Saturday, November 03, 2007

Chapter 3 - The Final Month

“I’ve told you a million times not to drive fast.” Yelled Raj’s mom, after she had made sure that he was still in one piece.

She was a professor in Delhi University. Tough on the exterior and soft on the inside. She was one of the few women of her generation who chose to have a professional career. Her sisters had all gotten married and become housewives. She had gone on to get a masters degree and then a career in academia. This balancing act of her marriage, career and children had taken a toll on her. Not one to solicit help or sympathy, she had let her health suffer. Nothing too serious but she had chronic anemia which caused her to fatigue easily. On top of this, she would insist on keeping weekly fasts which made things worse.

“Aunty, not only does he drive fast, he never wears his helmet.” Neeta chimed in, trying to score brownie points with Raj’s mom. She had come over to the house as soon as she heard about the accident.

“Actually, I was wearing helmet and I was not driving fast. I mean how fast could I be driving? The traffic signal had just turned green.” Protested Raj. He wouldn’t admit it, but he kind of liked all the attention he was getting.

“Alright, no more riding the bike, I will call your boss to let him know that you have been hurt and can’t come to work for sometime.” Raj had been working at a small advertising agency owned by a cousin. He enjoyed the company of his cousin and making the small salary which gave him independence, but he didn’t think of advertising as a career and was starting to grow tired of the job. He didn’t protest at his mother’s suggestion. One more month and he will be in Boston.