CHAPTER THREE
"Noorul Huda, the food is getting cold." At his insistence, Noorul Huda obediently poured the curry onto the plate in front of her and reached out for the chapatis.
"Your sons are missing. Where are they?"
"There," Maryam pointed to the TV in front of her, on which the Pakistan-India cricket match was being telecast live. Both of them looked at the TV, and she and Tania said in surprise.
"On TV?"
"Not on TV, but in the stadium. I went to watch the match with my friends." She started pouring curry into Tania's plate, which was empty by now. "Did Grandpa go with me?"
"He is in his room. Today he has another bout of depression. He has been sitting with the door closed since morning. I have knocked on his door many times but he is not answering."
Everyone was used to this behavior of Dada Jan. Noorul Huda was eating without any expression, but Tania did not even touch the food placed in front of her.
"I don't know what happens to Grandpa all of a sudden? Why does he lock himself in a room?"
Do it? Then for the next several days they don't feel anything. Papa! You know
"Why does Grandpa do this?" Tania asked Noorul Huda sadly. While eating, Noorul Huda's hand stopped for a moment and then said bitterly,
There must be some wounds of old age that must be doing him no good. Even at this age, a man has a lot to regret. Al-Tania found both his manner and his words unpleasant. She stood up from her seat.
"I'm bringing Grandpa. He probably hasn't eaten anything since morning." Then she left without looking at anyone.
There were stairs on both the right and left sides of the lounge. The stairs on the right were connected to the corridor of the upper floor, while in the basement on the left, Azhar Farooqui's back was on one side of those stairs in the basement. Even after Tanya knocked several times, there was no answer from inside.
"Open the door, Grandpa," but silence reigned inside.
"I came to pick you up and I won't leave without you."
There is no answer
"Okay, if you don't want to open the door, don't open it. I'll sit right here by the door too."
And then she sat down, leaning against the wall near the door. After a few more moments of silence, the door opened with a slight click. Tanya looked up and saw Azhar Farooqui, who had opened the door slightly and was looking at her, with his face sticking out.
"Come in," he said, leaving the door open and turning back. Tania went inside
"Sit down," he asked Tania to sit down, and she felt as if her voice was hoarse. There were traces of tears on her face. Her eyes were red. Tania knew she must be blushing.
His condition would fluctuate after each solitary confinement. He was a retired colonel and his austere personality oozed arrogance. Even at the age of seventy, his health was enviable. Apart from a blood pressure problem for some years, he had not had any
There was no problem. However, his shoulders were slightly bent due to age, but Tania, who was completely different from his fearsome and imposing personality, always found him gentle. Tania heard his crackling voice as soft as a whisper. A constant feeling of sadness was the inhabitant of his red and white face, yet to Tania he seemed as strong as a rock. But at that moment he looked extremely weak and broken. Tania leaned on the corner of the bed. She walked slowly to the tripod placed next to the chair near the fireplace. She picked up the red-covered diary lying open on it and walked in the same way to the study table. She put the diary in the drawer and locked it and took the key in her hand, then without addressing Tania, she said
"I'll come freshen up," and they went into the bathroom. Tania turned her head here and there disinterestedly, then placed her hand under her chin and looked at the picture above the fireplace.
Soon, Azhar Farooqui entered the room.
"let's go"
At the same time, Noorul Huda's hand, which was going to her mouth, stopped there. She placed the snack on the plate and looked at Azhar Farooqi with strange eyes. While making them sit on the chair, Tania was shocked when she saw her father. On the other hand, Noorul Huda, feeling his gaze, lowered her eyes and picked up the snack from the plate and put it in her mouth, but she had to take the help of water to swallow it. Tania ignored them and sat down herself. While taking out the food on Azhar Farooqi's plate, she said to Maryam
"Look, Mama! When I said that, Grandpa came immediately. Grandpa can never put off what I say."
"But they never obeyed what they should have obeyed," Noorul Huda's tone said.
Both mother and daughter felt the bitterness, but in the unspoken rules of this house,
There was also a rule that no one would ever speak out about the matter between father and son, so they both remained silent.
But the glass of water held in Grandpa's hand had spilled. Tania touched his hand.
He held the glass to his lips. Azhar Farooqui's eyes were watery while drinking the water.
E N D. O F. C H A P T E R. 3
T O. B E. C O N T I N U E D. ..
N E X T. C H A P T E R. I N T R E S T E D..
D O N T. F O R G O T. A D D. T O. Y ONU R. L I B R A R Y
P L E A S E. F O L L O W. M Y. A C C O U N T . .