‘Later, during the course of play, I executed a squeeze on her hand that changed her attitude towards me,’ he said, after a pause. ‘And for the rest of the tournament she sought my company at every turn.’
‘It’s obvious that she recognized the player in you,’ said Sandhya, and added in surprise, ‘In the first place, I wonder how come she didn’t get impressed with you!’
‘Because she didn’t have your eyes,’ he smiled. ‘You may know it’s not uncommon that people fail to maintain equanimity in their social interaction - either they turn obedient to those they perceive as superior to them in their station or remain indifferent to those they think are inferior to them in rank, of course, going by the appearances. However, if circumstances were to remove their mental blocks, then some of them may warm up to the deserving. You know the one thing that appealed to me in Roopa’s character is her sense of equanimity. Not that you lack any, but it’s remarkable with her, given her circumstances.’
‘You’ve read her well,’ she said and added in vexation, ‘Wonder how the poor thing is. Oh, how I’m waiting for her letter.’
‘Won’t she have things of her own on her hands,’ he said. ‘You can’t afford to let such things upset you. I wish you develop a hobby, as your involvement in it would provide you the needed diversion from the disappointments of life. The wider your interests, the lesser would be the time left for worrying.’
‘Hope you would stick to your promise to shift,’ she said smug in his embrace.
‘How do you expect me to forget that when it promises so much to us,’ he said in smile. ‘Let me see how to go about it, and sooner at that.’
As Roopa’s aura came into his focus at that, Raja Rao too turned melancholic in time.
~~~~~~
Try as she did, Sandhya couldn’t feel at home in the country’s capital. The ethos of the society dominated by the concept of ostentation offended her sensitivity steeped in a refined taste. Her longing for Roopa and her brooding over their reunion confined Sandhya to her home, precluding the possibility of her socializing. It was in that state of mind that she felt the place a transit camp, and failed to get involved with the life and times of New Delhi.
When the Institute of Interior Design, as though to drag her out of her hibernation, granted her admission, Raja Rao who came home early that day said excitedly to Sandhya, ‘I’ve great news for you.’