That day they discussed to what extent the holy Gita becomes effective in their day-to-day life. Once the discussion was over, the eldest lady in the group asked Asha,"So,now that you are about to become a mother , what have you decided to name your child?"
Asha has been part of this religious group called Karma Sutra in her neighbourhood since her early twenties. Some of the elderly women have seen her transformation from a young lady to a mature married woman. Upon being asked the question, her face flushed with joy.
"Anjali if a girl, Deep if a boy", she replied joyfully. Her long cherished desire of being a mother and holding her child close to her bosom was soon to come true.
Returning home, she informed her husband about the names for their child and asked him if they were fine. With a calm smile on his face, he looked at Asha and gently nodded his head.
Four months later, on a beautiful day in February when the cold winter chill was finally fading away, Asha was blessed with Anjali.
Her husband's job frequently took him out of city. So Asha played a greater role in upbringing and influencing Anjali in her own way. Right since she was a kid, Anjali was taught by her mother : " Always have faith in God. Whenever you find yourself in trouble, call out to Him and He will definitely help you. Remember, whatever happens in your life, it is for your own good, no matter how bitter it seems."
Keeping this in mind, Anjali would call God aloud whenever she faced a problem as kid. Overhearing her, Asha would be the 'God' for Anjali and sort out her problems. This is how Anjali's faith in God strenghthened.
As the days turned into months, and months into years, Anjali grew up, and from her childish way of calling God aloud, she called Him silently in her heart and mind. But she started noticing that God was not being kind and helping her enough the way He had when she was a kid.
Her beloved pet dog met with an untimely death no matter how much she prayed for it's recovery. Getting selected in the school dance team for the inter-school dance competition was all that she had wanted since her childhood. But injustice found it's way one way or the other, and Anjali alone was victimised and eliminated.
With her mother's words ringing in her ears, she tried her level best not to let the faith fade away, and keep the trust in her heart in spite of being extremely disheartened.
But when the man whom she loved so dearly left her, she was absolutely shattered and came to the conclusion that all those things which her mother had told her as a child were nothing but deceptive.
That night at dinner, full of disgust and frustration, Anjali said ," Ma, you keep all those notions of God helping us to yourself. If He was really there and had to help out, He would not have let all these happen. Has anything been happening for my benefit for the last two years? I'm sick of all now. I no longer have any faith in Him whatsoever."
Asha listened to it all silently and then, giving a weak smile, said: " These are minor issues, which He puts forward to test how you yourself can handle difficulties. When the time and need will come, you shall see it yourself."
"It's never going to come I bet, that time and need," replied Anjali enraged.
A year later, as part of her Geography survey, Anjali had gone to Nathu-La Pass with her batchmates. It was a hectic day, fighting the freezing cold wind blowing against their faces, surveying the rocks and ice, moving up and down the steep surfaces and straining their voices as they had to shout to make themselves audible over the sound of wind, to the others standing just a few metres away.
With darkness approaching and the weather seeming not-too-friendly, they were called to assemble and board the minibuses. Anjali and her partner, surveying at the farthest point were alerted very late. Packing up their things immediately, as they rushed down, Anjali slipped and sprained her ankle.
"I no longer expect any help from you, but atleast don't harm me in this way," she grumbled under her breath. A few more moments passed by in holding her up to come down where everyone was. Circumstances upset her more as all her friends had boarded the first bus and left for the hotel while she was left alone with other classmates whom she was not very acquainted with.
The journey was indeed long as the driver had to take all precautions in that darkness and on that perilous mountain road. after three and half hours' travel, Anjali wasted no time. She quickly had her dinner with her roommate, tended to her sprain and went off to sleep.
4:30 a.m. in the morning. Dawn was approaching. Anjali was awakened by her mother's call. She could also hear some voices outside the room. She picked up the phone: " Anjali, are you OK? Why haven't you been answering the call for the past half hour? Where are you now? My goodness! I was dying out of worry."
She heard the relief in her mother's voice. She even heard her sob lightly.
" Yeah, of course i'm OK. I was sleeping, Mom! What on earth would be happening to me all of a sudden?! I had just sprained my ankle a bit while coming down the slope. You don't worry. Go off to sleep. I'll be good. Good night."
By the time she went out to see what the hushing was about, it was gone. The corridor was dead silent. She sensed that something was wrong. Going down to the common room, she was faced with Abhishek, who was talking on the phone non-stop while pacing the room, and Aditya, who was sitting on the sofa next to the lamp, his face covered with his palms.
"What is the matter guys? Why is everyone up so early? Has anything happened? Everyone is looking so anxious! My mom also called me up so early asking if i am alright or not. Say something, Aditya."
Her hands were cold and her heart beat at a thousand miles per hour. And then Aditya told her, which hit her like a thunderbolt. Motionless, she listened to him as her eyes widened and a look of sheer horror covered her face.
While their second bus had reached safely, taking the longer and properly developed route, the first bus hadn't done that. The ill-developed shorter route proved fatal; the bus fell into a gorge. Nobody knew of it until it was extremely late; some staff of the travel agency went out to look when they received a call from someone informing them of the tragedy. One of the locals, while on his early morning walk had discovered it and immediately sought help from the nearest rescue centre.
Anjali was rendered speechless. Her senses didn't work. Her legs shook and she sank into the armchair behind her. She couldn't believe what she just heard. She had been saved. Closing her eyes, not knowing whom to thank, in a very shaky voice she muttered to herself, " Thank you, God," and burst into tears.
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