LAVANYA

Great Uncle Indraneel had locked his unfriendly eyes with Lavanya’s. An ancient book of scriptures was placed on coffee the table next to an equally ancient silver tea set, along with a contentious bundle of official papers. Mrs. Indraneel, an old woman who was excessively tired of the routine family melodrama, was chanting with her eyes closed and fingers running through a rosary. I could say that she was very much aware of the edginess of the situation, but she chose to be indifferent to it. I’d stuck with the family long enough to know why. There are a very few situations that are much overwrought than a Indo-Pak peace talk, and a conversation between Lavanya and her great uncle Indraneel was definitely on top of such a list.

I was seated comfortably on Lavanya’s lap as she occasionally stroked my hair. I could easily relate the heaviness of her breath to the degree of annoyance she was in. I was probably the only one in the entire household who had an unbiased view on the current happenings. Unfortunately, I was constrained to my own opinions that could not be shared as I lacked the so called ability to communicate.

Dogs can’t talk, you see.

Lavanya (who had me found as a two hour old puppy in a puddle near her school and raised me since then) is a twenty one year old engineering graduate blessed at birth with insanely smart brains and an even more insanely short temper. Mr. Indraneel on the other hand, is a very self conscious orthodox man who claims to be a passionate follower of Gandhian principles but can’t help showing off the English vases, China tea sets, Italian paintings and the French architecture of his big villa (The old man probably didn’t understand the irony of it all). Let me also mention that Mr. Indraneel’s temper is just as nasty as his grand niece’s.

Nevertheless, the old childless couple along with the orphaned young girl made a normally imperfect yet complete family just like any other archetypal one. But it was soon to be disrupted as a consequence of the advent of a bundle of papers.

It all started when Lavanya made this ostentatious announcement a few hours earlier that evening.

“Mama, I need you to sign these papers.” She placed the thick bunch of papers on the coffee table.

“And what are these, might I ask?” the old man asked rather grumpily.

Lavanya picked me up from the floor and placed me in her lap as she sat opposite the old man. (I served as anger management equipment for her. If the conversation wasn’t going the way it was supposed to, she would painfully pull a tuft of my hair to keep herself from bursting out. )

“Admission papers.” She said coldly. “Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Calcutta.”

“Nonsense!” Mr. Indraneel snarled. We’ve talked about this earlier. I will have no daughter of mine travel that long all by herself, let alone live there and study.”

“But sending her all the way to Europe with as a stranger’s wife is acceptable?” Lavanya snarled back. I knew she was intimating about that obnoxious Atmaj. I never liked him very much. I had an animal instinct that that annoyingly immature thirty old was not the right person for someone as chic as Lavanya. I remember how she cried the night she had first met that goofy guy.

“Atmaj is not a stranger.” Indraneel said, stressing every syllable of the sentence. “And Calcutta is not happening. That’s my final word on it and I would really be glad if you acknowledge that truth. I don’t even remember you having a good CGPA to get into that institute.”

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me” She said. “My GATE score card being one such.”

The old man saw that she had made up her mind. He knew Lavanya well enough to discern that sheer force would not suffice to change her mind. Indraneel went on to try emotional blackmail.

“So this is how you repay me.” He said with a clever tone of gloominess in his voice. “I brought you up after you lost your parents, gave you everything you ever wanted, nurtured your passion. But you can’t give anything in return to this old man. You’re all grown up and so smart now that you don’t want me. What are going to do next? Send the two of us off to a retirement home whilst you convert the house into a laboratory?”

Lavanya’s keen eyes darkened with a small hint of remorse, but she quickly covered it up.

“Why?” Lavanya said without a slightest hint of fret in her voice. “Give me one good reason.”

“Because, dreamers like you, are very bad for a family” He said with the same stressed tone. “And. Atmaj needs you.”

“Atmaj does not need me as badly as this country does.” Lavanya said. “I was brought up here; I was given everything. Right from an immense legacy to a very grand education. Now, it’s time for me to give something back. I don’t want to be one of the many talented kids who contribute to the brain drain. When are you going to grasp that?”
She spoke all of this very fast and continued. “On the other hand, I don’t owe your Atmaj anything. You marry him, if you find him very amiable. ”

A very dramatic pause cropped up as the power went out. I was given my chance. I decided that I had to do something. I had to help Lavanya live her dream. I jumped out of her lap and landed loudly on the table. And it was at that exact moment that the power came on. I had spilt tea all over the Visa papers and ripped them into pieces with my claws.

Then, three events happened simultaneously.

Mrs. Indraneel (who was still chanting) flung her eyes open in shock as she heard the tea cups crash.

Mr.Indraneel cursed me. “You reckless stupid mongrel! Look what you’ve done!”

Lavanya gave out a yelp of joy. She grabbed me and got me drenched in a shower of kisses yelling “Dobby is free!” as she fled up the stairs to get her luggage.

“I think you were right though. You’ve given me everything. I have to repay you. ” She said to Mr. Indraneel as she was ready to leave. “One day, I’ll make you proud. That should serve as a legit repayment. ” The girl who had found her freedom kissed me again.

THREE YEARS LATER.

It was a frosty Monday morning in the University of Calcutta. Mr and Mrs Indraneel had taken me along to Lavanya’s convocation. They probably realised that I had played a very crucial role in the most crucial event of Lavanya’s life. I caught sight of the familiar lively stature on the stage. Here was a young girl, living her dream. But what surprised me most was when I heard Great Uncle Indraneel’s shaky voice when he started talking to me.

“That little go-getter!” I could swear I saw him whimper. “I always knew she was going to do me proud.”