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Three hours ago

He did not know how long he sat with his head in his hands, but it must not have been for long, for his guest had not walked out, as he had faintly hoped. No, his unwanted guest had actually settled down, a little more comfortably than he would have liked and had a smug expression on his face.

Shekhar Gadodia hated his guest, which was not very surprising; Shekhar Gadodia hated a lot of people and most of the world, the reasons varying from having a bad mood to his steadfast notion of perceived injustice meted out to him by life in general.

His grandfather, Shankar Lal Gadodia, who had joined as an assistant typographer in The Statesman during the pre-independence days, had been suffused with patriotism and had grown to become a reputed reporter. Post-Independence, wishing to contribute to the newly liberated country, he had started his own publication, The Calcutta Times, which was subsequently rechristened as The Kolkata Times when the city was renamed. His son and Shekhar's father, Deendayal Gaddodia had ensured the growth and popularity of the publication, effortlessly managing the balance between facts and sensationalism.

Shekar Gadodia had inherited the successful business and the passion, unfortunately, life and luck never appeared to favour him, which was more of his perception rather than fact. As a student of journalism, he had focused more on his classmate, Sharmishta Bose rather than on the nuances of reporting and spent hours admiring her lithe figure instead of mastering the intricacies of typography and lithographs. Any time he could spare from his amorous pursuits was devoted to hating his competitor, Ram Prasad Maheshwari. When it was time for him to get married, he declared his intention of marrying only Sharmishta to which his mother had put up a vehement opposition but all her protests had gone unheeded for his grandfather and father had approved of Sharmishta, as she was a granddaughter of freedom fighters; for them patriotism overshadowed any linguistic and caste distinctions. Parvati, his mother, might have battled her husband but could not voice a single word against her father in law's dictate. She agreed to the wedding, though she never ever accepted Sharmishta as a daughter in law.

Sujata Lakhotia, his mother's choice of a daughter in law, had gone on to marry Ram Prasad and it did not go down very well with either him or his mother, his pangs of jealousy could not be doused by the exultation at being married to the woman he loved. Sujata was the only child of the wealthy Lakhotias, which was the prime reason his mother had favoured her and Shekhar knew that that the combined business of the Maheshwaris and Lakhotias would propel Ram into a higher league with much lesser effort. The fact that they were far wealthier than the wealth of the combined Maheshwari and Lakhotia fortunes escaped their notice. It had not helped that Ram and Sujata were blessed with a son within a year of marriage, though Sujata's untimely demise did lessen their jealousy; while they had to wait for almost three years before Ragini was born to them. Despite being a sweet and beautiful baby, Ragini never found any love from her grandmother, who wanted a grandson to carry on the family legacy. Ragini, deprived of a considerable amount of love and affection from her parents, spent all her time in her grandfather's printing press or in Ram's house with her gang of friends, which further aggravated Shekar.

Twelve years and seven miscarriages later, Sharmishta delivered another baby girl, Swara. Parvati Gadodia had passed away six months before and till her dying breath had never forgiven Sharmishta for not giving her an heir. Her death had left behind a relieved Shekar and a thankful Sharmishta, who would be ashamed to admit their feelings, but maybe it was this relief and gratitude which saw Sharmishta complete her term without any complications and give birth to Swara, who was tiny, beautiful but blue; she was born with a hole in her heart.

Though they were thrilled that they finally had another live child, the news of their baby's deformity was enough to plunge them in despair. They then spent the next fourteen years praying at temples, visiting hospitals and consulting doctors as they watched their tiny little daughter undergo repeated surgeries. In a bid to seal the hole in Swara's heart, Shekar Gadodia and his wife bored a hole in their business, their finances, their time and energies, and most unforgivably, in the attention they gave Ragini.

The only thing that did not burn was Shekar's envy of Ram Prasad Maheshwari.

Eight years ago, in Johns Hopkins Hospital, the final surgery on Swara had been performed and she had been declared as fit for life; with a few general precautions and routine check-ups, she could go on to lead a normal life. Their relief at the news was dampened when a worried Ragini left them to rush to India, refusing to let them know any reasons for her agitation and sudden departure.

A few weeks later, the happy family had landed in Kolkata, glad that they could now go on to live like a normal family. When they reached home, his father met them with the news of Ram Prasad's demise, one that did not dampen his joy; he was not callous enough to be happy at Ram's death but neither could he summon any sympathy for him. Later that night, when he confronted a shaken Ragini, the angry determination in her eyes had silenced him, but he was happy when she curtly dismissed his concerns with the terse statement, "I do not have any friends, not anymore."

Ragini had never attempted to contact with her friends after that day, not did they try to meet her. She withdrew into a shell masking all her emotions under a calm and stony expression. She, who had been a fiery and lively girl had become silent and indifferent to almost everyone, excepting Swara.

Two years later, when Shekar received a proposal for Ragini from the Senguptas, he and Sharmishta deliberated on the same and decided that Sahil could be considered as a suitable match for their daughter, though it was the fact that Sahil's father had offered to extend financial assistance to his newspaper that Shekar had neglected over the past years and was now in financial doldrums, which was a key factor in influencing their decision.

Unfortunately, they had reckoned without Ragini's steel will and his father's wholehearted support for her. For when Shekar came home that evening, it was to find Ragini and his father waiting for him, with their bags packed and Swara in a the midst of a tumultuous tantrum at the thought of her sister leaving her and their home.

It was in cold and distant tone that Ragini conveyed her decision, she would not marry Sahil or anyone, either now or in the future and if her parents thought they could dissuade her then she would leave their house immediately. Shekar was aghast, angry and distraught; he had anticipated Ragini's opposition but had not expected his father to support her. Though he raved and raged, while Sharmishta begged and pleaded, against the increasing ferocity of Swara's cries, Ragini sat unmoved and finally he told her the real reason why he was pressing for Sahil's suit.

It was apparent that both Ragini and her grandfather were aware of that reason, for they simply handed over a sheaf of papers to him, which he skimmed over before sinking into the sofa. The papers laid out a detailed plan to revitalise the ailing Kolkata Times, with a couple of riders. While Shekar could continue to stay on as Publisher, a hands-off publisher, he would have promote their existing Chief Editor, Mr Verma to Managing Editor and appoint Ragini as the Chief Editor who would be mentored by Mr Verma to take over from him on his retirement or when Ragini was declared suitable, whichever happened earlier. Further, in return for a substantial loan infusion, his father would also be appointed as an honorary Chief Sub-Editor, who would oversee the structure and production of the articles. Shekar knew that he had no choice but to agree though that move effectively removed him from exercising any active influence over the day to day workings of the newspaper.

They had never attempted to talk to Ragini about getting married while she worked days and nights in turning around the fortunes of the newspaper. Today, The Kolkata Times stood at the top ten newspapers of the city, while the magazine that had been Ragini's brainchild, was a success in a coveted niche.

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The long walk down the memory lane had taken quite some time and yet his guest did not seem perturbed or ready to leave. Shekar quit stalling and asked, "So Sahil, what brings you down here? I did get the memo you so kindly sent and I informed you of the same, so why bother coming in person?"

Sahil was blessed with a thick skin; no insults, slight or undisguised, affected him. He gave a slick smile and answered, "Well, it is quite an interesting press release and I would love to know what your daughter thinks of it. Now I am quite aware that left to your own, you would not forward this release to her and given our history there is no way she would read anything I send her, so I am down here to see that you send it to Ragini."

Shekar might have disagreed with most of Ragini's views and decisions, but he was not going to choose Sahil's side over his errant daughter, he was about to refuse when Sahil continued, "I am aware that you would not want to do it but then hear me out, despite our differences both of us have reasons to dislike the Maheshwari Group and since this is the very group that is being taken over, are you not the least bit curious as to who or what SNLRS is?"

Sahil waited for an answer, despite his failings, he knew exactly how to manipulate most people and he was aware that Shekar was also curious as to who was behind the takeover. His patience as rewarded, for Shekar gave a resigned shrug of his shoulder and questioned, "So what do you plan to do?"

"Nothing, I want you to do something?"

Shekar glared, "And what is it that you want me to do, which you cannot do?"

Sahil grinned, the glint in his eyes reflecting his victory, "Your magazine is a classic one, unlike mine, which as you know has a different flavour. So here is my suggestion, run a series of interviews about the man or men behind SNLRS, it would fit it well with your 'Person Behind the Personality' Series."

Shekar knew about the Sengupta's publications, opinions ranged from calling them gossip papers to soft pornographic newsletters, and despite his dislike of Sahil, agreed that the idea was a good one, they could uncover the identity of SNLRS and if it was not what they expected, it would still contribute to his magazine. The only flaw was that the idea would have to be run across Ragini, for despite her withdrawal from her friendship, she would not be enamoured by the idea of investigating into anything connected with the Maheshwaris.

Sahil continued, "I suggest you send this copy of the press release to Ragini or I could hand it over to her..."

"No, I will send it over."

Shekar gritted his teeth, scribbled a few words on a post it paper, which he stuck on the press release printout and instructed an office boy to hand it over to Ragini. Once the office boy left, he stared at Sahil, who still sat in the chair, softly whistling to himself. Shekar ground his teeth, he could not forget how he had to inform Sahil's father about Ragini's fierce rejection of the match, nor could he live down the scathing words that he had to hear on what surely was his noticeable failure in keeping his daughter in line. It was another reason he disliked Sahil, he reminded him of that day and he also could not understand how he could be so casual in the company of man whose daughter had rejected his match.

So when Sahil gave another smile and took his leave, Shekar let out a sigh of relief and sat in silence for a few minutes, fortifying his courage to face Ragini.

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As he neared Ragini's room, he saw Sahil leaving and that had him fuming; Sahil would ruin Ragini's mood though he hoped he was mistaken when he heard her laughing with Swara, maybe luck was on his side. He pushed open the door, only to have Ragini fall silent and assume her cold demeanour as she sat back in her seat.

Swara gave a squeal and launched herself at him, "Baba, how come you are here? I missed you so much."

He gave an equally fond smile, "Are you not being melodramatic? The last I saw you was four hours ago, when you decided that stuffing your mouth with two slices of bread in one minute was a quick breakfast."

Swara pouted, disengaged her arms from her father's neck and sulked, "you do not love me anymore; I love you so much that I miss you even if it is only for a couple of hours and here you make fun of me. I am not going to talk to you."

"How long, five minutes? Even that would be a blessing considering the amount you talk."

Swara stuck her tongue out at her father and was about to leave when Ragini called out, "Wait, Swara, I am sure whatever Baba has to say is about work and you can listen in."

Shekar glared at his elder daughter, who held it with a proud cold gaze of her own, while Swara kept looking at each of them in turns, she knew that there was little affection between her father and her sister, but kept her peace. Finally Shekar gave in; pulling a chair, he sat and started, "This is regarding the press release; most of the people are curious about SNLRS and I was thinking that it would be a good idea if we could interview them for inclusion in your magazine."

Ragini had not expected this suggestion and she paled; she was not eager to approach SNLRS, especially as it would mean dredging up old memories, for she knew what SNLRS meant though she could not understand the why of it nor the timing. Flustered, she took a deep breath and answered, "No."

"But why, Ragini? It does make good sense unless you know something which you are not willing to say."

Ragini was still flustered and rather than reject the idea, which might have closed off the topic, she focused on the point that she would not do the interviews, "It does not matter what I know or do not know, I will not agree to this. I am not going to interview any of them"

Swara watched her father and sister argue back and forth, each turning stubborn; she had never interfered before in any of their continual silences or infrequent arguments. However, today, she agreed with her father for she was convinced that his suggestion had merit and she could not understand why her sister refused to do the interviews when she apparently had not rejected the idea itself. In a foolhardy bid to make peace between the two people she loved, she interrupted, "I have a suggestion, since Di objects to doing the interviews and not to the idea of them being included in our magazine, maybe I can do them?"

Her solution was met with silence, though Shekar's eyes shone with mild victory, Ragini's face displayed shock and consternation.

And here ends Chapter 3, how was it? And what do think would happen next? Do let me know your views, all are welcome whether good or bad.

love,
Nyna