Resemblance

Resemblance

As said by Dhriti

Every six months, Dhriti would visit her son's house in Delhi. She and her husband, Rohit, lived in Pune, while their two daughters resided nearby. The Mehtas adored their children greatly. Their elder daughter opted not to marry and held the post of senior VP in an MNC in Nagpur. The younger daughter was a software engineer who married a successful businessman in Pune.

Dhriti's granddaughter, Kuhu, would turn 10 in September, and she had flown to Delhi a few days before her big day. Sneha, Dhriti's daughter-in-law, had invited many children, and the house was adorned with large balloons and soft toys. Dhriti observed Kuhu and noticed several similarities with her father, such as her predominant use of her left hand, her love for cherries, and the way she blinked her eyes when speaking. Kuhu shared the same traits as her father, Ashish. She also adored cherries, smiled like her father, and was a kind-hearted child. Kuhu had the same sparkling eyes as her father and was an intelligent girl. The school principal adored Kuhu as she was an all-rounder.

While everyone else enjoyed the party, Dhriti got lost in her thoughts, reminiscing about 45 years ago when her father was searching for a suitable groom for her and would meticulously scan the matrimonial ads and correspond with the groom's father.

Dhriti called her mind and looked back when a young man well-established had come from Dhanbad to Dehradun to have a look for her. Her father invited him to stay with them at their spacious bungalow house but he chose to stay with his distant relative in Dehradun. Accordingly, on the arrival date her father along with his colleague attended the station. It was a beautiful Autumn morning and there was a slight nip in the air. It was almost 8 am and the train was running at the right time.

Ah! there is the

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engine, Dhriti’s father looked far to see the train arriving at the station. It was just a few minutes past 8 o’clock when the train arrived. The coolies were running around and a few young ones got up before the train came to stop. One by one all the passengers had left but Dhriti’s father couldn’t find the young man. He just knew his name and carried a photo of him. It was almost 9.30 and they were tired so, Dhriti’s father and his colleague went to the tea stall to have tea. Dhriti’s father’s anxious eyes fell on the train and the platform looking for the young man but he couldn’t see anyone around. It seemed all the passengers had got down. Those days were hard and there were no mobile phones so things were not easy.

The two gentlemen were enjoying their hot cuppa tea when the colleague nudged his friend and said, "Look at the young man just a few yards away staring at you." Dhriti’s father nodded in agreement. Before her father could think of approaching him, the young man came forward and asked, "Sir, if I am not mistaken, are you Dhriti’s father?" Startled, Dhriti’s father asked the young man, "How do you know I am Dhriti’s dad?" The young man replied, "Sir, you had sent a few photos to my father of your daughter, and in one of them, she has a smiling face with a small dimple on her left cheek. You also have the same dimple on your left cheek, and your daughter resembles you very much, so I was sure that you are Dhriti’s father. I was watching you for the last ten minutes.’ All ended well, and Dhriti’s father brought him home. Although Dhriti didn’t end up marrying Girish, she fondly remembered how much she resembled her ‘dear father’.

Ashish called his mother, ‘Maa please come Kuhu will cut the cake and she is going to put the first piece in your mouth’. Dhriti got back from her thoughts and participated in the party laughing and enjoying with everyone.

What a lovely story Dhriti shared with me.