The Ceremonial Visit

“Suresh jee, what time is the meeting at Labour Commissioner’s Office today?” 

Piya enquired with her Assistant, while hurriedly glancing through her official calendar for the day. Her Assistant, Suresh, however, was unbothered by the haste in Piya’s voice.

“3 PM, Madam”, he replied, adjusting himself on his chair. The canteen boy had just swished by, placing cups of afternoon tea on each desk. He leisurely took a sip from his cup.  

“Fine. We will leave at 2”, she said, pointing at the clock. 

“I have to make a quick visit to the Central Cemetery. I’ve checked Maps. It’s on our way to the Commissioner’s Office”.

This announcement somehow made Suresh uneasy. He paused before taking his next sip and turned his chair to face Piya. 

“C-c-cemetery? Means, graveyard?”, he asked, sipping from his cup again.

 “Yes Suresh jee, ‘cemetery means graveyard’.” 

He took a while to process this, unsure as to how he can decline a proposition made by his senior. After a few moments of silence, he finally responded: 

“Okay Madam, if you say so. How long will it take there?” 

Piya sensed the apprehension in his voice. It instantly annoyed her. But it was an important visit, and she did not wish to go alone. 

“There won’t be anyone living there to exchange pleasantries na?” she retorted. “Don’t worry, it won’t take more than 5 minutes.”

Time whiffed away swiftly on a usual workday. The sound of rapid typing on keyboards filled the office floor, as everybody submerged themselves in their routine. Adding to the cacophony were the loud ringing noise of landline phones, and constant clatter of printers vomiting oodles of paper in succession. She flipped through the case file to present at the Commissioner’s Office, jotting down talking points in the ensuing meeting. But her mind wandered. She opened her phone and started typing a message:

 “Hey, happy birthday G….”

She quickly pressed the back button and erased the message, before she could hit send. She stared out of her office window.  

The weather outside did not look promising. It was a cloudy afternoon. The sky was overcast, trying with all its might to ward off a downpour. It made the weather stuffy and humid. Piya could feel beads of sweat piling up inside her shirt, despite the blast of air conditioning in her office. Whether it was the weather, or whether she was simply nervous, it was hard to tell. But the uncomfortable cloudy day surely was reminiscent of the last time she had visited the cemetery, just a month back. Friends and family had gathered around the coffin, placing flowers and wreaths inside it. Piya had clutched onto a single stem of long white rose, waiting for her turn to bid goodbye. “Come Piya, you can give away the rose now.”

“Focus Piya, focus”, she told herself, trying to break away from the thoughts. She stood up and packed her bag, looking at taxi options on her phone. Suresh slowly stuffed a large plastic bag with files, papers and other official documents. He then took out a small comb from the back pocket of his trousers and neatly started arranging his hair. 

“Suresh jee, please”, Piya exclaimed, exasperated at his sloth-like pace. 

“Hurry up by all means!” 

They rushed out of the gate. But the taxi was still several minutes away. Piya started getting restless. 

“How are we going to reach if the taxi is so late?! Why can’t anybody be on time here? What excuse will we give at the Commissioner’s Office?”

Piya kept pacing up and down the pavement, while constantly refreshing her screen to track the taxi. 

“Maybe it will rain” Suresh remarked, having contributed absolutely nothing in all this chaos. Piya gave him a glare, fanning herself with a handkerchief. But Suresh, as usual, was detached from all her communications.

After what felt like an eternity, the taxi arrived. Piya checked her watch. It was 2:30. Wasting no time, she slid into the car.

“Fast, please!”

The taxi crawled into a sea of traffic. By then, a light drizzle started, canopying the pathways in a slippery gleam. The congestion on the road increased significantly, constantly delaying her arrival time at the destination. It suddenly dawned on Piya that she might have very little time to spare at the cemetery. She had earlier thought of taking some flowers and a candle. But where was time left now? She wished she had a while longer - to show up, to spend a little while together before life packed its bag and left. She felt anger and disappointment, all at once. All of this was so unfair. 

“Why wouldn’t the traffic move?” she said, tears now welling up in her eyes. She dabbed the handkerchief on her face. But her face was already flushed.  

“Madam”, Suresh now spoke. “Please don’t worry. I will give a ring in the Commissioner’s office and delay the meeting by 15 minutes. Here, drink some water.”

Somehow, a strange feeling of comfort greeted Piya. She took the bottle offered by him and gulped it down. As the taxi meandered its way around, Piya took deep breaths, holding the bottle tightly. They were nearing the cemetery. She was close.

As soon as they arrived, Piya leapt out of the car and ran. 

“Suresh jee, please rush!” she yelled. “I am going ahead.”

Suresh collected the bags from the taxi and scrambled out of it. By then, Piya had already reached the entrance. To her dismay, the gates were chained. A guard stood there, lost in his own thoughts. 

“Sir, please open” she called out, panting heavily.  

The guard turned to scan her. He shook his head. 

“Sorry Madam, the cemetery is closed.”

“But… but I checked on Maps. It says open till 4 PM!”

“No Madam, it is closed.”

Piya tried to stand still. She just had to go inside!

“Sir, please. My friend… my best friend George….he died last month. Heart attack. Very sudden. It’s his birthday today. He would have turned 35. I just…want to wish him happy birthday. Please. Let me in.”

She could see the guard’s face fall in pity. He thought for a while. 

“Okay Madam”, he sighed, unchaining the gate. “Be quick!”

“Yes! Thank you!” Piya started running again. Just as she sped off, Suresh managed to reach the gate. 

She jogged her memory to remember the plot where George was buried. 

“Straight down and then take a right” she told herself. Her mind went back to the day again. 

“Come Piya, you can give away the rose now.”

She came forward. George lay motionless in the casket. They had dressed him up in his navy-blue suit. He would have otherwise saved it for special occasions - weddings of close friends, a happy date to impress the girl or for a Christmas lunch. His favourite sky-blue shirt peeked from under the blazer and a light golden tie completed his look. He looked so much at ease. There was not a single scratch on his face. It was just like he was sleeping. He wore his spectacles, thank God for that, Piya had thought. He was always so shy of taking them off. 

“I look so weird”, he would say, if Piya pestered him to open his spectacles. He should have shaved. Probably, he had been lazy, indulging himself in a thick bushy beard. But how would he know, he would pass away so quickly, and that Piya would eventually come to visit him, after all these years?

Piya rushed ahead and took a right. But nowhere, could she spot George’s grave. 

“Maybe I’m missing a turn” she murmured. “Let me trace back.” 

As she turned back, she spotted Suresh scurrying around. Some of the workers in the burial ground were conversing in a loud voice and Suresh, who seemed positively petrified at the possibility of being caught up amidst dead people talking, was sprinting ahead under the afternoon sun. 

“What happened?” Piya shouted out.

“Nothing…..M-madam”, he replied, wiping sweat from his forehead. 

Piya was now worried. Time was closing in. “I cannot find him!” 

Suresh finally reached where Piya stood. 

“Madam, relax. If you hurry, you will not find him.” He paused to absorb the view, catching his breath. 

“I’ve searched everywhere!”, Piya choked. In her mind, she could hear George giggling. “What yaar, you could not even do THIS for me?”

“Look”, Suresh said. “He is right here. You can stand anywhere and pray. He will hear you.”

His words felt right. 

Piya turned to find a shaded spot under a tree, with Suresh following by. They stood together and bowed their heads in a prayer. 

“Happy birthday George. I hope you’re smiling today. I’m sorry for not being there enough. I miss you.”

As they walked back in the empty grounds, Suresh’s words broke through the quietude:

“This does not look like a graveyard, Madam. It looks like a beautiful garden.”

“Suresh jee, please!” Piya snapped back. “Just stop talking!”