This is the story of Kaivalya. How Kaivalya achieved all he wanted and more.

Kaivalya was the youngest son of a charming, lovely couple. It had been love at first sight for his Mom and Dad and they lived their life as if it had been a fairy tale. His Dad was forty and his Mom thirty-eight when he was born.

I knew Kaivalya through a youth camp I had attended. He had been our leader. Kaivalya has been the elder brother I always dreamed of having. I remember the visits to his house. His father was a short, tubby guy with thinning hair. His Mom must have been a beauty once and she seemed to dwell in those memories. Even at forty plus, she wore frocks with floral patterns or skirts and tops with navy collars.

Their living room had several black and white or sepia photographs of his parents and their children. Mom in a sundress, her hair coiffed in a french knot and Dad standing next to her on the ferry in Goa; Mom dressed in a saree and high-necked shirt-blouse, holding the eldest son (a baby then) while seated on a lawn in the park; same duo near the rose garden; and so on. I loved those photos as they seemed to take me to a different era – one where the ladies and children always had sparkling eyes and gentle beauty and the men seemed to have all the time in the world to take the most alluring photos of their families.

Little wonder that Kaivalya almost worshipped those memories. With the eldest son away at boarding school, Kaivalya and his sister became even more attached to their parents. Meals and tea-times would be punctual and would have exotic, sumptuous items. I would often wonder how his Mom maintained her slight figure after having such delectable goodies everyday.

For all the quaintness and exotica going on in his house, Kaivalya seemed like an ascetic. While at camp, I had seen a ‘jap-mala’ in his sack. He sometimes quoted verses from the Geeta. He was a well-read youngster with his mind set on what seemed like unusual priorities. While the other boys around him were busy getting dates and even proposing girls, Kaivalya spent his time looking after his parents, especially with his elder brother and sister getting married and leaving the nest.

I remember the last time I got to see him, before I left the country. As I walked down the pathway to their charming little house, I looked around the garden. It was beautifully maintained as ever. “"Come in, beta!” his Dad was seated in the veranda. He now needed a walking stick to get him around. It was Kaivalya’s appearance that shocked me the most, as he walked out of the kitchen, wearing an apron. His tall frame looked leaner and the once chestnut crop of hair showed the unmistakable signs of aging.

“Rochana! Come on in!” he said cheerily. I followed him into the kitchen. He was making lunch for his parents and asked me to stay. We spoke about a lot of things. He mostly told me about his parents and how they had now grown so dependent on him. What about you, Kaivalya? How old are you now? I longed to ask him. He must have been thirty-five then, still unmarried and aging rapidly. Finally, I managed to ask him about his marriage plans.

“There had been some girls in the past, but it did not work out!” he dismissed the question quickly. “I want to spend all my time with Mom and Dad, Rochana! Amongst my siblings, I got the disadvantage of being born late, so I have them for a lot lesser years than them! God forbid….” He mumbled, a melancholy look on his face.

I guessed why it must have not worked out. Kaivalya was probably unaware of it, but to an outsider, he seemed to be totally engrossed in looking after his parents. He probably came across as a boring, not-so young man who had different priorities. He knew my plans of leaving the country and had a gift ready for me - a small painting of Sant Jnyaneshwar. I was in tears as I hugged him. “Take care of yourself too, Kaivalya!” I was going to miss his serene, calm presence as a friend.

We kept in contact through letters but it stopped as I got busier with my work and Kaivalya probably had other items on his agenda as well. A lot happened in the six years since that last meeting. I met Amey and we got married. Work kept us busier than ever. Feeling homesick, I finally persuaded Amey to start working on a plan to return ‘'home’. It was easier than I thought. Amey had already been working with his friends on entrepreneurship ideas and it materialized sooner than expected.

We were back in our hometown! Amey found very little time for me and our married life, as he plunged himself into work. We decided to buy a villa in the suburbs. I set up the baby room in the south nook of our home. I would spend a lot of time outdoors, tending to the garden. As I sowed the seedlings, my hands coated with the honest, brown earth, I could feel the baby kick. Our baby would be born in the most peaceful surroundings ever. A beautiful garden with a cobbled pathway through the front yard…..I was suddenly reminded of Kaivalya. It had been ages since I had any tidings from him. I wondered if he was still at his parents’ home. I decided to pay him a surprise visit.

The next afternoon, I put some homemade laddoos in a tin and drove down to the area where he lived. The place seemed to have changed a lot. There were tall residential buildings everywhere. I was glad to see one small house in the midst of that concrete jungle. Kaivalya’s house. I made a mental picture of how he would be now. Aged and alone, with no one to look after him.

I opened the little gate and then knocked on the front door. A housekeeper answered and asked me to wait. My heart beating anxiously, I surveyed the garden. It looked beautiful. I could hear voices from the rooms in the inner quarters of the house. Perhaps he had guests over.

“Yes, dear…..we will……” I heard his voice as he came to the door. He looked different from when I had seen him last, tall and thinner and a shock of gray hair. He was holding a toddler in his arms. Perhaps his siblings were visiting him. “Rochana! It is so lovely to see you! You are looking wonderful….” he exclaimed.

I followed him to the living room. The first thing I noticed was the photos of his parents, with fresh garlands on the frames. So now Kaivalya was all alone after his parents’ demise, I thought. A lady was seated on a mat on the floor and she was holding another baby in her arms. I looked at her in astonishment. Must be his brother’s wife, I thought.

Kaivalya was looking at me, an amused look on his face. Finally he said, “Priya, this is Rochana! You remember, I had told you about her. Rochana, this is Priya, my wife!”

I was almost speechless. So these were their children! As Kaivalya ushered me into an armchair, I had tears of joy in my eyes. They asked me to stay for dinner. In my excited condition, I called Amey and informed him about my plans for the evening. He would have been too busy to have cared, anyways.

“So tell me, what’s been going on with you, all these years? This is such a lovely surprise, Kaivalya!” I asked him as I followed him to the kitchen. Handing me a cup of tea, he asked me to take a seat at the table, as he told me the most amazing story I have heard in a long time.

It had all started with him trying to find matches for himself. None of the women seemed interested in an aging bachelor who was living with his parents. He had almost given up the search when his father’s health took a drastic turn. He was diagnosed with a fatal disease. “”It is going to be a matter of days or months before it happens!” the doctors told him. His Mom was devastated.

Kaivalya did everything for his Dad during the illness. His sister would often visit to look after them as well but no news from his elder brother, who seemed to have distanced himself from the family. Those last days were particularly painful for the entire family.

One morning, after he had tended to his Dad and was sitting at his bedside, his Dad had spoken suddenly. “Get married, Kaivalya” He had been shocked to see his father crying. His father had continued, “It is never too late. ! There is no greater wealth than having a family. Even if you and your future spouse cannot have children, you can always adopt. Your Mom knows, ask her!”

He had been surprised to know that his sister had been an adopted child. Growing up as kids, they had never been told about this. Their parents had not felt the need to tell them anything. They had brought her up like their own flesh and blood.

“”I have received more than I ever could ask for, in my life! You have been a good son to us and we must have been real selfish parents!” his father continued, looking at Kaivalya sadly. A lot of things were left unsaid, when his father passed away and his mother followed, a few months later. Even in death, the couple had been inseparable.

Kaivalya’s search for a wife had seemed bizarre and even unnatural to a few, inquisitive people. He is probably one of those perverts, they must have thought. When he found Priya, who was all that he wanted in a life partner, there was a catch. She was a year older than him.  They decided to go ahead with the marriage.

There were other obstacles. Priya would probably not have a chance of bearing children. So they had decided to adopt and continue the family tradition and his father’s wishes. They brought home Anagha from the orphanage. They had also set up a trust fund there, in his late father’s name. Luckily his mother had lived to see him get married.

While they were busy looking after the infant, mother Nature had tossed her dice once again. Priya found out that she was pregnant. Amulya was born a year after. Life had never been the same after that, with an infant and a toddler to fill the house with laughter and fun.

“”Look after yourself, Rochana, for the baby’s sake!” Kaivalya said to me, thoughtfully. He was so right. It is but one life we get, to fulfill all our wishes and make dreams come true for others too. I decided to re-evaluate my relationship with Amey, give more time and more tolerance where it was due.

My thoughts were about Kaivalya, on my way back home. He had lived all stages of his life, albeit at a different pace than others. While most young men and women were enjoying their own married lives, he spent his youth looking after his parents. His parents’ welfare and happiness was all he cared about, never once thinking about himself. When others were enjoying pre-retirement years, he decided to get married and bring new lives into the world. God’s will! He had been a doting son, a loving husband and would now be a caring father too. May God continue showering His blessings on us all, I thought as I walked to our house with renewed spirits.

dedicated to the 'Kaivalya' men and women I know

Word count : 2000