Older and quieter than usual, Saroj was not surprised to see Rajjo at her doorstep. It was almost like she was waiting for her to come home. As Rajjo settled on the small dining table to enjoy the meal, Saroj complained,‘I told you, I don’t need that ugly thing sitting in my courtyard. It annoys me.’ Saroj referred to the generator sitting in the courtyard like an eye soar.

‘Use it.’ Rajjo smiled.

‘When I die, you can switch that monster on.’ Rajjo chuckled at the comment by her hard-nosed parent.

At nightfall, mother and daughter sat on the cot under the stars. Just like old days. Saroj sighed as she told her daughter proudly, ‘Your grandmother was a stubborn fool. I never wanted to name you Durga but she had a dream. Apparently a goddess came and blessed her in the dream and asked her to name her granddaughter after her. I never believed that old bat!’ Saroj sipped her warm cup of tea remembering the old wrinkled woman. ‘You know she was so happy the day you were born. She named you Durga, she sang and danced all day, she distributed sweets and the next morning she died. Like she was just waiting to be a pain in my neck and so she died after creating a ruckus. That woman loved two things, to rile me up and drama!’

Rajjo smiled again. She wished she knew her grandmother. Despite her complaints Rajjo could sense the warmth in Saroj’s tone as she spoke about the senile old lady. Like she missed her.

She had heard stories about her grandmother from her sisters. It was like old days, them sitting in the courtyard, a slight chill in the air, exchanging tales and lores and myths and secrets. Life was rich and beautiful then. Only they couldn’t see it, it was all covered under a muddy gauze.

She could hear the crickets in the night. A gust of cold wind made her pull the cover a bit closer. It seemed like Rajjo was in a time warp. She was far away from the maddening crowd, from her devotees, from her worries. She wished she could bring Harsh here to see the village she grew up in, sit in the courtyard and share stories of her grandmother.

‘She said, you’ll see Saroj, this girl will make a name for herself in the world, she will show them the way. I thought she had gone mad. But she was stubborn. I guess you take after her.’ Saroj sipped the hot tea again.

Rajjo remembered her mother saying this to her very often. When she called the weather or predicted a mishap in the village, Saroj was quick to pull her up.

‘That’s why I was never your favourite?’ Rajjo teased. ‘You loved me all right but you loved the others more. Reet, Rikki, Rano and Sheru…’ Saroj looked at her daughter and smiled.