gave them ample holidays due to the lockdown but they cherished this small celebration very much.April was the cruellest month for me and my family. In the first week of April 2021, my mother-in-law complained of vomiting and loose motion. She also felt dizziness and nausea. She treated herself with medicines and electrol water and continued going to her shop. She recouped within a few days but in the meantime, my father-in-law developed a sudden weakness. He lost interest in eating and caught loose motions. We had the least notion of believing him to have been infected. I retorted to him with several concerns, "Papa, do you feel short of breath? Does the food taste bland? Do you have a cough?" He answered with a no to all my practical doubts. My husband brought him the medicines, and he gulped them as instructed but there were no signs of recovery. He became so weak in five days that from 11 th April onwards he was not able to resume his shop duties. The exhaustion forced him to confine at home. He stopped sipping his morning and evening tea which he had never missed even during his heart surgery. It was then, I doubted that he might have been infected by the virus. To make matters more clear, my mother-in-law put into my ears an honest confession that she should have declared long before. She committed, "Raghav's brother had been infected with the virus, and he is spending his time in isolation. Raghav was also suffering from a normal cough and cold but he continued coming to the shop. He claimed to be free from the virus. The last day when your papa Ji attended his shop he didn't have the strength to put down the shutter."