Short story: A Family Holiday

 As the Innova sped along the airport highway towards the city, Sushsree’s phone vibrated in her bag. Even without looking at the phone, Sushsree knew who it would be. She gingerly fished the phone out of her bag. The screen was lit up and the caller’s name was flashing across the screen. “Milind Shah Everest Pipes”.  An hour earlier, as her flight descended into Bengaluru, she had spent a few minutes debating whether she should keep her mobile switched off or on vibrate mode or fully muted. She knew that one of Chandrakant Shukla’s minions would call her shortly after she landed to find out if the financial statements were acceptable, though she had messaged them in the morning saying she would be able to let them know only by ten in the night, hoping to prevent them from calling until after dinner. 

Nandan turned around to look at his wife. ‘Don’t these people know you are on leave?,’ he asked trying to sound irritated, though his tone was actually a mix of pride and annoyance. ‘She is forever working,’ Sushsree’s mother-in-law commented grimly from behind her, but without any of the pride that her son still had in his wife’s work. How dare she answer her phone?

‘No, the statements won’t be ready till late evening,’ Sushsree told Milind Shah, even as Adhrit snuggled against her.

Could she make sure that her compliance team would accept the statements that the Everest Pipes’ auditors had provided?  ‘Yes, of course, I will. I already promised Chandrakant sir, haven’t I?’

Milind Shah wouldn’t end the conversation and kept talking and Sushsree could sense her in-laws’ annoyance.

‘Milind, I need to go. I’m on leave, you know that, right? I’ll call you when I have an update.’ Sushsree hung up. They would call back in an hour, she knew, though she had won a brief respite. Clients expected their investment bankers to be on call 24/7, even when they were on vacation and the folks at Everest Pipes were no exception.

‘Bangalore has changed,’ her mother-in-law said from behind, a hint of sadness in her voice.

‘We’re coming here after almost five years, right?’ her father-in-law shot back. His voice was much louder than that of his wife and it carried

‘Yes, you came here just before Covid. I came here just last year and even I can see some changes.’ Nandan turned around for a few seconds from his front seat, next to the driver, before turning back. His voice was even stronger than his father’s and it bounced all around the Innova.

‘What about you Sushshree? Do you see any change?’ her mother-in-law challenged her.

‘I keep coming to Bangalore so often that I don’t notice any change,’ Sushsree replied meekly and waited for the inevitable retort.

‘You’ve been visiting Bangalore so often that you don’t notice any change, but you haven’t had the time to visit my brother even once,’ her father-in-law mocked her.

‘Those were work trips Appa. Day trips, mostly’, Nandan defended her half-heartedly.

‘I visited them just after we got married.’

‘Which was six years ago!’ Her father-in-law was itching for a fight. Did the fact that he was on home turf embolden him? Sushsree wondered lazily. He had moved to Mumbai in his twenties to take up a job and had become a Mumbaikar for all practical purposes, but Bangalore was still home for him and her mother-in-law. What about Nandan? Like her, Nandan too was born and brought up in Mumbai. However, unlike her, Nandan could speak Kannada fluently. No, Nandan didn’t think of Bangalore as home, Sushsree decided, though she had never asked him that question and now she would never ask him, just in case he ended up saying yes.

When they reached their destination, a two-storied bungalow surrounded by a compound wall and hedged in by much taller buildings and one particularly tall high-rise, Mahesh and his twins came bounding out of the house, opened the gate and stood aside. The Innova drove into the compound, disgorged its passengers and their luggage, reversed back into the road and sped away.

‘How much did you pay him?’ Mahesh asked Nandan who was looking at the Uber App on his phone, only to gasp on hearing Nandan’s reply. ‘We could have send the car.’

‘Next time.’

‘Padmaja and Pragnya have grown so tall,’ she heard her mother-in-law gush, even as her phone vibrated once more.

Mahesh’s wife Krithika came out and picked up Adhrit. ‘Adhrit is a big boy now. How old are you, Adhrit?’ Her father-in-law’s elder brother stood at the door, looking as frail as the few wisps of white hair on his crown. His wife’s head, covered with lustrous silvery tresses, could be seen behind him.

Adhrit refused to answer Krithika, though he reluctantly stayed in her arms. Sushsree ignored the vibrating phone.

‘Adhrit, tell Kritika how old you are,’ his grandmother prompted him. Adhrit remained silent.

‘Why won’t you answer your aunt?’ Nandan demanded, even as Krithika carried him inside and the rest of the family followed them.

The drawing room was brightly lit, with red curtains and comfortable sofas of the same colour. ‘Adhrit is ….’ All the grown-ups in the drawing room seemed to be speaking in one voice and waiting for his answer. The only sounds that were heard were the soft thuds when Mahesh and Nandan deposited the suitcases on the floor.

 ‘Four,’ Adhrit said gently and was rewarded with shouts of exultation from all around. ‘He’s a big boy now,’ his grandmother added.

 Sushsree’s phone stopped vibrating and then restarted after a three second pause. Sushsree was torn between answering the phone and saying something nice to  Padmaja and Pragnya. She decided to not answer the phone. She could call Milind back, couldn’t she. However, she made the mistake of fishing the phone out of her handbag and looking at the screen. It wasn’t Milind Shah, but Chandrakant Shukla himself. Now, there was no question of ignoring the call.

 ‘Hello Chandrakant Sir.’

 ‘Sushsree, I know that you are on a break and I am sorry to trouble you.’

 ‘It’s no trouble at all sir.’ Behind her, she could sense Nandan and her parents bristling, while Mahesh and Krithika gave her indulgent smiles. Mahesh’s father had a perplexed look on his face until his younger brother muttered an explanation to him and then he too looked annoyed.

 ‘Sushsree, why is it taking so long to confirm that the financial statements that we have given you are kosher.’

 ‘Sir, whenever we are relying on unaudited financial statements, it is necessary for our compliance to review it and ….

 ‘Okay, but why is it taking so long?’

 ‘Sir, it’s a process. I will get it sorted.’

 ‘I know Sushsree. You have always delivered. That’s why I’ve given this deal to your firm.’

 She wanted to ask him why he had called though she had messaged him in the morning to say that she would revert on his issue by late night. Why did clients have go out of their way to be so difficult?

 Is it very pleasant in Bangalore? Chandrakant Shukla wanted to know.

 ‘Yes Sir, it is. The weather is amazing!’

 ‘I so envy you. We are sweating it out here, you know.’

 Of course, you bastard, you are sweating it out! Is there any corner of your house or office or car that is not air-conditioned? ‘Sir, you should come to Bangalore.’ Sushsree's voice couldn't have been more warm or welcoming.  

 All around her, various activities were taking place. Nandan had carried their parent’s suitcase into the room allocated for them. Her mother-in-law had taken off Adhrit’s shoes as well as his jeans and given him a pair of sandals and a pair of comfortable shorts. Kritika was laying out the table, in the centre of which was two piles of freshly fried medu vade and onion kodubale. Nandan’s uncle and aunt were already seated, ready to eat. Soon everyone else took their places around the table. As she too sat down, the smell of fresh filter coffee hit Sushsree, even as she noticed her mother-in-law look at Kritika approvingly.

 Her phone vibrated again. This time it was her own office and Sushree had to explain to a young analyst, over the munching sounds around her, why an EBITDA calculation seemed to be wrong. Nandan looked at his wife with irritation. ‘Whoever it is, tell him you are on leave!’ he asked angrily looking up from his plate for a moment, before turning back his attention to the food. ‘She is forever working,’ Sushsree’s mother-in-law added, addressing her elder sister and her brother-in-law, who both had a grim look on their faces. How dare she take a work call when on leave and having a meal with family?

 ‘This is why we told Kritika that she can’t work after marriage. She wasn’t too happy about it, but its worked out well for all of us. Padmaja and Pragya get her undivided attention.’

 ‘Why isn’t Adhrit eating?’ her father-in-law’s elder brother asked, as if to buttress the statement his wife had just made. ‘Don’t you like vada?’

 ‘He’s a fussy eater,’ Sushsree said quickly, even as all the adults around the table turned their attention towards the four-year old who was treating the medu vada on the plate in front of him more as a toy than as food.

 ‘Maybe he has never seen a medu vada before!’

 ‘Of course not. We take him to Udipi restaurants often, Nandan retorted.

 ‘And, we make idli, dosa, vada at home very often,’ her mother-in-law added.

 ‘The Udipi restaurants in Mumbai are not really authentic, are they?’

 ‘Not really. Now some of them even serve Chinese food. In any event, that cannot compare with this food!’ Nandan sounded suitably sad as he spoke.  Nandan’s uncle and aunt appreciated his humility with a beaming smile.

 ‘Why don’t you feed him?’ Sushsree’s mother-in-law asked her.

 ‘He can eat on his own,’ Sushsree countered.

 ‘He’s only four,’ Sushsree’s mother-in-law’s sister said.

 If I feed him when we are on holiday, he will insist of me feeding him after we go back home, Sushsree wanted to say, but she desisted. ‘Let him eat a bit more on his own, after that I will feed him.

 Should she switch off the phone? Chandrakant Shukla would go mad if her phone was off. So would her boss. It was one thing to not answer a call and another if the phone was switched off. There were so many excuses that could be made if the phone rang, but went unanswered.

 The phone vibrated once more and Nandan frowned. Sushsree didn’t dare look at the phone, thought she had sensed its pulsating energy even before it started vibrating. Sushsree’s mother-in-law immediately caught on and the other three oldies at the table followed suit. It was as if the vibrating phone was an evil object which radiated so much anti-family energy that was a menace to everyone in its vicinity.

 'Is it the same person calling?', her mother-in-law asked. Sushsree was forced to look at her phone. It was “Milind Shah Everest Pipes”.

 ‘Everest Pipes is going to have its IPO. We are handling it,’ Sushsree told the table at large.

 Fantastic! I’m so happy for Everest Pipes. Please take the call Sushsree,’ her father-in-law said, his tone dripping with sarcasm and making eye contact with his elder brother, who quickly adopted his younger brother's stern look and attitude. Sushsree totally ignored the sarcasm and answered the phone, even as she said ‘thank you appa’, with full sincerity.

 ‘This is not about the financial statements,’ Milind told her.

 ‘Please tell me, Milind,’ Sushsree said as sweetly as she could.

 ‘One of our executive directors, you know Mr. Goel, well, Mr. Goel has been offered an independent director’s role on the board of Jayjit Paints and he wants to take it up. Will this have to be disclosed in the offer document?’

‘Yes, but I don’t see an issue. There is no conflict here.’

 ‘Do you know that Jayjit Paints will be starting a new division to manufacture PVC pipes?’

 ‘Oh dear, then why is Mr. Goel taking this up?’

 ‘Mr. Chandrakant Shukla is fine with it.’

 ‘Really?’

 ‘Yes.’

 ‘Hold on, doesn’t Shukla sir’s family hold a minority stake in Jayjit Paints?’

 ‘Would Adhrit like a glass of milk?’ Sushree could hear Krithika ask, even as Adhrit pushed his head against her side, leaning from his chair.

 ‘Yes, give him a glass of milk,’ Adhrit’s grandmother agreed. ‘At least, let him drink some milk.

 ‘With chocolate powder in it?’ Krithika asked Adhrit who nodded.

 ‘When we were young, we had Boost and Bournvita,’ Mahesh said with a chuckle. ‘Nowadays, I don’t see kids having Boost or Bournvita.’

 ‘Nandan liked Horlicks,’ his mother said.

 ‘Mahesh liked Boost and Bournvita,’ his mother added.

 ‘I remember.’ Nandan’s mother had her eyes half-closed, as if she was trying hard to remember those days.

 Sushsree continued talking on the phone, even as she moved the food around on her plate with her index finger. She wanted to ask for a fork, so that she could eat with her left hand, instead of holding her phone with it. Should she whip out her Bluetooth earphones from her handbag, which was on her lap, and plug them into her ears? That would free both her hands, but her inlaws wouldn’t like that one bit. It would look as if she was in proper work mode.

 The sound of the stainless steel glass falling to the floor and clattering forced her to stop paying attention to what Milind Shah was saying.

 ‘Adhrit!’ Nandan shouted loudly.

 ‘Adhrit!’ her father-in-law said in a horse voice.

 ‘Adhrit!’ her mother-in-law squeaked in a high-pitched voice. ‘The entire glass, he spilt it all! He had hardly taken a sip,’ she added after a pause.

 Some of the milk had splashed on her bare feet and churidhar. The wetness on her skin was almost as cold as the sudden chill she felt in her heart.

 ‘We shouldn’t have let him hold his glass,’ her father-in-law said.

 ‘I wish we had someone who took better care of my only grandson,’ her mother-in-law exploded.

 Nandan was more direct. ‘You shouldn’t have been on the phone. You should have held the glass. You know that he can’t hold his glass properly.’

 Mahesh and his parents also looked at Sushsree with accusing eyes even as she quickly hung up and put the phone on the table. Pragnya looked a bit scared, but her elder sister Padmaja had a sly smile on her face as she looked on an adult’s discomfiture. Krithika seemed to be the only one in that room who didn’t display any emotion.

 ‘Let me mop it up,’ Sushsree said shakily, even as she stood up, her breath coming up in short, shallow gasps, expecting Krithika to offer some help. Instead, Krithika pointed to the kitchen and said, ‘you will find some rags behind the gas stove’, her expression deadpan.

 As she walked into the kitchen, her phone beeped twice, to signal a new WhatsApp message. She realised that she was had unknowingly grabbed her phone as she went to the kitchen and was clutching it as if it was her oxygen tube while on a deep sea dive. ‘The financial statements have a problem,’ Ananth from Compliance was telling her.

 ‘What’s the issue?’ she messaged back. Chandrakant Shukla would scream blue murder if they weren’t approved by ten in the night.

 ‘Client acquisition costs have been treated as capex and amortised.’

 Shit! A company making pipes doing that!

 ‘What’s the amount involved?’ she asked Anant, typing fast, even as her brain considered various solutions.

 ‘Two lakhs.’

 ‘What? That’s it? I’ll ask them to change it as opex. Is that all?’ Some over-smart CA in the finance department was trying to behave like he was working for an Edutech company.  Sushsree almost laughed, until she remembered what she was in the kitchen.

 ‘Why have you treated client acquisition costs as capex in your financials? Amount involved in 2 lakhs. Please change this to opex and resend the statement. Else, there will be delays,’ she messaged Milind Shah.

 She then looked behind the gas stove and found two pieces of cloth just as Krithika had said. She grabbed one of them with her left hand and quickly walked back to the dining room to find the entire family waiting for her re-entry. There was total silence. She ignored everyone, quickly mopped up the milk on the chair and the floor walked back to the kitchen to put the rags back. Adhrit jumped off his chair to follow her.

 ‘Stay there, amma will be back in two seconds,’ she ordered Adhrit, who ignored her and followed her nevertheless.

 ‘Adhrit, come to Ajji,’ her mother-in-law said. Adhrit ignored her. Once she was in the kitchen, she dumped the rag behind the stove and looked at her phone quickly. Milind was typing a reply.

‘Will do,’ Milind told her.

 ‘Email the modified statement to anant.sharma@calmcapital.com, with a copy to me.’ She picked up Adhrit and carried him back.

 ‘He’s not eaten anything,’ her mother-in-law said.

 ‘I’ll feed him.’ Her phone started to vibrate again, but Sushree resolutely ignored the vibrating phone and everyone else around the table, as she focussed on feeding Adhrit.

 

THE END