Bhima by Vikas Singh

Author:Vikas Singh [Singh, Vikas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mobilism
Publisher: Westland
Published: 2015-09-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Ghatotkacha. My son. The boy I never even knew I had all these years.

I stare at Ghatotkacha as he walks up to me and embraces me. I hear Krishna joke about how lucky I am that I was spared all the pains of parenting and am getting to meet a full-grown son at an age when he can be a friend. But I don’t feel lucky. I feel deprived. I wish I had been there to witness his bawling entry into the world. I wish I could have heard his first words, seen his first steps. I wish I had been there the first time he came home bleeding from a childhood fight, to nurse his wounds and advise him on dirty tactics.

As I wrap my arms around my son, I reflect on the irony of my situation. I have known two fathers – Pandu and Vayu – and yet spent my life feeling the lack of a male parent. And all this while, my son never had a father even though the man who impregnated his mother was alive and well.

“Why didn’t you come to me before, son?” I ask. I realise my voice is choked.

He looks away. “I wanted to. But mother wouldn’t let me.”

“How is she?” I ask eagerly. “Why didn’t she accompany you?”

His face sags and suddenly he looks like a child. “She died some time ago, trying to protect a child from a wild boar that had entered the camp and was running amok. That was so typical of her, putting others before her till the very end. Once she died, I decided that I would track down this father whom she would always talk about so lovingly.”

I sit down, overcome with emotion, and weep for the only woman who ever truly loved me selflessly. Actually, I wish she had been slightly selfish. It might have made both of us a little happier.

Draupadi walks up to me and puts her hand on my shoulder. I look up at her through my tears. And with complete clarity, I remember the expression on her face the night I told her about Hidimbi’s parting words to me.

“You knew, didn’t you?” I ask. “That night, when I told you about Hidimbi, you almost told me she was pregnant when I left?”

She nods sadly. “I wasn’t certain. But yes, I did suspect it.”

“Why didn’t she tell me?” I ask in anguish.

“I can’t presume to speak on her behalf since I never met her,” says Draupadi. “But speaking as a woman, my guess is that she didn’t want you to feel trapped into staying on with her.”

“And why didn’t you tell me?” I ask.

Draupadi sighs. “I almost did. But then I thought about the consequences. What would you have done, Bhima? Would you have abandoned your mother and brothers to go looking for her? Are you even sure you would have found her? And if you had, would you have lived with the rakshasas or would you have brought her

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.