‘Should have known better than to wear these house slippers,’ Abhimanyu smiled.

The haveli had been decked up in preparation of Abhimanyu’s arrival. Plush new carpets were laid out in the main hall, and the number of lamps were doubled so that each contour of the sculptured walls leaped out to make the residence come alive in honor of the visiting prince. A silver-plated glass of kesar-laced hot milk and a plate of khajoor was laid out for Abhimanyu as the thakur and his men sat at a distance.

‘I’ll arrange for new ones at once. Your room is ready as well.’

‘I would like to visit one more house before we retire for the night,’ said Abhimanyu.

‘Huzoor, you must be tired.’

‘I insist.’

Abhimanyu took out his black diary and leafed through it to find the page carrying the address he had scribbled some years ago at the Ahmedabad railway station. He had ripped it from the spine just before the fateful match he was injured in, but Meera had taped it back when he was at the hospital in New York.

The black town car whizzed by the dead town of Dongra. The dull mechanical whir made way for the howling street mongrels. The driver then cut off the engine and stepped out of the vehicle to rap the door of a humble farmhouse.

‘Saheb! What an honor to have you here! You could have called for me!’ exclaimed Madhao with the familiar bow when Abhimanyu walked in. The old man had shrunk in size since he had last seen him at the railway station.

‘I was around and had your address, so I thought of dropping by,’ Abhimanyu explained. ‘I recall you were based in Ahmedabad?’

‘Please have a seat,’ the old man scampered to get a chair.

‘I am fine here, thank you,’ Abhimanyu chose to stand at the door, not wanting to bother other members of the house.

‘Saheb, I have moved back here. My daughter needs to make regular visits to the hospital, something my wife wasn’t able to handle while taking care of household chores. Started a paan shop here at the nukkad.’

‘How is she doing?’

‘She has seen better days, saheb.’

‘And is the paan shop doing well?’

‘Enough to feed the family. And nothing more,’ he trailed off. ‘Can I get you some water? I am sorry my wife is sleeping as she wakes up early.’