9th December 1998

It was pitch dark outside. With hardly any traffic on the roads, the bus hurtled through a few potholes every now and then. The driver and his helper boy were both donning sweaters and the woollen monkey hats that covered most of their faces. Compared to them, most of the passengers were fairly under-dressed.

Sameer shifted in his seat yet again, trying to find a semi-comfortable position. The flights from London to Dubai and then Dubai to Ahmedabad had already left all the passengers feeling weary. The prospect of another three hours or so on the bus had left majority of the passengers groaning and few cursing. But, some of them started snoring as soon as they were on the road.

They must be about half way through now, he decided glancing at his wristwatch. Unable to fall asleep, he watched the swiftly changing sights outside the window. Though he couldn't definitively recognise the surroundings, they did have a vague sense of both familiarity and foreboding.

He was too lost in thoughts to notice the arrival of dawn, till the driver stopped the bus outside a decent looking restaurant. The passengers were notified that some arrangements for hot beverages had been made at the venue. Though the response from the travellers was not very enthusiastic to start with, everyone exited the bus on being told that the place also offered the only hygienic restrooms before they reached their destination.

Everyone ambled towards the entrance. Along with the mid-December chill, there was the distinctive smell of smoke in the air. Some of the restaurant employees awaiting their arrival were huddled around a small bonfire. They now quickly approached the travellers and started guiding them towards the area set-up for refreshments.

Sameer looked around comparing the landscape to the one that had surrounded him less than twenty-four hours ago.

***

The morning before he had found himself wrapped in a thick black jacket and grey cashmere scarf waiting for a cab to the airport on the footpath outside his London flat. The salt scattered on the sidewalk to avoid the creation of ice had crunched under his boots. The trees lining his street had all become absolutely bare in order to survive the bitter cold months, their bare branches creating dark sculpture-like silhouette against the early morning grey sky.

But he liked the cold. His bones always welcomed the cold seeping into them and the crisp air filling his lungs. His spirits would start rising as soon as the leaves started changing colours; first yellow, then bright orange and then deep red before an earthy brown as they merged into the soil.

Maybe during the childhood years, it had meant that Santa would be arriving soon. It was time to start working on that letter, explaining to him how he had been good that year and then list the gifts that he felt he was entitled to. His family obviously celebrated Diwali in the real sense, but had adapted to their surroundings and Christmas was celebrated for the sake of the kids and their non-Indian friends.

For Sameer, the idea of Father Christmas had held a special appeal.

He had lost his biological father to some sudden illness even before he was born. His mother Vishakha had remarried Vivek Somani when Sameer was about two years old. Vivek was a widower with a young son Rohan, who was just a few months younger to Sameer. Whether it was due to the urgings of their families, or by their own choice, a third child had been added to the family about three years later. Vishakha was especially pleased when the baby turned out to be a girl, as she was probably too overwhelmed with the three boys in her life. Deepika soon became the apple of everyone's eye and was pampered a great deal.

Vivek's mother was a bit of a tyrant and gave Vishakha a hard time for the first few years. Luckily Vivek turned out to be one of the better men and moved his family to London as soon as a business opportunity presented itself. The distance between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was conducive to the development of the bonds between the children and the overall family dynamics.

But the first few years and elder woman's lengthy visits to London did plant some seeds of insecurity in Sameer. It was clear to him that Vivek was his step-father and the relationship between them though not one of major conflict, remained one of slight formality.

Hence the soft corner for Father Christmas, as he was the same type of father to not only his siblings but to kids worldwide!

***

Sameer pulled back his attention to his current environment. Though fairly barren, the trees that stood were still covered with a thick green foliage. A couple of dogs settled near the bonfire now looked in the direction of the passengers heading inside the restaurant with their ears perked. He walked forward too.

The restaurant was closed for business at that time of the day, but a few tables had been set up with kettles of tea, coffee and hot chocolate along with plates full of biscuits and some cheese and tomato sandwiches.

Sameer stretched his back and neck for a bit and then plopped down at one of the tables with a steaming mug of coffee. Soon a girl in her early twenties joined him and announced with a disgruntled expression "There's no decaf soya coffee!" He failed to hide his surprise and amusement "Ishita, this is a highway restaurant in India! I seriously doubt if anyone here has ever heard of either decaf or soya milk." He continued after a slight pause "And what would be the point of having a decaf coffee this early in the day?" She just cast him a mildly irritated glance.

Just about then, Deepika approached their table too, her fingers curled around a mug of coffee. She muttered as she sat down "Bhai, I feel like all my muscles are screaming now. I can't wait to reach the hotel and get some proper sleep." Smiling at her warmly, Sameer reached out and massaged her shoulders for a bit. The last few months hadn't been easy on her, he hoped this event would prove to be the much needed distraction for her.

Ishita immediately pouted "Sameer, my shoulders are very sore too!" And then she winked "In fact, most of my body is, for that matter." Deepika rolled her eyes and started to get up mumbling something about giving them some privacy, but Sameer pulled her back in the chair and left saying he needed to talk to their mother about something.

Vishakha was busy assuring the other guests that the spread here was just a little pick-me-up and that a proper breakfast would be awaiting them all at the final destination. Sameer had a quick chat with her and then headed to the restrooms when she assured him that everything was under control. She had just spoken to Vivek and he had confirmed that he and Rohan had reached the venue around midnight. They had travelled with another lot of relatives from Delhi.

As the thirty odd people re-boarded the bus, this time around they were all much more awake and cheerful. The sun was up and the hot drinks had done the trick.

The older generation looked at the landscape with satisfied smiles, their eyes twinkling with the joy of being back to their land of birth. Some of the youngsters pulled out their cameras and started clicking some photos, embracing the adventure that only a trip to India can offer.

The women started discussing the programme for the next week and the wedding preparations. Vishakha was offered a lot of advice and very little help!

Ishita approached Sameer and shooed away the younger cousin who had been occupying the seat next to him. He noticed his mother approvingly glancing in their direction. It wasn't surprising since both the sets of parents had been nudging them in each other's directions for a long time now. The agenda behind their match was never hidden. That's just the way things mostly worked in their sort of families. Marriages happened, and businesses merged and expanded. The Somani and Rathi families had businesses related to textile import and export, and worked together on some ventures.

Sameer had not been keen to work with his stepfather to start with, but somehow things had panned out in that direction. He had managed to find some balance by choosing to work on projects related to setting up new partnerships or vendor associations in various parts of the globe over the years, only intermittently spending some time in London. Whereas, his step-brother Rohan had been happy to work in their head office in London and stay close to the family.

Sameer found himself feeling more than a little exasperated that Ishita had insisted on travelling with the groom's party instead of the bride's party which had reached the venue the day before. Unaware of the direction of his thoughts, she prattled on about all her preparations and plans, every few moments touching his arm or shoulder, as if though laying her claim.

For the hundredth time probably, he wondered, why did the bride's family choose that specific venue for a destination wedding?! Well, he knew it belonged to some relative... but it still irked him.

Dasi Mahal... A wave of nostalgia mingled with apprehension swept over him.

Craving some solitude, he made some excuse to Ishita about feeling sleepy and, pulling on his headphones, he surrendered himself to the rushing horde of memories. For the next hour or so Sameer was lost to his surroundings, faraway in a world where his memories and fantasies of years were all entwined and hard to tell apart.

Vishakha shook him "Sameer, we are almost there." She smiled kindly "Hope you were able to get some sleep." He nodded and then straightened in his seat. The seat next to him was empty, seemed like Ishita had got bored and gone off to find someone else who was more interested in her tales of shopping.

The travellers were now looking outside their windows in great anticipation, most of them eager to catch a glimpse of this much talked about palace, while some just in a hurry to use the restroom again!

Sameer's heart missed a few beats as the familiar pale pink structure appeared in the distance. It was a majestic two storey sprawling building in pink sandstone surrounded by a huge garden and some fruit orchards. It had been built by some king few hundred years ago for housing his mistresses and hence named it Dasi Mahal.

As the numerous domes and terraces started becoming clear, he recalled her laughing as she explained, It has been built so far from the town as apparently the queen had been the jealous sort and the king did not want to risk getting disturbed while he was here! Some people say that while the king was alive the queen's ghost haunted this palace after her death.

One of his cousin sister's shrieked "Oh my God!!!! It really is a freaking palace!" Ishita joined in excitedly "We are going to have a proper princess style wedding!" The other guests murmured their agreement and clicked some more photos.

Suddenly a girl of about six anxiously questioned her mother "Mommy, did you pack my Princess tiara? The one that my friend Lily gifted me on my birthday?" Her mother patiently assured her that her tiara and her fairy wing were all packed safely in the bag along with her new favourite Mermaid Barbie. As Sameer chuckled at her antics, the girl's mother and his cousin Amba rolled her eyes at him and then added ''Wait till you have one of these! Let's see how funny you find it then!" He shook his head quickly dismissing the idea.

The bus entered the main gate and went down a long driveway which was flanked by trees on both sides. Sameer noted that this time, the alternate trees covered in white blooms were the Bauhinias, instead of the fiery Gulmohars that had greeted him last time.

One of his aunt's remarked sounding perplexed "This approach would have looked much nicer had all the trees been in bloom. Strange idea about planting these alternate trees..." Sameer responded recalling her words "Apparently the gardener wanted to make sure that the visitors to the palace would be greeted with blossoms for most part of the year, and hence the alternate planting of one tree that blooms in summer and another in the cooler months."

The bride's family was already assembled to welcome the groom's family and her mother Mrs Neeta Rathi was ready with an aarthi thali. Vishakha's husband Vivek and her stepson Rohan, who had reached the venue the previous night, quickly joined the new arrivals. The next few minutes were spent completing the welcome rituals amid a lot of laughter and teasing.

As the guests entered the porch, Neeta introduced a girl seemingly in her early to mid-thirties "This is Radhika, our wedding planner. She and her staff are responsible for co-ordinating this whole event and will also assist you in any way required."

Radhika stepped ahead and gave them all a friendly but brisk smile. She advised them to approach the porter's desk set up at one end of the porch and identify their luggage. They were then free to head to the breakfast room, while the porters went about transferring the luggage to their rooms.

Nothing specific had been planned for the day, which would allow all the guests to unwind after their respective journeys. A buffet lunch was to be served between twelve to two, and some light snacks throughout the day, so that the guests could eat when they pleased. More information on the programme for the next few days would be shared later that evening, as they were still expecting other guests to arrive later in the day.

While most of the guests headed in the direction of the breakfast room, Sameer stood in the porch glancing around. Ishita pausing by his side squealed "It's just like stepping back in time, right?!" and then started following the others inside. Sameer wholeheartedly agreed, almost able to visualise his grandfather sitting in one of those armchairs flipping through the newspaper and her walking up the garden-path fiddling with some wildflowers.

Both gone, he thought bleakly.

Maybe it was time to lay some ghosts to rest, he decided. He glanced uncertainly in Ishita's direction. His family wanted him to start a new phase, but was he ready to take the next step? Only time would tell... Sameer decided and headed towards the breakfast room.