“Good morning Sir, how are you today…”

“Good morning beta”, Ramesh brightens up as Prakash enters the room, getting ready for his incessant playful chatter.

“Just received a call from your son, he will be coming to meet you today, so get ready. He should be arriving in about 30 minutes...”

Ramesh nearly jumps off the bed like a small child. The glow in his eyes says it all.

“Oh, that means Ajju will take me out today. That will be real fun. I hope he brings Sunny along with him, it’s been ages that I have seen the little one...” Ramesh claps his hands as laughter spills through the gaps in his teeth.

Prakash feels his eyes moisten as he watches the elderly gentleman.

‘I hope he really enjoys the day...’ he thinks to himself as he steps out of the room. This is such a common picture in this facility - a home away from home for the less fortunate ones separated from their loved ones. The founder, Mrs Anupama, too met the same fate after losing her husband of 46 years.  That’s when she hit upon the idea of building Humsafar - a care home for senior citizens nestled in the backdrop of lush green hills in Matheran, about 2 hours’ drive from Mumbai.

Excited about the prospect of spending time with his son, and possibly grandson, Ramesh starts rummaging through the cupboard in the hope of spotting the shirt he received as birthday gift from Ajju. ‘He will be very happy to see me wearing that shirt, let me see if he recognizes it…’, Ramesh chuckles to himself.

Pretty soon, the septuagenarian is ready for the trip. Donning the powder blue shirt and black trousers, he checks himself in the mirror and smiles at his own reflection. ‘How do I look Sudha?’, he whispers. ‘You are growing more handsome with old age, so if you dare to look at any female when you go out, I will teach you a lesson…’. Ramesh can barely control his laughter at Sudha’s words – his soulmate whom he lost two years back to cancer after traversing a long journey together for 51 years.

Ever since her loss, Humsafar has been his new abode. Sudha cried uncontrollably the day Ajju dropped him here. In fact, Ramesh himself spent a sleepless night, consoling Sudha and trying to come to terms with his new life. It was not easy leaving his childhood home rich with the memories of his parents, grandparents, his son Ajju, grandson Sunny, and finally Sudha. Unfortunately, he had no choice…

As wounds heal over time, his feeling of deep anguish and pain of separation has been reasonably comforted by the love and care of his fellow mates at Humsafar. Now the grief has subsided, but the longing remains – to visit his home, to meet his family, particularly Sunny. But he must wait for Ajju to come and pick him up, not drop in anytime he wants. So he waits…

It’s been nearly four months that he visited home. It was Sunny’s birthday and he strongly wanted Dadu to be with him.

‘Oh, that reminds me, let me ask Prakash to get some chocolates for Sunny, he will be very happy...’ Ramesh is about to call Prakash when he hears footsteps outside the room.

“Hello Baba, how are you?” Ajju appears at the door along with Prakash.

Ramesh lights up in an instant and hurriedly moves forward. His excitement, however, is short-lived as he realizes that Ajju has come alone.

“Baba, have got a cake for you, come let’s cut it…”, Ajju seemed to be in a hurry.

“Why cake, today is not my birthday…” Ramesh murmurs.

“Arre, today is Father’s Day Baba, a special day for all fathers…. come, let’s get some photos clicked.”

Trying to comprehend Ajju’s words, Ramesh readies for the photoshoot and Prakash merrily captures various poses of the father-son duo, on Ajju’s instructions.

Once done, Ramesh is unable to resist his curiosity any further, “Beta, I have never heard about this day before, nor have I ever celebrated it with my father…”

Visibly losing patience, Ajju now retorts, “You ask too many questions. Be happy that I have come and spent some time with you. Now I must leave. Sunny and Trisha are waiting for me – even I need to celebrate Father’s Day with him…”

About to put on his shoes in the hope that Ajju would be taking him out for lunch, the way he does on birthdays, Ramesh freezes midway. The silence in the room is deafening.

Fighting with his tears, Ramesh gets back to the bed. Ajju gets busy with his phone, oblivious to the surrounding.

“Ok, Prakash, I have uploaded the photos on my Insta and Facebook pages and shared the links with you. I am getting late, you show it to Baba later…arre wah, I have already started getting likes…” Ajju is evidently pleased.

Within minutes, Ajju’s black SUV zooms out of Humsafar.

Ramesh turns towards Sudha. She watches him helplessly from the wall…