Depressed and crunched, weather-beaten faced Bipin was really not at ease, though sitting in an easy chair with cool winter zephyr blowing through his curled hairs. He was not enjoying the coolness of air, sitting on the terrace of his sweet little home ‘Ashiyana’ in Bodakdev area of Ahmedabad city.

He is a businessman in Paldi, having a so-called big warehouse like shop doing wholesale business of jaggery. He could earn well enough to sustain a family of at least ten. But unfortunately they were only two; he and his wife Shakuntla. The unfortunate thing about their life is, they don’t have kids. Eleven years since their marriage still striving for one kid. A toddler was missing in their loon family.

Bipin was twenty-four and Shakuntla was twenty-one when they got married. Bipin is a B.Com graduate from Gujarat Vidhyapith, he passed when he was 22. Soon after graduation, he joined his fathers business; a legacy. He is, no doubt a highbrow, lifted his fathers business from scuff to pinnacle. Painstakingly done accounts, well maintained invoices, expertise in dealing with customers were the factors through he reached to zenith and now is sitting on the echelon of jaggery business. He is romantic, he is flourishing, he is articulated, he is insightful, he is profound, he has dexterity & nimbleness in maintaining business as well as his home. And he is lucky indeed to have Shakuntla as his wife, of same ilk. They are more of friends than husband-wife. They had arranged marriage, and their relation flourished like mushroom after engagement. Those late night phone talks and hand-written letters – romantic and quixotic enough in this today’s e-world – au fait each other, rather they actually came closer. Four months of love-letter communiqué; according to Shakuntla was the best fraction of her life. The aura, the feeling, the adrenalin rush, craziness’ that both used to feel used to take them on the seventh heaven.

There life’s being good; easygoing blasé domestic. Transcending jaggery business for Bipin, everything seems fit & fine; but Bipin & Shakuntla, both felt loneliness. There’s life a null and void, it seems there’s a hole, a big void in their life and fire is passing though and hurting their hearts. A born off-spring craves for mother, a teenage craves from parents, a collegian focuses on opposite sex, bride concentrates on groom, and a married person has dire urge for kids. This is the natural way of life. Husband and wife, no doubt has support of each other, but do feel emptiness for a new being. They wish to have someone to fill their life with colours of rainbow. They could see the black and brown spots here and there on the gray canvas with white ambience of pinkish sun. They wanted to see the Pink sky, but what they could see was all Velvety darkness; Pale sky and Blackish clouds.

Same was the case with Bipin and Shakuntla. They had all the medical check-ups, problem found to be in Bipin. His sperm counts were low. 60 to 90 is the average count for normal body, and his counting was near to 15. So, Shakuntla wasn’t able to have her ovum’s fertilized. But she was educated enough to understand the condition. Bipin being a sole child of his parents was being forced heavily for having a child. Bipin’s bank balance was good but not that flourishing that he can afford high-end medical treatments and go for test tube babies or other such procedures. They both discussed for days and months, and thought over, what they should do? And finally but tentatively decided to adopt a child.

But still they – as all and sundry wishes for – expected a blood relation, but had no other options left. They even consulted for hiring sperm donor, which they found, beyond their capacity, so dropped out that idea too. They both agreed for an adoption.

They set out for three orphanages, and finally decided for a girl child named ‘Asha’, from Balihari Anath Gruh, situated on Gurukul Road. Did all the medical check-ups for any hereditary diseases, if may found.

A new vibrant and flamboyant life sprung in “Ashiyana”. The gloomy faces of Bipin and Shakuntla were now sparking with all the colours of life, full of delight and enchantment. It seemed like they were drench with rain of happiness and shower of joy ness. They got a new reason to live up their life. All the passion and compassion, the curiosity, the love, the feeling, the crassyness that were hibernated in them all these years oozed out immediately and were showered on ‘Asha’.

Bhargav Trivedi

10068, Sec-B

Class CR