The Wall

The door bell rang.

Radhika put her two year old daughter on the sofa from her lap to attend to the door.

“Vidit, what took you so long?”

“Finding a house isn’t as easy as cooking or tending to kids.”

Vidit’s irritation did not hide his anger at himself, than his wife.

It was third consecutive week, when he went house hunting to relocate from his high rental tenancy to a place that would not eat too much into his monthly income and savings.

After dinner, he followed his two kids to the bed and they prayed together, while Radhika cleaned the kitchen and filled the bottles with water from the water-purifier.

When she returned to the bedroom, the kids were already asleep and Vidit lay in bed staring blankly at the ceiling fan.

She sat beside Vidit.

“Why can’t we look at a 1-BHK?”

Vidit slowly put his arm around his head, covering his eyes; he neither offered a response, nor indicated any interest for a conversation.

The understanding between them did not wear away at these irascible moments.

“Radhika, I am going for a jog. I will carry the keys, so please continue sleeping.”

As she heard the door knob close, she was curious to check the time on her mobile phone.

4:52am.

The kids were getting ready for school and Radhika busied herself from getting the bags ready, checking their diaries in case she missed any detail, to preparing breakfast, getting their uniforms from the cupboard to making sure they ate well – as Vidit silently got ready for office, ate his oats and led the kids to the car, to drop them en route to office.

A drained Radhika waved at them from the window of their flat, and the kids cheerfully waved back.

As she sat down with her cup of tea and glanced at the newspaper, the phone rang.

“Hi, there was bit of traffic today but the kids were on time for their school.”

“Oh, tomorrow I will make sure they get ready at least 3-4 minutes early.”

“Radhika, it is not about you, it is me that needs to help you more.”

“Will you please reach office and give me a call. I don’t want you to speak as you drive.”

“Hmm. Ok”

Radhika kept looking at the phone, at Vidit’s number and took another sip of her strong tea.

The phone did not ring for next four hours.

Vidit excused himself from a review meeting, took the elevator to the lobby and from there to the pavement and dialed Radhika’s number.

“Hey, I am sorry; busy day.”

“It’s ok. Have you had your lunch?”

“Yes. Radhika, I have been thinking to show you a house today evening.”

“I trust you Vidit, I don’t need to see the house. You have selected houses whenever we got transferred, and they have always been good.”

“This time, it’s different and I want you to decide.”

She realized the tone was not of indecision, rather of not taking the decision himself.

“Ok. What time do you want us to go?”

He picked her at 7:30pm; she had dropped the kids with the neighbor.

The car slowed down and headlamps fell on the gate that had patches of rust on its black surface. A man sat on the motorcycle in the parking area and as the car drew closer, he quickly alighted and waved at Vidit.

“Do you have the keys?”

“Yes, Vidit Sir.”

As she got out of the car, the apartment’s garden area looked flowerless and without care. She followed the broker and Vidit to the entrance which did not have a guard, and later into an old elevator that was noisy.

“Sir, this is among the old buildings in this area that still has such large play area, garden area and parking.”

He unlocked the front door and switched on the light; he did not feel the need to show around as Vidit had already visited the house three times in the past one week.

Radhika went around the house, checked the taps, the lights and opened the windows to see the neighborhood and premises.

Vidit stood looking at the wall of the second bedroom; it had patches of black dampness that had dried but left its large impressions on the wall.

“Mr. Zaheer who owns this place, is out of country for three months and once he returns he has promised to cure this wall and give a fresh paint. The rent is Rs. 28,000, almost half of what we pay. Since, this is within the school’s pin code area our kids don’t have to change their school...”

“And, I can’t afford our current rent. As you know, it’s not going great in office and I may have to go for a job change with a pay cut.”

Radhika sat in the car, and Vidit looked straight ahead and apologetic.

“Confirm the house, I am ok.”

They moved in a month later.

Everyday Vidit looked at the wall, and he called Mr. Zaheer once a week to remind him about the wall’s curing.

Three months later, on a Sunday morning a large truck unloaded rusted iron pipes with couplers. The security guard knocked on the door.

“Sir, please move your car; the truck is unable to take a reverse turn.”

“What is happening, and why all those pipes?”

 “Sir, these are scaffoldings. The water and drainage pipes in the building are over 25 year old, so they are being replaced.”

“So, it should take a month?”

“No Sir. I heard the contractor speaking to our building secretary that it may go up to a year.”

“A year?”

Vidit called Mr. Zaheer, and he admitted to this development.

“Mr. Zaheer, I was told that there is no renovation work to be done here, and hence I had agreed to this rental agreement. Why would you hide this fact when I had told that I have kids and renovation work would not be safe for them for the equipment and dust? When are you sending someone to cure the wall?”

The answers weren’t convincing; with options fewer he resigned to the fate.

Over the first four months of the renovation, the old pipes were replaced with multiple instances of water supply being stopped for up to 2 days and water tankers serving a limited supply.

As the monsoons set in, the wall got damper. After the pipes, the external walls of the building were scraped almost two inches into the cement.

Looking at the rains lashing against the glass window, and the damp wall – Vidit did not call Mr. Zaheer.

“Radhika, I have been asked to take up a new role or, find a job outside the organization.”

“How challenging is the new role?”

“It isn’t great. It is a strategy initiative that did not take off, and they want me to restart. It could be a temporary position for me until I find a job and resign.”

“Accept the role; you have nothing to lose until you find something of your interest. Do you have any experience in the role?”

“I do, but that is at a much smaller scale; this is different.”

“Give it your best shot.”

Vidit looked outside his office glass walls into the pool of mud below and then at the horizon; the rains were ebbing away and the sun was making an effort to force its light on the determined clouds.

The daily routine kept everyone busy; the eroding balances in the bank account had been arrested. The family took its first vacation at a less know idyllic beach town.  

The scraped exterior wall was refreshed with fresh cement and the pouring rains started curing it. The “October heat” reduced the wet patches on the inner wall.

“Vidit, I am going to paste some of Abhijay’s paintings from the drawing classes and Ruhi’s drawings from playschool. I have told you in advance, so that you don’t scream at me.”

“It’s ok.”

Still in his office clothes, Vidit looked at the wonderful sheets of paper, he could not stop thanking Radhika for the brilliant idea. The dried November wall, showed signs of life.

“How is office?”

“It is better; my search for a new job isn’t ending though. I am working on a large mandate, so am looking forward to it.”

“Relish the present, Vidit.”

The dinner discussion had more words, both ways.

The kids finished their prayers, and Vidit told them a story of a boy who never gave up trying and God sent him gifts of joy.

The wall went into the background of their lives, as a year passed.

“Vidit, Mr. Zaheer has sent someone to repair the wall. Did you know about it?

“I am busy preparing for a meeting. I don’t know; I haven’t spoken to him in two months.”

The second bedroom door was closed, and the living room was stuffed with items from that room. Some of the drawings had been peeled from the wall and remaining had to be scraped away.

Next day Vidit neither called from office, nor did he take any phone call.

“I am in a meeting; will call you back once free.” – was the standard message that Radhika received in response to her calls.

The door bell rang; it was 9:40pm.

Radhika rose to open the door.

“Hey, I am sorry about the day. I won the large mandate – the largest since this strategy was launched.”

He hugged Radhika.

“Vidit, let me show you something.”    

She led him to the second bedroom.

The wall had been fully repaired and had a fresh paint with a floral design.