‘I am talking to her, Madhav,’ his mother replied and turned towards Radhika.

‘What is your full name?’ she asked.

‘Radhika Kapoor,’ he said.

‘Madhav,’ his mother said, ‘did you notice your names?’ Madhav and Radhika both looked baffled. ‘Madhav is one of Lord Krishna’s names and Radhika is Goddess Radha,’ she said with a beaming smile. ‘They were also five years apart in age.’

Radhika gave a little start. They had not told anyone about their relationship since they knew the age gap would raise eyebrows in their traditional society.

The maid brought samosas and biscuits and placed them on the table.

Madhav was afraid his mother would start talking about his childhood. He ate one biscuit after another, trying to assuage his nerves.

Every time she came close to broaching the topic, Madhav changed the subject, but the women seemed adamant on talking about it.

‘Radhika, I want to show you some of our family albums.’ His mother asked Radhika to join her in the other room. It was a spacious room, mostly unfurnished except for two chairs and a table full of trophies. The walls were adorned with medals, certificates and framed photographs.

‘This room belonged to Madhav when he was a child, before he shifted upstairs,’ his mother said wistfully. The room brought back memories of a happy and joyful Madhav and she missed him terribly.

‘Madhav won all these medals?’ Radhika asked.

‘Yes. Once he returned from Nainital, he worked very hard and excelled at everything he did.’

Madhav hadn’t entered the room. He paced anxiously outside. He called out to Radhika a few times but she didn’t respond as she had her own agenda.

‘Nainital? Madhav was in Nainital?’ Her curiosity was piqued.

‘Yes, he studied at Nainital Hilltop School.’ Madhav overheard his mother and finally stepped into the room to end the conversation before it went too far.

‘Radhika, let’s go upstairs. I need to show you something,’ he said, panicking, but she ignored him and continued to look at a class photograph that hung on the wall. She went closer to the sepia-tinged picture to read what was written at the bottom. It said, ‘Nainital Hilltop School—Batch of Class IX/Year 2000–01’.

Radhika tried looking for Madhav in the photograph but something else caught her attention—a boy in a wheelchair. He wore thick spectacles and had a vibrant smile. She looked for his name in the list below—Parth Aggarwal. Radhika felt a strange shudder go through her body. Her instinct told her that Madhav’s present condition had something to do with this boy.

Mrs Mehra handed over an old album to Radhika. It documented Madhav’s life, from infancy to his teenage years. Some of the photos were of him receiving awards for poetry competitions. She slowly flipped through the pages. The same class picture was a part of the album. She turned the page and what she saw made her knees go weak.

A photograph depicted the scene Madhav had painted in her art therapy session. Two boys on a hill, one in a wheelchair with the other’s arm around his shoulder. But in this photograph, she could see the boys’ faces. It was Madhav and Parth in their school uniforms, holding a trophy with cheerful smiles on their faces and not a care in the world. She stared at the picture, scrutinizing every inch of it and then looked at Madhav. She had found a hint but the larger riddle remained unsolved.