The Moment of Happiness

"Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Mr. Mehra was the stereotypical father, something straight out of a novel. He had the rags to riches story behind him, he had lost his wife in an accident ten years ago and since, had never been too happy with life. He had become something of a recluse, living on the outskirts of Kolkata and occasionally wandering into the metropolitan area, as and when he wished.

He had a wonderful young daughter, Anita, who after finishing her graduation from a prestigious law school in England, was coming back home after two long years. Most importantly, she was ready to marry and this obviously caused Mr. Mehra some amount of worrying. Being her only parent, he was more than protective of his daughter and didn't want her to end up marrying just any guy. He had been on the prowl, looking for the perfect candidate for Anita, for almost six months. Saying he had a lot of parameters was quite an understatement. His image of perfection was just that, perfection. Anything less and a rejection was imperative. He had gone through scores of men, finding some missing trait in each and every one of them, miraculously in some cases one could say. His mind was like a puddle, where one could create ripples with even the slightest disturbance.

She arrived on Sunday morning and Mr. Mehra went to receive her to the airport. There were tears in his eyes when he saw her come through the customs area lugging her baggage clumsily behind her. She gleamed like a kid and finally crossing the gates, hugged her father like she had never done before. "I missed you so much, Anita" he murmured, amidst tears of excessive joy.

The next few days were spent at home mostly, with the inquisitive Mr. Mehra wanting to know every single detail of the last two years she had spent away from him. He wanted to know whether she had made lots of Indian friends, whether she had lived comfortably, whether she had fallen in love. The answer to all the questions was a merry 'yes' and this greatly satisfied Mr. Mehra. However, after waiting for the right moment, she also told him that she had also left her love after the end of her last semester. He consoled her, saying she would find someone else in due time. For now, it was up to her to enjoy herself and let go of all worries. They would take care of themselves, he said.

They had been invited to a relative's party the next evening. The occasion was anything but small. A very close friend, Mr. Kapoor, had just been promoted to the post of Vice President in the firm he was working in. Since it was the highest he would rise to, there was no holding back in terms of magnanimity and he had promised to himself more than anything else that he would throw a party which would not be forgotten anytime soon. Mr. Mehra had gladly and rather excitedly accepted, thinking it would be a welcome change for both him, and Anita.

They reached the Kapoors’ home the next evening a little after the party had begun and were warmly greeted by Mrs. Kapoor. Anita had spent days on end on Mrs. Kapoor’s lap as a kid, and would always be giggling when with her. She lit up like a firecracker on seeing her, and instead of reaching for her legs to take her blessings which was the Indian norm, she went straight for a hug and a tight one at that! Mrs. Kapoor was glimmering herself, and in a moment walked in Mr. Kapoor. The two friends exchanged a warm hug and he showed them the way into the living room where he introduced him to the generation of his family that had never seen him.

Mr. Kapoor had two sons, Akash and Varun – the former being the elder of the two, and a daughter who had been married for three years. They respectfully took the blessings of Mr. Mehra and exchanged hellos with Anita. After some formal chatter, everyone was at comfort and this gave the two friends the opportunity to steal away from the crowd into an ante-room. There, Mr. Kapoor kept his fine collection of scotch, something he was a little proud of. He went to the rack and picked out a bottle of Chivas Regal 25 and poured himself a glass neat and another for Mr. Mehra with ice, just the way he liked it.

As every conversation in the world starts, this one too, started with the weather. They spoke of many things, hopping from topics like politics to sports to reality television to old music and back to politics again! After an hour or so, Mr. Kapoor finally mentioned to his friend if his daughter had come to a marital age. Mr. Mehra only nodded, with streaks of worry across his forehead. “I’ve given a lot of thought to it, and honestly, it’s the only thing that’s been on my mind since she came back.” Mr. Kapoor was listening intently, sipping his drink. “Do you have anybody in mind?” he asked. Mr. Kapoor kept down his drink and smiled at him, a long smile of satisfaction. Mr. Mehra was struck with a little confusion and said, “I don’t understand...” They then went on to talk about his elder son and his daughter for the next hour.

As the clock struck one, it was time to leave for the Mehras and they said their goodbyes to the Kapoors and whoever was left at the party. Mr. Mehra took his friend aside and whispered to him, “I’ll talk to her, let us see what happens hence.” He gave a slight smile, shook his hand and left with his daughter.

Moments after they left their home, Anita innocently mentioned, “Papa, what do you think of Akash as a guy?” Mr. Mehra finally felt at liberty to smile freely. At that exact moment, even the last of his worries seemed to be fading away. If the world saw him then, the world would say Mr. Mehra was a happy man.